The Boogie Board

Big +1

And here lies a new realm of creativity. Why squelch it? Why belittle it? I guess if you don't understand it or perhaps it threatens your Boogie philosophy. But once you spend a metric ass-load of time with your amp, you realize there's more to it than what's at face value. A whole new dimension of options that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Is it heresy? Blasphemy? Only with a closed mind. But to each their own.

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I don't think you intend for this to sound so obtuse, but players like Andy Timmons might question that statement. And until you've tried it, don't knock it.

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'89 Mk III Combo - green stripe
Simul w/ EL-34s | EQ | Rev | EV12L

(2) Boogie 2x12 Half-back Cabs

Just to set the record straight. That statement about "using them on the amps overdriven channel" is not my quote.

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Marshall JVM210h / PRS 2x12 cab
Fender: US Strat, Performer; Gibson: LP Std, LP Trad Pro, Classic; PRS Cust24, Ibanez: FP77, JPM100 P1, FR1620, RT452, RG470, RG752

Sorry. Fixed it.

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'89 Mk III Combo - green stripe
Simul w/ EL-34s | EQ | Rev | EV12L

(2) Boogie 2x12 Half-back Cabs

I used to use them but back then all I had was my 67' bandmaster.
Since I got my 50watt Soldano, no pedals.
Since I got my mark V no pedals. OK ,ok I lied. I need my RMC wah ,tuner and delay for spacey out there sh!t. Kinda how Tim Rynolds used his.

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DC3
MARKV Head
Soldano HR50
68' Bandmaster
Marshall cabs 2x12

This conversation is being had on the Boogie forum. Presumably the majority of the visitors here know well the merits of the cascading preamp, not the least of which is the insane amounts of useable gain on tap in these amps. It was, after all, why people like James Hetfield chose the IIC+ in the first place. It stands to reason that Boogie amps don't "require" a boost for extra gain exclusively.

Boosts and pedals in general are just one more tool in your signal chain...which always starts with your brain. Boosting an already dirty amp over the top is not exactly flavor of the week. Yes, today's amps have plenty of gain on tap, but you will find a different texture by rolling off the gain on the amp and boosting up front. A good boost can be transparent enough that you are literally just driving the input stage into earlier distortion. The amps circuit and tubes still assert the vast majority of the color of the tone.

Meat and potatoes, straight into the single channel amp works great if you're playing classic rock or something rootsy. Not so much for many contemporary styles. You can't ride the volume control for big glassy cleans straight in to punishing high gain and expect the results to compete with a proper multi channel amp set for each sound. A boost automatically doubles the available gain levels for each channel of the amp. Boost cleans for "Edge" style tones, set your crunch like AC/DC and add the boost in for leads, set your lead tone for bottom-heavy chunky rhythms and boost for leads or to tighten things up for a particularly fast song or part.

I don't use OD/boosts on my Mark III green for the same reason I don't bother tube rolling in it - it just doesn't make that much of a difference, and no difference that you'll hear in a mix. Marks gonna Mark. Part of this is because my main axe is an old Yamaha SG1500, which has very bright, relatively low-output stock pickups. Marks, like most Mesas up until 2005 or so, tend to take treble as gain. So the tone knob on the guitar really does act like a variable boost - because it's so hard to make a Mark muddy (uness you, y'know, turn the Bass knob past 2) almost the entire range of the guitar's tone pot is usable. I usually run my tone knob around 7 and then turning it up to 10 really does give a serious "solo boost" effect.

Plus, I mean, the thing has a 5-band GEQ on it... there's such a thing as option paralysis lol.

I'll use a TS-808 as a clean boost on my RA100's blue channel when I'm using my Yamaha, because otherwise it's just too bright and thin. This also lets me get the blue channel into 80s thrash territory without the red channel being a mess. It isn't a must-have accessory for the RA, but it does get you closer to a 3-channel amp instead of "there's three channels but you have to pick two, and one of them has to be green."

If you like heavy, and you have never boosted a Recto's Channel 3 Vintage mode running EL34s, you haven't lived. I think boost pedals are a must-have accessory for Rectos because it'll still do all of the awesome Recto things but the boost will let you tighten and focus the tone when you need to.

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Royal Atlantic RA-100 Head
MkIII Green Stripe DRG
Rectifier 4x12 Slant
Marshall JCM800
Roland JC-77 Jazz Chorus
Also owned: Rec Pre, 20/20, Bottle Rocket, MkIII Purple Stripe DRG