Berry boost

I guess I'm in the mood for another booster unit, this time it's the Raspberry Booster by One Control. Dimensions-wise, it's definitely in the mini pedal league without being feeble in terms of weight & construction. I love the fact that the pedal in question features both level (Master) & gain control. These are the details that add to drive differently in terms of definition but keep in mind that it's a booster unit. Any high expectations in terms of drive responses should be kept in check. That Z knob is simply a presence control & affects your tone quite markedly if you're the type who keeps varying your guitar's volume control every now & then. For high gain dweebs like me, it adds hair to tone, simply put, you'd hear a touch more top end in the mix. 

Mission boosting

At a single glance, this qualifies as a wah pedal. At best, it might be a volume pedal as well. Be informed that this pedal here, Mission Engineering's V-Boost, is a booster unit in a rocker-type concept. I think this is a neat idea especially for players who, after stomping on their boost pedals, realized there's too much/little gain & bending down for some adjustments is a no during performances. So varying one's boost output wah-style is the way to go.

Boost kick

 I'm still refining my distortion (when I'm utilizing pedals) via the booster route, I'm trying to keep the distortion voicing in tact while giving it some catalyst to sound meaner. I got the Jet City Hi-Gain Boost a few days ago from Davis GMC (List: $95) & the label clearly stated the pedal's intent. As a stand alone pedal, the HGB should not be depended on for a refined distortion sound, it's he wrong one for such an application. It should be stacked with one of your main overdrive/distortion units or your amp's dirty channel for that matter. The HGB isn't one to give polite responses as implied by it's label, some of us would find the gain kick a little too sizzling for slight refinements.

With my BOSS Power Stack, the pedal did better as a pre-distortion boost. Once I changed the order, for the HGB to appear post-distortion, the Power Stack's voicing was drowned by the HGB. Through my Laney Iron Heart, the HGB does well as a pre-preamp function (ie: guitar-pedal-amp) AND through the FX loop. The FX loop option was of course more rewarding, letting the HGB add to the distortion fray post-preamp.

How is this pedal different from any other booster unit out there? It adds to gain in addition to merely a volume boost which doesn't make it a better pedal but a different option depending on your intentions.