Effector 13 DarkBoost

One knob--volume/gain/distortion. I've found it pretty useless below 11 o'clock, as it cuts the volume too much. At 12 or 1 it gives a slight volume boost, also adding a bit of low-end warmth and overdrive. Beyond that it gets more distorted.

It's become one of my main stompboxes. It can make a Tele sing!
I used it on a record with baritone guitar into old Ampeg and Fender tube amps. The addition of low-end warmth and mild overdrive creates one of the sounds I was looking for when I got this. I would have liked to have seen a bit more clean boost--it can squash the fatness of low notes if you're using the wrong amp.

No problems so far. Bright LED, but doesn't seem to devour batteries.

Seem to be OK. Asked one question before I bought it, got a curt but reasonably accurate answer.

Like I said, it's become my main overdrive box, along with the Fulltone Fulldrive. (I use fuzz when I want something more extreme.) It could have been cheaper, but I really like it.

This is Ever from www.effector13.com

To the person who said the pedal looked handmade... well... they are. *smiles*

Every month I'm trying to make them look better and better, and I'm sorry if your Dark Boost didn't meet up to what a pedal should look like, inside and out.

Understaneable that you didn't like the sound. Tone is a very subjective thing, and I'm sure my pedals won't work for everyone, but from all the positive reviews, I'm sure it's working for a lot of people! *smiles*

Anyhow... if anyone ever needs to reach me, I'm always around : effector13@hotmail.com

rawk...

One knob, easy. However on my unit it doesn't seem to do very much. There is one level, and the knob doesn't do much else.

As I said prior to this, I don't have much control over the setting which is really annoying. However on a clean amp with little to none gain this pedal sounds great! Agressive yet warm, harsh yet smooth.

I use numerous guitars: Squire Fat Tele, De Armond Starfighter, etc.
Amps: Fender 100watt Valve amp and a Vox 12 watt Cambridge amp.

Well, it's fine now, but it arrived broken, and since I had to order this from the States and then have to send it back, it was really frustrating.

It seems pretty reliable now, but I'll give it a 5 none the less.

To give Tim his credit, he did ship it back and paid me for postage. The pedal did take longer than said to start with.

I play Sonic Youth inspired punk, and this pedal definitely adds to my sound. I wouldn't say this is a bad pedal at all to go for, it boosts and distorts to a right measure, keeping clear of your usual boring distortions. If you play hard you get a hard sound, if you prefer a small bit of texture to nice chords then this is the biz.

As I have said, there have been some draw backs to my dealings with Effector 13, and so it has brought down my rating, however this is a good pedal, and I think going for your regular makes like boss, digitech, marshall etc is really boring.

It's looks aren't as finished as the bigger brands, but does that really matter? Isn't sound more important? So the guy who reviewed this pedal prior to me, obviously hasn't got his priorities straight.

Overall, it's a thumbs up for the Dark Boost, and I'd probably deal with them again (although if someone did steal this, I'd first want to hunt them down and torture them for the amount of time I've waited for this pedal, before ordering a new one).

Go for it if: You like warmth, texture and crunch in a light distorted boost way.

Don't go for it if: You're looking for a a proper heavy distortion (isn't that obvious anyway?) and like to play with lots of controls.

One knob.

This pedal really sounds crappy. This guy sounds like the neck pickup on my crappy epiphone guitar. When it is set too high it is noisy but with no edge. If someone ever wanted a blanket covering their sound this would be it.

This pedal looks really handmade. It is a sticker and spray paint, and the insides look sloppy. Maybe mine's broken.

I don't know. I bought it mailorder and will be returning it mailorder.

This pedal seemed to be a really great idea but sounds really bad. It's maybe my rig but my setup likes all other pedals. I mainly use a Strat and a Gibson SG through a Peavey Classic 30 and a Marshall AVT50 set clean. And the construction isn't worth the money, even if it is cheaper than most, but not Electro Harmonix.

The Dark Boost has one knob. Pretty simple, just set the volume (tone) you desire. Before you turn on your amp be sure to click the on/off switch a few times to dissipate the loud pop you get from the true bypass switch.

The Dark Boost is a volume boost pedal. It is not a "clean boost", but like the name implies adds some warmth and fills out your sound. At about 3 o'clock the sound becomes a little more distorted,edgy, so you have the option of a light overdrive. I use this with a variety of basses and was just what I was looking for. I use Eden(tube preamp) and Vox(solid state) amps and the Dark Boost really adds a nice warmth to both of these clean amps (great for blues). I actually like this better than my Fulltone Bassdrive, which I find can be a little harsh and does take more noodling to get the sound I want. It is easy to get a great sound out of the Dark Boost and add that little extra to a dry sound. At high volumes there is a little "white noise" but this is acceptable as this pedal is capable of loud boosts. I have not tried this with an all tube amp but I'm sure you would get fantastic results.

The Dark Boost is a pretty simple pedal.The footswitch has to be clicked a few times to dissipate the charge (normal). I would have added a battery clip to hold the 9 volt, as the battery moves around inside the pedal.

I purchased this from Effector 13 off Ebay. Communication was good, but it took 3 months for me to receive the pedal (too long). When I did receive the pedal the paint job was poor,many,many paint runs (really dissapointing). It does make you wonder about quality control?

This pedal was what I was looking for. To add a little warmth to a clean rig. When you sell someone a pedal and commit to a delivery date, if you have delays that can be understandable, but why send them a factory second paint job???? At the price I paid a good value. I'm not sure about the new list price of $155.00 US.

One knob, one footswitch, no instructions needed...

The Barkboost has provided me with the most unique tone, and has filled some of the gaps in my tone.

I played a 52 reissue tele through a Marshall TSL-100. I have played it for an hour and I am enjoying it greatly.
Through the clean channel, it gives a volume cut until about 1 to 2 o'clock, where volume and drive starts to kick in. Before this, it still colours the sound. It is a clean boost till about 3-4 o'clock I think, but adds a certain character to the tone. It makes the tele sound more round, and there is obviously a more defined Bass response, and a warmer sound. With a bit of reverb, the clean sound is sweet!

Through the crunch channel, I set the bass nearly on full on the Marshall, after I rolled it back to about 6-7, I put on the boost, BANG!! A beautiful vintage vibe, that reminded me of a Live Paul Kossoff one. It adds a bit of grit after 3 o'clock I think, not too sure yet. I can play chunky chords with a full thick tone. When the dB is turned on to full, it sounds quite Iommi-like, in the beginning of "Children of the Grave" those chords can be reproduced quite well with a crunchy amp and the darkboost.

When it comes to the Lead Channel... I was the happiest with the pedal. I put on the dB on its own and got a sound which was chunky and fuzzy, but perhaps a bit too bassy for my taste. In usual circumstances, I play with a MIJ Boss Sd-1 always with the Lead Channel. So I put on the sd-1, rolled the gain like a little back, and put on the dB. I have the most lovely metal sound. It was bassy, but not "boomy", and it had chracter in it, not just pure gain. I compared it with my old sound with just the sd-1, and it sounded really rusty, and thin in a way. I now have a great High gain sound.

ANother thing is, when the knob is rolled back, it is a volume cut. It still adds bass to the sound, but also cuts the volume, like it would if the volume on the guitar is rolled back. This could be very useful in love situations.

Metal case, 9v battery, ac tap, Bright LED, can't really go wrong.

Tim is very nice. Answers e-mails extremely fast. Since E-13 is still a small company, the waiting time is quite long. I sent him 2-3 "when is my pedal gonna be finished?" e-mails and he gave me productive, nice replies. He even told me to keep reminding him and asking when the pedal is finished and all. I definitely think the customer's service is top!

I play alternative rock mainly, and a lot of metal. I can probably think there there is a use for this pedal in most types of music. It just adds bass end to the sound, but in a very unique way. I would buy another if it got lost. The pedal is quite subtle when used with an amp with high gain, but it adds CHARACTER. If anything more, I wish it had more gain. However I noticed Tim designed a new pedal called Dark Drive, which would probably suit my needs.
It has been the most unique pedal I have bought since the NVN BrontoBoost. I own many boutique stuff, but never had anything like the Darkboost. For this tine at this price it is simply amazing.

Easiest pedal ever! It's one knob. Duh.

I used a Gibson SG with Duncan Custom pickup through an Orange AD140TC, and a 4x12 with Soldano speakers.
The DarkBoost is an amzing little box. Deceptively simple in fact. On the clean channel of my amp, the DarkBoost gives a very nice crunchy semi-overdriven tone. When used on the High gain channel, the thing really shines. It adds just a hint of extra low end and gain. Not a lot of either, just enough though. Perfect.
The DarkBoost can also be used at the lower settings on the knob as sort of a volume "cut". Sort of like using the volume knob on your guitar, but exactly the same every time. This si not how I will use it though. The subtle boost and color it adds are just amazing. Also, there is zero noise generated by the DarkBoost, and NO tone loss...none.

Haven't had it long, but it's quality handcrafted by Tim Shortnancy. He uses top notch parts, his solder joints are a thing of beauty, and I'm sure if there was ever a problem I could call him and he'd take care of it. He's a great guy. I WILL gig it without a backup.

I have talked with Tim many times. he is a top notch guy. God Bless the small handmade pedal manufacturers!

SUPER value. I play fuzzy bluesy metal rock. I thinnk this pedal would work for damn near anyone wanting to add a little color to their tone. Think of a clean boost...ok now imagine a wee bit of dirt and some bass added. that's what this is. not exactly a clean boost, and not exactly a distortion or overdrive. It's a sweet mix of both that I VERY much enjoy!