Xotic EP Booster

Today’s review is on a pedal that I’ve now owned for about a year, the Xotic EP Booster. Extremely simple to use, this pedal only has one dial. So what does this pedal do exactly? Well its a pre-amp, but not just any pre-amp. This particular pre-amp is modeled after the one that would be found in an old Echoplex. Truth be told, many great guitarist like Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen would use an Echoplex, minus the echo. Why? Well it coloured the tone a bit, gave it a boost, and all around just produced an extra shimmer or sparkle if you will. Just take a close look at the features of this pedal, great !

There are many ways to use the Xotic EP Booster. One way is kick it on for solos to give your lead a little extra boost and thickness to stand out in the mix. Another way is to leave it on all the time, making your tone fatter. Other people like to stack the EP Booster with overdrive and fuzz pedals to make the sound a bit more powerful. Personally, I like to use it as a clean boost. Really there are a variety of ways to use the EP Boost, you just gotta experiment.

If you are a strat player who plays through Fender amps, you know that sometimes you would love a Marshall because of the great midrange it provides. But you are not willing to give up those glorious Fender cleans. Thats where the EP Booster comes in. Give its that Marshall style fattening, while maintaining the great cleans of the amp. If you open up the EP Booster, you’ll notice that there are two internal dip switches to customize the tone a bit. The first switch (1) is a bass boost, and the second (2) is a bright switch. I found having the bright switch on really made a Les Paul come to life. Many like the bass boost for a Strat. Also I forgot to mention, that the main dial on the EP Booster controls the intensity of the effect. Cranking that dial means more output.

Overall, I must say that I really like this pedal. I especially like its small size, making it really easy to travel with. Sometimes when I’m going to small jams, I pack this pedal right in my guitar case, so my tone stands out a bit at the jam, without the need to carry a huge pedal board

Buy it !

This little box can really add and extra dimension to your sound. It's based on the preamp from an old Echoplex unit which guitarists like Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen used as a component of their sound in the 1970s.

For just a one-knob pedal, you can use it in quite a few ways. In the first way, by setting the boost very low into a clean amp it just adds a little extra something to the sound. I can't even describe it other than it's like your sound "sparkles". It's like your clean sound but somehow enhanced with extra character.

Another way of using it into a clean amp is as a clean boost into the front of a valvle amp. By boosting the input you can overdrive the preamp and add a little smooth preamp-valve distortion to your sound. This is great for adding a little extra power you your sound for either a solo boost or for adding a few enhanced singgle string licks behind a vocal.

Another way of using it is into an already overdriven amp. You can push it over the edge by boosting the input signal and really making the amp sing to get that extra sustain.

The final way of using it is to put it into the effects loop of an amp and then boosting the overall volume of whatever sound is coming out. Wherever you put it, there is a use for it.

The thing is built like a tank and is one of those pedals that you didn't know you needed until you use it.

Pro:
- 20dB of gain is enough for everything from a subtle solo boost to pushing your tubes into full-on overdrive
- sturdy, solid construction
- miniature format lets you squeeze it onto a tight pedalboard

Con:
- The trim pots require opening it up (4 screws)
- Can be a tad bassy

The EP Booster is a great pedal in its own right. But frankly I'd look into the Super Sweet or the Super Clean instead of the EP Booster. Both of them have external trim pots for high cut, hi mid boost, low mid boost, and bass boost as well as an internal switch for the bypass (true/buffered).

Everyone knows the history of the Echoplex III Preamp and people using it without delay. Sure this is emulating the sound. But it is more then that.
Build like a tank. Small but mighty. It keeps your guitar and amp original sound but just make everything sweeter. As a boost it is a full range boost and for me it is a great for always on pedal or solo boost. It can't do the job of mid push or treble boost as it was not meant to do it. Awesome sounding pedal. Works with 18V and profits from it.
It has internal dip switches that changes it's character.
It is very small pedal but it still has place for the 9 V battery!??
Plus 20 dB is enough to be used as nice first stage in gain stacking situations no matter do you boost amp or another pedal. It's pretty neutral character (full range) works with everything.
So many good things bout this pedal. It is a classic.

Negatives? Hmm hard to find any. Well for someone it might be negative that it starts from default + 3dB or from Unisom level. So one can't make things quieter with it although I do not have use for that anyways. But if you have to have it it is not going to do it. Someone might say dip switches should be accessible from the outside but others would hate that. I find it good as it is.
Price might be mentioned by some people but actually for a boutique pedal as it is this is not expensive and if you just want a boost pedal for less money feel free. I own quite a few pedals and one of them is a TC Spark mini. It is great pedal and way cheaper. But it is not same. This one is just simply great.

The EP boost is based off of an echoplex preamp and carries that tonal enhancement to single coil pickups in particular. I use it as an always-on tone enhancer for all single coils with the gain turned all the way down, it adds depth and warmth to brittle pickups while maintaining their character. A night and day improvement. Sometimes its the simple improvements that make the most difference. You will want to play guitar more, I promise!

For humbuckers it is also a beautiful boost and tone enhancer. If you have never experienced this kind of tone then think of classic 70s rock and roll like Jimmy Page who used an echoplex into his Marshalls to add warmth to his tone.

This is a pedal that you will want to leave on a lot if you like the character of it. It is also a great boost regardless of whether you are interested in the echoplex preamp sound and will deliver loads of gain if you turn it up a notch or two. There are also dip switches inside if you want more gain or to tweak the unit.