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Kinky Boost always on?


fatherjack56
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Before I went digital I was using an E.P. booster at the front of the signal chain and it was just always on, made everything else sound 'better'. I am now convinced that I need to do the same thing with my HX effects but I also wonder if it's just because I think it ought to sound better, or if it actually does.

I've created several presets with it on (tiny bit of drive and bright switch on) but it would be handy to have the extra block that would free up if I remove it, tried EQ'ing my overdrives and/or my amp to compensate but I can't help thinking that there's something missing. 

 

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I'm not going to be able to help with your problem....

I run the Kinky Boost (always on) on all of my Tele and Strat patches. I don't use it to boost, it's just there imparting it's tone - adding what it does! 

 

Currently I own a Helix LT so I'm not limited with blocks, but before that I did own an HX Effects. I always found a way to utilize the Kinky Boost... I just loaded it in a hidden slot, never accessible by a footswitch. 

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When I'm using my Helix on the road, all my patches have a Kinky Boost, always on, at the end of the chain, just like the EP booster on my regular pedalboard since 2010. I just put together an HX Stomp fly rig, and I put an EP booster after it to free up blocks. I haven't had any downtime to test them side by side, but the EP Booster is an important pedal for me, and I'm very happy with the kinky boost on the Helix. 

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I like using either the Kinky Boost or the Minotaur as an always on boost with my HX Effects as well. I saw a Nels Cline video where he talks about using backline amps, and one trick he mentions with Fender-type amps is initially starting with the treble down around 2 or so and the bass up around 8. This will be quite dark, but using a Klon other clean boost in front of an amp like that is a good way to bring brightness back without making things overly harsh. I find this sort of approach works really well for me.

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Thanks for the replies, kind of reassuring that my ears are not playing tricks on me! Just to be certain I copied a few presets to new locations, removed the Kinky boost from the copied presets and A/B tested against the originals. Definitely sweeter sounding with it in the chain. Had a mess about with it and you can do the same thing with the Klon or Timmy with good results but they seem to need a bit of tweaking depending on which O/D they are in front of, whereas the Kinky Boost just seems to work well for everything.

I guess it's going to be an always on block with no switch assigned, set and forget then get creative with the remaining 8 blocks!

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2 hours ago, specracer986 said:

What's the best place to run it, before OD or after? I have a real one on a small board and I place it before my two OD's. I don't remember if I tried it after or not.

 

I typically put a clean boost right before the amp as I want to hit the front of the amp harder, but I don't necessarily want to slam the input of an OD pedal. But I don't think there's a right or wrong way.

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On 12/6/2018 at 12:28 PM, specracer986 said:

What's the best place to run it, before OD or after? I have a real one on a small board and I place it before my two OD's. I don't remember if I tried it after or not.

Depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Putting boost before distortion lets the boost help shape the saturation and sustain from the distortion. Putting boost after distortion provides a volume boost, but doesn't otherwise change the tone (assuming its going into a clean amp - otherwise its just part of a multi-part gain staging). 

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On 12/4/2018 at 12:05 PM, phil_m said:

I like using either the Kinky Boost or the Minotaur as an always on boost with my HX Effects as well. I saw a Nels Cline video where he talks about using backline amps, and one trick he mentions with Fender-type amps is initially starting with the treble down around 2 or so and the bass up around 8. This will be quite dark, but using a Klon other clean boost in front of an amp like that is a good way to bring brightness back without making things overly harsh. I find this sort of approach works really well for me.

Fender amps have quite a bit of mid scoop. The bass and treble controls are all boost, turn them all the way down and turn the middle all the way up and you have a mostly flat tone. That's how you can get rid of that mid scoop - keep bass and treble down, keep mid up. But that still won't provide bass and treble rolloff, the mid control really just sets the flat set-point above which the base and treble controls can boost. This is why Tube Screamers work well with Fender amps. They provide an actual mid boost that helps compliment the mid scoop of the amp.

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On 12/7/2018 at 2:47 PM, amsdenj said:

... Putting boost after distortion provides a volume boost, but doesn't otherwise change the tone (assuming its going into a clean amp - otherwise its just part of a multi-part gain staging). 

 

For the few amps I actually tried this, a clean gain stage (not a boost pedal) in front of the amp is no different than adjusting the amps Drive dial - and this is true no matter whether the amp is still in the clean range or pushed into distortion. From that experience my conclusion was that a boost pedal in front of the amp (or any block) in a way is an alternative to higher Drive settings and just adds pedal-specific ‘spice’ to the tone.

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On 12/12/2018 at 9:11 AM, MartinDorr said:

 

For the few amps I actually tried this, a clean gain stage (not a boost pedal) in front of the amp is no different than adjusting the amps Drive dial - and this is true no matter whether the amp is still in the clean range or pushed into distortion. From that experience my conclusion was that a boost pedal in front of the amp (or any block) in a way is an alternative to higher Drive settings and just adds pedal-specific ‘spice’ to the tone.

Right: as long as 1) the boost is really a clean boost and doesn't have a tone of its own and 2) the amp drive has enough gain to meet your needs. The need for clean boost pedals stems partly from Fender amps like a Twin or Super Reverb, or especially a Showman, that didn't have that much gain. I have a HX Effects that I use in front of may old Showman amp and it works great. That amp really needs a clean boost.

 

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