Need volume boost for solos
 

I have a K &k pickup in my Martin and use a K &K Pure xlr pre-amp. I play in a bluegrass/Americana band. Sounds good but I need a volume boost for soloing. I’m not knowledgeable on impedance matching and pedal chain placement. Would like advice on how to achieve the boost with something that will be compatible with my pu and pre-amp, retain natural K & K tone, and not cause feedback. Thanks.

I'm not sure whether this is overkill but it is one solution. I've run my mandolin equipped with K & K pickup through my Platinum Pro preamp and used the boost switch on that for solos. This preamp likely has more 'bells and whistles' than you need so a simple boost pedal might be a better fit. I'll defer to the AGF members with more knowledge of this than me and know they'll be helpful for you.

You'll probably get a variety of suggestions for this reflecting folks' personal experience. My own proposal is usually a Boss GE-7 EQ pedal which is rugged, versatile, quiet and isn't too sore on batteries.

With an EQ you don't just boost level, you boost or cut the aspect of the sound most useful for the context.

TC Electronics Spark Mini or Spark Boost.

Extremely clean gain and a little EQ in the Boost.

I got a Fishman Platinum Pro a while back, and sold my K&K Pure XLR. The advantages of the Fishman are the variable boost, sweepable mid range, built in tuner, compression, notch filter, and mute switch. (On the negative side, it can't run on phantom power.)

Basically I wanted more control and capability in a live situation. If you get one, you might find it brings you other benefits in addition to the boost.

Many pres have a "boost" button feature, but you can also simply add a passive volume pedal that has preset points for minimum and maximum volume.

Try the MXR Micro Amp Plus. it is as clean as a whistle. They took an old design and completely re-engineered it. Clean, clean, clean.

Bob

Fender Smolder. Most boost pedals boost the low frequencies, causing feedback and also have too bright and piercing tone. The smolder let’s you dial back the feedback and adjust the tone to your liking.

The fire eye red eye is perfect for your needs. I forgot about mine in my drawer!

I have two k&k equipped guitars… a Gibson J45-TV and An Epi Bird. The boost in the Fire Eye is great. I don’t get the colorful solos that sound almost electric, like my partner with his many pedals… but I get the boost for my simple solos that I need just fine.

Regarding feedback, I always use a soundhole plug with these guitars.

I have the mini, works good, even if you just dial in a bit of boost, it fattens things up just a tad.

Thanks everyone. Where do you place the boost pedal? Between the guitar and the pre-amp or between the pre-amp and the mixer?

I usually have the last thing in the chain. so the boost wont effect anything in the line, as to add too much input to things like delays, chorus pedals, and things like a tonedexter which are sensitive to input levels.

Oh, I forgot that I reviewed it, HERE.

Bob

I use an Xotic Effects RC Boost with great success. I also have a Bright-eye that works great.

I have also used a Baggs Align Session. That works well.

Thanks for all your suggestions everyone. This is what I found that finally works for me: Martin OM-28 modern deluxe equipped with K & K Pure Mini pickup into K & K Pure XLR pre-amp then into Xotic RC booster then into the pa mixer.

I think what was throwing me was struggling to use a Boss AD-10 pre-amp and also an LR Baggs Venue. They had all the bells and whistles but I had a lot of trouble with feedback. The notch filters just sucked the tone out of my guitar. Once I switched to the simple K &K pre-amp everything fell into place. There’s alot of comments about impedance mismatch with the K & K pickup paired with other brand pre-amps. I think that was my problem and now that’s resolved.

Thanks again for your help.