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 This is the prototype for my newest design. It's a true clean boost with 18 volts of transparent headroom.
There are two levels of boost which can be selected by pressing the footswitch on the right. Th prototype is called green/red because those are the LED colors that light up depending on if you've selected the first level of boost or the second.
To me having two selectable output levels is the missing piece to most commercially available clean boost pedals. Before I built this I would have to reach back and turn up the amp every once in a while when I needed the extra notch of volume... now even if I'm already boosted I can go to the second level and get that extra kick. So obviously, the green and red knobs adjust how much boost you get depending on if you're in green mode or red mode which is indicated by the LED... It's a multicolor LED that can be either green or red. I'm not sure if those are my final color choices but they're good for now. The gain controll adjusts the amount of boost in the first gain stage which occours before the tone section. This is your master volume... I think I'll label it master in the next version. The pre switch can replace the first gain stage with a simple unity gain buffer. This is a prototype thing... I just wanted to test what effect the first gain stage had on the tonestack and it turned out to be minimal, so I might throw out the buffer all together. I'm not sure yet. Also, after stage testing for a while I fell like a better design would be to have it set it up so that the buffer can be available when the effect is completely bypassed. I think this is definitely a better option. I always like to have a buffer at the end of my signal chain before the cable that goes back to the amp...they call it a line driver...it keeps the signal nice and strong and prevents tone loss from the patch cables and cables that run to your guitar and amp. My wife's boss tuner serves this purpose when it's in the chain but it's not always on my pedalboard. This is either overkill or versatility, I'm not sure. Obviously I'll make all of these options availabe for you to pick and choose as add-ons when you buy one of these pedals.  In the prototype I have also included a Baxandall tonestack which can achieve a flat signal, a mid boost, a mid cut, and it can attenuate the lows or highs. This gives ultimate control over the output tone... The flat switch is a mod to get a midrange boost out of the tonestack even when the controlls are set to 12 o'clock... I'm going to put this on a push/pull pot per request or just remove it completely in future versions.
Speaking of 12 o'clock, one of the problems with the prototype is that 12 o'clock is not a flat eq setting... to achieve a flat eq it's more like 11 o'clock for lows and 10 o'clock for highs... I still have to tweak the part values in the tone section to work that out. Since the goal was to achieve transparency and versatility I've included a switch to remove the tone controls from the circuit. This way you can get that colorless and unmodified boost that everyone seems to crave. This feature is definitly staying, but I'm thinking that a push/pull pot will make a better switch... so I'll probably set up future designs to bypass the eq when you pull the gain knob out. 18 Volts is not completely accurate... it's really running at about 17.5 volts... good enough for me. I use a Maxim chargepump to double the voltage from the power supply... thats good news for all of us because it means we can use our regular 9vDC adapters and still have this thing running at nearly 18 volts... Boss PSAs or whatever you use will work fine... I use a onespot regulated adapter to power my entire pedal board (except for the vintage circuits that sound better with a battery) and I love it. I actually own two in case one gets mangled on stage or something. I'm hoping that the final design will allow enough room in the box to fit a battery... some people hate using adapters, but I gig too much to replace batteries all the time so they have become an after thought when I build pedals for my self. So here's the rundown for the next version... - remove buffer mode
- remove the mid boost switch because we can get a mid boost out of a baxandall tonestack anyway
- move the tonestack bypass to a pushpull pot instead of a standalone switch
- put it all on one circuit board to save space
- clean up the wiring
- make room for a battery
I'm sure I'll end up with more changes than that, but I already love this build so much that I could make them as is and feel great about selling them... but hey, why not make it better.
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