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Hi everyone, i've always wanted to review this pedal, here it is finally... all enquieries welcome 8)
Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster (SGD $156.00 after tax)
The Duncan PB is a nifty little pedal conceived to give your guitar’s pickups added gain to supplement the drive you are engaging, be it from an external source (pedals)/ your amp. It has simple controls, a push-push activation switch, a chicken head rotary control knob & a little flick switch to alter the resonance of your pickups (3 selections).
Unlike an Ibanez Tube Screamer/ Boss Blues Driver, the Duncan PB isn’t a drive-based booster. If you are looking forward to have more drive then the aforementioned 2 pedals are your best bet. This red menace has limited applications with humbucking pickups (in fact it’s unnecessary), it’s primary objective is to juice up single coil units.
Since its acquisition, my Duncan PB is the undeniable sidekick of my Highway1 Strat. It’s the only guitar that benefits from this pedal, my other humbucking guitars are fine without such supplements. Upon activation, Position 0 on the flick switch gives an unaltered resonance boost- you simply get more of what you hear coming out from your guitar. A volume boost I might say. Position 1 drops the resonance by 2-3kHz, your single coil now emulates a P-90 voicing very convincingly, while keeping the twang in tact. Position 3 fattens up your tone, mimicking a humbucker while trimming the high end inherent from a typical single coil unit. The rotary control knob oversees how much boost you desire, the maximum on offer is 25dB. At that level with overdrive, things get very ‘hissy’.
Ups:
· An impressive signal booster.
· Sturdy construction, gig-worthy definitely.
· User-friendly.
Downs:
· Battery access is a chore- the base plate needs to be unscrewed. Bummer.
· The resonance flick switch is tiny. You have to be a barefoot yoga master to operate it with your toes. Musicians sporting footwear would find it impossible to operate with their covered feet. Can you play & flick the switch simultaneously? Of course you can, you pick with your teeth so your hands are free, right?
· Rather costly, >$150 & all it does is boost your single coils…
If you are looking for a signal boost per se, this pedal meets your needs rather well, provided you use it as a single coil supplement. I find this booster rather unsuitable even for P-90 pickups. Same goes for high output single coils, they are best left unprocessed by this pedal.
One more thing, the pedal’s red paint reacts with the plastic covering it came with. If you ever decide to own one, be sure to discard the plastic immediately. I left mine in tact & the paint job is flaking off…
Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster (SGD $156.00 after tax)
The Duncan PB is a nifty little pedal conceived to give your guitar’s pickups added gain to supplement the drive you are engaging, be it from an external source (pedals)/ your amp. It has simple controls, a push-push activation switch, a chicken head rotary control knob & a little flick switch to alter the resonance of your pickups (3 selections).
Unlike an Ibanez Tube Screamer/ Boss Blues Driver, the Duncan PB isn’t a drive-based booster. If you are looking forward to have more drive then the aforementioned 2 pedals are your best bet. This red menace has limited applications with humbucking pickups (in fact it’s unnecessary), it’s primary objective is to juice up single coil units.
Since its acquisition, my Duncan PB is the undeniable sidekick of my Highway1 Strat. It’s the only guitar that benefits from this pedal, my other humbucking guitars are fine without such supplements. Upon activation, Position 0 on the flick switch gives an unaltered resonance boost- you simply get more of what you hear coming out from your guitar. A volume boost I might say. Position 1 drops the resonance by 2-3kHz, your single coil now emulates a P-90 voicing very convincingly, while keeping the twang in tact. Position 3 fattens up your tone, mimicking a humbucker while trimming the high end inherent from a typical single coil unit. The rotary control knob oversees how much boost you desire, the maximum on offer is 25dB. At that level with overdrive, things get very ‘hissy’.
Ups:
· An impressive signal booster.
· Sturdy construction, gig-worthy definitely.
· User-friendly.
Downs:
· Battery access is a chore- the base plate needs to be unscrewed. Bummer.
· The resonance flick switch is tiny. You have to be a barefoot yoga master to operate it with your toes. Musicians sporting footwear would find it impossible to operate with their covered feet. Can you play & flick the switch simultaneously? Of course you can, you pick with your teeth so your hands are free, right?
· Rather costly, >$150 & all it does is boost your single coils…
If you are looking for a signal boost per se, this pedal meets your needs rather well, provided you use it as a single coil supplement. I find this booster rather unsuitable even for P-90 pickups. Same goes for high output single coils, they are best left unprocessed by this pedal.
One more thing, the pedal’s red paint reacts with the plastic covering it came with. If you ever decide to own one, be sure to discard the plastic immediately. I left mine in tact & the paint job is flaking off…
