Best Guitar Clean Boost Pedal (2024 Update)

I was looking for a boost pedal to drive an old Gibson GA-25 with a Strat. The Archer sounds above and beyond. It has plenty of volume to drive the amp and setting the gain between 10 and 2 and rolling off the treble smooths out the crunch while still maintaining it character. Used it with a Plexi 100 and a Twin Reverb as well as a Rickenbacker, Tele, and Les Paul with the same result. The Archer sounds fantastic and each amp and guitar sounds like that amp or guitar. Worked the same on other pedals. Used it to drive an OCD and it the perfect bump without having to use an amp with complicated switching. No noise from the pedal while toggling on or off. Treble knob is super useful to smooth out or add clarity. It was really easy to dial it in and there's a pretty wide sweet spot. It's super responsive to picking and fingering. I kinda want to buy another to have an Archer drive an Archer. Would that be weird?Nickname

The pedal is small and therefore pedalboard-friendly but is still built like a tank. The knobs and switch feel totally quality stuff, the chassis is rock-solid and good looking. This pedal can be used, just like a Klon Centaur, as a clean boost up to a mild unique sounding overdrive. It gives you plenty of volume and headroom (you generally have to keep the volume knob close to zero if you want to match the bypass volume) and the Gain control is very accurate and allows you to shape your tone just as you desire. It is a great blues or rock pedal and gives its best if put on top of a tube amp that's almost breaking up but you can still use it, as a regular drive pedal, in front of a clean amp and it's guaranteed to sound better than most of the amplifiers' internal gain stages. Not a cheap pedal, in line with its main competitors, but definitely worth the price. If you want a Klon-like quality pedal that really gives you the Klon feeling without destroying your wallet, the Archer is a perfect choice.reptile_breath

I used heavy fuzzes for many years, I decided a few years ago to switch to something different. Been switching between the germanium ocd and the Xotic BB preamp last few years. The Archer does what I was looking for. Sounds great with my guitar volume slightly turned down. I've never used one of those real klons. But I now can understand why everyone likes em. Put a good compression pedal in front of it and it will almost sing.Duane

Does exactly what it says on the box… Clean Boost with plenty of EQ variations.. Gets good and gritty when you turn up the Gain … Happy.756roe

Robert Keeley, a legend in the pedal world and such a fantastic guy. I own a number of his pedals going right back to when he was modding other brands many years ago and never had a problem with a single one of them. I'm confident that Robert would be there to fix anything if I did have a problem. The Katana was the first Keeley branded design and sounds as good as it ever did. It's capable of a pure clean boost that does not colour your tone one bit, right up to pushing into overdrive territory. The Mini Katana has internal dip switches giving more options and pushing the boost even further than the standard settings. Can be used to drive other pedals, push your amp, clean boost or give your entire pedal board a boost. It's there when you simply need more!Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

One of the best clean boosts i have tried. Pairs well with almost any amp I've paired it with. Small footprint is one of the best things compared to the quality of this little guy. Take the plate off and there are some switches. Allows you to add a little grit to the boost. Try one for yourself you'll love it and you wont beat it for the price.MoneyMakinMitch

The king of tone! I don't use this to increase my volume but to fatten it up at the same output volume. Gives it more life! Also it has 2 trim pots inside for overdrive gain and treble cut off. I was debating between the mini and the original and glad I went with this. It has all the same features in a more compact and affordable price.Ammin

Does exactly what it says on the box… Clean Boost with plenty of EQ variations.. Gets good and gritty when you turn up the Gain … Happy.756roe

Love it. Awesome for taking a mid gain channel into high gain without changing the eq like some overdrives do. Granted, sometimes that eq shift is perfect for your set up, but for straight clean Boost mojo, this thing is great. Any extra distortion comes from the amp being pushed and not the pedal itself. Like it better than the EP booster, which is cool and adds some life, but added a graininess to distorted sounds that I couldn't get past once I started to hear it. Can't imagine you could get much better. Especially considering the price.nickbdangerous

The boost facet works. The boost kinds of dirties up the clean sound, especially when the distortion pedal is on. At first, I had it before the distortion and didn't like it. Then I put after the distortion pedal and it didn't sound quite as bad. I removed it from the pedalboard and the overall sound improved. I guess that I don't really need a boost after all.randybguitar-2

I absolutely love this pedal. Its effects are not super drastic, but it adds a flavor and top end chime that makes any guitar, amp, and/or pedal sound better. Two knobs of glory!cwr919-1

I've tried everything from 20 dollar boosts to 300 dollar boosts, and this is the best ive found. It's a total tone sweetner.dwightcarr11

Does exactly what a boost pedal should do. It boosts your gain giving you a clean volume boost at the lower end and pushing your amp into overdrive at higher settings. The sound quality is superb. I love it.bigmandola

El sonido que genera este pedal es realmente grueso y clido, sube la intensidad de la seal de la guitarra generando un sonido ambiente excelente!pcifuentesithal

Works as described. GREAT clean boost. Tight control can take out any muddy low end. EQ is great, especially that you can bypass it if you like. Love Friedman products!Pete

The Buxom Boost is a tool that can offer a nice clean boost or use as an EQ to fine tune your tone. Build quality is excellent and the controls are well thought out. If you’re already happy with your tone but just need a little more consider this. AMS always ships quickly and has flexible payment options.SlowhandBlues70

Does what it should. Straight up boost or flip toggle switch and have boost with 3 band eq. Plenty of head room. Quiet pedal, compact. Can run on 9volts or 18volts for more headroom.1shot1beer

This is a great tube distortion but not a stand alone preamp. If you want great direct recording sound I'd look elsewhere (like AMT), but if you want to run this thing in front of the clean channel of your amp this thing is a winner. It really does sound great with true tube responsiveness. Contrary to some other review here, the tube does get really warm as it runs on high voltage. Seems to be built really solidly but is also big and bulky. It also needs to be plugged in via the included cable. I wanted an all in one guitar preamp for direct recording and this unit didn't workout for me. It is a distortion pedal. That doesn't mean that it isn't a great product. The emulated output is decent I guess but nothing that would pass in any REAL recording studio. Great for scratch tracking in a project studio and the responsiveness is inspiring. I sold it to a friend after a week of ownership and he thinks its the greatest thing in the world. He is running in front of an amp 🙂 All in all this is a great tube distortion when running through a clean channel on an amp. I don't have an effects loop so I can't comment on that. I have a 50W Phaez Daisycutter, yum!Mickman

I want to first start out by saying that the tone coming from this pedal is just incredible. I gave it about 5 minutes to warm itself up, and when I strummed my very first chord on the clean channel, I was blown away. The tone was warm, rich, and thick all the way up to maximum gain, and each note was articulate and clear. I was also very impressed with all the features. Both channels have seperate gain and volume controls, with bass, mid, and treble control. One of the cool features on this pedal is the ISF knob. It allows you to change your tone from a woody, British sounding distortion, to a crushing American grit, or anything in between. The only complaints that I have about this pedal, are it's lack of gain, and noisiness. I already have a nice overdrive pedal (VOX Ice 9 OD), and really just wanted the clean and crunch settings on this unit to use as a tube preamp. I was much more concerned with the high-gain distortion side of this pedal. I must say, that while this unit delivers incredible tone, the gain just doesn't do anything for me. In all honesty, it doesn't have any more gain than my overdrive pedal. The second problem, as I mentioned, is the noise coming from this thing. This thing is pretty noisy on it's own, but when you chain it to other distortion effects simultaniously, the noise and feedback is RIDICULOUS. This thing really needs an internal noise gate. Overall, this pedal is amazing. Just not really my style.Rush_Fan_Guy

I bought this pedal for home use, as I have an Engl Powerball for playing live. I wanted a tube pedal so I could work on the consistency of my playing, since solid state pedals cover too much. This Blackstar pedal works great in that respect. It actually has a little less gain than my Engl (especially at low volumes) so it's even less forgiving for my playing. But the tone is nice and you can get a good amount of variation in gain levels and style. (Doesn't sound like a Powerball, but definitely works for metal) What is unfortunate, is that from early on in owning this pedal the switches and knobs have been inconsistent and failed on and off (as has been said in other reviews). Luckily I don't use it for playing live, or I would have smashed it by now. Really, for a fairly high-priced pedal, I would expect higher quality components. This pedal is unreliable, and luckily all I need it for is sitting in my living room playing around. It's too bad, because if it was reliable, I'm sure it would make a fantastic preamp for a one-channel tube amp, or a great overdrive/lead tone for live situations. If I trusted Blackstar I might even consider the new Heavy Metal Tube pedal they introduced, but after this one's issues, I'm just gonna try another brand when I'm ready to replace it.davefoxtattoos

I use this pedal for solo boost, 3 band eq is nice. There is much more going on with this pedal. I keep tinkering with it on its own to push my tube amps. Get this pedal if you aren't cutting through the band during your solos. Find your rhythm sound and then when it comes solo time, stomp on the tank and you will cut right through! I'm looking at other Fender pedals as well I think they are the under dog hidden gem of pedals out there. My advise get it!! If u don't like it, you will easily find someone who does!!Greg R

I didn’t feel like my amps were doing my guitars justice – this pedal is a game changer for rescuing your tone. Absolute must-haveBen D.

I used to think that boost pedals were dumb and that I would never use one. But after watching dozens of videos and seeing several big name endorsements, I thought that the Spark might be for real, and it is now EASILY my favorite pedal. Simply put, it just makes your tone better, no matter what kind of guitar or pickups you run through it. The sound quality and versatility are the best features. It gives you a great boost, but it's extremely amp-like, in the same way that clean channels on good tube amps break up if you crank the gain. And the little toggle switch gives you three different "clean channels" with which to work. The middle position has the most clean headroom and is the classic boost, but still breaks up a little if you max the gain. The Mid and Fat sounds add beef to your tone in fantastic ways, and I use those most often. Do you think that single-coils and/or jazz box guitars sound thin compared to solidbodies with humbuckers, like me? The Mid and Fat settings will fix that for ya. I love my Strats and my jazz guitars so much more now. Turn up the gain and the Mid and Fat settings will give you a great overdrive too. The best part about cranking the gain on the Spark is how well it makes your sound hit tube amps. It gives you glorious saturation at any volume level. This is the perfect pedal to put first in your drive section. Your other drive pedals will greatly benefit as well. Worried about tone? This is the most transparent pedal I've ever used, even more so than TC's other drive pedals (which I also love). The two EQ controls are fantastic and give the pedal a huge advantage over nearly every other boost pedal. Whether fully down or cranked, you get usable sounds in great frequency ranges. Simply put, this is the best pedal I've ever heard. Having volume AND gain, plus two great EQ controls, plus THREE voices to choose from puts this pedal above every other boost on the market. Seriously, just buy it already.T. Slice

Another drive/boost pedal. The ability to switch between fat/clean/mid modes is a nice feature. Separate bass and treble is handy too to sculpt the tone. Only 4 stars though because the foot switch is terrible. Why can’t TC put the same switch as they do in the polytune?Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Took a bit of a flyer on this as I sort of have an end result in my head and im not entirely sure how to get there. i have a hybrid amp that has a touch of valve harmonics that im trying to exagerate. this is a step in the right direction (and with some fiddling might even be the thing) i think what i was expecting was more like a compressor, but this is more or a transparent drive type effect (at least with my amp). however it is first drive pedal that ive loved without faffing about with the dials for hours. am getting nice bluesy /seventies blues rock tones using the clean setting on the toggle, and the gain about midway. the fat setting starts pushing into proper overdriven sounds, but with a nice natural tone. so despite not being exactly what i was looking for (my fault) im really pleased with this pedal. so much so i might gift one to my kid. theres a tiny bit of noise when the level knob goes up high, but i get much the same from my SD1 so either its just the nature of the beast, or my set upReviewed by guitarguitar custome

Super pedal …. has alot of character, and very flexible for complementing one's setup. If this circuit is indeed the closest yet to a true Klon, then I now see what all the hoopla has been about …. though I would never have even considered going after one of those ridiculously priced after-market Klon's. But with a price under $200, this is definitely a good deal. I would recommend this pedal for any player who wants a top-drawer clean boost, and the extended flexibility of merging in various levels of tasty overdrive. Also, the Ikon works very well with other pedals in one's chain, both before & after the Ikon. Rgds.abradfordajb

This is the most versatile overdrive I have ever had. Not only does the gain offer a wide – and always clear – range, the tone actually does something! Quite a lot, actually. The video on this v the silver model v an original Klon were very useful. I chose this one as it seemed a tad warmer, better suited to my mainly humbucker sound. But I would say I have found some great tones also with a Tele, Strat & Ricky, so that ‘best ever’ rating.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

This pedal is very versatile drive pedal. I could easily see 2 of these on my board. As a clean boost, it works very well and creates a very smooth creamy tone, but when the drive gets set above 10 oclock, you start to see some crunch added in. Around 12 and above, you hit some serious overdrive/distortion. This replaced a Tumnus Deluxe, which is also a great pedal, but it did pretty much what my tubescreamer did, but this pedal stands out! I've used this for Rhythm and Lead guitar with many different guitars and it works well with gain around 11am-1pm, level around 12, and treble around 12. I get lots of compliments on my tone and I'm glad I purchased this.Eric j

This pedal has 2 great uses. I originally purchased it as a great volume boost for leads, but I eventually moved over to rhythm guitar and found out its a killer tone fattener for my Marshall JCM2000. This pedal is sincerely the secret weapon of my entire electric rig. Don't hesitate to pick this up! This is a staff review from Memphis @ Store 57 in Indianapolis.Memphis

I initially purchased this pedal only for lead boost. However, I have since found that it works amazing placed before my TS808HW to beef up the tone. I set the TS drive and level at about 9-10 o'clock and the tone about 11o'clock. I set the booster about 10-11 o'clock. This gives me a great overdriven tone. It's almost like having adjustable distortion class pickups. Whether I run the TS on or off, the boost stays on. Running 18v is the best way to go for my situation. One suggestion would, if you have an effects loop, run a volume pedal at the end of the chain for a master volume control. It goes without saying, run the Boost and TS into the from of the amp.Blueszman

I love this boost pedal so much! I owned the MXR Micro Amp for a while, but I found that it colored my tone way too much (too much low end). The MC401 on the other hand doesn't color your tone at all. It provides a very precise boost that pushes your tube amp into natural overdrive. The boost is extremely articulate and produces throbbing palm muting and clear chords. If you're in the market for a boost or a buffer, I'd look no further. This pedal is affordable, sturdy, and sounds absolutely amazing!Bradley

As a number of people have said, Treble boosters are perhaps not the most exciting addition to one’s board. But now that I have one, it’s hard to imagine how I ever survived without it. The extra eq tweaking options of the Naga Viper go over and above most other treble boosters which makes it a real ‘Swiss Army knife’ of any pedalboard. It’s like an EQ, boost, and overdrive in one. It adds sparkle to anything you can throw at it. And the range control is just brilliant; allowing you to tailor your eq quickly and easily to match any combination of guitar, amp, pickups and pedals… Like a master EQ control. I bought the Naga Viper to lift a dark guitar and a richly voiced uni-vibe and it utterly transformed my tone into jubilant sparkly goodness. I have a few other ‘dark voiced’ pedals and the Naga Viper really brings them to life. I knew the Naga Viper was designed primarily for cranked Marshall’s or Vox AC-30’s… so I was slightly apprehensive about how it would work with clean single-channel amps in a home studio environment. My stereo set-up comprises a 68 Princeton Ri & Morgan SW22. I put the Naga Viper before a Jan-Ray and then into said Amps and the sound is nothing less than pure gold. I do love how it doesn’t colour the tone… it just cuts and/or boosts in all the right ways without changing the Voice of your amp(s). From an entirely personal and subjective point of view, I’m not mad about the aesthetics of the pedal; I feel the colour scheme of the graphics is a bit ‘late 80’s/early 90’s’. No crime per se, and I appreciate this is just a matter of opinion, but I reckon it might sit better on most pedalboards if it had more of a vintage look to it(?) That said, it sounds amazing & I’m really pleased with it.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

This is one of the most useful pedals Ive ever tried. It makes all my amps sound better, makes my playing feel more pro in my volume-limited living room. It really turns my guitar volume into a gain control, going from deep drive to clean without touching anything else. Makes both chords and single note lines sound better. Unbelievable!threeclan233

Have had this pedal for about 4 years and still my favorite pedal. It enhances the harmonics, colors the sound like the famous rangemaster does, and just makes everything better. One guy said somewhere it excites just the right frequencies.. it really does. I use it to boost my 65 amps London (Vox type). Boost other pedals greatly too. This is like a secret sauce. It will become essential to your tone. I have tried other treble booster pedals and nothing comes close to this great sounding pedal. I haven't tried any other Catalinbread pedals (I should) but they have all my admiration.blue_alnico

I'm glad I decided to give this pedal a try. It's extremely versatile, but did take a little bit of time to find the sound that I wanted. With this pedal, you can achieve everything from a clean boost, to a soft clipping blues drive, to full on distortion if need be as the higher gain settings straddle the line between overdrive and distortion. It can even get a bit fuzzy at times depending on your settings. For me, I'm playing through a Fender '59 Bassman ltd. set to the edge of breakup (about 5 or 6) so I use this pedal on the low gain setting to push the front end and achieve a sweet blues/classic rock sound, and when I need that extra volume/top end push for solos I have the boost function right there! Honestly, that's one of the main things that attracted me to this pedal in the first place since I couldn't decide whether to get an overdrive or a boost. The solution being one pedal that does both very well! I would definitely recommend this pedal to anyone looking for a quality dirt box as this can give you the sounds you want for almost any style of music you play. Whether it's blues, rock, country, even metal (except maybe djent), this thing can handle it!Mpifer

I absolutely love this pedal. Sounds amazing and is built like a tank. I bought this pedal for a covers gig of mainly marshall style guitar music. My amp is a Swart Atomic Space Tone Pro (6V6 tubes) and I wanted to get a mix of low gain to cranked Marshall sounds from it – it's a great amp but will not do the marshall thing by itself. I tried using a Sansamp GT2 which I had lying around but it just wasn't getting me there – far too scooped with no way near enough midrange. Seconds after plugging in the La Grange I was hearing all the sounds I'd been looking for. It blends very well with the pokey midrange of the Swart but I think would be even better through a Fender Twin. In practice I mainly used the Medium gain setting, whilst rolling back the volume on the guitar for cleaner sounds. With the the La Grange on Medium I was able to dial in the perfect gain for the earlier rock styles (AC/DC, early Aerosmith etc) but a quick switch to the high gain setting and I was in Van Halen/RATT territory. As stated in many videos online this is not a high gain monster and you can't get to JCM 900/SL territory…but that's not why you're buying this pedal. It's fat and ballsy with lots of midrange oomph. I'm sure the La Grange could get a little hotter with a boost pedal behind it – something I still need to test. This things cleans up really well with the guitar volume knob and there's a huge about of volume and gain on tap with the Boost circuit engaged, which I found great for solos and actually gives that early Angus lead sound. The eq on this pedal is quite interesting as there's no Treble, Middle or Bass. However, between the Tone, Presence and Ch. Blend controls it's super easy to dial it in. The Tone knob is super sensitive so I found only slight adjustments from 12 O'Clock were required. I haven't tried the expression pedal input but I can imagine this being very useful especially if you're playing a wide variety of styles. Personally found the Variac mode a little saggy for my taste. The Swart, when pushed already has enough sag so not required for me. The only thing I'd change on this pedal is to make the knobs a little tighter. I find that they can get knocked very easily, but as long as you know where they're supposed to be it's not an issue. Hope this helps other people thinking about purchasing this pedal.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

This is a great pedal, worth the money. I found it works best with a great clean amp – think Marshall non-master volume, Fender twin etc. Set up your amp with a great clean/rhythm sound. Then dial in the LaGrange for all your dirty work. IF you really spend some time dialing it in, you can get even more versatility out of it by reaching down and flipping some of the switches on the fly, or for whatever song might be coming up next in your set. It's responsive to guitar volume changes, just like a good Plexi. The clean boost switch is super welcome, too. Variac setting seems to work best with single coil guitars. Over-all, it's like adding another great channel to single channel amps. Would probably work great with power block type amps that mount to your pedal board.PrestoStark

At first I tried to toss it into a daisy chain with my hi-gain distortion, compressor, and wah pedal. I was dismayed to discover that in this configuration, it made an excellent AM radio. There was a whining, squealy, ghostly tone accompanying the voice of someone reading the weather report. Activating the pedal made this impromptu sampling jump in volume. A few internet searches later, I re-hooked the pedals up to my actual power brick, and the problem disappeared. Great boost, nice crunch into mid-level distortion, and I like the subtle yet noticeable difference between the normal/fat settings. It's a lovely middle ground for a blues voice, and can dial up into some more bitey and chewy rockabilly tones. It taught me the valuable lesson of avoiding cheap, flimsy power sources.Matthias

Monoprice again did not disappoint! I have purchased many items from them and every single item has been of superior quality. My first purchase was their Indio guitar, at the time it was $99 dollars. I changed the strings, lowered the action, and eventually changed the pickups to Alnico 5. This is without a doubt the most playable guitar I own, even slightly better than my Epi Les Paul Standard. Now to this pedal. At this price, just like the guitar, I could not believe the quality. It does what it is supposed to do and does it very well. And their cables are exceptional also. So double thumbs up to Monoprice. They have a dedicated customer in me.Jerry

As other reviews have stated, this is more of a distortion pedal than an overdrive. There are definitely some usable tones to be had but using this as a main overdrive/gain/distortion pedal would not be the best use for it. I placed it after my overdrive (Fulltone OCD) and set it to lift the overdrive into a more spiky distortion. It's definitely a pedal that yields it's best results by investing time in the placement order in your pedalboard. It's not one of those plug & play miracle pedals. You need to coax tones out of it, but at a sale price of under $30, that journey is worth taking…New User

I like this pedal a lot because I bought it so I hope it’s great. It arrives tomorrow and if nothing else, it will be the most beautiful and expensive table trinket I own. 5 starzes.John Tierney

I've used Echoplex & other tape based delay units and always preferred the EP3 Echoplex mainly because of how it added a nice punch and sparkle to my tone. This pedal has that kind of vibe.mefair

I find both the clean boost and buffer have become as essential to my rig as my Zuul NG is. Really handles its tasks like a champ. Been chewing on the idea of buying a second one for front and back end buffering.Peter