I Like Big Boosts and I Cannot Lie.

Tonight I tried a new one that just came in. The Strymon Sunset. Wow. It’s pretty loaded with two stackable sides with 3 choices on each.

Germ, TS, treble booster, JFET boost and two higher gain options. Stacking two sides in to a Panama was pretty sweet as long as you manage all the gain stages. My favorite was the TS->JFET->Panama then on to a sweet new tape delay I won’t mention. I don’t want to trigger anybody.

Jokes aside, it’s very versatile and cheap when you consider how many pedals it can replace with midi presets. And it sounds really good to me. No noticeable latency or feeling disconnected. I’m surprised it isn’t lauded more frequently. Looks super sharp too. Nice color and layout. I’d like to go on and describe it more but I’m beat after playing a while after 10 hours working.
 
Update: Vox Valvenergy Tone Sculptor arrives Monday from Canada. Pew, pew!

Recent deeper dive on a few booster/pedals. I have a few observations that popped up. I repeated the testing session to see if it held true. Seems to for me. Quick note, I use the CM Panama as the primary boostie. Couple of reasons. First I’m super familiar with it and it’s an excellent pedal. Secondly it got the internal +/-12v going on so with 24 volts it’s got killer headroom. Kind of important when slamming it with boosters. So that disclaimer out, on to the obs.

Musicality.
The following not only do a good job of boosting or tweaking what hits 5he Panama, they do it very nicely in a wat that it’s clear they were made for music. Not just making something louder.

Micro Amp+
Diamond Comp/EQ
Diamond Boost EQ
Vox Valvenergy Smooth Impact Comp
All the Chellee’s

Precision
The following are very precise and add little color.

Ibanez Pentatone EQ
Strymon Sunset
Source Audio ZIO


WTF’s.
The following two are a bit different from the rest.

First, the Blackstar Dept. 10 Boost. This puppy has a 12ax7 in it and it’s definitely being fed some voltage. It gets warm! The first 7-9 or maybe 9:30 o’clock sounds pretty similar to the Micro Amp+. Maybe a bit beefier. But as you go past that. You are literally adding another tube gain stage being pushed and you can tell, feel and hear it whatever that all means. That can be good or bad depending on the application. But make no mistake, it’s almost like a preamp in its own right. Built and looks like it too.

Second, the C.A.E. Booster/Line Driver. This one is tough to describe. I would say it sounds sort of HiFi. Not because it is brittle or anything like that. But because it sounds sort of stout and pure like it has a massive transformer and isn’t even breaking a sweat when pushed hard.
It’s like a sledgehammer that can dance ballet. I assume this is the Bradshaw influence. It is like a well built tool that seems like it’s built to last forever, never fail or let you down and up for anything. It’s pretty remarkable. I was so blown away I immediately ordered a second one cause I’m weird that way. I’m returning the second one now to add the cash to my Nano Go-Fuck Me pool. But I’ll end up getting another one I’m sure.

Ok, getting late. I hope this is useful or a fun read for someone.
 
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Again! Breaking no forum rules! Fending off the mods…. Pew, pew!

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Diode-less SD-1 running at 12v into a CAE Line Driver at 18v.
The JCM800 shat its pants and couldn't take it, needless to say it didn't sound good.

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