Monday 15 April 2013

BBE Boosta Grande

I got an original unit some time ago and it is fairly nice clean booster. Apparently the new version is built in a smaller box, while the circuit remains the same.

Info from the manufacturer:

The Boosta Grande, a Guitar Player Editor’s Pick, is back in a new compact chassis to conserve space on your pedal board.

A clean boost pedal does nothing but pile on gain, right? Well, some do, but that doesn’t create the experience players want. You see, added gain will push the amp’s front end tubes harder, creating more of the amp’s own harmonics, but that alone will make the amp seem too bright, sacrificing the tonal balance in the process.

You see, we call Boosta Grande a “transparent clean boost” because it doesn’t change the tonal balance of the amp, even with Boosta’s max gain of +20dB slamming those tubes. To achieve a transparent boost experience, Boosta Grande mildly rolls off some top end starting at about 1kHz so that when the amp’s front end is driven harder with gain, the additional upper harmonics generated by the tubes aren’t excessive.

Boosta Grande’s mission to preserve amp amp’s tonal balance ends with careful post-EQ, but it starts with preserving the tone of your guitar. Boosta Grande’s 1meg Ohm input is about the same as the front end of a good Marshall or other premium tube amp, welcoming your guitar’s signal with wide-open arms, not loading down your pickups. In the middle of things, you can count on Boosta’s 1% metal-film resistors for consistent tone and a rugged circuit board for tour-proven reliability. When the Boosta isn’t engaged, a properly engineered true hardwire bypass means signal passes entirely around the circuit, from input jack to output jack without a hint of loading.

When a transparent boost is the experience you’re after, get a Boosta Grande and let your amp’s tubes sing their song with more gusto.



21 comments:

  1. Just my luck, finally a low count board that doesn't use fancy components (I even miraculously have the right pot which I never do :) )and whaddyaknow... not a single tl071 or another single opamp in the parts bin!

    Bummer... don't have the time to check if any multiple-opamp chips have the right pinout, I'm way behind on my other builds. Any other drop-in substitutes?

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    1. Most of the singles would be fine. All dual ones have different pinout. Most common drop-ins could be TL061, LM741, LM301, OP07...
      +m

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    2. Thanks Miro, I'll store this info for future use.

      This one will get built in about a month, when my next Tayda order arrives. :)

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    3. If you're serious about building, I suggest stocking up on ICs. There's a seller on eBay called GC Supermarket (http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/gc_supermarket/&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2754) and they've got lots of bulk ICs for insane prices. I've bought lots from them and I think Mark buys from them as well.

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    4. Me too. Just today i grabbed 50 TL072s from them as i only had ~10 left :)
      +m

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    5. Wow, their prices are really good. The shipping to the US is not too bad either

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    6. Thanks!
      As soon as I come into some money I'll be picking up a few... maybe not 50 but enough to keep me busy for a while.

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    7. OK, I take that back... those prices are ridiculous! :)
      I guess I'll be stocking up even if I'm not really serious and only build for my own amusement. This is too good to pass up.
      $3 shipped for 10pcs pt2399??? Hell yeah, even if half of them don't work! :)

      Thanks Geiri, if you stumble across more gold nuggets like this, please feel free to post! :)

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    8. I'd say this one is the best place for ICs.

      http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/may139189/&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2754 - This guy has lots of good bulk deals as well. I've bought lots from him and I think he's the quickest shipper in Asia that I've experienced. It varies though!

      Want 500 chickenheads for £123? Here ya go: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300785732024?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
      That's 24p each!

      50 MXR knobs for £13 (26p each) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110929477848?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

      100 white knobs for £30 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230622866599?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

      100 white DC jacks http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260757331324?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

      100 Boss knobs http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160593984536?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

      These are all things that I've bought and I'm happy with for the price. Sell a few pedals and stock up because this hobby is so addictive, you're going to need all of this ;)

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    9. Oh and adhesive feet: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171010558529?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

      These are great. I've been using them forever and recently bought these. The seller has them in fewer quantities as well.

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    10. Excellent! Thanks a lot for these!

      Any decent in/out jacks to be had for decent prices?

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    11. Decent is quite subjective term when it comes to jacks.. I personally threw away all my cheap taiwan/china ones and am curretly stocking up on Neutrik/Reans from banzai. When bought in bigger batches, those are about 85 euro cents a pop. Quality is good enough for decades of use. Never had an issue with those. Closed jacks from tayda may be nice alternative too..
      +m

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    12. By Reans you mean closed jacks? I'm on the fence about those, they seem to need the space that I usually don't have the luxury of in my multifx builds. :)

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    13. Nope. i mean these:
      http://www.banzaimusic.com/Neutrik-jack-open-Mono.html
      http://www.banzaimusic.com/Neutrik-jack-open-Stereo.html
      While Banzai says those are Neutrik, they are in reality Reans (Neutrik doesn't manufacture jacks like that..). Same company though. Quality is pretty much the same as with Switchcrafts, but the price is a lot better.
      +m

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  2. If only this had a Tone control...

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  3. Hey guys, I'm just gathering the stuff to try this build. As for the cap on the low right side do I really need such a big one? (1000uf)

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    1. That's what's used in the original. And it is a power filter cap, so you could omit it altogether or use 100µ or 220µ in its place.
      +m

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    2. Power filtering on all BBEs is a bit overkill. :)
      +m

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  4. Built this today .. It works great, Thanks !

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    Replies
    1. A bit late of me as usual, but Cheers Marcel! Tagged.
      +m

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  5. I make it but become distortion
    How to fix

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