zvex.com

Ade

Hi
I'm interested in the boost function all these effects have but am unsure as to which one is the best option. I can't try them out either.

But first, what I really want to know is will a SHO (or a SD or BOR) boost other effects - particularly fuzz? I play a P90 SG into an MJM London Fuzz (FFace clone), a Watson Super Fuzz (Univox/Sheni clone) into an Orange AD15. I love these two different Fuzz effects and often use them for rhythm but I'd love to be able to boost their volume considerably for solos. Will a SHO (or others) do this? I see the Machine is made to cut through the mix when using fuzz, but I don't particularly want to change the tone as drastically as the Machine seems to - just boost it.

Reading about the SHO and SD I'm wondering whether this is going to be possible at all because of my amp. I love the AD15, but at 15w its not a clean amp and doesn't have a lot of headroom. Is clean headroom that important when using a SHO/SD? When gigging I run the Orange with both the master and gain at about noon. Turning either master or gain further up from this point just tends to saturate the gain rather than add any further volume. Once my Orange is breaking up and I then step on the FFace or Super Fuzz, will anything be capably of a further decibel boost or will any attempts just saturate/add gain/muddy the already effected tone?

In summary:
Will a SHO or SD boost the volume of an already fuzz affected signal?
Is clean headroom in an amp vital for the SHO/SD to provide volume boost?

Thanks

zvex · Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 2:17 pm Post subject:

In a word, yes, clean headroom is necessary in the amp. Something will change when you add a boost to a fuzz into a dirty amp. Volume may not. It might just be a texture change. Once you've hit maximum volume on a dirty amp, you're pretty much done with volume boost.

The only reason the machine can get more "volume" out of a dirty amp is that it makes its sounds during the rest point of the amp, when the speaker's passing through the "zero-cross".
_________________
WARNING TO EMAILERS! Be sure to pre-approve me when writing from a spam-blocked email system such as yahoo or mindspring or my replies will be blocked, and I may not have time to fill out all of the forms that your no-spam system requires! Thanks!

Ade · Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:36 am Post subject:

Thanks for the reply. I sometimes play an AC30 with blues. I also have a locally made rangemaster germanium booster clone that I like to run into it. When I play the rangemaster with the Orange it gives a great boosted/overdriven tone, but with little noticeable volume boost. With the AC30 though, the tone is similar but the volume boost is significant. I know AC30s are quite a different beast to my Orange but it must also clearly be the extra headroom the AC30 has that makes the difference when using a booster. The AC30 I have is one of the UK/Korg ones from the 90s and it is non-master volume. Does this make a difference with boosters?

Also, is there any advantage in getting the SHO over the SD (other than cost)? Am I correct in assuming the SD will do everything a SHO will do? Anybody here bought a SHO to then update to a SD? How different is the BOR to the SD? Thanks

zvex · Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:58 am Post subject:

The Super-Duper 2-in-1 has two SHO circuits in series, with two switches. It does a lot of distorted sounds you can't get with just one SHO.

Rock!
_________________
WARNING TO EMAILERS! Be sure to pre-approve me when writing from a spam-blocked email system such as yahoo or mindspring or my replies will be blocked, and I may not have time to fill out all of the forms that your no-spam system requires! Thanks!