Can a cranked boost pedal (or 2) easily damage your amp?

RumorsOFsurF · Post by **RumorsOFsurF** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:46 pm

I've been playing with my new Vibro Champ, and if I leave the volume low and turn on my LPB-1 and/or Plane Ticket cranked, I get really nice overdrive at low volume. I read somewhere that too much boost can damage the preamp section of an amplifier...How much is too much? Is this even really an issue?

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:48 pm

Well I put 3 or so boost pedals through the champ at doogfest and it blew a tube.

Not sure what actually caused that, I doubt it was the pedals but you never know.

euan · Post by **euan** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:58 pm

All more than 1 booster will do is saturate the next one in the chain. A 9V circuit cannot output more than 9V as far as I believe. If the amp can handle one on full bore it will handle all.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:30 pm

You'll saturate the preamp to the power rails at worst. A well designed amplifier should handle this.

I think you just had a bad power tube, Reece.

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:57 pm

Yeah thats what I expected.

Makes a cool story if I don't say that though.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:25 pm

It might do if you're usuing a mismatched cab with the amp. That's what happened to my Fender. I was using an eight ohm cab instead of four, and the then the saltbooster done broke the yoke.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:25 pm

It wasn't the booster. It was high volume + the impedance mismatch. If you just dimed the volume without the booster the same would have happened.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:42 pm

Never happened before. Plus, I had the amp volume set at about half when it happened (I think, I'm fairly sure it wasn't dimed).

Obviously you know more about this shit than I do, if it's not possible for the booster to blow the amp, then it's not possible, but I thought I remember reading something about a booster causing the amp to produce a different sound (obviously) and this then draws a higer voltage from the output transformer. (?)

I know very little about what I'm talking about.

Post by **dots** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:44 pm

i had the salt booster AND fat booster both dimed and plugged into my dimed pro jr a few months back. none worse for the wear, other than being a trifle deaf afterward.

RumorsOFsurF · Post by **RumorsOFsurF** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:42 pm

Thanks for the advice, guys. I've had both my LPB-1 and Plane Ticket cranked at the same time through it. Sounded pretty shit, but it sounds good with only one at a time...

I posted a demo of the new Champ on youtube....Pardon the stupid pentatonic shit. I can never think of what to play on a demo.

[youtube][/youtube]

mellowlogic · Post by **mellowlogic** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:25 am

nice demo. Sounds like a great little amp

aen · Post by **aen** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 2:59 am

I ran seven plane tickets in a row for the vocals on "Come to Mezzio"