Mozztronics BB-1 Big Boost Effects Pedal
Check out the BB-1 Big Boost by Mozztronics.
High quality, boutique, Australian Made!
A boost pedal is often the last thing to be added to a pedal board, but never underestimate what it can do. It can drive long cables without treble loss, it can slam the front end of a valve amp for serious dirt, and it can go ahead of a distortion box to kick the distortion up a notch or three.
We looked at what was around, and decided there was room for a boost pedal, but it had to… a) get full boost from a standard 9V power supply without an internal switch mode supply or charge pump power supply to boost the internal voltage b) not require 18V power c) have an inbuilt always on buffer so as to reduce loading on the guitar and drive long cables without tone loss d) give more than 20dB of boost e) be clean even at or close to maximum boost.
We think we did it !
There is one main control on this pedal, BOOST, which goes from 0dB boost to 27dB boost. We added a CONTOUR switch, so the boost signal can be full range, or with a slight bass cut at around 160Hz. We use a similar technology to that used in class G power amps inside this beast so we can get the massive clean output we wanted.
We included an always on “full range” buffer so if the pedal is used at the end of the pedal board, we can drive long cables back to an amp without loss of tone, or if the pedal is used at the start of the pedal board, it will buffer the guitar so as to maintain high impedance loading on the guitar to avoid loss of tone.
To minimize circuitry in the signal path, when the boost is switched off, only the buffer is left in circuit (we don’t just reduce the boost gain to 1), so the boost circuit is true bypass, even though the buffer is always on.
Mozztronics uses the industry standard Boss style 2.1mm center negative 9V DC socket for the power supply connection.
A note on the placement of the Mozztronics Big Boost BB-1 in your pedal chain
Due to the enormous output levels available with this pedal, it is possible to overload the input stages of digital delays, other digital effects, and some solid state amplifiers. Experiment with BOOST level and placement of the Mozztronics Big Boost BB-1 in your signal chain to find what best works for you and your system. Start with low BOOST settings and adjust the BOOST up if needed.
The BB-1 can be used at the start of your pedal chain, as it has an always on buffer. It can then be used to boost level into a dirt pedal, for even more dirt.
The BB-1 can be used at the end of your pedal chain to drive long cables going to your amplifier, and to slam the front end of a tube amp when boost is turned on.
