Boost pedals are often overlooked as other effects pedals like overdrive, distortion, delay, and reverb are more interesting for most guitarists. But boost pedals are highly versatile devices that can add different spices and functionality to your setup.
Boost pedals can be used as a volume boost or in front of an overdrive pedal in order to get more overdrive in your tone. Another possibility is to use it in front of your amp to get your overdrive. This way, you can have an extra channel in your amp. Plus, you can also use it to boost your amp’s effect loop.
So, boost pedals are highly versatile to give you more control over your tone. They are like jokers to use wherever you need them in your signal chain. If you wonder which boost pedal would be the best choice for you, here are the best boost pedals on the market today.
Walrus Audio Emissary Parallel Boost
- 2-In-1 boost that helps make leads stand out, slides sing, finger picking...
- The top knob controls the volume for the “bright” boost circuit: a...
- The bottom knob controls the volume for the “mid” boost circuit:...
- The bypass switch also features a momentary function; when the bypass...
- Analog clean boost pedal with EQ
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Parallel boosting technology to boost your tone without adding gain
- Bright and Mid Boost options
- 9 Volts DC power supply
Walrus Audio Emissary Parallel Boost is a unique boost pedal as it raises your output without adding gain to your tone. This is done by the great parallel boosting technology with the circuit pair in the pedal.
The first circuit is the Bright circuit which gives your tone a bright and sparkling boost. The second is the Mid circuit, which boosts the mid frequencies in your tone. The second is a more powerful boost as guitar tones mainly deal with mid frequencies.
Walrus Audio Emissary Parallel Boost is a versatile and effective boost pedal, especially for guitarists looking to have more control over their boost pedals. You can use both circuits at the same time or separately to shape your boosted tone as you like.
Wampler Decibel Plus V2
- A full frequency boost and independent buffer brought to you in a small...
- A quality buffer that helps prevent your high frequencies from being lost
- A clean boost that makes sure your guitar always sits in the mix
- Features the ability to turn the buffer on and off independently all with a...
- Analog clean boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- High-quality buffer for optimal clarity and signal strength
- Robust pedal handmade in the U.S.A.
- 9 Volts DC power supply
Wampler Decibel Plus V2 is a boutique boost pedal that is handmade in the U.S.A. It catches the eye with its great design and sturdy construction, which may be the ideal boost pedal for traveling musicians.
The pedal features a high-quality buffer for optimal clarity and signal strength. So, you can use the pedal as a bugger to protect and maintain your signal in the chain. Plus, the pedal’s boost is highly transparent, which is great if you do not want your tone to be colored when boosted.
Finally, the pedal features only a single knob, which is the Boost knob, so the pedal is highly easy to use.
Smallsound/Bigsound Mini
- Analog powerful JFET drive boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Handmade boutique pedal
- Unique circuit
- Versatile range of drive
- 9 Volts DC power supply
Smallsound/Bigsound Mini is a unique and high-selling pedal that provides the amp-like sound of JFET drives. These pedals are all handmade by a single person, which makes them special but hard to find at the same time. If you want one, you will have to get on the waiting list.
When you turn the gain down, the pedal acts as a bright JFET treble booster, saturating the amp and making your tone pop out for the lead guitar sections. When you turn on the gain, you can get back to the realms of thick and heavy rhythm tones.
There are five knobs on the pedal: volume, gain, bass, treble, and bias knobs. The bias knob allows you to switch between saggy lo-fi, and low-watt amp tones to clean chime-y hi-fi tones. It is one of the greatest pedals to use for boosting your tones.
Blackstar Dept. 10 Boost
- ECC83 valve driven
- Runs at 250V like a valve amplifier
- Built-in buffer/line driver
- James Baxandall EQ: Low / High
- Analog valve-driven clean boost pedal with 2-band EQ
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- High voltage mode
- Good balance between clean and valve reactiveness for natural sound and feel
- 9 Volts DC power supply
Blackstar Dept. 10 Boost is another popular boost pedal with a small and simple design. It has a valve-driven circuit along with a 2-band EQ and a high-voltage mode. With the ECC83 valve, you can get maximum headroom, especially when the high-voltage mode is on.
The pedal is famous for its balance between a clean and linear response as well as the mixed-in valve-driven tones for a natural sound and feel. Plus, you get great versatility with the 2-band EQ on the control panel to cut or boost high-end frequencies.
Chase Bliss Audio Condor
- Analog boost multi-fx pedal with parametric EQ, filter tones, tremolo, overdrive, and boost
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Digital control, presets, and MIDI
- Clean and overdrive modes
- 9 Volts DC power supply
Chase Bliss Audio Condor is another top-notch pedal to use to boost your guitar tone. It is also a multi-fx pedal to use as a tone-shaping device as well as a preamp. The pedal shines with its high versatility as well as powerful tonal adjustment options.
The analog-circuit pedal is also MIDI-controllable and offers additional options, including DIP switches. The included effects are the parametric EQ, filter tones, overdrive, boost, and tremolo.
But, of course, the versatility and quality come for a price, as this pedal is one of the highest-end products on the list.
Fredric Effects Accomplished Badger MKII
- Analog clean boost pedal
- Two-stage boost with an opamp buffer/boost with a Germanium transistor
- Volume and gain knobs, op-amp trim pot, internal DIP switches for gain, soft-hard clipping
- Can be used as a sparkly clean boost or to boost the grittier saturated sound
- 9 Volts DC power supply
Fredric Effects’ Accomplished Badger MKII is a unique boost pedal with a dual-stage design that allows you to have a high level of control over your gain levels. It provides a great boost with the op-amp gain stage, driving a germanium boost.
The pedal gives you great control over your sound with the op-amp gain, overall volume, and transistor gain controls. The op-amp gain provides a cleaner boost, while the transistor gain delivers a low-gain fuzz tone.
Keeley Katana
- The Mini Katana boost provides over 35dB of boost. Enough for the most...
- Need drive, just flip the micro Hi-Gain Switch inside and you’ve got...
- Flip the Hi-Cut Switch (NEW for the Katana Mini!) on the inside and you...
- Flip both switches and you have the ultimate sounding boost, thick, creamy,...
- Analog clean boost pedal with overdrive
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Great for tone boost in different genres like funk, blues, soul, or classic rock
- High gain mode for an extra 10 dB boost
- 9 Volts DC power supply
Keeley Katana is the first pedal of the brand, which gained many positive reviews when it got released. That’s why Keeley redesigned the pedal with the feedback to get the ultimate analog clean boost pedal. The pedal is famous for the harmonically rich and powerful boost it delivers.
The pedal has a full-sized and mini version. You can pull out the volume knob to reach the extra gain stage on the full-sized one, while the mini version has it integrated into the latter part of the volume knob. In short, it is a great boost pedal to use for funk, blues, soul, and classic rock.
Electro-Harmonix LPB-1
- Tough and compact die-cast chassis
- 9V battery included
- Analog clean boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Compact size and affordable price
- 9 Volts DC power supply
- One of the best-selling boost pedals
There is a reason why Electro-Harmonix LPB-1 is one of the most-sold boost pedals out there, and that reason lies behind its simplicity and high performance. The pure, clean boost pedal has a very straightforward and simple design with a single knob to control volume and gain.
The pedal is quite compact and has a pretty tonal character with a compressed sound. This is really handy if you want to thicken up the signal before it gets into the tube amp.
Xotic EP-3 Boost
- Internal Switches for Bass Boost and Bright
- Discrete FET Preamp
- Up to +20db of Gain
- 9-18vdc Operation
- Analog clean boost pedal with EQ
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Based on the preamplifier of an EP 3 Echoplex
- Volume increase up to 20 dB
- 9 Volt DC Power Supply
Many famous guitarists, such as Eric Johnson, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, and many more, relied on the Echoplex EP3 preamp as a booster. Xotic took that amazing preamp and put the circuit in a stompbox to make it more portable and accessible.
The mini pedal features an EP3-style preamp with EQ settings and internal boost frequency, along with a boost capacity of up to 20 dB. This pedal is an ideal choice for guitarists looking for a versatile booster pedal with saturated overdrives as well as clean boosts.
MXR Timmy
- Designed with veteran Nashville pedal builder Paul Cochrane
- Provides a huge range of overdrive tones in an MXR mini housing
- Preserves the fundamental character of your guitar rig
- Choose from three different clipping styles to cover a multitude of...
- Analog overdrive pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Transparent EQ profile
- Versatile in terms of ranges of drive
- 9 Volt DC Power Supply
MXR Timmy is a great overdrive pedal that can also be used as a booster. It works like the Tubescreamer-style pedals, which are actually drive pedals but are also used as boost pedals. But, the EQ profile of MXR Timmy is flatter compared to other drive boost pedals.
The pedal has three different clipping modes and is highly versatile in terms of drive tone shaping with its bass, treble, gain, and volume knobs, as well as a three-way Clip switch. The bass and treble controls are only cut-configured.
TC Electronic Spark Mini
- Ultra-compact booster pedal with PrimeTime switching and all-analog design...
- Impressive 20 dB of completely clean boost makes your core tone shine...
- Revolutionary PrimeTime footswitch seamlessly toggles between classic...
- High-quality discrete analog circuit purely amplifies your signal without...
- Analog clean boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Simplistic design with one knob
- 20 dB of gain
- Great for boosting clean, crisp, funky rhythm guitar
- 9 Volt DC Power Supply
TC Electronic Spark Mini is a simple, clean boost pedal that provides up to 20 dB boost without coloring the tone. It works best when it is used with a tube amp to smash the tone instead of using it to color the guitar signal.
The pedal works best when used with a clean tone. It is a great pedal if you want to have funky rhythm guitar tones for single-note riffs as well as melodic chord rhythm guitar partitions in the treble end. It is one of the best pedals at the mid-range price.
EarthQuaker Devices Arrows V2 Preamp Booster Pedal
- Preamp Booster Pedal with True Bypass Soft Switching
- Analog overdrive boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Simplistic design with a single knob
- Midrange boost, tighten-up low-ends and shiny high-ends
- 9V DC Power Supply
EarthQuaker Devices Arrows V2 Preamp Booster Pedal is another simplistic boost pedal that provides great mid-range boost, tighten-up low ends, and shiny high-ends. With the single knob, you can muck from low-end oriented fuzz pedals as well as take light overdrives to the higher-gain ranges.
The pedal is considered in the low to mid-budget ranges and is highly easy to use, which is perfect for guitarists who want a simple tool to get the job done.
Teisco Boost
- Versatile FET boost that enhances your tone. Modeled after the EP-3 preamp
- Up to 30dB of gain on tap. Toggle to the 24V Mode for more headroom. Eq...
- Works well with guitars and synths. Use the flat Mode for bass
- Fet, clean, versatile, EQ, loud, warm-sounding preamp
- Analog clean boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- More tonal and dynamic options
- Vintage design
- Normal, Treble and Flat modes
- 9V DC Power Supply
Teisco Boost is a small analog clean pedal with a vintage design. It has multiple modes for different boost types to make your guitar’s different aspects shine. It has a normal mode for boosting clean tones, a Treble mode for boosting high-ends for chords and melodies, and a Flat mode for reducing the harshness.
The pedal has level, gain, 9V-24V Switch, EQ, and Buffer controls to shape the tone. Compared to other boost pedals, it is highly versatile and has more tonal and dynamic options.
MXR Micro Amp
- Adds a preset amount of gain with a single control
- Boost your signal for lead work
- Perfect for switching between guitars with unmatched output
- Power: Dunlop ECB003 AC adapter or single 9 volt battery
- Analog clean boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Up to 26 dB of boost
- Single volume knob, easy-to-use
- Clean-sounding gain to the amp tone
- 9V DC Power Supply
MXR Micro Amp or MXR M133 is one of the best-selling boost pedals in the mid-range boost pedals realm. The reason behind this is its affordability, straightforward design, and, before all, its excellent boost range. It delivers up to 26 dB of boost and adds a clean-sounding gain to the amp tone.
The pedal can be used to add a bit of color to the tone, too. You can have a warm, subtle tone just by putting the singular tone control around the 3’o clock angle.
Wampler Tumnus V2
- Designed to be a versatile addition to any setup, any style
- Use with other pedals to shape the total gain, as a stand alone overdrive,...
- Can even be used as a buffer because this pedal is not true bypass
- This pedal contains a buffered bypass tone legendary in its own right
- Analog overdrive boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Compact design
- Provides anything from subtle boost to heavy overdrive
- 9V DC Power Supply
Wampler Tumnus V2 is another overdrive boost pedal that adds anything from subtle boost to heavy overdrive to your tone. It has a compact design to fit any pedalboard and is built with high-grade film capacitors and resistors for optimal response and sonic performance.
This one is a great pedal if you are looking to have overdrive and small boost options in your pocket. Plus, its compact design helps you have the pedal on any pedalboard easily.
JHS Prestige
- One knob that has plenty of tricks up its sleeve
- Buffer/enhancer for long Cable Runs or an always-on preamp
- Booster for solos, saturating another overdrive or overdriving your amp
- True-Bypass switching
- Analog clean boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Simple clean boost pedal with highly capable of clean boost capacity
- Rotary control, a traditional footswitch, and an LED indicator
- Compact design
- 9V DC Power Supply
JHS Prestige is a straightforward, clean boost pedal from the relatively new pedal producer JHS. The brand has been offering amazing pedals since they stepped into the market, and this simple, clean boost pedal is quite impressive.
It has a traditional footswitch, as well as an LED indicator and rotary controls along with its high capacity for boosting clean tones. This is a quite versatile analog clean boost pedal that can emphasize the natural tonal characteristics of your tone. You can also use it to push the preamp tubes in for gain tones gently.
Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive
- Create multiple, layered amp sounds - one clean, one overdriven
- Four unique overdrive/distortion circuits: Stock, Lead, Rhythm and High...
- 100 percent clean boost circuit with tons of output
- True bypass switching via gold-contact relay with LED
- Analog overdrive boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Made in the U.S.A.
- Four distortion circuits: Stock, Lead, Rhythm, and High Gain
- Clean boost circuit
- True bypass switching
- 9V DC Power Supply
Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive pedal is a highly versatile and popular analog overdrive boost pedal with many functions and circuits. The pedal features four distortion circuits for different overdrive situations, including stock, lead, rhythm, and high-gain, as well as a clean boost circuit.
The lead circuit offers extra gain, as well as thicker bass and smooth highs. The rhythm circuit is all about the mids for power chords and funk, while the high gain mode has aggressive low-end along with great highs. The clean circuit serves to blend the clean signal with your distorted tone amazingly.
Friedman Buxom Boost
- Plenty of headroom for getting above a mix or driving the front end of an...
- EQ Bypass switch removes the 3-band EQ from the signal for a truly...
- Accepts 9V or 18V power for higher-headroom performance
- Active 3-band EQ with boost bass and mid controls and boost/cut treble...
- Analog clean boost pedal with EQ and flexible control
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- 3-band EQ with mid, bass, treble
- Tight control for punchy low end and boost control for boost tone shaping
- True bypass switch
- 9V DC Power Supply
Friedman Buxom Boost is a great boost pedal with hard-to-beat circuits and versatility. It keeps your playing character and nuances while giving you the extra boost options you need. The 3-band EQ and tight and boost controls give you flexibility, while the EQ bypass option gives you the chance of having the transparent boost if you don’t want your tone to be colored.
Friedman Buxom Boost is a popular choice, and it is like that for a reason. Its attractive price and flexibility can go a long way if you are in search of a one-in-all boost pedal.
Danelectro Billion Dollar Boost
- True bypass switching
- Die Cast case
- Hand sprayed classic car finish
- Analog clean boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Volume and treble, and bass knobs
- Provides clean pre amp with gobs of gain
- Great for Brit rock tones
- 9V DC Power Supply
Danelectro Billion Dollar Boost is another analog clean boost pedal with quite a flexibility. It is ideal for British rock bands as it reproduces the sound of 80’s rock guitar. When the volume knob is around the halfway point or less, the pedal provides a unique, clean tone that you would appreciate if you like British rock tones. It gets to a strong, punchy realm for the crunch when it is over the halfway point.
The pedal features volume, treble, and bass knobs for more versatility. It also has Low Cut Switching for more tonal options. This might be ideal for you if you are after rich tones without breaking the bank.
J.Rockett Audio Designs Archer
- A recreation of an iconic circuit matching all of the wonderful qualities...
- A great clean boost that goes all the way to a chimey classic organic gain
- Can be used as just a clean boost by turning the gain all the way down
- Introduce gain to attenuate the clean signal until you find the magical...
- Analog clean boost pedal with EQ
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- More of an overdrive pedal that can serve as a great clean boost device
- Warm overdrive and dynamic boost
- 9 Volts DC power supply
J.Rockett Audio Designs Archer is actually an overdrive pedal that can be used as a clean boost device. It performs really well as a clean boost pedal with a dynamic boost that makes your lead and rhythm guitar parts. If you like the iconic Klon pedal, you will love this one too.
The pedal has output, treble, and gain knobs to have more flexibility. It has a classic dual op-amp, buffered circuitry, and a germanium clipping diode that can add gain to your signal chain.
Orange Two Stroke
- 12dB clean boost plenty to saturate your amp’s front end
- Active dual-parametric EQ giving you seamless control over your tone
- Internal charge pump doubles the operating voltage to 18V
- Transparent buffered bypass
- Analog clean boost pedal with dual parametric EQ
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Up to 12 dB of clean boost
- Transparent buffered bypass
- High versatility with hi, lo, boost-eq, low frequency, and high-frequency controls
- 9 Volts DC power supply
If versatility is what you are after, Orange Two Stroke might be the right analog clean boost pedal for you. It features many controls and tone shaping options that can give you total control over your tone. It has dual parametric EQ, hi-lo controls, and 12 dB of boost output capacity.
It is a great pedal to fine-tune your boosted tone, pushing the amp’s front end with unsurpassed control. With the pedal, you can easily add an extra dimension to solos, while with the tone-shaping control options, you can sculpt totally new sounds when you like.
Fender Engager Boost
- Clean boost effect pedal
- Onboard 3-band EQ; switchable true/buffered bypass
- Led-backlit knobs; Fender amp Jewel LED
- Magnetically latched hinged 9V battery door
- Analog clean boost pedal with EQ
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- 3-band EQ with switchable true or buffered bypass
- Knobs with LED lightning
- Lightweight and compact stompbox
- 9 Volts DC power supply
Fender Engager Boost has a great balance between simplicity and flexibility. It has four knobs, including bass, treble, middle and level knobs, along with Frequency and true bypass switches. You can adjust the EQ control to have a clean and crisp tone while adding dynamic power to it.
Players who want to control every detail of their tone would love this pedal as the tonal control options and simplicity offers so much for guitarists. Plus, it does not add any harsh frequencies to your tone, which is one of the main problems with most boost pedals.
Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini
- Built for the guitarist who is looking to pack in their pedalboard
- Made to help you manage that hallowed ground
- Same legendary pedal and tone in smaller frame
- Three controls - Overdrive, Tone and Level
- Analog overdrive boost pedal
- Simple-designed overdrive pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Full-fat overdrive and
- Tone, level, and overdrive knobs
- Classic 1kHz mid boost
- Great value for the price
- 9 Volts DC power supply
One of the most iconic pedals of history is Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini. You can get a full-flat overdrive and a great boost from the pedal like its bigger brother Ibanez Tubescreamer. It also has the EQ for sonic versatility. You can basically turn the drive down and turn the level up to use it as a clean boost pedal.
It can serve your lead tones as a great clean boost while you can use the overdrive whenever you need it. It can give the classic 1klHz boat easily. Overall, it is a great pedal for old-school boost lovers.
Rowin Booster
- True distortion booster pedal, featuring double +/- 15db equalization to...
- Pedal Gain Knob: Adjust the degree of distortion tone from Electric Guitar....
- The entire aluminium-alloy classic body is stable and robust, ensuring the...
- The adorable and charming mini exterior appearance with four simple knobs...
- Analog overdrive boost pedal with EQ
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- LED indicators
- Four simple knobs: volume, bass, treble, booster knobs
- Compact design
- 9 Volts DC power supply
Rowin Booster guitar pedal increases your overall volume without any color in the sound. It is a great boost pedal with up to 20 dB of clean boost with double plus-minus 15 dB equalization to create the pure sound you need.
The pedal features four simple knobs with bass and treble for EQ, booster, and overall volume knobs. The pedal boosts mid and high ranges greatly for you to have a strong and broader tone with fantastic dynamics.
NUX Lacerate Mini
- Analog clean boost pedal
- 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) Jack input and 1 x 1/4″ (6.35 mm) output
- Clean and Crank boost modes
- Gives the carbon copy of your natural tone
- Simple and reliable boost pedal
- 9 Volts DC power supply
The simple and reliable boost pedal NUX Lacerate Mini is another great choice if you want versatility, affordability, and reliability in a simple package. It has two boost modes, clean and crank, to give you the chance to have whatever you need at the moment.
The clean mode simply adds the necessary gain for boosting your clean tone, while the crank mode is more suited for a more-colored overdrive boost. The pedal is kind of like the smaller and simpler version of the iconic boost pedal MXR Micro Boost.
Conclusion
Boost pedals are great choices to make your guitar tone shine, whether you are playing clean or overdrive tones. For any case, either solos, power chords, arpeggios, or funky chords, you can make your tone stand out in the mix with the right booster pedal.
All the options in the list are the top choices that are relied upon by many guitarists for different occasions. Depending on your budget and needs, you can check any of them to give a place in your setup.
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Last update on 2024-12-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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