Ok, I love my Bad Monkey used as a transparent clean boost (level dimed, gain 0) but I was thinking about a pedal with a larger boost. Anyone know the strength of the Bad Monkey i.e. in db? Relatively would an MXR Mico Amp overdrive the amp harder when dimed? Anyone have any suggestions of high output boosters? Man I should really sell this amp but I can't be bothered, so much crap needed to make it sound good.

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Try using 2 OD's at once. Maybe try that DOD Yngwie Malmsteen pedal with it, I hear it works well in conjunction with the BM.

MXR Microamp might be cool, but they have a straight up analog OD pedal that's green with 3 knobs, that might be better choice.

But if I were you, I'd either sell your amp, or get higher gain preamp tubes.

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You could also try putting an emg PA-2 in your guitar.

hmm, it all seems kinda like Im forcing the JCM to do something its not really setup to do. Its literally running full bore, boosted and with high gain tubes in it and it still isn't really what I'm looking for.

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i have it, its a noisy piece of shit. If you want any more than 4db increase, you will get beehive styles... even WITH a noisegate on. Now i will admit, my cavity isnt shielded... but when i play, the only thing on in the room is the amp... and the fuckin booster hisses like a pit of snakes. If you can get by that, it realllly tightens the bass and makes the responsiveness amazing and crunchy.

The microamp, pretty sweet pedal, but will buzz when dimed... just keep it aorund half and it will drive the amp hard.

if anybody wants to suggest a klon centaur, punch yourself in the face. Its an overpriced pedal with almost zero versatility: NOT APPLICABLE TO METAL. Definately colours your tone, and doesnt boost it as much as you want. If you ever think about one of these, just get a maxon OD 808 instead.

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Just want to squeeze in one question...

What do you guys think about MC-402 from Dunlop site?
It has a boost and overdrive in one package which is a good idea, anyone here have any experiences with it?

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The issue is what I mentioned in your other thread, its the diode clipping in the JCM900. Its basically a distortion pedal built into the amp. And since the purpose of a boost in front of the amp is to push the tubes into over the top saturation, this concept becomes null when you are pushing a diode. I would invest in a different amp.

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Umm, I'm going to have to disagree with you man. Saying that pushing a diode clipping device with another diode device doesn't sound good is nonsense. Look at the HUGE amount of bands that used and still use distortion and/or OD pedals like a Maxon OD, TS9, ProCo Rats, MXR's, Visual Audio's, and DS-1's and tons more to get more grind out of their JCM900's as well as other tube amps that have a diode clipping circuit right after their input. I could pass you a dozen CD's recorded with JCM900's and a distortion/OD pedal and you'd marvel over the tone.

Also claiming that you can't boost a SS amp and get good results is a total MYTH. This only applies to most modeling preamps(the ones that don't have a tube or SS buffer unlike the Vox ADT series, which have a tube pre buffer and a digital preamp), because they're not designed to take a high voltage input signal from an OD/dist pedal, just an instrument level signal that's going to be processed by the software inside the modeling device/amp. Boosting a 100% analog solid state preamp yields the SAME effect it does to a tube preamp. If the SS amp is crap, then it will sound crap even if you overdrive it, just like any shite tube amp will(ie: Pignose). You can't compare an overdriven Crate SS amp to an overdriven tube amp 4x it's price...

Eg: Whip out an OD pedal in front of a Roland Cube 30 or a Line 6 Flextone(digital/COSM pre, SS poweramp) and one in front of an Roland JC120 or a Tech 21 Trademark(all SS analog). The Tech 21/Roland will slay and very likely pass for a tube amp, the Cube will clip in a bad way because it's not designed to take high voltage inputs from an OD pedal.

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what's the difference between the PA-2 and the afterburner, aside from the switch?

i've got an afterburner, and my NS-2 keeps the noise real tame even at full boost, but i have the NS-2 before the signal hits the amp, not in the FX loop. the afterburner pushes my Randall SS from pretty good distortion to crushing, so i can't complain.

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afterburner is WAY more tame than the pa2. You can tell because the pa2 is 20$, and the afterburner is what... around 50? 60?.
Differences i know:
PA2, the gain pot is on the inside and must be changed with a screwdriver... its balls
SUPER FUCKIN NOISY
up to 20dB of gain

AB, it is a pot that you can control on the surface of the guitar
alot quiter
also up to 20dB of gain

AB is the better choice.

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thanks for explaining. i always run my afterburner full-on, so i don't even take advantage of being able to roll back the boost. but i'm still wondering how they could sound different if the only difference is in how they are controlled.

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different components... and its quite possible that my wiring is bad... but still. The AB is way better, i've tried both.

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Btw those Seymour Duncan pickup booster pedals are worth checking out too. Extremely transparent, they just add gain to your guitars output and make your pickups sound hotter than they are, without sacrificing their original sound. So it's like an OD pedal but less dirty, it doesn't alter your amp's character just gives it a strong kick in the nads.

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^^Agreed, I have the SD pickup booster circuit built into a custom 6 string bass and it is brilliant. Very clean and quiet.

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Oh it comes as an onboard guitar thingy? I was talking about the pedal, awesome!

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