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by Jim Button March 28, 2020 3 min read
Can't go out? No gigging allowed?
How are you supposed to scratch that guitar itch when the other half despises the volume on your amp set to anything more than 0.5 and you're just not feeling it?
Well, there are several ways to approach playing at home when low volume is a must, and you'll be glad to hear that it is possible to achieve a great sound as well as a great feeling of interaction between guitar, pedals and amp.
The most straightforward and family-friendly way of getting a good guitar sound at home is to use a digital amp. Most digital/solid-state amps these days utilise modelling technology to emulate various famous amp variants, and many also include effects such as reverb. Not only that, but you'll more than likely find a headphone jack, making a small digital amp the perfect solution for jamming at home. Look for something like a Boss Katana Air or Marshall Code 25: it's just a matter of plugging your favourite set of headphones in and getting on with it. Easy!
But what if you have a valve amp? Well if your amp has a master volume, the first step - and this may seem counterproductive - is to turn down the gain or channel volume (we know you have it cranked 😉 ) and turn up the master volume. You can balance this so it's still very quiet, but by opening up the master volume it lets the amp 'breathe' and tends to yield better results than having the channel volume up high and the master just off 0 on the dial.
Your best bet for a fire-breathing non-master volume valve amp is to either use a volume pedal in front of the amp, or hook up an attenuator. The Universal Audio Ox seems to be a very popular choice, although (as stated before) our preference is for the awesome Fryette Power Station as it can do so much more than simply attenuate the signal.
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There are other options is you're of a more practical mentality. How about constructing an isolation cabinet for your speaker? An old-school alternative to modern IR tech, it basically involves shutting your favourite speaker and mic away in a strong wooden box padded out with anything from old duvets to sound absorbing foam. Do it right and you can crank that amp and barely hear the speaker. How to build a guitar amp isolation cabinet
You could, of course, purchase a professionally made isolation cabinet, but where's the fun in that?6
Finally, you could ditch the amp altogether. If you happen to own a computer with DAW software and an audio interface, simply run your guitar straight in ('DI') or run it into a preamp pedal and then into the audio interface. Use the pedal as a replacement for your amplifier's preamp stage and use IRs in the DAW to replicate the sound of a Greenback-loaded 4x12 cabinet, or whatever is your poison.
Hopefully this has given you some ideas for getting the best guitar tone at home volumes.
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Best prices on the net, in stock and fast delivery. Would buy again. Great sounding pedal and exactly as I had hoped. This one should be on my board for a while!
Really like this pedal. Good fun and easy to use and well made. It has a really hypnotic tone and feel to it. It is very reminiscent of old tape echo units.
Really personable service with exemplary communication and swift shipping.
Had a few vibes, absolutely loving this one, check the YT demos, lovely satisfying vibe with all the swirly goodness you could hope for. Beautifully made and reasonably priced. Highly recommended - and Jim at Boost is a top guy
I came across the Formula B Fuzz Rangers via online demos on Youtube, and they all sounded so good that I had to get one. Looking online I found the Boost Guitar Pedals website via the Formula B website as a listed UK stockist. Jim was excellent and the pedal arrived when he said it would and it was perfectly packaged. I would have no hesitation in buying any other product from Boost.
As for the Fuzz Rangers, it is a great pedal. I had to work at it a touch to get the sounds I liked from it, but it seems to react really well to different guitars and different amps with adjustments to volume and tone on the guitar and different amp settings. I found it works best into a slightly cranked amp, and volume roll-off on the guitar offers a great variety of sounds from clean to classic fuzz. Thoroughly enjoying the pedal. Well done Jim, great website and a great selection of interesting brands and pedals..... Which one next????
Having used a number of univibe clones over the years this one truly nails the sound for me, it comes with some clever additions in a pedal board friendly size and is excellent value for money. If you want the true sound of the original this pedal delivers.Special thanks to boost Guitar Pedals for putting this deal together so quickly..
I'm still working my way through all the sounds, but so far I'm loving them all.
Each time I think I've got a fav sound I flip the diode switch and there's another one. Great value for a four-in-one fuzz pedal!!
Not writing a long review but this is the best vibe I’ve owned. Do yourself a favour and get one on your board
Both modes really useable. The first can get a wooly or starved/wolly sound or more nasally raw sound depending on how you dial it in.
Mode two can be more mid focused and with both switches down it's just a real nice deep, warm wall of fuzz. Great stuff.
Awesome pedal. Does everything from short slaps, to long endless delays, or echo-verb. The infinite delay feature on the button hold is interesting, though if you need a certain sound out of it like that, you have to be okay with the sound that those settings create when the infinite hold feature is off. I’m sure it will be great for recording some interesting textures, but I don’t think I’d use it live, as the infinite hold sounds glitchy and cuts off very quickly at some of the shorter, more subtle delay settings that I use. The art on the pedal is nice, and the build quality is solid. Comes with a carry bag, for some reason, but I can’t complain. A great unit by any standard, but especially good quality and features for the ticket price.
Well made and sounds exactly as advertised
Brilliant service, great pedal.
Delivery was fast, packaging was great. Only used at home at the moment, but does exactly as I hoped - BOOST!
This pedal is simply fantastic.
Great fuzz with a good sweep of control with the guitar volume pot. Cannot get an unlikeable sound through any pickup selection single coil/humbucker.
Added benefit of the Rangemaster included is just lush. I am preferring boosting into the fuzz and use the boost into other drives along the chain.
I am praising this as 2 great pedals in one comfortably sized housing. Amazing!
I have held myself back from purchasing a vibe for years now but I took the plunge on this and I am extremely happy.
The size of the unit is great on my board and pairs with my drives and fuzz amazingly well. I am preferring the flavour of keeping it pre-gain stages on the board.
Simple controls with the added benefit of 2 speeds.
I highly encourage anyone else who was on the fence like me, go for this!