Although out of production and currently replaced by the decibel + of the same house, the Talent Booster remains a pedal still sought after today for its linear and transparent circuit combined with the very complete equipment that allows it to be fully exploited.
Aesthetic Considerations
Poor, our stompbox comes in a yellow chassis with only the writing of the manufacturer and the names of the controls, no particular design or graphics, it looks like this, naked and raw.
In the two versions that have been produced, the first has only the writing of the controls, while the second has a small graphic layette formed by a small square with the writing of the control inside which makes it slightly more elegant to see, but nothing that make the miracle scream.
Technical Considerations
Il Talent Boosters in addition to the classic control of the volume common to all boosters on the market is also a control of Gain and a switch that allows you to control the presence.
The Gain control was created to make the Talent Booster more functional based on pick up which are used, increasing the dynamic range and giving an extra hint of color to the sound during solos.
The power supply is the classic standard Boss a 9 volts with central negative, the total consumption does not reach 15 mah, it can be powered even by the worst power supply on earth.
Finally, the icing on the cake of the equipment is given by the presence switch, which functions as a control of equalization, remaining flat in the central position, if moved to the left, the high frequencies are emphasized making it become in effect a treble booster, while for the right part the mid frequencies are emphasized making it much easier to pierce the mix within a group.
Sound Considerations
The different uses of this type of pedals are well known to all, those who use it to distort one valve head or who uses it to have an exit for the solos after building a sound for rhythms or even solos with a clean sound.
The Talent Booster has above all the peculiarity of being a lot transparent and does not tend to color the sound with increasing output, this has made it very useful for some clean solos to be performed on slower pieces where the character of the instrument must not be distorted or distorted during this phase, with the go into set to a and the presence in the flat as a clean booster does a great job.
In this case the pedal setting was:
Gains → 0
Presence→Flat
Volume → 7
Instead, used for more rock solos, the pedal was paired with a pair of overdrives put in series, a Ibanez TS9 35th Anniversary and a Masotti Oh Box.
The chain was as follows: Instrument → Ibanez → Masotti → Wrampler → Amplifier
The use of both drive it allowed me to have a nice full and defined distortion sound old school, using the Ts9 to give gain to the Masotti set in what I called “Marshall” mode given by its shape control which is very reminiscent of those sounds.
The tests were carried out with a Vigier Excalibur with pick ups Di Marzio bridge crunchlab and one Stratocaster Jap of 93 with pick up Fletcher Landau , obviously the booster setting must be adjusted according to the pick up used. I had to decrease the pedal output when I had to use it with the Vigier as it obviously has a lot more volume.
Different settings have been tried with different settings of the gain and of the pedal output, giving gain the sound acquires much more thickness and much more fat than using only the volume control for the rocker is the most appropriate choice, all this without still add the presence check which depends a lot on the tool used. On the Strat it makes it less bright when set with a slight boost on the mids while on the Vigier the presence setting has remained permanently on flat.
With the Stratocaster the setting was as follows:
Gains → 5
Presence → Right
Volume → 6
With the Vigier instead:
Gains → 4
Presence→Flat
Volume → 5
There are many uses and nuances that can be obtained, especially when compared to those of other pedals that have only the volume control, perhaps one of the pedals with the best equipment as well as a respectable sound that does not distort the instrument and never has strokes. with neither of the two controls empty, you feel the gain or volume progressively increase as you turn the knob and without peaks in value from one moment to the next.
Economic Considerations
180 euros the price of the new pedal, when it is still around, about a hundred instead as a used shop, is an important price that is justified for the sound quality and the equipment compared to other opponents in the sector, given that for the its used price you can buy the maximum Micro Amps new.
Final considerations
PRO
• Great sound performance
• Equipment and controls
AGAINST
• Design too banal
• Slightly high selling price
the next
Nowadays the Talent Booster is still a valued pedal, even though it went out of production and was substituted with decibel + by the same firm. It is thanks to its transparent and linear circuit and complete (sound) equipment that it is possible to use it to its fullest.
Aesthetic features
Its aesthetic features are quite poor. The color of the pedal is yellow chassis, which highlights only the names of its firm and controls. It has not a sophisticated design, but a stark shape.
In the two produced versions, the first one shows only the named controls, whereas the second one has a square shaped form, in which the name are placed, thus making the booster slightly more elegant.
Technical descriptions
Besides the classical volume control, which is common to every booster on the market, the Talent Booster shows gain pots and a switch that allows the control of presence.
The “gain” pots is born to make the Talent Booster more functional, by relying on which pickups are used, thus increasing the dynamic range and making the sound more colorful during the solos.
The power source is a classic Boss standard 9 volts with central negative. The total consumption does not go over 15 mah, this means that it can be supplied even by the worst power supply on earth.
The icing on the cake is the switch of presence, it works as control of equalization, lingering flat in central position.
If it is rotated to the left, the high frequencies will be emphasized, thus becoming a true treble booster. Instead, by rotating it to the right, medium frequencies will be emphasized, making it easier to cut through the mix.
Sound
These pedals can be utilized in different ways. They are used for sending in saturation to a tube amplifier and for the solo volume after building up a clean or rhythmic sound. The Talent Booster gives a clear sound and has not the tendency to add frequencies by intensifying the volume. This made it very useful to perform it in clean solos played on ballads, on which the original instrument sound should not be overturned at this point. Furthermore, it works perfectly with “gain” at 1 and presence in flat position. On this occasion, the pedal settings were:
-
gain 0
-
Presence Flat
-
Volume: 7
When used for rock solos, the pedal is combined with a pair of overdrive pedals, which was put in series: a Ibanez TS9 35th Anniversary and a Masotti Od Box.
The sound chain was: Ibanez instrument Masotti Wrampler amplifier
The use of both drives allows to have a beautiful, defined and full distorted old school sound. The application of Ts9 gives “gain” to the Masotti, that is set on “Marshall” mode thanks to its shape settings, which remind those kind of sounds.
The rehearsal was done with a Vigier Excalibur, a Di Marzio CrunchLab bridge pickup and a Stratocaster made in Japan in 1993 with a Suhr Fletcher Landau pickup.
Obviously, the booster settings were based on the pickups used; so it is needed to lower the pedal output when playing with a Vigier, since its volume is very high.
Various settings were tried with different adjustments of gain and output pedal. By giving “gain”, the sound acquires much more thickness and body than just volume control. Many rockers make this choice, if the adding of volume presence is excluded, which depends on the instrument used.
The sound is less sharp on the Stratocaster, if it is set on a light mid booster, while the presence settings with a Vigier are on flat mode.
Here are the following settings of the Stratocaster:
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Gain 5
-
Presence Right
-
Volume 6
Here are the following settings with the Vigier:
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Gain 4
-
Presence Flat
-
Volume 5
Compared to the other pedals, which are equipped only with the volume control, the new ones can be used to create different shades of sounds.
Besides the beautiful sound produced, the pedal is endowed with the best equipment and does not present any faults in shape of “gain” and volume control. By turning it on it can be felt the increasing of “gain” and volume without peaks.
Price
The former price is 180 Euros, but if already used, it would be worth around 100 euros. Furthermore, with the remaining 80 euros, a new mxr Micro Amps can be bought, if needed.
It is important to underline that its economical worth is due to its good quality sound and great equipment, which makes it better compared to other ones.
Choices
Advantages
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Great sound
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Great equipment and controls
Disadvantages
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Oversimplified design
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high price
Antonio Cangiano
Translation (ITA-ENG) By Alba Ciliberti ->For Contact
