Solo Boost

M

Mark Bois

Member
Just wondering what people are using for a solo boost. Is anyone using a external booster? Internal boost? Is it possible to assign a switch for global boost?
 
Volume pedal ev5 with a minimum dial on the side. Adjustable on the fly on stage. Toe up is my volume, toe down fo solo. Also nice to have this control at your feet when you find yourself hard to hear because a bandmember becomes louder or you find a preset or scene to be too soft.
 
One advantage of using a Filter, GEQ or PEQ block is that you can shape your lead tone in addition to adding volume boost. Furthermore you can assign different Channels of the chosen "boost block" to different Scenes (or Amp/Cab combinations) to furtner tailor your lead sounds. Please note that placing the "boost block" after amp is the best option. Extra boost in front of an already overdriven Amp will not add volume (it will just increase the amount of distortion) and in front of a clean Amp can bring it into edge of break-up territory (depending of the available headroom).

There are many threads covering this topic here on the Forum so you can search for "lead boost", "lead boost" or something similar :)

I have attached a screen shot of one of my "kitchen sink" presets and the Filter block is my lead/volume boost. I have an FM9, but you can do exatly the same on an FM3 (or any Fractal product)
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Null filter for me, as well. The dB range changes with the preset, each of 3 channels varied to match volumes across 3 solo scenes (I don’t use just one solo setting). The 4th channel is used to boost the rhythm scenes, if I just want a lift over the same sound.
 
My boost levels are in the 3 - 5 db range and as already mentioned here it depends on a number of factors so it is definately not a "one size fits all" thing. But with the extreme flexibility of the Fractal products it is easy to find a suitable solo boost for any given scenario. In general my boost level on clean sounds are a bit higher than on my dirty sounds.
 
All of the options discussed here will give you a boost. And honestly, there is not a "wrong" method to do this. It really comes down to what sounds best to your ears.
Leon Todd has a few videos on YouTube about adding a solo boost. There are others out there as well, but I find that Leon's videos are more in line with what I'm trying to accomplish.
 
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I use scene output levels 90% of the time. If I don't know the band or set too well, then I have some patches where I have assigned a pedal to be CS for the filter and boost 3db or so, that way. That allows me to just use a basic tone and lift from it, rather than my usual flowery delays and gain type things.
 
I loved reading this thread and the many different approaches. I'm using my FM3 in 4CM with a Mesa Mark V 90w, which has a Solo Boost control. I have a button on my midi controller assigned to that. However, I have other rigs that I use that don't have a solo boost. For those I just use a filter block toward the end of the chain (which always goes into my amp's FX return).
 
Null filter and you have to name the button this or it doesn't work right.


IMG_4518.jpeg

I usually have the filter block setup so it's:

  • Channel 1: +4 dB
  • Channel 2: +6 dB
  • Channel 3: +8 dB
  • Channel 4: ANDY STOP FIGHTING ME FOR VOLUME +10 dB

And then long press on MOAR! +1s the channel with wrapping turned on.
 
I used to set up a VolPan, or a null filter to give me a volume jump, or build it into a "Lead" scene, but I prefer using my amp block as a single-channel amp and control the volume from the guitar. Eventually I realized I wasn't using the block and decided I didn't need to worry about adding something specific. Turning up the guitar automatically gives me the boost as the amp changes from clean to crunch to lead. I'm old school that way.
 
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