Finally, a booster worthy of my Mark V!!

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andretoscano

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Hi.

I decided I needed some kind of booster pedal to plug my guitar in and give me some additional saturation to chase those heavier high gain sounds on my Mark V.
It bothered me to have to have the GAIN turned all the way up in my Mark V and not getting quite there without fiddling around with the EQ and tone controls.

So I've tried about a dozen of different boosters, OD/Dist pedals, you name it.

The problem I've found with distortion pedals is that they "print their personality" too much on your guitar sound, so you end up amplifying and distorting (if this verb even exists...) a combination of both the Mark V + pedal on your amp.
Which might be great if you're after really cool and different sounds. I have my favorites (Xotic SL Drive, Randall RGOD, Wampler Triple Wreck, etc.).

If you think about it, this makes sense. Your guitar signal passing through a pedal is, in effect (no pun intended), being driven to the point of saturation by the pedal circuitry. That's how you mostly get distortion. That means the Mark V will get an already distorted sound, and the result will obviously be a mix of both.

But a good clean booster would - in theory - just amplify the level of my guitar without causing *too much* distortion, hence pushing the input of the Mark V but letting it shine.

Well, tried around four different boosters (Xotic EP, TC Spark, BBE Sonic Stomp, Strymon OB1).

And the clear winner is the Strymon OB1.
I don't have any stakes at the company nor do I sell them.
Just wanted to share my excitment!

strymonob1.jpg


Forget about the Compressor part of the pedal (I don't really use it much, certainly not for heavier high gain sounds).
The booster part is really amazing! It's a clean boost, and it gives you the option of boosting only certain parts of the spectrum (Flat, Middle or Treble).

If like me you want to know how your Mark V will sound with the GAIN turned up to 15, maybe this is what you're looking for. Certainly solved my problem.

Maybe I'll eventually upload some sound clips, or create a YouTube video or something during this weekend.

Cheers!

André
 
Very cool. For what I do, I haven't needed to hit the front end of the amp with any boost, but I do have a Wampler Ego I use for subtle compression. I just added a Wampler Plexi-Drive Deluxe to give me a "channel 2" on the Mark V:25 though, and that has a TS style boost in it so I've been playing with that a bit. Gives me Marshall tones over the clean channel. I wish the Mark V:25 had the third channel on it's own because I love the crunch mode. Guess I'll have to save up for the big dog eventually.
 
Man, on my Mark V:25 anything on channel 3 with the gain above 1:00 is completely saturated and turns to mush at 2:00. I couldn't imagine needing a boost.

I wish the Mark V:25 had the third channel on it's own because I love the crunch mode.

I'm seriously considering buying another Mark V:25 and running them in stereo with a GCX so I can have clean, crunch, IIC, and Xtreme footswitchable. Being able to run stereo fx and one or both preamp sections at a time would be killer too.
 
I've tried some things with my V25. Not a ton because when I started buying Mesa amps it was so I could get rid of a bunch of OD/Distortion pedals. :D But I still have some. The OCD can work really well, anything from clean to adding some crunch. Timmy works very well, as it seems to with most amps, because it allows you to tune the top and bottom. Your standard Tube Screamer type pedals can work well also, as they roll off top and bottom, which tightens up the bottom. Heck I've even enjoyed toying with my Fulltone 69 as a lead boost. Yes, fuzz pedals can work with Mesa amps! (Although I couldn't didn't care for my fuzz pedals much with my Mini Rec). But my favorite so far, is my SHO clone. It just adds some zing to any channel you use on the V25 or any other amp. It makes the IIC+ and IV modes just rip! I need to build a few more because I have a buddy who needs one. That pedal really works extremely well with the V25 though (and the Mini Rec, TA15 and any other amp I've tried). Just gives a bit fat, juicy solo tone.

I'm sure this is a great pedal, as most Strymon pedals are. Glad you are enjoying it.
 
I play in a cover that plays old and new country, classic rock, and blues.

I need to cover a lot of tones with my Mark V. I am using tweed for clean (volume rolled down) and slight break up, Mark I for mid gain, and Mark IV for some leads.

I am using a Wampler Ego Compressor and Wampler Paisley Over drive for rhythms and also using it as a boost on Mark I for some leads.
 
CudBucket said:
I can't imagine needing more gain than the Mark V has on tap.

Yes, the Mark V does have a lot of gain available.
Call me picky, but I just don't like having to have the Gain knob pushed all the way up to get a heavier saturated sound.
That will be good for certain sounds, but will then render the rest of the mode/channel useless for other lower gainy stuff (without having to fiddle with the knobs mid-gig, that is).
Plus, when the Master and Gain dials are working at their *extreme* positions (according to the Mark V manual) you will get more noise and less effectiveness.

With an external booster - this OB1 booster, to be precise - I can leave the Gain at the mid position on the Mark V and just "footswitch it up" a few notchs whenever I need it.

All in all, it does make a difference, at least to me, in terms of both sound and convenience.

If you don't think you need a booster, good for you. A few more bucks saved! :)
 
Couldn't live without a good booster and/or active pickups for jam'n the heavy stuff, it's just part of that sound IMO.
 
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