xotic ep booster

[Shiny_Surface]

I found a used one for a decent price and decided to try it out.

Please excuse my ratty looking pedalboard, I plan to upgrade to a better one at some point.

This pedal add's extra depth, 3D type effect. It's very pleasant and can be tweaked a bit by using the internal DIP switches (bass boost/treble boost on/off).

This pedal sounds great into my 2203, and stacks real well with either my SD-1 or OCD giving me more than enough gain from the stock Marshall than I would ever personally need these days.

The pedal also sounds quite good through a totally clean channel, giving extra depth with hardly any additional clipping when the knob is set fully counterclockwise.

I would not recommend this pedal for modern high gain heads since it doesn't cut bass it just makes everything sound like more of a mess at least when I tried it. Unless you rolled the amp's gain down quite a bit to lower levels than it might be more useable.

It just doesn't sound that good though an amp that already has a healthy dose of compression going on already imo.

This pedal serves a very specific niche/purpose, and isn't as "all purpose" as alot of boosters on the market. It is built really well too.

 

[Meathead]

Have you tried it at the very end of you pedal chain, that's where I would use it. It's meant to be a leave on all the time enhancer. Tightens up the tone and adds something special...it's supposed to give the mojo that the pre in an Echoplex has.
Here's what the maker of the ClinchFX EP-PRE says about the Echoplex

"It fattened my tone and sounded great. At this point, I began to seriously analyze the behavior of the circuit, and found that, apart from a small amount of top and bottom cut, the circuit had a non-linear phase response. I believe that this phase response is the secret of the magic tone."

I'm picking up a ClinchFX EP-PRE tonight off of someone from Craigslist locally.

Check out this clip with a guy turning the EP Pre on and off, just using it for coloring the tone. I think it sounds cool with it engaged.
Definitely sounds like something that was in EVH's chain back in the old days.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=516588&songID=6485538

 

[steve_k]

did you pull the cover and flip the dip switches inside? one is a bass boost and the other a treble cut. i found it quite decent for boosting higher gain amps. no noise and all the usual stuff. it really sounds cool kicked in with a delay behind it ripping through a solo.

and, it isn't much bigger than a pack of gum!

steve

 

[Meathead]

did you pull the cover and flip the dip switches inside? one is a bass boost and the other a treble cut. i found it quite decent for boosting higher gain amps. no noise and all the usual stuff. it really sounds cool kicked in with a delay behind it ripping through a solo.

and, it isn't much bigger than a pack of gum!

steve

Love mine, I dig it much more than the Clinch EP-Pre.

Well damn, what was wrong with the Clinch?

 

[ttosh]

Dig my EP Pre a lot, adds that little extra something. Very 3D like.

 

[projectx102]

I love my EP Booster run at 18v.It's definitely a "leave it on" pedal for me.That said I would still like to try the Clinchfx so RVS.......dibs on the Clinch if you want to sell it!

 

[Meathead]

I love my EP Booster run at 18v.It's definitely a "leave it on" pedal for me.That said I would still like to try the Clinchfx so RVS.......dibs on the Clinch if you want to sell it!

Cool!
The ClinchFX is bigger so there is more good stuff in there. The Xotic is so small, there's no way they could fit all the good stuff in there that the ClinchFX has...and it runs on the proper 9 volts, not that silly 18 volts...and it doesn't have those silly bass and treble switches...it's already set perfectly, you can't make it better.

 

[Meathead]

The ClinchFX one I picked up last night sounds killer...does what I hoped it would do.
I tried all positions on the pedal board and I like it last in the chain, after the delay the best...just a nice 'leave on all the time' tone enhancer which pushes the front end of the amp a little harder and removes some mud while adding more clarity. It's subtle but nicely noticeable...has a great feel.

I'd like to check out the Xotic version one day as well.