BBE Boosta Grande

When it worked, it had a pretty clean sound-solid boost with no artifacts or added noise. Again, when it worked. This is an older pedal without the TX/Mex graphics. Sumple to use with one knob and lots of possible boost at 20dB. Good design, aside from crappy footswitch.

Good clean and solid boost. Does seem to add a bit of dimension (nice) to the sound but does not alter tone. I used it on the front (last in chain) of a DSL50 to compensate when switching to single coils.

Began working intermittantly and then stopped all together. Scoped out the internal components and the PCB which all looked fine, except for that "true bypass" 3DPDT foot switch. This is the cheapest switch I have ever seen in any effects unit or pedal. The entire switch is plastic aside from the threaded collar the nut goes on and the button on top. The nine lugs that the wires are soldered to at the bottom of the switch are not metal, but actually foil wrapped plastic shunts glued into the body of the switch. When resoldering a wire back to one of the lugs (20watt iron setting) the damn thing melted. When I pulled the soldering wand up from the unit, the lug and its melted gooey plastic guts came along with it.

I am amaized that these pedal have any reliability at all. What you get is a gereat heavy metal box with decent, but not exceptional jacks, a cheap plastic shafted potentiometer with a plastic knob painted to look like chrome and the cruddy 3DPDT button switch, which began intermittantly shorting befor faling completely.

Didn't bother-found a true bypass cliff 3dpdt switch on line for around $4. Should be a solid unit after replacing the switch and the pot.

Great reviews when these work. Don't know if the current production units have the same components. When the low grade parts are replaced, should be a sturdy and reliable little box.

I found it easy to get a good sound. It is simple to use. I purchased this new at GC December 2008.

I put this at the end of my distortion pedal chain. It gave a nice volume boost in terms of decibel increase, so it did just what I wanted. It seemed to add a little something to it as well. I'd describe it as an additional scratchy sound. Overall my tone remained a bit colored by the pedal but louder and basically pleasant sounding enough.

Unfortunatley, my particular pedal was not reliable. After I stomped on it over the next few months, maybe 30xs, it started to short out and completely kill my sound. Probably a bad switch or short. I'd step on it again and have my sound back and then it would work ok a few times and the problem would return.

I emailed the company with questions as about the switch used as I was thinking of just having it fixed locally and apply the shipping charges to a better grade switch. I never did get a response about this. After 2 emails I was given an authorization number to ship it back at my expense.

I play jazz, blues, rock, classical and current pop/rock. Been playing over 40 years. I own Fender, Gibson, Boogie, Rivera, Marshall, Fulltone, TC Electronic, and a handmade acoustic among other gear over the years. I will probably put this pedal on ebay when I get it back from repair. I really liked this pedal ok when I first got it but it broke after very little use. I don't know, I know guys with older versions of this pedal who did not have problems. Maybe they are using less reliable parts now but I certainly do not know that. When I asked about it I did not receive any response though they did offer to fix it free of charge with the exception of th $12.00 shipping charges. While it is a good product for the price, I would not purchase anything in the future from this company probably though they do seem to back their gear.

The unit is dead simple in terms of controls - gain knob and switch.
The level control does not have a center detent and unity gain (signal level in = signal level out) is placed at an odd place on the control, which is at approx. the 6 o'clock mark. This makes the unit a little odd to use. Also, placing the gain knob at "0" still lets signal through.

I use this pedal as a clean boost for solos in the effect loop of my amplifier. I used this pedal in the effect loop of a Marshall DSL, VOX AC30, ADA-MP-1, Mesa Boogie Studio, Marshall Silver Jubilee. I tried the pedal with clean sounds to all out metal using guitars ranging from EMG-equipped LPs, to vintage LPs, Strats, Ibanez Jems, explorer etc.

The first time I plugged this in, I had to find the sweet spot to get the right amount of boost. Oddly enough, the gain knob must be set below the 1/2 way mark to get a boost. I would expect the midway mark to be no boost and to turn the knob clockwise for a boost and counterclockwise for a reduction in volume.

My first reaction was that the pedal colors the sound when engaged and is definitely NOT transparent. The frequencies affected seem to be in the upper midrange. To me, its annoying. All I want is more volume out of the pedal. I tested the pedal with a number of different setups and amps to make sure that it wasn't the amp behaving differently because of the larger incoming signal. The pedal colored the sound with all my amps. I also tried running the pedal in front of the amp and same thing - colors the sound. It might be subtle but its there.

I could not keep this pedal because of the tone altering when engaged. I bought it because I could not locally find a replacement BOSS LS-2, which I had previously used as a clean boost! When the BOSS died, I thought I would give this thing a try. Definitely miles ahead of an Electro Harmonix LPB-1 or MXR Micro Amp but still not good enough. I just needed something quick.

I have now found a BOSS LS-2 and will be taking the BBE Boosta Grande off the pedal board ASAP.

Very reliable

The battery cover is flimsy and the little tabs broke off in a hurry. Getting parts is never easy. I contacted BBE by email but haven't received a reply yet.

Doesn't really do what it says it should do. It alters the tone. I can't believe the reviews below that say that it is transparent and does not color the sound.

1 knob... you can't screw it up unless you plug it in backwards.

I bought it just for 1 purpose: lead guitar boost. My setup is Telecaster>ernie ball volume>RMC wah>analogman bi-comp>analogman King of Tone>SupaTrem>Orange Rocerverb 50 amp. Effect loop is Eventide Time Factor>BBE Boosta Grande. I tried it as the last pedal in the chain and it added crunch, but not much volume. Then I put it last in the effect loop and Bam! Perfect volume boost without changing my tone, and plenty of headroom. I have been trying other things to boost solo work, but it usually just ended up more gainy and not louder. This does not color the tone at all, very transparent.

It looks as well built as most of my other pedals, I'm not afraid I'll break it.

No experience with them, so I can't comment

I've played guitar for 20 plus years, owned lots of cheap gear and lots of expensive gear. More expensive doesn't always translate to better sound and cheap gear doesn't always suck.
This pedal does what I needed it to do and I'm very pleased with it. I gig all the time and this gives me more control over my volume. It has a permanent place on my pedal board.

very easy.
1 knob.
1 switch.

excellent with a loud clean boost.
doesn't lose the tone of the amp.

very dependable.
housed in a metal chassis.

just got the pedal tonight.
I hope I never have to call them.

I use a Strat with a Blues Junior
and this is a great clean boost pedal.

Check out my YouTube channel to hear it.
guitar62751 is my name.

One knob--turn it up or turn it down; it doesn't get much easier than that...

Here's my signal chain: '05 Gibson Les Paul Classic with a pair of Gibson Burstbucker Pro Humbuckers > Planet Waves Chromatic Pedal Tuner > Morley Lil' Alligator Volume Pedal > BBE Boosta Grande > Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive > Fender Hot Rod Deluxe outiftted with three JJ ECC83S preamp tubes and two JJ 6V6S power tubes. The sound quality of this pedal is awesome. I usually don't have a "crystal clean" sound coming out of my amp at all. My cleanest sounds are always on the verge of break-up (thus the JJ tubes--they make the amp sound warmer overall, and the clean channel has a very nice and bluesy break-up point around 4 or 5 on the volume knob now). When I kick in the Boosta Grande, it causes that clean sound to warm up and thicken up at the same time. Yes, it does boost the volume, but also adds this warm character to it. If I have my Sparkle Drive on and I kick in the Boosta Grande (prior to the Sparkle Drive in the chain), it sounds fantastic! The overdrive from the pedal/amp gets a little hotter with the Boosta Grande engaged (and the volume increases to my liking). Overall a very nice boost/edge/warmth pedal. Sometimes I don't like the way it warms up the sound, and sometimes I do.

No problems as of yet; I have one on my pedal board and don't feel like I need a replacement.

Since I haven't had any issues, I haven't had to contact customer support.

I like to jam out with friends a lot, but I more often play electric for leading worship for the ministry I lead. The style of the music we create when leading the worship ranges from mellow and ambient to very energetic and edgy. I don't really ever go for a distorted rock and roll sound or anything heavier than that. I particularly like the nicely-overdriven and "tasteful" sound of an electric guitar going through a tube amp (with an overdrive pedal in there sometimes). I don't do a whole lot of lead work (as I usually have another guitarist taking care of those duties), so a simple setup is good for me. I've been playing for about 10 years, and you might call me one of those "tone freaks". If it was lost or stolen, I'd probably try to get another one. I really enjoy the way it adds to my tone, which could be described further as: "warm, overdriven, bluesy, thick, etc."... Hats off to BBE!

1 knob, 1 button, stupid simple. Too bad the douche bag sales person at GC isn't familiar enough with the product that his store sells (he actually asked me what this pedal did!!!) but that is another rant...

In a single word... AWESOME. I wanted something to juice up my signal & slam the front end of my AC30, and this thing was the ticket. I have it set around 7 (2:00) for just a slight boost which sends the AC30 into chime heaven. Along with my DredgeTone pedal, I get 3 different versions of AC30, from clean to chime to ripping controllable feedback. Though I almost bought the BBE treble booster instead, I am SO happy with the way this has worked out.

Seems solidly built but will have to let time tell... Having owned a Sonic Maximizer back in the "rack daze", I never had an issue with it so I expect the same quality from this pedal.

Yet to have to deal with BBE

Again, was looking for something to just push my AC30 into chime/grind territory & this little guy was the ticket. With so many choices out there, the BBE was in the same league as other "boutique" pedals costing more than twice as much. Would have liked to try the Keeley Katana just to compare (as I have heard/read some really great things about it). But for the performance and the money, the BBE is just AWESOME.

Easy easy easy to get a good sound...Uh..I would say this is essentially transparent....so..the impact is not getting a "good" sound..rather how "thick" you want your sound... and...One knob. Hellooooooo

Running this into a Vox Clyde-> Keeley TS9->Voodoo Lab Preamp->BBE Maxcom->Digitech GSP2101 (effects only)->Carvin T100 poweramp-> (2)1-12" closed back cabs with Eminence Cannabis Rex speakers. The Voodoo preamp has no effects loop...so I run this thru the front end...yes, it essentially just adds gain and a bit of volume on the distortion channels...altho' the cleaner stuff is a HUGE volume boost. The preamp has 3 channels.Clean/rhythm/lead. The rhythm and lead channels are very very close, so I set the lead channel at a higher volume and set my Boosta Grande and TS9 as auxiliary levels of extra gain and fatness.
This pedal is transparent. It DOES add balls,bottom end..some volume and I guess an extra level of perceived gain thru the distortion channels..but really..it just seems to make it thicker...fuller.But with no loss of detail. It is pretty quiet...true bypass for sure. Made in China...found this out after the fact...but hey. It was a cheap pedal.I try to buy domestic stuff only...but this one snuck in..lol. It is my 5th channel for my preamp. I dunno what else I could ask for from this simple device. Comes with adapter. Solid 9.

Seems well built...Yeah..I would go w/o a backup.I don't "need" this pedal for my rig..it just helps a bit to go over the top for metal stuff..and it is easy to hit a button to back off on tone when I need to...
Solid button,steel casing..hope the insides are not rotten...lol

No idea.....

I play all sortsa crap... fusion-y metal type music...Shred..that sorta thing. Perfect fit...but not vital to my sound. Been playing over 20 years..barf...Les Pauls,Strats,Teles,etc...Not sure I would buy it again for *THIS* rig...if I had only a clean/dirty channel and an effects loop...and could get a more comprehensive dedicated volume boost...it would be invaluable to me...but as it stands...I could certainly get by w/o it. It does help me make music...I utilize it for different shades..but it really does not affect my tone much...but it is NOT supposed to!

One knob. It doesn't get any simpler.

I use this pedal as a transparent overdrive to get more distortion out of my Fender Blues Jr. Full on, it pushes my amp from gritty blues to about Black Sabbath-level hard rock. Before I got it I had a Digitech Bad Monkey, which is a very good overdrive, but like every other overdrive it screws with your tone. So I got this. It sounds great because it doesn't sound like anything. It stays completely out of the picture tonewise, adding only a small amount of noise.

I'm can't be entirely sure about its reliability, as I've only had it for a month or so. However, I've heard that BBE products are just about bulletproof, and it certainly has a rock solid casing. I'm sure it'll be fine.

Haven't dealt with them.

This is a great product for me. It pushes my amp beautifully without altering my tone at all. I haven't been playing long, so I just have one electric that I use, a G&L Tribute Legacy which goes through my tube amp. However, I'm sure the Boosta Grande would work with virtually any set up.

This pedal cannot possibly be easier to use. It has one knob to pump up the volume. It came with a manual, but I didn't bother to look at it. I'm giving it a 9 because a person that has never used a pedal will still probably have to take 1 minute to look at the manual.

I am of the opinion that no effects pedal is completely transparent. Even with the effect turned off, there is usually some alteration of tone. That said, this pedal is about 98% transparent. the other 2% adds a slight fatness to the tone, which I find quite pleasing. I use a Fender 65 Twin re-issue. I don't use distortion of any sort - the tone I seek is exclusively clean. My latest toy is an Ibanez AS73 modded with '59 Seymour Duncans. This pedal does EXACTLY what I expect it to do - it boosts my volume when I want to take a solo. With the pedal turned on, I cannot detect any additional noise.

It's new, so I can't say. BBE apparently has confidence in their product's reliability - it's got a 5 year warranty.

I've been playing about 30 years, and I've always sought the elusive perfect clean tone. I can pretty much get the best clean tone out of any given guitar along with my Twin Reverb. I give this product a solid 9. I don't give 10s for a product because perfection cannot be achieved. However, in this case, a high level of excellence has most definitely been achieved. I've not tried other boost pedals. I don't need to. This one is only 80 bucks - most of the others are more expensive.