Fulltone Fat-Boost

A volume and drive knob and a tiny tone knob. Pretty easy to use. Manual is brief but all you need.

American 40th Annivesary Strat with Dimarzio stacked humbuckers in neck and middle, Seymour Duncan JB Jr. in neck; Warmoth Tele with Seymour Duncan single coils; Epiphone Elitist Les Paul; all through a Peavey Delta Blues 15" speaker amp.

With drive low and volume up, tone at 12 o'clock, this amp can give your sound some serious girth. Adds great body to whatever sound you are using. With drive up, this box adds some nice, subtle overdrive to your sound. I use this pedal primarily for live playing as a lead boost, but it can also be used just to add some punch to your amp's basic sound at lower playing volumes. Remember the Aphex Aural Exciter and how it would just add punch to your existing sound? That's what this box can do. A wonderful device. Essential to any set up, I think. Very quiet.

Said it before in other reviews of Fulltone products. The build quality is superb. Great attention to detail. Feels solid as a rock. I've gigged without a backup but:

1. I can't see this well-built, finely-crafted box ever failing.
2. If it did fail, I could still get through the night, but would be bummed.

Can't really say. They've responded to one email and ignored another. Won't give a rating here, but they do have a 5 year warranty, which is great.

I play classic rock and blues mostly. I've been playing for over 20 years and have owned lots of pedals, though the Fulltones are my first boutique pedals. I love the quality of this pedal, the "substance" it adds to my sound, and its versatility. The tone knob is versatile and can color your sound or leave it intact. My current amp has a fat boost built in, but it can't compare to the three-dimensionality of the sound this pedal adds. I do wish that tone knob was a bit larger (easier to use), but I rarely move it from the 12 o'clock position, so it's not an issue really. I chose the Fulltone over the Seymour Duncan because, from reading reviews on HC, the Seymour Duncan uses plastic jacks and seems to be mass produced, unlike the Fulltone. I like that this pedal is handmade...it shows. I couldn't ask for anything more from a pedal like this and recommend to anyone who wants to add that missing something to their sound. I would replace this if it were lost or stolen. This pedal is now in constant use on my pedal board.

Three knobs. Easy enough!

I think of this as a live gig pedal. The sound quality of the overdrive is great,so it could certainly be used strictly as an overdive pedal in any situation, live or studio- but I was looking for the ultimate 'solo boost' pedal because i don't like channel switching and this is the ulimate boost pedal! I use it with either a Top Hat or a Hiwatt, and as long as there's some headroom in the amp, it will kick it up to where you want it- and do it with a juicy, round, natural tone. What kind of guitar you or I play is irrelevant- this thing blows away everything else I've tried.The Sparkledrive is the first in along line of pedals I no longer need since I bought this. I like a simple setup, and this just takes your sound and pushes it out front beautifully.

Wouldn't worry about it failing. Warranty is five years.

I e-mailed him with a question regarding this pedal vs the Fulldrive- I wanted to know ifthe Fulldrive had the same amount of boost- 30db. He got back to me in less than 24 hours. Well done.

I do sessions for commercials and rock albums, and I play in several local and national rock bands. I've been playing electric guitar since I was 10, and I'm 40 now. I play Teles, LesPauls, etc and this was worth every penny. It has a simple function and it's simple to use. I would have to replace it immediately if it were lost or stolen. It couldn't possibly get in the way- it's so small- just stomp on it and go. I've used it in some pretty huge rooms, including the Fillmore West in San Fransisco a couple of months ago, and it makes your amp cut through when you need it to, but it does it with a beautiful.... full tone, what else can I say?

As easy as they come, plug and play and take 5 minutes to tweek...

Perfect for taking the cranked marshall sound one step further. I play a gibson LP classic, into the pedal, into a 50watt plexi halfstack. I always play my plexi on 9 or 10 and use a weber mass attenuator to save my ears. This pedal does exactly as it says, BOOST...doesn't alter the tone hardly at all like a distortion pedal would, and it doesn't attack your low end at all, not in my case anyways. It just takes your sound and adds that next level of gain. This thing is perfect with the plexi, absolutely perfect to get a true cranked marshall scream when it comes to leads. I have my amp cranked to 9, volume on the pedal at about 1 o'clock and drive at about 10 o'clock and the tone almost cranked and it makes my plexi breath fire.

The key with this pedal is having an amp and sound that you already like, this just steps it up the next little bit to really give you a hot rodded sound, that's what a booster is for i guess.

works perfect so far, haha...I'll keep my fingers crossed

Haven't needed them yet

Overall excellent pedal for what it's ment to do, don't expect it to transform your amp into a totally different sound, buy a tube screamer for that, but in my case, I just wanted a little extra out of my plexi for leads and this does the trick perfectly!

Easy to use -- volume, tone and drive like any overdrive pedal. All the knobs do what they say they do.

So here's where it gets subjective. First, let me give you my credentials. I've been playing rock and roll about 20 years but only playing guitar for about 10 years. I get together with friends every week to jam and play the occasional party but I'm not a pro. Having said that, I make enough $$$ to be able to buy what I love and I'm a gear whore who has churned through many guitars, amps and effects. My current rig is: 3 guitars (PRS custom 24, Gibson Les Paul Classic with Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers or PRS McCarty Soapbar (my #1)) into Furman pedalboard with Clyde Deluxe into Bad Cat amp switcher with the clean channel also having Fulltone Supa-Trem, Fulltone Choralflange, Line 6 Delay Modeler, Fulltone Fatboost into a Bad Cat Hot Cat 30 combo with a Bogner Cube 1x12 extension cabinet. I only write reviews on Harmony Central after I've lived and played with my gear for a while and I'm loving this box. I'm running it with the gain at one notch short of max but the volume down at 9:00 which takes the crystal clean of the Hot Cat (unless it's cranked) up to vintage Keef (think Sticky Fingers) territory and gives me a beautiful just breaking up tone. This effect is (like the Supa-Trem) slightly on the bright side -- it lifts your presence in a way that even if you set it at unity gain it would be awesome to give back all the frequencies that some effect steal. I find it enables me to cut through the band beautifully for that "in between" tone but if you're looking for a chunky bottom metal tone it's not here. I don't usually run it this way but if you turn the gain down and the volume up you get a much fatter tone. If you're looking for a pedal to take a clean amp to the sound of a cranked amp without diming the volume I would recommend this pedal (although I have not played the Klon Centaur which could be better based on its reputation -- although I can't imagine it does a better job than this). For other purposes, I can't comment intelligently.

Seems rock solid. No issues after 6 months.

Dunno. Never dealt with them.

If you're looking for a pedal to put at the end of a bunch of effects to give back the high end they all steal, I totally recommend this.

If you're looking for a pedal to give your amp the sound it has when it's burning loud but at lower volume, I recommend this.

If you're looking for tone-neutral volume boost, this won't quite do it -- it does effect tone in a way that you may or may not like although I can't imagine what (shy of a rectifier/bogner style built in amp boost) wouldn't affect tone.

If you're looking for metal tones, look elsewhere.

For what I'm looking for -- that "in between" just breaking up sound on a clean amp that sounds just like an amp turned up, it's pretty killer IMHO.

Although this thing is easy to use, why would you when

All this thing does is rape and molest your bottom end. Man I just don't get all these ( oh I love Fulltone shit) putz's out there.Don't believe any Harmony central reviews except this one. This thing makes a CLICKING NOISE when you turn it on, has a HISS like the ENTERPRISE and as I said, ABDUCTS your BOTTOM END. If this is what you like then give up guitar and buy a suit and stinkin tie.

If you are that stupid not to flog it off to the first chumpa that comes along you better hope it shits itself real quick.You can depend on that.

Who gives a rats.

I've been playing for 30 odd years just so you know I'm not 13 years old without a clue.I play a stat( wcr neck and middle, darkburst humbucker bride) through a JCM 800 and just wanted to improve my boost. I use an old Yamaha compressor pedal to get the amp going a bit more. It's noisey and robbs a bit of top end so basically I thought after reading the reviews from these flogs that it would be a better proposition.As if.I sold the Fat Boost straight away and am now seeking other avenues, all of which are none of your business. I am posting this scathing attack because that's what is required.Any device that kills your Treble and or Bass has no businees in anyone's rig.We're trying to improve our sound not vomit on it.I also tried the Fulltone Distortion Pro. Fuck me,same thing, and the cost of his shit.Fulltone Schmulltone,I will never go near this over priced crap again.Let the quest continue without Mike Fuller.Good one Mike.

I give this a nine. It's essentially a clean boost, without too much coloration. I'd give it a ten except for the small trim wheel that you need to set for gain. Once that's done..no problemo!

I use this with various guitars and mainly old Marshalls (JMPs). This does exactly what I wanted it to..just boost the solos a bit. Like all of Fulltone's pedals, it has true bypass switching and a really wondefull transparency. If your rig and tone sound great, this won't mask it at all. The tone control, even full up does not add a lot of unecessary treble...but that's a good thing! It's also very quiet. I set the trim wheel for fairly clean setting and then just place the gain control where I want it.

I can't imagine it breaking down..very rugged.

Never dealt with Mike Fuller

I play mainly blues and R&B. This is perfect for that. I imagine even metal heads might dig it withthe gain/trim wheeel turned all the way up! If it went missing, I'd definately purchase a new one.

It only has 3 controls and is very easy to dial in a good sound fast.

This is what I was looking for. A clean boost that did not put a lot of treble in my tone. I think the deciding factor for me was the tone control, which can be used to take out some of the treble or harshness that might come from using a high gain distortion box or amp. As another reviewer pointed out, it really doesn't add bass, it just takes out treble.

I play a wide range of stuff from college pop to hard core blistering metal.

My setup:
Ibanex RG-570, Scheter C1-Classic, Fender Telecaster
I have a lot of effects separated on 2 pedal boards that I A/B.
I have a digital pedal board and an analog pedal board.

Below is what I am using now. I have had about 50 effects in my short 2 years of playing.
Fulltone Clyde Deluxe wah => Morely Bad Horsie 2 wah =>
Fulltone FD2 => Fulltone Distortion Pro => Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive (Keeley mod) => Ibanez TS808 (Keeley mod) => Tube Works Real Tube (with 12AT7) => Analogman Sun Face =>
Boss EQ-20 10 band equilizer => Rocktron Hush =>
Boss CE-5 chorus (digital) => Boss DD-20 Giga Delay (digital) =>
Maxon CS-9 chorus (analog) => Maxon AD-900 delay (analog) =>
T.C. Jauernig Luxury Drive (treble boost) => Fulltone Fat Boost =>
2 Fender Blues Jr.'s and 2 Marshall AVT20 Valvestate's in stereo
1 Fender and 1 Marshall on one side of the room and the other 2 on the other side of the room (results in warmth but with balls and at bedroom volume levels)

I like to set my amp just on the verge of break up and then push a lot of gain through it, but roll some off with the guitar volume control. I think this results in a fatter sound without harsh overtones.

The Fat Boost worked well with all my pedals.
It was a little too much for the Fulltone Distortion Pro, but was OK when I backed out of the Fat Boost.
It added lots of "depth" to the the Analogman Sun Face and Voodoo Labs sparkle drive, that they did not have before. The Sun Face is a $250 boutique pedal that was actually made better by the Fat Boost. I actually think its sounds best with the Sparkle Drive, because the sparkle drive is really just a clean boost with a overdrive mix knob.
It sounded even more natural just boosting the amp, but I don't think it has enough boost for metal on my small amps. I imagine if you had a 100 head and 4X12, it would be plenty of boost for anything.

The T.C. Jauernig Luxury Drive is a Fat Boost, but with more treble and no tone control. It adds shimmer to your sound, but it really is only good for my Telecaster. It absorbs palm mutes and pinch harmonics and tapping is too bright, however it is ideal for pop and country and it only costs $90.

It's Fulltone and I'm sure there will be no problems with it.
Tough shit if there is a problem, because from what I've read, they are not warm and fuzzy towards the general public.

As many, many reviewers have eluded to, Mike Fuller is not a customer service service orieted guy, unless you are one of the artists listed on his web page or some other big name.

I've emailed him before asking which one of his pedals I should buy over the other to get a particular sound, and he never responded. Come on, lower yourself to speak to us idiots, especailly when we are trying to buy something from you. One of us might be a big name on your web page some day. Everybody on your web page now played shit gigs for beer money at one point, and I'm sure when they first started playing as kids they've called up Guitar Center asking for a "left-handed distortion box".

If you want great pedals and even better customer service, check out Robert Keeley Electronics. He answers every stupid question I have ever asked, sometimes about other peoples stuff with no expectation that I was even considering buying anything from him, and his pedals are the same quality as Fulltone.

Excellent box. I can't say enough about it.
It fattens and adds life to your sound. Absolutely transparent.
From country to pop to shred, its all that and more.
Much better than the other boosters I've had.
Not a single complaint. Worth every penny of the $179.00, that Guitar Center wouldn't give a break on the minimum gip.

Very easy to use. Read the manual and figure out which features serve you best. For those of you who play ibanez 7 strings, solid state amps, line 6 amps, or master volume heads you probably shouldn't buy this.

The tone knob is critical on this. I love the Z. Vex SHO, but I like this a little better live because I can adjust the tone on this pedal when I switch from single coil to humbucker. Get a good amp first. I have a Victoria amp and it pushes it to just the right spot. I use this to fatten up the tone in choruses and solos and it beats every overdrive and ties the SHO.

It's built tough and who can really afford a back up? Just buy one of these instead of having two junky ass MXR micro amp pedals. This will last you longer than 10 MXR pedals.

Here's where we have a problem. This guy can be a total jerk. I have heard people make excuses for how busy he is and blah blah blah...He makes enough scratch that he should have a full staff working the phones for any questions. I have had problems with a 69 fuzz that was part of a batch in 1999 that were made with bad switches and mine went out. He said they only had a one year warranty for the switches and he finally fixed it for me considering he knew they were bad. Let me say you would never have this problem with Z. VEX. I usually hear people say something bad about Mike at first then they say "but I love the way the pedal sounds"-it shouldn't be like that.

I play rawk, blues, and garage rawk. This was the missing link in my tube amp set up for years. I have had an insane pedal board before and now I'm down to just this, a reverb pedal, and maybe an modulation pedal here and there. Tone is in your hands brothers and sisters, but this definitely helps. If you have ever wondered why your overdrive pedal takes away tone then this is for you. I have wasted a ton of money on buying a pedal on ebay and selling within a month until this.
Try this and try an SHO and see what you like best.

very easy to get a good tone. manual is helpful. I use it on 18v the difference is very noticable.

Gibson Les Paul Standard > '02 Clyde Wah > '03 Fulltone Fat boost > '99 Prescription electronics Vibe Unit > Fender Pedal Style tuner > '99 Marshall JCM 900 (212). not noisy at all. not a good volume boost (which is what i bought it for) but i dont use it for that anymore. I basically use it, as the name implies, to fatten up the sound. I play mostly classic rock (Zeppelin, Cream, Doors, Hendrix, Steppenwolf, Sabbath etc... I dont usually need alot of gain. But for Sabbath its good to fatten up the JCM 900 (i have it set low gain and classic rockish which doesnt work the best with sabbath) i stomp on the fatboost and it fattens everything up to the proper sound. Also, on occasion my band plays some ozzy, guns 'n roses, darkness, newer stuff and ill need a more gainy sound. fat boost again to the rescue. A great little pedal that comes in handy when i need that gain backing my playing.

seems exceptionally sturdy. a little tank i think. but then again its secure in my pedal train pedal board so its not gonna knocked around that much. been playing with it for a year now. Done quite a bit of giging with it and its held up great.

website is very informative

great dependable little pedal that will push you from classic rock tone to 80's and 90's rock tone (well not too much of 90's tone as there wasnt that much tone in the 90's) but it can get you to those soundgarden and early pearl jam levels if needed. great investment

Super easy to use!

By far the best investment I have made in my rig! I paid $150.00 for this unit on ebay! I have a $3000.00 Matchless Lighting that never leaves my home, I use a Carvin Bel-Air 50W 2x12 fir gigs. The Carvin amp is very clean. I use a Aphex Guitar Xciter to bring out the sweetness of the amp but I was still unhappy with the drive channel, NO BALLS! The Fulltone Big Bottom push the amp into a wonderful blues tone...........I FREAKING LOVE IT!!!! This little pedal was the key to the full warm tone I was looking for! If you use a tube amp, this pedal will work wonders on your tone! By the way Im using Strat style single coil pickups from Carvin.........The Big Bottom makes them sound HUGE!!!

Built like a tank1

Have'nt used it.........

Im going to rate this unit a "10"........I spent $349.99 on a Budda Overdrive, it was crap! $100.00 on a Tone Works Tube Tone, Crap! The Fulltone is the BOMB! Good luck finding just the right tone for your liking.