Fulltone Fat-Boost

In 10 minutes you can tweak trough the 3 knobs and have this
pedal down. I only glanced at the nanual after I had it for a couple
months you don't need it. I bought this in 2003 on ebay it was the
latest version.

I play a customized SRV strat through a black face super at gigs
and a black face Princton at practice. It is absolutly clean unles you turn the imput gain past half way and then I think it's only driving my amp into light break up that sounds wonderfull.
The tone control can fatten up a strat if you back it off or leave
it the same at 2 o'clock. I've been using this infront of a distortion pro pedal by Fulltone that I bought the same week and they are great together. I set the Pro for a slight boost and light distortion and when the Fat Boost is kicked in it pumps you up for a out front solo nicely. This is the fist overdrive/dist. setup i've kept for over a year. Every so often I just tweak in a minor adjustment on the many knobs on the Pro and i've got a new pedal. I went to a jam and played through a not so nice ampeg jet with only the Fat Boost and it made that amp sound totally amazing. The fat boost can inhance the tone of any amp and guitar.

I've had it over 3 years, it's been dropped, kicked, and stomped on
many times and it works like new. I'ts indestructable.

Never needed to deal with Mike but one of my friends has talked to him on the phone and had a upgrade with good rezults.

I play classic rock, funk, blues. This pedal would work for any type of music. Just try one you'll find it a valuble tool. I use this more than any other pedal I have. I've been playing for 30 years and these are the only pedals i've ever been happy with for this long. They grow with you and on you.

Three knobs: volume, tone, overdrive.

I have tried the Fulltone Full Drive 2, Distortion Pro, OCD and now the Fat-Boost. The Fat-Boost is clearly my favorite of them all.

Combining the Fat-Boost with the Full Drive 2 or OCD produces a great result, but my favorite combination now is the Fat-Boost with the AMT California Sound. Super thick Mesa/Plexi overdrive with these two.

So far so good.

E-mails to Fulltone don't always get a reply.

I would like to compare the Fat-Boost to the Klon Centaur and the Maxon OD-820, which I think are the main competitors. (And much more expensive, too).

The sound is definitely cleaner than any other Fulltone overdrive pedal. I like the fact that the amp's original tone is not drastically changed.

Non semplicissimo come puo sembrare in apparenza: credo che la scelta di un potenziometro per il tono sia deficitaria perche complica le cose e puo portarti anche a snaturare il suono tanto cercato. Certo, puo anche migliorarlo :) ma in un booster inserire un potenziometro per il tono e... come dire?... non prendersi la responsabilita di quello che si fa: se il tono finale si colora con il fatboost e sempre e comunque colpa dell'utente perche non sa settarlo. Uhm...


I think that the choice of a tone knob it's not lucky: it complicates the live of who wants to get a really transparent tone from this pedal.

Eccezionale.
A parte il difetto sopra esposto, il pedale e fenomenale. Ormai mi sono abituato a tenerlo sempre acceso.
Perche?
Perche non c'e solo un aumento di volume ma anche un ingrassamento serio del suono. Troviamo una metafora: e come passare da un mondo 2D ad un mondo 3D! Tutto assume forma, peso, consistenza. E' un altro modo di sentire la chitarra, decisamente migliore, pur rimanendo trasparente (a patto di smanettare un po' col tono).

A proposito: POTETE usarlo come boost perche e un boost. Frase sciocca? No. Qualche recensione fa pensare che non aumenti poi granche di volume. Non e la verita: se mettete il vostro amplificatore ad un volume che non sia il massimo, il FB spinge eccome. Se siete gia al limite di volume, non dovete prendere il FB: cambiate ampli. Il guadagno credo sia realmente sopra i 20db.

Marvellous. For me it's always on. It's really transparent (the trick is to dial on the tone knob with the right setting) and it emphasize your sound, fatten it, make it bigger. For me it's like saying that you go from a 2D world on a 3D: you gain another dimension of sound!

For who wants to use it as a booster: USE IT!, because it's a booster. If your amp it's not a the highest volume, the fatboost kick in. If you are at the limit of your amp volume, don't take a fatboost: change the amp!
It gives you a great gain: 20db are sure, maybe more.

Ormai non vivo senza: Fatboost e Menatone Red Snapper saranno in qualunque pedaliera della mia vita. Costa un po', altrimenti ne avrei gia un secondo.

It's a must: with the Red Snapper it's my favourite effect. It's a bit expensive, so I cannot buy a backup item.

What's a Customer Support with a perfect item?

Suono rock, blues e qualche country. Ultimamente mi sto dedicando di piu al southern rock: il fatboost e indispensabile qualunque cosa faccia.

I play rock, blues and a bit of country. In the last months I've played a lot of southern rock: the Fatboost is always called at work!

Buy it, it's a great thing.

Very easy to use because there is only 3 knobs for obvious controls: volume, gain (overdrive) and tone.

Just use it as an overdrive pedal, but don't expect drive because this is NOT an overdrive pedal, although it looks like one, specialy because of the 3 knobs.

The manual is important and very effective for understanding that this is a pedal to increase (boost) volume and gain.

To understand my review, here is my set-up:
- GUITARS: Fender Stratocasters (from 1969 and 1974) and Fender Telecaster (from 1968);
- AMPS: Marshall 100 watts reissue "plexi" Super Lead and Marshall 50 watts reissue "plexi" (both non-master volume, so they must be incredably loud to overdrive);
- CABS: Marshall 4x12 with Celestion 25 watts green backs reissues and Marshall 4x12 with Celestion 75 watts;
- PEDALS: Fulltone Full-Drive 2 through the Fulltone Fat-Boost then to both amps through a Morley A/B/Y box.

The Fulltone Fat-Boost ISN'T NOISE, although the drive knob makes some scratch noises when seting up, but it is warned on the manual and, since that potentiometer is dented (11 positions) it keeps in place securely avoiding the undesired noise if accidentaly touched.

Even at higher volumes, when it is expected to EVERYTHING be noisy, the Fat-Boost didn't made/added/brought those tipical static and trebly noises common on overdrive/distortion pedals. For example, the very good and traditional MXR Micro Amp brings that undesired static noise.

The Fat-Boost serves to boost your volume for solos or some leads.
It really increases the volume to cut through the band (I play with another guitar player who plays Gibsons with humbuckers, we play loud rock 'n roll - think AC/DC).

IMPORTANT: be sure your amp has enough volume headroom, otherwise NO PEDAL in the world can make your sound louder because your amp CAN'T BREATH!

Most important of all, the Fat Boost is very, very transparent. The coloration, when on, is minimal. The true by-pass works very well when it is disconnected.

Don't expect this pedal to clip (distort) your clean amp like an overdrive or weak distortion box. If it is what you need, go look elsewhere.
Actualy, the Drive knob gives some drive, but just a little to make the sound better when kicking the volume.

I only control the volume and set the Drive and Tone knob on max.

It looks like a brick and the electronis are very well mounted and soldered.

I totally depend on it to cut through on solos.

If lost or stolen I would by another.

Like I wrote on the reveiw of the Full-Drive 2, sent one e-mail and there was no answer...

Again, like I wrote on the Full-Drive 2 reviews, it is bloody expensive but it is an amazing pedal! You shouldn't expect anything different for a boutique pedal.
Just bought it on the web (at MusicToyz.com).
Makes me want to solo like crazy and be sure everybody is hearing me!

Deca



PS: I have nothing to do with Fulltone, I'm just a far away customer... and they don't even replyed my e-mails...

This a review for the "newer" version of the Fulltone Fatboost. Has 3 controls volume, Drive(dirt) and tone. Ease of use is very subjective with this pedal as the controls are interactive. Sound will vary depending on your volume settings of your amp and guitar and most importantly what and where you use it with in a pedalboard. My ease of use is based partly on sound quality.(see below)

I have mixed feelings about the sound/use of this pedal. I use it primarily with Fender P and J basses and a Modulus jazz. My main amps are Eden (tube preamp) with Eden 210/Mesa Boogie 15 EV cabs. I've also used it with small solid state Vox and Yorkville bass amps. Other reviewers say this is a clean transparent boost...I disagree. Is that bad not necessarily but it is NOT TRANSPARENT it colours all my basses, other pedals and amps. I was looking for some saturation/fatness a little bitty dirt as a change to the clean/crispness of the Eden amps and it does that job fairly well. I have it at the very end of my pedalboard EBS Multicomp-EBS Octabass-EBS IQ-MXR EVH Phase 90-Demeter Tremulator-Fatboost-Eden. Anywhere else and it doesn't sound as good, it can really change the sound of my other pedals...so placement is very important. Setting the drive past 2 o'clock gets harsh pretty quick, this is also effected by the tone control which can give it presence, I usually don't go past 2 o'clock (12 is neutral but can be muddy)As a pedal to give you a bigger sound it does a good job but it can really change your original settings. This is why I have a love/hate for this pedal. I find it's best application for me is on it's own to beef up a little combo amp that needs a volume/tone boost. I find it sounds better with passive Fenders than my active Modulus with Bartolinis. I have had this for over a year and have used it in many applications but I find that I go back to using basically the same settings on the pedal, other settings to me just sound mediocre. I know there is probably something better so would I strongly recommend it..No. I bought it used off Ebay so obviously the original owner didn't like it that much.

This pedal is the best built pedal I own.

I did email with questions about the OCD and if they had any experience with use on a bass rig. Got a quick reply but not much detail. Why doesn't Fulltone have bass sound files on their website??

I play mostly blues/funk/r&b 30 years.Again the use of this pedal is very subjective. It was reviewed in Bass Player and the website entices bass players to use it. I think this would probably be better with an all tube head. Like I said it will give you a nice saturated louder beefier sound but it is not a transparent boost. Placement of this pedal is very important. Build quality is excellent. I'm a glad I bought it used because new it's a little pricey.

It is like it says. easy to use and straight up. Its comes with a 2 page instruction manual and 2 basic settings. They should give you more suggested settings so you can get going faster.

I played it at home thru a 1980 Gib LP with a pair of super D's and a 2005 Pro Reverb amp. It was a very quite pedal and i used it on various settings. I didnt do too much for me cus my amp is dark sounding to begin with. (it sounded great in the store thru a deluxe reverb and EC strat)
So i took it home for a few hours and was dissapointed. I play otis rush type blues and i was able to accomplissh the same thing rolling back my guitars tone and increaseing my volume accordingly.

Dont get me wrong this pedal works and really fattens up your tone without changing your sound but i think it responds better to a brite sounding amp like a Twin reverb or Deluxe etc.

n/a

n/a

It sounded great in the store. I compared it side by side with the OCD and couldnt make up my mind becasue they didnt have my exact set up. so on the recommendation of the salesmen he let me buy it and take it home for a few hours with the understanding that if i didnt like it he'd let me exchange it for the OCD. WHich I Did 6 hours later.

The tone is hard to describe. it adds meat to your existing tone without changing it, but it just wasnt giving me the blues sound that i was looking for thru my perticular amp.

very easy plug it in a go your off. read everybody elses reviews.

This is my second time with a FB. This time major equipment upgrades have occured, a few more years under my belt, and playing with professional musicans hasnt hurt. This is my set up: Gibson Custom Jimmy Page Les Paul Custom Authentic 2005, Gibson Custom Historic Les Paul '58 Reissue 2003, Fender Custom Classic Tele '99 (Sadly maple neck), a '59 Reissue Danelectro DC2 and a Gibson Limited edition Double Neck (white with gold hardware). Zep heads out there should figure out that I've got a Page set up. For amps I go through a '89 Reissue JTM45 (retro'd completely back to 60's specs) that is soon to be put into combo form ala bluesbreaker. that goes into a Marshall 1960bx 412 cab. Pedals are merely a fulltone clyde wah -> fatboost -> maxon ad900.

Enough about that, that was just to show that i am not a know nothing kid and I know my gear even though I am young (22) I have been playing for almost 15 years now and have own a plethora of gear.

The fatboost in this set up was ... ... FAT. That is all. This, unlike what Mike Fuller states is not a transparent boost. I spent a good long time trying to get it transparent before I started trying to boost the signal to no avail. No matter what settings you dial in the shimmer of a non master volume tube amp is not. It fattens it a compresses it. this pedal is cool if you want to forget about your amp tone (like most overdrive or distortion pedals). A lot of fun to leave on (especially on a JTM45) because it gives you that saturation thats near to the 1987 or 1959 SLP. But that is not what I purchased the pedal for, I purchased it to push me above the rest of the band, that is mike sells it as and I feel it failed miserably at this. When you're playing at Plexi levels this thing doesnt push you anywhere it just fattens without the boost. which translates into getting lost in muck. fun for bedroom level playing or on a super clean amp like a vibroverb or twin amp or even an old traynor ygm3 but on marshalls it does not stack up...

sorry mike, I love you pedals but this is not one of your best...

built like a tank like all fulltones no questions there

havent tried since he never got back to me about fixing my clyde. Thanks Robert Keeley for the fabulous job you did on install the blue LED in it and fixing the switch!

lets do the music type in chronological order:
blues, rockabily, rock 'n' roll, rock, and hardrock
from the 20's to the early 80's and then mix in some STP, Pearl Jam and Django in there for variety. Huge Zephead. this pedal is going back on ebay this weekend and thats the last time i buy one of them. 2nd time, 1st one bought for a great price of 90$ this one not so lucky but ill still pull a profit! fun pedal for bedtime stories but for real playing is seriously lacking in depth - really really takes ALL the dynamics out of your guitar and amp. Its like playing country with a freakin' compressor/sustainer YUCK!

hope I was some help.

Very easy all been said before

OK this is whay I am writing...I used it on guitar for a while and loved it into just tubes but found that in the mix of other effects I couldnt get it to do what I wanted for me. I went with the super hard on from zvex and got hust what I wanted a thick cutting boost and got it with the SHO. But wait folks there's more...!!!! I dicided to use it on my bass which I like with a clean to overdriven tone but I always want fat deffenition. WOW oh yeah WOW this is where this pedal has done for me what no other boost pre amp bla bla bla has ever done. Made my american Jazz bass come to life like a massive sensitive tone monster Oh I couldn't put it down!!! I love this thing on bass. I have removed all other gear from my bass rig with but an envelope filter for special bouncy sounds on some funky tunes ( not used much ) and the fat boost just that from jazz bass to 66 bassman head and bass cabinet with 10s and horn. This thing will let you feel your way to bass tones with your fingers and slap with the halfground strings I use sound super percussive better than could ever be expects I give it a 9 on guitar because it works with just the amp very well but not for what I needed but on the bass I give it a 12!!!

Rock solid

no problems yet

Well I wont play bass without it period its like the bbe sonic maximizer for guitar I just wont play with out it and this goes the same now for my bass

Easy to get a great sound out of. 3 knobs.
The small knob is tough to turn.

Sounds great. I only use it for a Solo boost live. It is also very quite. It really does fatten up the tone without the typical bass/low-end farting of most pedals. It lets you keep your rhythm tone on the clean side of dirty. When you turn it on for solo's it really cuts through. Great volume separation when the pedal is on.

It's been a good pedal.

They seem to answer all emails very quick.

I've heard that they are great to deal with from other guitarist.

I play Hard Rock/Punk Rock. Been playing forever. I play a Tele Deluxe & a Tokai Love Rock. My quest for tone has been crazy the past few years. I got tired of gear not sounding like I want it to. There's no reason to play through gear you're not totally happy with. This pedal is happiness in a Stompbox. I tried one of these a few years ago & I was wrong, wrong, wrong about what this pedal can do. I thought my MXR Micro Amp was the ticket, until I used on a couple tracks in the studio. The Fat Boost works perfect with my old Peavey Butcher (the greatest JCM 800 ever made) & my Classic 30 combo. I spent thousands of dollars on amps & pedals trying to find the right combination. Fulltone really makes great pedals. Sometimes you do get what you pay for. I never thought I'd be playing through Peavey amps & a Fulltone Fat Boost.

As stated by others very straightforward operation, two big knobs covering level and drive and a small one for tone - don't be fooled by its size it has a big impact.

A serious pedal for people working hard on their tone. I have used this with single coil and humbucker guitars, semi's and even on an acoustic. Its been run through Matchless, Boogie and Musicman amps, and even a solid state Polytone.
It always make s a difference. It can set to add bite, or clean boost, but at lower settings it just brings out a much fuller sound. Eeverythng just sounds better.
No hiss unless the tone is up full.

Built like a little tank, Fulltone stuff is pro standard.

never had to deal with them.

Nowadays 160 bucks will get you pedals that can do some pretty amazing things. This is relatively subtle, but if you have a decent guitar and amp it is well worth the investment to finish off the tone.
It also works as a good line driver. If you use a number of effects, like I do, put it as the start of the chain and it helps minimise tone loss.
A stand out piece of kit.

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.

Very easy to use a no brainer

Very few things in life is exactly as what you expected and this is one of those very rare brilliantly made peice of gear that makes your setup beautiful.You must use a nice tube amp( 60's fender deluxe) and a pro quality guitar to really get the bang out of this beauty. It makes my strat sound amazing and I can even make it sound like a vintage les paul by fattening the sound with drive knob.I give it the highest praise to mr fuller,thankyou.And for those fucking idiots who are more into klon or what ever the fuck else... why don't you all just go take a guitar lesson and learn something about equipment before you have your momi or daddy buy you your equipment for you!! You idiots have no idea what a good tone is to begin with so how in the world would you know about a good tone you fucks!!!!!!!! Go suck o your clon and keep pretending that you are decent guitar player with your bullshit 7 string ibanez.

built to last a life time looks like.

It's a bit costly but hey you get what you pay for and this one is worth every penny and I'm sure mr. fuller had put in a lot of late nights trying to perfect this to what it is.

Super easy to use. The middle trim knob is a little small and hard to use but its also hard to hit accidentaly with your foot.

The main problem with this pedal is that I bought it to use as a lead volume boost but it sounds so darn good I never want to turn it off!

Build like a sherman tank! No problems or complaints here. totally reliable in my book!

Nener needed it!

I play blues/rock/jam. Using 2 Fender Hot rod Devilles with a Fulltone Fulldrive II, an old blue Fuzz Face, a TS9, a TC Electronic Stereo Chorus, and a Bad Horsie Wah. The fat Boost is all the claim and more in my book. I cannot live without it. You can hear samples of my playing this gear on my website at http://www.markarbogast.com

The only pedal I've found that's easier to use is an MXR Phase90. That says it all.

This is the best widely available pedal for Marshall amps. Period. I use it to simulate a cranked up sound at lower volumes, and I feel that it works better than a Powerbrake or THD Hotplate for this purpose, although the Hotplate offers a line out, which is nice. For my purposes, I cannot justify the added expense and complication of the Hotplate, though. I use the Fat Boost with a Flying V with Duncan JB/Jazz pickups, and a coupla Marshall DSL50 heads and 1960 cabs with G12H speakers. This is the closest thing to a perfect rig I've ever had.

Seriously, Fulltone pedals are built like a bank vault. I've spilled beer into this pedal on a number of occasions, and it never even hiccuped. I have been using this pedal without backup for over 200 gigs, without difficulty of any sort.

I called Mike Fuller awhile back about the new Tape Echo pedal, and he handled my call personally in a pleasant, brisk, businesslike manner. He's undoubtedly a busy person, but was very helpful to me. I think I helped him by having my questions organized on paper before I called, so as to take up as little of his time as possible. He's doing a GREAT job, and I hope he keeps it up.

Cool, fun, badass pedal. Does exactly what Mike Fuller says it will, just like everything else he makes. Do some research, and put your money into the BEST gear your can afford for YOU, and you won't be sorry. Buy what you really want the first time, and avoid G.A.S., which will waste your time and money.

Very easy and straight forward. I like how the newer version (2003- ) gives you the gain knob up top next to the volume. Set your preferences, step on it, and you're in business. It's easily tweakable once the pedal is on too, so that's even more points in this pedal's favor!

Well, here I have to go stand in the corner with the DUNCE cap on. I bought an MXR Micro Amp several months ago and tried to justify the lower price of the MXR pedal over the Fatboost. The Micro Amp was okay, but once I got it home and had it a while, I did notice when the boost was engaged, there was this subtle thinness to my sound, and trying to raise the volume brought that nasty, scratchy gain that's built in after 3'O clock. Needless to say I sold it only after about a month. Since that time I had been playing humbuckers, P-90s and G&L MFD pickups that have plenty of punch. I recently picked up an Ernie Ball Albert Lee Strat and loved the way the guitar sounded but hated having to adjust the settings on my amp to compensate the volume drop off when I was playing the Lee. I went out and picked up a Fulldrive2 (which I am crazy about and this is my 3rd one!) and while I liked having the cleaner non-compressed overdrive boost, I still wanted to get a clean, fat boost without too much compression. My Maxon compressor gave me a nice boost, but then again, it was a compressed boost. The Fatboost won't compress unless you have the gain turned up quite a bit. After A/Bing the Fatboost with the Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster, the HAO RustBooster and the Micro Amp, I bit the bullet and went home with the Fulltone. Even though gain past 1'O clock will start to sound scratchy, it increasingly fattens your sound rather than some other pedals that seem to thin your signal out. This really is great for bringing out the best in an alnico II strat pickup without coloring its tone. Combined with a slight bit of compression from my Maxon, the sound on a clean amp is absolutely amazing. I thought the Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster sounded good, but I didn't like the coloration the three-way switch gave me, and I've read that pedal has some quality control issues that I'm not interested in fooling with. As far as the HAO RustBooster, well, that was okay, but it imposed too much gain when turned up and didn't seem to have as much headroom as the Fatboost. The Micro-Amp is fine, but to correct what I said months ago about the Micro Amp being as good as the Fatboost....I apologize to Mike Fuller and the Fulltone faithful. The MXR is okay and will work, but the Fatboost makes me want to stay in my room and play all the freaking time.....That's the best way I can describe the difference between the Fatboost and the Micro Amp.

Shoot...Are you kidding me...Go try one out in person and you will know what I"m talking about......I think I could even shoot it with my Casulll and it would still work.

Never had to deal with them and I feel sorry for Mr. Fuller. Every guitar picker thinks they are hot stuff when they call and talk to a famous guy, when all they are doing is waising his time with garble about gear and common sense you can figure out on your own accord. I think I'll leave him alone and rely on customer support if I need it. I don't think I will as I've had several Fulltone pedals. Plus, Guitar Heaven in Nashville is Tops in customer service and just all around good people working there (Corner Music is righteous too!) so I will take any problems I may encouter up with them first, and then the manufacturer if there ever happens to be such a delima.

What else can I say that I haven't already. Look at the overwhelming positive reviews and rejoice. The plusses of this pedal are in the majority and if you look at most of the Fulltone products, they seem to have more reviews in the 9 or over rating than any other manufacturer of guitar pedals I've seen. Especially when you see so many people rating these pedals. Expensive? Well, not really when you compair to other boutique lines. For true bypass, great tone and reliability, this pedal (along with most other Fulltone pedals) are hard to beat. Go try one for yourself and enjoy the experience!

I have the 2003 model with the detented control. This pedal couldn't be any easier to use.

Sound quality is such a subjective thing. Obviously, and thankfully, we all don't like or want the same things. Therefore rather than try and convince everyone that this is the answer of their prayers I'd like to tell you why I like it. When I first plugged in this pedal and cranked it to the point where I was getting an overdriven tone it reminded me of something that at first I couldn't quite put my finger on. The tone was great, but very different from what I was used to with my standard set up of a Super Reverb and various overdrive pedals. Then it came to me. I have a 1963 Brown Fender Princeton that I keep tucked in the closet. The Fat Boost sounds identical to this Princeton when it is cranked up! I don't play the Princeton a lot because it really doesn't have enough power to gig with so I just drag it out once in a while. I always loved its tone however and now I can get the same tone out of just about any amp at any volume. So, will you like it? I don't know. But if you think you like the sound of a vintage low wattage Fender tube amp cranked up then you will love this pedal. I give it a 9 because the tone is nearly perfect for me but realize that probably nothing is 100% perfect.

So far so good. Seems really well built but only time will answer this question.

I am pretty much a strict blues player, both traditional and modern. The website claim is correct, I never want to turn this off. I fnd I can still get nice clean tones when I back off the volume and pick attack however I get my Princeton grind when I dig in. If anyone is interested I use a Tele, a Les Paul Classic and a Heritage H535 (335 style) guitar. This pedal works great for me!

Have the newer model Fat-Boost with tone as small knob.
Takes a bit of experimenting to find sweet spot for all three controls. Bought in Japan (still here on tour for 2 months), Japanese manual, but Fulltone emailed English manual immediately.

On this tour using Marshall DSL 2000 50W + 4x12, Bassman, Vox AC30. (Usually plus Vibroverb other tours), Various Strats with maple finger boards, various Kinman p\u?s, one with Humbucker bridge, Firebird, Les Paul, Tele (Keith Richards 5 string tuning), various pedals. The Fat-Boost is used only with the Marshall, the only other pedal with the Marshall is a very basic boss DD5 delay, with tap tempo, in the FX loop. Not the purest echo system, but simple for live. Marshall is used on the boosted lead channel only. Fat-Boost in front of pre-amp stage. The basic tone is coming form the amp already. Try to simulate my old plexis flat out, which are too loud for me live, although I may try the Fat-Boost next opportunity live with an old 50 wt Superlead or Bluesbreaker combo.
The Fat-Boost, so far, is good for pushing an already nicely driven sound.
Two settings I like so far ;-
1st Vol 1 oclock, gain 12 oclock, tone 12 oclock. Nicely bursting out amp for solos on strat neck p/u. Edgy top and deep bottom. May sound hi- fi on it?s own, but can be a bit spikey in top end of sound spectrum, when buried in band mix of dense instrumentation, because lows get hidden. Top end slightly separate from main body of sound, but good for certain songs. This top end can also add pleasant smack with certain p/u?s and less dense instrumentation.
2nd Vol 4 oclock, gain 8/9 oclock, some songs gain 9/10 oclock, tone full up. Again on strat neck p/u, this is more middley, more throat, because the vol is pushing the amp more than the gain. Also I get to keep the tone full up, since I?m not compensating, rolling off treble, for the added treble, as I would otherwise get, by increasing the gain, This, I suspect, allows me to retain more of the natural gtr sound. Alternatively too much vol, as opposed to gain, will clog up the sound on my set up. I think prefer this setting, and it still bursts out of speakers nicely with good top and bottom to sound. The sound mixed with the band on full tilt rock songs seems more solid.
Sound on neck p/u heading towards a ?Marshall equivalent? of my original 62 strat (rosewood board) with 62 vibroverb (1x15), + tube screamer on neck p/u (Stevie Ray Vaughn set up)(This gig more rock than blues, hence no Vibroverb). Humbucker sounds good also with above settings, like early British blues (60?s John Mayall guitar players). These are the two lead sounds I mainly like. Also slide sound is a bit Sonny Landreth.
Both don?t add too much distortion, which I like, but retain good, wide, dynamic attack at front of note transient envelope, simulating natural compression of cranked old amps with tube rectifiers. Still stays quite transparent. I?m using wireless systems on all gtrs so unfortunately I?m loosing some top and adding slight compression anyway.
There is some noise but there ALWAYS is, if you crank amps to push out this kind of sound. That?s why I use the Kinmans (noiseless) live, especially with lighting rigs which add buzz. Studio is a whole other area (less compromises).
Every gig on this tour is recorded on minidisk from front of house desk, (mainly stadiums but no ambience mikes which is brutally honest) so I can hear exactly what is going on when I make small changes to the Fat-Boost, (and I?m still tweaking).

Early days but seems solid enough. I may get another as reserve if I continue to like it.

So far emails replied to promptly. No need for repairs

Good for what I do. I am a mainly blues influenced lead player but have to accommodate many diverse styles for accompanying different artists.
As well as touring with Eric Clapton (Pilgrim tour), Van Morrison, Robert Palmer, and Asia, I have performed and/or recorded with Paul McCartney, Sting, Elton John, Queen, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Mark Knopfler, Paul Young, Jon Anderson (Yes) and Burt Bacharach. Currently on tour in Japan with Japanese artist.
I own over 50 gtrs and over 30 amps, mainly vintage, + protools recording studio.
I use many various effects (Usually not more than a couple at a time, if any) but when it comes to overdrive I prefer (and am lucky enough to afford) to choose the right amp for the sound ;- hence multi-amp live set up. Sometimes use Tube Screamers or Rat with Fenders, when I need to overdive the amp, which is set up on the edge of distorting but still clean.
Only used the Fat-Boost so far with the already, nicely driven Marshall, as a booster. I don?t know how it would be with a clean Fender. Not had time to try that yet. As with all pedals, type of amp, settings, type of mike and positioning, are important to me. Also gtr, p/u?s, maple, rosewood or ebony fingerboards, make differences to how I would EQ the pedal and amp.
Heard about Fulltone over the years, bought Fat-Boost here in Japan after trying one out in rehearsals here. Also bought a Fulldrive 2 here but haven?t had a chance to really get to know it yet, although I use it for one Peter Green (early Fleetwood Mac) type overdrive with the Bassman on this gig.
I hope this is of interest, and helpful, especially to any younger player who may find all of the infinite possibilities of gear these days confusing, (maybe this has added to the confusion). I found your other reviewer?s contributions interesting reading, while holed up in a hotel in Nagoya for a night.

Very simple and the manual makes it a no brainer.

It sounds great running it as a clean boost to my victoria, but I wasn't blown away by the overdrive. It is pretty cool that you can achieve it though. I don't think it as good as the klon, and I am going to compare it to a super hard on that I am going to get.

It looks and feels really dependable. You could probably use is as a hammer and it would continue working just fine.

I am not satisfied with the customer service. I have owned 4 pedals and I had a bad experience with one. I have tried emailing and calling and it took about a week to get a response. It would be unfair to rate this pedal poorly based on bad experiences, but that is why I am going to try z. vex-he is easy to get a hold of and very helpful.

I own a couple great tube amps and I try to limit my pedals to 2 or 3 when I play live. I want to have a clean boost, but I don't think it will be this one. I think this is way too expensive for what it does.
It is nice and maybe I will gravitate back to it, but I would rather have a mxr micro amp (great value), or a super hard on (great service).

Very easy to get a great clean boost out it,and a very easy to use pedal.

2003 model,the clean boost is great...I really did'nt care for the overdriven sounds that it produces,I was hoping to use in place of my fulldrive, but no way... you simply cannot replace the fulldrive II in the overdrive dept.I do however use this to boost my signal for chicken pickin' solos...I run it through a Rivera clean channel and it sounds awesome!!Turning the drive all the way down and volume all the way up (tone control varies) gives me a great sound.I also own a MXR micro amp and side by side,I prefer the fat boost.

I honestly don't think you can break one of these.I would use this without a backup anyday.

I've e-mailed them and I did'nt get a response.I've heard that Mike Fuller can be pretty selective about returning e-mails...who knows.Now that I think about it,it was an obvious question anyway!!

A little pricey,but I would replace it.I would'nt use it for metal(maybe just to boost your leads).Its a wonderful clean boost and is as solid as they come.I've been a fulltone devotee for four years now and I simply cannot find better sounding pedals...this guy just gets it.

Very easy and intuitive. One very minor complaint. The little plastic tone pot is too small. A larger knob would be much easier to use.

This pedal does what it claims to. It does add more even order harmonics to your signal and "recover" some of your signal after long cable runs. I have owned many Fulltone pedals over the years and most of them seem better suited to the single coils of strats and teles. This comes as no suprise with Fuller being such a strato-phile. However, I play a Les Paul 80% of the time, and think it would have been better to make the tone control a little more versitile. ie: Low-end boost in the CCW direction and treble boost in the CW direction. With a detented center position taking the tone control out of the circuit. This would make it more useful to us Gibson players. IMHO anyway. I would like to A/B this unit with the Diaz booster or the Analogman "Beano boost," which I believe feature such a tone control.

I'm a little apprehensive about Fulltone switches. One failed on me a few years ago. It worked for about week then died. I sent it back and they promply repaired it. I had my pedal back in no time. I've noticed that Fulltone has changed switches a few times over the years. Maybe this is no longer an issue. Otherwise the knobs and housing are a "case" study in overengineering. Very rugged.

The speed of service is impressive. The fact that you might actually get to talk with the President of the Co. is proof of Mike's dedication. As for phone courtsey, let's just say, Fuller's a busy man. If you've ever worked with a physicians or Phd.s, you'll know what I mean Have your "guns loaded" before you call. If you're quick and to the point; He's very nice. He can smell if you're a pro or just a "bedroom wanna-be" right through the phone line!

I play rock, Jazz and blues. I've been playing about 25 years. I have experience in music engineering and production both in the studio and in the field. ...If my Fat boost got "boosted?" I might replace it with a more versitile unit. I love the build quality though. Second to none.

Very easy to use, I like the fact that it has a volume, so you can add gain without also also increasing the volume.

I have tried a bunch of stuff trying to get a tone I like, without much luck, until I tried the Fat Boost, WOW! (Now That's The Tone I've Been After) I've got a reissue 72 Tele Thinline and Reissue Deluxe Rev. It's the first pedal I've heard that makes it sound like the amp is cranked at any volume, without changing your basic tone at all. Everything else seems to change your tone to much, or sound to compressed, or to buzzy etc. I set it to one notch shy of full up and leave it on all the time. It souns Awesome!

I havent had it that long yet, but it seems to be very well built.

Haven't dealt with them

I play mostly blues and rock, I've been playing about 6yrs. On my pedalboard is the Fat Boost, Barber Direct Drive, and Teese RMC3. The Fat Boost is always on and I use the Direct Drive when I want to rock out, and the RMC3 when I want to get funky. It's by far the best boost/od pedal I've heard, and if it were stolen or lost I couldn't get another one fast enough.

did nothing for my tone, and I tried it in several positions on my pedal board. I know Mike will have harsh words for me, but this pedal wasn't worth the money. period. hours of trying different positions in the signal chain, with US Strat, PRS Custom 24, and Les Paul Classic.Everything got either spongy and muddy or harsh and brittle.

PRS Custom 24 (stock humbuckers) Les Paul Classic (stock humbuckers) and US Strat (stock single coils). Mesa Boogie F-50 combo and / or Marshall TSL 100 w/1936 2x12 cab. Furman powered pedal board wired with monster cables. AC boost>Fulltone Distortion Pro>Fulltone Choral Flange>Maxxon analog delay.
I tried the Fat Boost in every position on the pedal board, interchanging guitars. Never got the sweet clean boost with rich harmonic overtones that were promised. I returned this pedal for a full refund after 2 weeks of f^@#ing around with my rig. Not worth the money or the effort.

I've had problems with Fulltone switches, actually got rid of a Clyde Wah because of a faulty switch. Had to send back Choral Flange for a new switch after 3 months of normal use! I keep a back-up Boss chorus in my tool box at every gig. The new switch is much tougher but noisy as hell in the studio.

Mike is a rude s.o.b - but is good about responding. He should hire someone to handle his customer service issues - it is a skill set that is not possesed by all (right Mike?). he wrote me back once and blamed my problem on the other crappy pedals I was using - not knowing that two of them were his own products!

I play neo-soul, jazz and regggae. 20 years playing semi-pro. My band plays 60 gigs annually around WAshington, DC and goes to Jamaica twice a year. I love the tone of my other Fulltone products, but have had it with the overpriced tempermental stuff. For the money Mike should be using better switches (Choral Flange was actially plastic and rubber until he replaced with a steel switch.I had to wait two weeks for my expensive chorus pedal to get shipped back to me)Clyde Wah switch failed, and local dealer didn't have the replacement part to fix problem. I own a Boss Chorus and a Cry Baby Wah as a direct result of buying back-ups for my Fulltone boxes. As you can see, I will spend the money but have now run out of patience. Returned the Fat Boost for a full refund. I'll end on a good note - the Distortion Pro has been a steady performer and I am pleased with the tone and reliability. Again, somewhat expensive but it has lasted over 1 year of steady use. Fingers and toes remain crossed, based on the other Fulltone experiences!

Well, If it had more knobs then I think it would be too complicated. I like the indented drive knob. It lets me remember the last setting while tracking. If you can't get this thing to sound good in the face of your tube amp then you may want to take up tuba lessons.

Run this into all my amps. I like it better than my fulldrive2. With my Les Paul and JTM-45 it really makes things swing. That super chimey half distorted lovely tone that makes the world go around just pops out. I don't know how I got along without this pedal.

Can't imagine this thing going south. I own alot of Fulltone stuff. Never a problem.

Have not had to deal with Fulltone on this particular pedal. I have in the past on other issues - always very Pro.

If you are looking for that Half distorted class A sweet spot from you Tube amp. This pedal delivers the goods hand over fist. Like I mentioned before - I don't know how I lived without this pedal. My JTM-45 and Vibrolux love me know.

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it? Plug your guitar into it! Mike always gives a few settings as guidelines on the info sheet, but adjust it to the levels you have your existing gear at, listen, tweak, then refine the rest of your settings to compliment the Fat Boost. I am always trying different pedals, but with Fulltone gear I already have I found that the volume levels suggested push my signal way over the top - which could be a good thing.

My guitars are a G&L Strat loaded with Fralin blues pickups (get the bass plate for the bridge p/u, it's worth the few extra bucks), and a Godin LG with Fralin P90's. From there the signal goes to a Fulltone Clyde, Ernie Ball volume pedal,Fulldrive II, Fulltone Distortion Pro, Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, V.L.Chorus & V.L. Micro Vibe, Boss tremolo, Boss Harmonizer, Boss DD6 delay, then the Fat Boost. Then it goes to a 4 space rack with an old Tubeworks Real Tube II, Digitech Legend (in the RT-II effects loop) Sabine tuner, Furman Power Conditioner, then to either a Peavey Classic 50 into 2 vintage 30's or a Laney 30 watt class A into 4 10's. I had a little hiss from the Boss pedals but it is not distracting - everything else is true bypass. The Fat Boost was the newest addition to my pedal board and I cannot believe the difference in tone. I set it for more of the overdriven tube sound, and like I said previously, I had to go back over my all my amp and preamp settings and readjust to compliment the FB. And as Mike states on his website, you'll never want to turn it off. It's like I have two new amps. In my set up I would use the Sparkle Drive to get the "just breaking up" sound and use my other Fulltone pedals for solo's, but now with the FB along with the natural tube distortion I have more than I ever thought I could get without going into a more expensive amp.

I've had no problems with my other Fulltone gear and don't expect any with this. I do not play to feed my family, just play when asked and to have fun (and sound good while doing it). We all know how good it feels when your peers come up and ask how you get your tone, and this pedal just pushed it a step further! Don't need a backup, but I guess I could use the Sparkle Drive to substitute IF it ever happened.

Never dealt with Mr. Fuller, only read other reader comments.

I play everythng from classic rock to blues to country, and this pedal helps me to sound like I'm playing through some real high-end equipment, which in turn makes you more enterested and excited to play and push yourself. If my gear were stolen this would be one of the first things replaced. The only downside to Fulltone gear is that it is pricey, but the pain goes away as soon as you start playing. Plus, for me it's cheaper to try different pedals than to buy new amps. Also, a plus to Fulltone gear is that it's tru-bypass - well, at least I can't hear any change or coloring to the signal.

Pretty easy to use. I bought mine new, but the manual was MIA. Not a big deal because once you play with the three knobs, you quickly understand exactly what they do: Volume is the amount of boost...or cut - about 11:30 is even for me, so anything above is boost, anything below is cut. Input gain can be either all the way off to overdriving the internal circuitry, which gives a nice slightly overdriven tone. I use my Fat Boost for clean boost, so I run this at 12:00. Tone is a high-cut like a guitar tone control, so this stays all the way up.

This pedal is in my opinion everything it is supposed to be and then some. It is a very clean and transparent clean boost, and it doesn't color the tone going into it in the least. Once in a while I'll run the input a little hot, which gives by boosted tone a little more of an edge. I use this at the end of my signal path strictly for boosting my signal to the amp for solos. I run from solid and semi-hollow body guitars into a Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah -> Carl Martin Compressor -> Tech 21 NYC DoubleDrive -> Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive -> Guyatone MD3 -> Fulltone Fat Boost -> Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb.

Fulltone products are built like tanks. I've used a number of his pedals, and they are the most reliable pieces of gear I have ever owned.

Never had to deal with the company.

I play all styles of music, but my most recent project is an 8-piece 70s dance/groove band. I have a single channel amp and needed a way to boost my volume for leads. I had a problem with the price, as it is twice as much as the MXR Micro Amp. It isn't necessarily twice the pedal, but its damn close. The MXR just wasn't transparent enough. Plus, I think the Fat Boost offers some very useful versatility. The input gain control makes the pedal very usable in any number of rigs and situations. This really is a great product and I couldn't be any happier with it. Took off a point because it is still a little pricey.

Very easy to get a good sound. Hell, it sounds great anyway, anytime. Perfect. I'm using it to make my Dimarzio PAF Pro in bridge almost sound like a ToneZone!!

Setup:
From Guitar (Musicman Silhouette w/ ToneZone and Fast Track 1's)> Fat Boost> Dunlop Crybaby 95Q> 2x Koch Powertone II (EL34)> 2x Koch 4x12". And a TC Gmajor FX-proc.
No noise in any setting, what so ever. When I play my Spirit (w/ 2x PAF pro) I put it in when a fat "pre-push" is needed. The neckpup sounds very jazzy with this little miracle. I'm going to sell all my other "booster"stompboxes - they are realy shitty comparing to the Fat Boost.

It's build like a tank. Throwing it from Mt. Everest, it will survive. I won't ;-)

Don't know. I don't think I have to deal with them, not now, not ever.

I play soulcovers, crossover a la Living Colour, metal. And everything in between. Got my first guitar 13 years ago. If it were stolen?? MAN, that would be fxxking xxxxxxxx, I'd hunt the bastard who'd stolen it. For life, period.
Volume at 1 o'clock, Input Gain at 1 and Tone at 9. This is it.

Fairly easy to get a good sound with it. The only fiddling is getting the gain knob set right, which I like at about 9:00. Any higher on the gain, and the clean boost loses it's cleanness. Manual is straightforward and clear. The tone knob functions like the tone knob on your guitar, so it stays all the way up for me.

As a clean boost, this pedal excels. I find it saves me the most when I go into a lead and need that extra push to cut through the band's mix. This is especially useful when you want to keep your tone clean, but put a lick a little more in front of the mix. I used to have to turn around and tweak the volume on my amp to do this, but now it's just a tap on the pedal, which is much more precise and convenient. The sound does seem to "fatten" in a way, not adding crunch, but adding more "meat" to the sound. It can push a tube amp just a little more into overdrive, but this is due to the signal boost, not due to added distortion. Some say this boost is not worth the cash, but I find it much so more useful, practically speaking, in a live situation, than almost any other pedal, that it is worth the price. Now, if you have a sound man who can boost your guitar level every time you throw in a lick between vocal lines, or for solos, you might not need this pedal.

I've had it for almost a year without any trouble, and feel Fulltone products are as solid as they come. I don't use a backup for this pedal.

Never dealt with Mr. Fuller. I do think his website is worth checking out, and is pretty educational.

This pedal complements my lead playing well. I've been playing 20+ years. I would replace it if stolen or lost. I also have a Fulldrive 2, which I recently replaced on my board with a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, so I'm not just some Fulltone fanatic . I do like the Clyde Wah, which I also own, and reviewed that one also. For a clean boost, I don't know how the Fat-Boost could be better. I have never tried a Klon Centaur, however.

It takes about an hour or more to really figure this little thing out and get the most from it. Mike provided a very short manual that came with the pedal.

I use my Fat Boost with the following setup:

Heritage 150CM (Les Paul) with Duncan Antiquities, then into a Barber Direct Drive, Fat Boost, and finally a Holy Grail Reverb, all into a modified Marshall JTM45 head with KT66's and a Marshall 4x10 cabinet with 30 watt speakers.

I bought this pedal to be used as a "FAT BOOST", and guess what... It works for that function. The input gain control is the most sensitive control on the pedal. I noticed that with my setup it drives the amp, when the level is over 1 o'clock and acts as a clean boost at levels under that. When I used this with my Barber Direct Drive, I really started to experience sonic nirvana. As far as sounds, I use a "Les Paul" and a Marshall, think about it? Its used for blues, blues-rock and classic rock, you know ZZ Top, Allmans, Clapton, stuff of that nature.

I think I could definitely depend on any of Fuller's products, the guy is great to deal with always quick to respond. However I've only owned it for two days so I'll refrain from commenting.

Mike Fuller, may be one of the nicest and informative men that I've ever come across. I bought my pedal used, and ask him a few questions and he answered them all very quickly and courteously. If I have a problem I'm sure that I could send it to Mike.

I found this to be the missing link in my pedal chain. I think that my guitar, amp and overdrive needs were met, but I needed a little something give me more grunt and fill out my sound more, and the Fat Boost did just that. If it were stolen or lost I'd definitely buy it again, it reacts beautifully to my Barber Direct Drive and my JTM45, so it is already an integral part of my sound. For $125 used I couldn't pass it up.

Couldn't be easier.
One knob sets the level, one sets the drive and one tone.
It's also virtually impossible to get a "bad" sound out of it.

What it does is simpy give you MORE sound without adding any real character of its own. but that's a very GOOD thing, as it gets maximum character out of your instrument and amp.

I am using it mostly as a booster. Let me explain:
My main bass guitar is a Status Graphite; a VERY loud active design. but I switch for some songs to a Rickenbacker 4001 with the old horse-shoe pick-up or to a P-Bass with a Quarter Pound DUncan p/u. Both of these are virtually INAUDIBLE at the level set for the Status. So I click in the Fat Boost turned all the way up and they are then ALMOST as loud as theStatus. Works great for me.
And also seems to really (dare I say?) fatten up the Rickenbacker. It adds a subtle thickness that is quite flattering.
I use it in front of a Hiwatt 100 Custom into a Vox 1x18 FOundation and a Vox 4x12 Sovereign cab. It also drives my Tech21 Bass Driver DI or RBI, in the chain with equal success.
It's also dead quiet with totally silent switching (in/out) as well.

Utterly solid.
I used it on a round the continent twice tour.
I played with Cyndi Lauper, opening for Cher in areans. It did 93 shows to over a million people and got thrown around in the rack (where it sits velcroed to the top of a wireless receiver) and trucked and flown all over the place.
It worked perfectly everytime except once which turned out to be a short in my switcher that was confusing the fat Boost (not the Fat Boost's "fault")
Could not ask for better reliability.

I have always found Mike Fuller to be responsive and to the point.
He's prould of his product line but justifiably so.

Rock/pop music.
I would replace it in a second. In fact I would NEED to at this point.
I actually wish it had a HAIR more gain. But that's only my unique situation.

Easy to use

I use it with a Taylor 514ce through a Trace Elliott Acoustic amp. It has true-bypasing, so there are no alterations to tone what-so-ever when the pedal is turned off.

The FAT Boost by Fulltone is the best clean drive pedal i have ever heard. I use it with a Taylor 514ce through a Trace Elliott Acoustic Amp and it doesn't even peak out the amp, but still produces great volume levels for leads and finger picking. I am in a band with 2 other electric guitar players and my acoustic flat picking cuts right over top of the electrics, giving my guitar more definition. If you're looking for a great super clean boost, this is the pedal for youl

Very Easy , step on it , turn it up !

Sometimes I get Lucky , this is just what I was hoping to get , I use a SWR BB 2 Head and EV 12 and Eden 2x10 cab , A Ernie Ball 5 and a Fender 57ri. and a 51ri, I use a ton of pedals Fulltone,boss,arion,ebs,and a custom switcher,I needed to hit my amp with a consistent signal , all the non-truebypass effects on my board are tone -suckers ,so enter the Fat Boost , and the end of my chain . With FB I got back the meat with all the fat , I also got a surprize a beautiful,mild compression , very natural .All this added up , and I get Huge Tone ,yes Fat Boost indeed ! Also I use this when recording on bass , guitar and electric/acoustic it really sweetens the eq on all of these and when cranked up you get that awesome compression /sustain. I really think this is the fix all tool !

Very High Quality , I have had it for a year and with steady use and alot of stomping ,it is solid.I own several pedals by many different companies and most of them are plastic , that I take extra care not to break , all of my fulltones are made for the battle .I have had fulltones for years now ,I never had any problems , at all , not one ! That is Reliability !

I have contacted Fulltone several times over the years , on the phone through emails and through a local dealer , Mike Fuller is the Man ! He knows what to do about tone.

This was the fix I needed , to fix a tone drop out due to a ton of pedals , to my surprize I found the FB works with just about everything ,if you need a line driver or alittle warm eq / mild compressor ,preamp. Check out the fatty

Very easy to use, no brainer really. Although, it will take a bit of twidling to get the desired effect. The controls are interactive, and do different things in relation to one another.

Well, now here's the rub. I use this primarily with an old Deluxe Reverb and various Teles. There are simply two ways of looking at this pedal. You can take it at "face value", and NOT dwell on what it does vs. the price. OR....like me, a person who has tried other "boosters", and for alot less, you can kinda feel a bit riped off by the overall performance of this pedal. I fall into the second category for sure. This aint anything too special folks! I have been playing for almost 30 years, have great gear, and have had MUCHO experience with various pedals, and most of the "boutique" stuff. I have what will remain an un-named boost, that I have owned for years, cost me $49.00, new, and hands down out-performs this Fat Boost all day long. It's not that this isn't a nice peice, nor that it sounds bad. It just isn't worth the $$. No way, no how. This thing should sell for $79, not $159-179. Robbery. It's a bit finicky as well. My other boost has one, yes ONE knob, and does it all. It sounds fatter, blends with my overdrives better, and can be put before or after the drives, with almost the same results. The only thing lacking, is that it is NOT true by-pass. However, it's not a tone-sucker either. I know you all hate me for not telling you what it is, but sorry.....it's my little secret. Besides, they don't make the peice anymore, hence....my purchasing the FD, as a "back-up". So far, it sits in the box!! I find, like many boosts, that it can get harsh if dimed. Therefore, I use it set relatively nuetral, to provide just the right amount of push to my tubes. It works, but it aint blowin me away. I think Mike gets alot of what I will call " I spent a shit-load on this pedal, so I aint gonna dog it", reveiws. The FDII leaves me equally un-impressed. Again, I can name pedals that cop it's vibe, for WAY less. And, I aint cheap. I have thousands into my gear, very carefully selected over many years. I gig professionally, so this stuff gets put to the test time & time again, and I admit I'm picky.

Well built, no doubt.

He has always answered my questions. Seems like a no-nonsense, but fais minded guy to me.

OK, ok at best. I wasn't expecting anything spectacular. However, it would have been nice to see this pedal "better" some cheaper peices I have tried/own. Nope. Just another boost, with a bit more versatility, but not really. The controls are finicky, and seem to counter eachother in a not so friendly way sometimes. This pedal is some quick $$ in Mike's pocket, in my opinion. The Sparkle Drive can equal it's performance, as well as others. NOT worth the $$. Lower the price, and maybe then it becomes a worthy peice. The name "Fulltone" is selling this peice, not what it actually does.

Very easy to use. Start with everything at 12 o'clock and adjust to taste. It seems like it could only be easier to use if you did not have to change a battery. Need to experiment with where you put it in your effects chain. It sounds best last but makes my digital reverb pedal sound funny.

I am running it through a bunch of different amplfiers. (Rivera M-60, Allen Old Flame, Laney Pro-tube, Mesa boogie maverick and a couple of homebrew matchless clones). My guitars are a american standard telecaster and a PRS custom-22 triple soapbar. It adds body to any tone. I really enjoy it with a clean sounding amp. You just can't go wrong. You need to be a little careful if you are using a reverb pedal with positioning in you effects chain.

Looks and feels tougher than any other pedal I have.

no opinion.

Great pedal but nothing gets a 10.

Straight out of the box, there's a bit of dicking about to be done to get exactly the sound you're looking for - specifically, the (tiny) gain knob will need adjusting (it can set the gain from pure clean to dirty cranked distortion). It really is a tiny, incy-wincy little thing so it is fiddly. But, having set the gain once, I've never touched it again. The only controls are 'tone' (as others have noted, it's a passive roll-off that you can take out of the circuit completely) and 'volume' (which does what it says - volume). It's as easy as easy to adjust these to get what you're looking for.

My (live) set-up is an old (62) Strat into a Marshall TSL100 & 2x Marshall 2x12's. My FX board, however, is a bit of a beast: Z-Vex SHO -> Crybaby -> Line 6 Filter Mod -> switchable Boss EQ -> Analogueman BiComp -> Fulldrive 2 -> Small Stone -> U/Vibe -> ChoralFLange -> Ernie Ball Swell -> Headrush delay -> Fat-Boost.

Now, my guess is you don't need me to tell you why I got the F/Boost ...! Personally, I don't get on with FX loops - something wierd goes on there, which means that my modulation FX just don't sound so 'full' in the loop - things just thin out somehow. So everything goes between the guitar and the amp. Ouch! - lots of true by-pass stuff, George L patches and Monster cables, but ouch none-the-less. Definite signal & tone loss. Hence the F/Boost at the end of the board.

And it's killer. I have it set for a clean sound, but with enough gain to fatten things up somewhat (the little knob's at about 2 o'clock). The tone control is fully CS (out of the circuit) so does nothing, and the volume's at about 9 o'clock.

The result is a tone that's basically the same but a bit richer & warmer - filled out, you might say. There's a slight clipping, softening off the notes a tad - which is really nice - and also more obvious harmonics (nice chimey sound to chords), a bit more sustain (it's not that notes hold longer, rather that they just don't seem to thin out - while you can hear the note there's 'more of it' there, almost like the effect of a subtle compression ...). It's nice. Really, really nice.

If all you want/need is a boost, then the Fatboost is the nicest sounding boost I've ever heard. I love it, and I simply never turn it off.

These pedals are built like tanks. The circuitry is art. You could use this pedal on the moon without back-up.

Never had to deal with Mr Fuller. My sense is, though, that if I did he'd probably be professional and obsessive. I'd have high expectations.

I play soul/funk/R&B/blues and a bit of fusionny stuff. I've played forever (30+ years) - used to do session work, now I play in a covers band and with like-minded muzo's wanting to blow for the Hell of it.

I'd replace this pedal in an instant (after I'd killed the f---er who'd stolen it).

But, I really need to clarify something for anyone who's checked out the Fulltone web site ...

Mr Fuller doesn't appear to be a man riddled with self-doubt. The sense I get from his site and other musings of his I've seen in print is that he has a love affair with himself and a belief that all others are lesser mortals. I may be wrong and this may be horribly unfair. But that's how he appears to come across. I don't deny he makes absolutely awesome FX (I have three, for Chrissakes!). And I don't deny he's clearly 110% committed to making the best possible gear for fellow guitarists - and God bless him for that. But some of his pov's lean, I think, towards the 'this guy is a bit of an arsehole' end of the spectrum.

Which brings me to his slagging off of the Z-Vex SHO ("that F-ing Greek booteek boost" to quote his web site). Ignore him, he is - on this subject, at least - like most arseholes, full of shit.

Bottom-line: I myself use an SHO and a F/Boost. Why? Because the SHO does amazing things for my ancient Strat - it brings my old p/ups to life in a way NO OTHER PEDAL GETS CLOSE TOO (including the Fatboost). Although I've had the technicalities explained to me by a tech, I won't try to make sense of exactly how the SHO works here. But what it achieves is to extract a lot more 'information' out of older p/ups which have lost some of their original magnetism over the years(which is why the SHO has to be at the beginning of the chain, otherwise it makes very little difference to the tone). So I use an SHO to make my 62 Strat sound even more like a 62 Strat - the improvement is jaw-dropping (brighter, more dynamic, clearer, less 'muddy', more 'glassy'). The SHO won't improve new p/ups at all (for example, I also play a new Ibanez - but the SHO does nothing for it apart from simply boosting the signal).

On the other hand, I use the Fatboost to fatten up and boost the sound I'm already getting. (I could of course cut the treble using the tone control if I wanted to, but I don't.)

Net net: the Fatboost does NOT "slaughter" (Mr Fuller's word) the SHO, it is different from the SHO. Both pedals are superb - absolutely, utterly superb - but they have different characteristics and I find them useful for different things.

Rant over. But please, Mr Fuller, take a long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself what you see ...

Whatever. The F/Boost is a superb piece of kit, regardless of its maker's unpleasant pov's. If you want a clean boost and that's all you want, buy this pedal - you won't find better.

I think it is pretty easy to use with the exception on the input nob
in the middle. But that doesnt matter that much after you dial it in. Different settings make it sound different. Pretty easy to use I need some nobs to play with.

I play a fender strat through a 63 Fender Tremolux. It sounds great I
just wanted a pedal to push me over the top for my leads. I wanted a amp overdriven sound not a petal overdrive, this does that. A clean boost with a fat warm tone. It does have a little noise on the setting I use.
I have the input gain at 9 o'clock the volume all the way up and the tone at 12 o'clock.Thats the warmest sound I can get out of it.

Seems tough enuff to me.

Just got it havnt had to deal with anyone yet there werent that many places that had them. I would get another one.

I play mostly Blues/Funk and some other stuff. Been playing for about 15 years. Been in lots of bands and played at alot of different events
I have a taylor acousticwith a fender amp. I also tryed it with that setup and it sounded pretty good.My strat thru my tremolux is my favorite sound. I have a gibson lucile it sounds good but how many favorite sounds can you have.I can only like one thing the best.
The fat boost just adds that boost to take my amp to the edge were I get that natural overdrive.I tryed a z-vex SHO It was a good petal but it had a little bit of a biteto it. I like a fatter warmer sound
it was almost to clean. THANKS everyone for your feedback it helped me pick the right pedal for my needs.

This thing is pretty easy to use. The manual is a little help but nothing some experimenting couldnt give ya. The tiny knob in the middle is kind of a pain but then it is less likely to be moved a great deal once you have found your sweet spot.

For sound quality I feel an 8 with the college grading curve. ;) Too many 10 reviews imho. Anyway, it does exactly what you will buy it for. Not noisy at all unless you already are, then that noise will become louder. I use this at the end of my effects chain: PROCO Vint rat, Fulltone '70, Hotcake 3knob version, FD2, Fat boost. You can make this thing amplify your signal without touching the tone, or you can "brown" it a bit with the tone knob. You can also crank the input gain (little knob) all the way up and breakup your tubes at lower volumes. My only gripe is that the tone knob only decreases treble. At max it does nothing to your sound. When brought back a bit you get a lot of smoothness but sometimes I would like the option of a bit of extra treble, especially for the hotcake which I use as a subtle overdrive. The hotcake is extremely bassy but thats another story. If you like your sound quality already then This should do nothing to ruin it. Don't get me wrong, this thing is a great pedal w/ true bypass, I just don't like hearing all good things from people who review products on this site. If what all those people siad were true, I would own a lot more pedals.

Tank like construction. No backup reqd.

Some people have great things to say about Mike Fuller. I have never met the guy. I did have some problems with my '70 pedal initially. I tried email coorespondance with him and recieved two 1-word replies. Not all that helpful. I dealt with the store I bought it at and am happy. Maybe I sounded foolish from my emails but I am still the frickin customer. I still spent good dough on these things. However, Fulltone products are very good and there is no doubts there.

Like I said Fulltone makes good stuff. The fat boost itself is a great pedal unfortunately they are expensive. They are worth it though. That maybe a bad thing huh? Reason for the 8... I grade on a curve. There can only be one best for me and I think there may be something else out there that is better ...for me

Its fairly simple by design, but it takes some tweaking and a good understanding of just exactly what this thing is and what its capabale of and how it is going to interact with the rest of your equipment. The Input Gain knob is tiny and its hard to read the dot marker on it, and really hard in dark environments. I imagine if I had fat fingers it would be difficult to adjust as well. Placement in the signal chain is critical. True bypass switching. Passive tone knob.

First thing I would like to say is its completely silent, it makes no noise by itself. Let me stress by itself, if you have any noise in the signal chain before this pedal, it will amplify it, making the noise louder of course. I play strats and teles through various effects into a fender twin. I place the fat-boost at the end of my chain, right before any stereo effects, and I leave it on all the time. I have it set as follows: Volume - 12 o'clock, Input Gain 10/11 o'clock, Tone 12(tele)/3(strat) o'clock. It really does fatten up single coils, it just makes them sound better, more headroom, more harmonics, it doesnt muddy up the sound, and it retains all the bell like qualities of the guitars. It makes my fulldrive tr-100 overdrive and twin just scream. I originally got it for a volume boost for soloing, but I can't turn it off it sounds so good. You can also overdrive tube amps for a blues tone, but thats not needed in the music I am playing, so I haven't really experimented with that application of the pedal. The tone knob works great for rolling off the highs and making things "browner" or just not quite so harsh, nice feature.

Had it for over a year with no problems, well built, as mentioned in another review below, the volume and tone knobs can turn pretty easily, but it is a trivial complaint. I gig without a backup. Excellent workmanship.

Haven't dealt with Fulltone much, I know they are extremely busy beign such a small company with such a high volume of sales and interest. Having said that, I once posted a review about another Fulltone pedal that I had purchased -second hand- and stated that I didn't think the effect was prominent enough, and within two days I had an email from Mr. Fuller himself offering to help me tweak it to suit my needs. Now thats genuine pride in your work folks.

I play mostly moderate roots/alternative rock. I'd make the input gain knob bigger and more clearly marked, even though that would compromise the convinient compact size of the pedal. If it were lost or stolen I certainly would buy another. Over all great pedal, just make sure you know what you want before you buy it. I don't think it would be nearly as good on a solidstate amp.

Simple to use. Out put level, input gain (small knob that's a bit hard to reach, but that's not a problem), tone (high end attenuation). Pretty intuitive to use. True bypass. LED status light.

Depending upon how you set it up, the tone is either as clear as the bypassed signal (I didn't hear any coloration), or big, fat,dark and LOUD! It can fatten up everything from a bass to a baritone electric to a Strat or a 335 to a piezo equipped acoustic. My favorite is still the Strat (Mike Fuller's guitar of choice).

I usually keep mine set up for a mild volume boost, input gain at about 12:00 for mild clipping, and the tone knob somewhere around 12:00-1:00 for a slightly warm tone. I run it into either a POD, Fender Stage 112SE, or Boogie Mark 4. Also had a chance to play this through an Ampeg Jet 110 Combo and a Fender Blues Deville.

My pedal setup going into the front end usually consists of a Boss CS-3 COnpression Sustainer> Fulltone FatBoost>Fulltone FullDrive2 (more on this later) using Monster Cable Performer 500 Monster Rock cables and connectors. It works with solid state and tubes. . . but it likes tubes.

Concerning hiss, from clean through high gain, the FatBoost alone remains silent.
With the Compressor on (CS-3: mild volume boost, sustain at 12:00), the combination remains silent up to high gain where there is just the barest amount of "hiss."
The FullDrive2 remains silent with the FatBoost on, and only begins to hiss with the FullDrive2 in Boost mode.

Well, it does what it's name suggests. It boosts your gain while fattening up your sound. I don't take my Strat anywhere without it. It can take a thin Strat tone and bring it right to the "edge of breakup FAT" for clean soloing at any volume level. If you set your amp just below the point of breakup, the FatBoost can give you just enough power to push you into singing leads with punch and and expressive dynamics. It increases the useful range of your volume control. Roll the gain down and it cleans right up. Depending upon how you set it up, you can leave it on and control things from your volume knob. It's definitely a Blues Tool! Oh, and it can get LLLOUD!!!! Be careful setting the output level.

It has very slight, subtle natural sounding compression that doesn't detract from the guitar's dynamics IMO. With a compressor in front, this can nail that sustaining Larry Carlton "Dumble" lead tone (He likes things on the "clean" side of overdrive). It fattens up the compressor, and can give you the feeling of a "searing" lead tone that seems like it's on the edge of control (the compressor interacting with the Fat Boost's compression gives the feel of a subtle "sag" to the tone), yet without all of the fizzy, buzzy distortion. It's an addictive sound. Watch how you set the bass end of your amp as things can sometimes get a bit "woofy" in the low end.

An interesting note. When I run the FatBoost (with the input gain set to maximum) after the FullDrive2, the FullDrive2/FatBoost combination gave a distortion feel that was much closer to the Boogie Mark 4's lead channel than the FullDrive2 can get on it's own. A winning combination with the Blues Deville, and, I'm beting, with a Fender Twin as well.

Run in the fx loop of the Stage 112SE and the Boogie, it boosted the signal cleanly and silently. This was the original reason I picked it up, but it sounded so good in the front end, I either have to buy another one or get an MXR Micro Amp for lead boosting purposes.

Built like a tank. Seems there was some concern about the durability of the switch, but reading some of the other reviews, Mike upgraded it, and sent upgrades to those with problems.

Dropped Mike a line the day I bought it, got a reply the next day. He's a busy guy, and get's right to the point. Works for me!

I play just about every style out there, and the FatBoost works for all of them. It's like "guitar steroids." Been playing now for about 28 years. Own bunch of rack gear and stomp boxes. Based on this unit's performance, I went out and bought the FullDrive2 and now have a ChoralFlange also. If it were lost or stolen, I'd replace it right away. I love it's dynamic range, it's mild compression, it's ability to darken the tone a bit (great for a shrill Strat bridge pickup), and it's ability to not add any hiss.

The FatBoost definitely adds some "character" to your tone. It will do the "pristine" thing, but I think it's strength is in the muscle it adds to your tone. It can give you that warm "clipping power tube" sound, but it's not a distortion pedal, so don't look for fuzz out of the thing. It doesn't seem to be everybody's cup of tea, but if you're looking for a boost pedal, this definitely needs to be on your "try me" list. My only dislike is that I wish it came in pairs!

Simple to use...adjusted input trim and gain structure with pedalboard system. I use it to simply do what the name implies...fatten & boost the signal during certain solos or grooves..depending upon the music and vibe I'm going for.

I notice a bit of added noise, but I have a fairly tricked out pedalboard rig...I'm continuing to tweak. I like what the pedal does...it fattens up the tone nicely...great clean boost...I'm using Bogner amps and it remains clean.

Fulltone products are wonderfully constructed. My only complaint is the volume knobs turn too easily...I find that I can accidentally bump a knob while using the pedalboard...this is no big deal though.

Never had contact. I've sent an email, but received no reply.

I play all styles...whatever the music calls for. I have various guitars, but my primary instrument is an Anderson Classic SSH. My pedalboard was design by Tom Knesel at Pedalboard.com and is set up in the following manner: Carl Martin Compressor > Fulltone Fat Boost > RogerMayer Voodoo1 > AnalogMan TS9/808 mod > Fulltone Fulldrive II > Line6 MM4 > Dunlop Crybaby Wah > Ernie Ball Volume Pedal > Line6 DL4 > Bogner Shiva or Bogner Metropolis.

I love what this pedal does..great addition to my rig.

Heres the main points that I want to make to everyone here regaurding the negative feedback people. Number one its important to know how these types of things work and how to use them correctly. Its a simple dvice but sometimes they can be the most difficult to use right. Im going to list a few points here that may help you in deciding weather or not to buy this pedal based on the ratings of people here.

- First issue. And this is the main thing. Using the FB to boost the level of your clean sound, without adding gain. Cant be done. Alota people seem real disappointed in the fact that, although it says it in the manuel, they cant use this pedal effectively to boost thier clean sound without the amp overdriving to some degree. First off, every amp overdrives very easily when you drive the input level. Thats why thiers at least 2 inputs on most clean amps! The difference in levels between a single coil and humbucker is enouph to warrant a second input that cuts the DBs by a bit so humbuckers wont overdrivee the main input. Thats kinda the idea behind the whole 80's marshall plexi sound and the whole Vai, Satch, Johnson, Petrucci,etc.. sound. They use variouse overdrive pedals, not for thier distortion, but to smoothly boost the level of thier signal to force a usually crunchy, bluesy amp like a plexi into an all out smooth, creamy, sustaining distortion. If you like metal Rhandy Rhoads used an MXR Distortion+ before a plexi, Jake E Lee used a Boss OD2 before a Plexi, Zakk Wylde uses a Boss SP2 before a JCM800 and Kirk Hammet uses a TS9 before a Dual Rectifier for leads. Thats kinda the basis for this pedal. When ever you boost the level to an amp, especially into the front of the amp, or even directly to the amp itself (ie.. plugging strait into the FX Loop return or power amp in jacks) its going to add drive. Even only a few DB boost. Thiers no product that can accomplish getting around this. If you play mainly clean and you want the best way to boost the clean sound with a pedal without adding gain, put the FB in the FX loop of your amp if it has one, and adjust the controls so that the input gain is low and the volume is higher. Or better yet, higher a sound man or get an amp that has a solo or channel switch that can accomplish this. Using the pedal before the amps input will most effectively overdrive the amp since your runnning a boosted signal to the preamp with its 12ax7 tubes which can be overdriven much easier than the power tubes which are in the signal chain after the FX loop. So using the pedal after the preamp but before the amp (otherwise known as an FX loop)is your best bet. In this case the higher the wattage of the amp, the better becouse a high volume level to a 22 watt amp is a low volume level to an 85w amp. So the higher wattage amp will work less to get to that same volume thereeby making it easier for you to add a few db's witout gain.

Second. If you do intend to use it for driving the input of a Marshall or Mesa or any other amp for more gain, its about the most transparent pedal out there. If you use a Boss pedal, a TS9, a Fuzz or another Fulltone overdrive like the Fulldrive 2, your gonna innevitably get artifacts (especially to your pick attack) and a tone that isnt all your amplifiers. Sometimes this is good. Theres nothin I like better then to put a TS9 before a Fender Bassman or a Fuzz like Fulltones 69 before my Plexi for sounds from the classic Jimi Are you Experienced? sound, to Eric Johnsons Ah Via Musicom. But sometimes I just like the sound of the amps gain itself. Just more of it. Thats when I grab my Fat Boost becouse it sounds just like your amps gain just a little smoother and a little more gain and sustain. And no I dont work for Fulltone. I find a few of Mike Fullers pedals questionable at best. The DejaVibe for example. I do own almost every Fulltone pedal though. Fuller makes some great F!@#$%(*& pedals. But as I was saying, even with a Fender amp like a Hot Rod Deville/Delu

I use this thing for one thing only. Boosting the signal before an amp to get more natural drive from the amp. I find this pedal excelent for this purpose. Maybe there is a better one out there but Im in no way dissatisfied with pedal. At least not enouph to warrent the search for a better one.

I consider Fulltone products to be one of the most reliable. Even so thier are gonna be bad ones just like any product. The important thing is Mike takes pride in his pedals and would fix or send replacement parts for any faulty parts.

Mikes a jack ass. I hate to say it becouse I love his pedals and I agree with him on tone and I hope he keeps goin, but the guy is always the most rude, pompus ass on the phone. I can understnad hes a busy guy, but that aint my problem. Im putin money in his pocket and he will always be a dick to me when ever I disagree with him about something or have an opinion about tone or products that doesnt automatically favor his pedals.

Ive called him to talk about different things about 6 times in the past. I got the nice Mike maybe 2 times. Even so, I love his pedals and will continue to be nice when i call. Its worrth putting up with his flippant presumptiouse personality.

For what it is I think its a grat pedal.

It's a three-nob box...how much difficulty can you have? Take a little time, set the tone that maximizes your guitar sound, and leave it on. That's my advice.

Setup: Gibson LesPaul + BOSS stage tuner + Fat Boost + Full Drive 2 + '69 + Hughes & Kettner Tube 20

It is absolutely clean. I always keep it on. Everything else after it in the chain sounds even better because of it

Played live with this gear numerous times and have never had a problem with any Fulltone equipment. Just be sure to keep the batteries in check...no biggie. The heavy-duty construction can take a serious beating. I'm a plug and play kind of guy. I don't like fooling around with gear that's messing up or that constantly needs to be readjusted. Fulltone settings tend to hold pretty well, even after the pedals have been tossed into my gig bag in haste after shows. Unfortunately, due to the cost, I cannot afford to play with backups for any of my pedals. Maybe some day.

Never needed it.

I play indie-pop stuff. Think Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Swervedriver, Superchunk, etc. Fulltone gear has been completely worth the cost. It's really the only way I know to get the rich tones and vintage/clear sounds I'm looking for. I've been playing out for 4 years. If my setup (see above) were lost or stolen, I would HAVE to replace them. In my experience, Fulltone gear is easy to use, especially live, and can take a beating. Durability is key. I've tried a bunch of other pedals, and Fulltone is the only way to go, as far as I can see. Hands down. I'm working up to getting the choralflange for that flow and that Leslie-like grind it can get. I loved the sound and convenience of my Hughes & Kettner Tube 20 amp in club settings, but the tone wasn't quite thick enough, so I considered buying a new amp. Once I hooked up the Fat Boost though, there was no need to get another amp! My sound filled out instantly and sounded HUGE! The tone is exquisite! I am easily able to get the full, rounded, clean tones like those found on the later Pavement records. In order for my guitar to cut through the mix in the past I had to set my amp a little on the trebbly side. Now, I can actually use less volume and be heard MORE. This is NOT an overdrive pedal. This is a tone booster. It's all about boosting your clean tone and making it richer and fuller. If you have a good guitar going into a good amp, this box will only improve your sound...especially if you play through a samll class "A" tube amp and you don't want to lug around or pay for a much larger amp.

It's a no brainer. The small Gain knob can be a little tricky when it has to be reset when switching from s/c to h/b pickups, but otherwise it's fine.

I use this pedal with a variety of guitars through a few different amps. Almost all setups sound better with this in the chain but it does make my Victoria 3515 a little farty when I crank the volume. And that's even with a relatively lo output Strat pickup. When I put it between a 335 and a Plexi (using a Power Brake) it make the 335 even more throaty. I dial down the bass and up the mids and for my money it's one hell of a sound.

I had a problem with the switch about a week after I purchased it. I'm told Fulltone really prides itself on their switch quality and I do own other Fulltone pedals that have performed flawlessly for a few years now. I need to get a new switch and I have contacted the company about this. No response as of yet.

I've been playing blues, soul and r+B, and rootsy rock for about13 years now and and this enhances everything I do. Tonally, it's absolutely transparent which I think is it's greatest feature.I tried an Austone boost and found it too limited control wise, and also tried a Z-Vex super hard on that I just thought was weird. This pedal allowed for so much more control both tonally and output wise.

Volume and tone, how can you go wrong? Nice clean boost, some distortion with hot inputs, high output, overloads non-master volume amps nicely, warm tone.

Sounds great like all the Fulltone pedals. I think the Zvex SHO is bit better clean boost, but this is a nice sounding pedal.

He builds good.

Generally a nice guy, but gets a bit huffy if contradicted.

Nice sounding pedal, nearly as good as the best and a lot cheaper than many.

Extremely simple to use. Volume, Tone, and Gain. It may present some problems if you intend to run it behind (into) another pedal and could possibly overload it and cause some unwanted distortion or clipping.

I bought this pedal to boost the quiet tones produced by my strat. At the time, most of my playing was completely dry and I was using a Boomerang to creat blues loops or whatever. I needed a pedal that could boost the clean tone for blues. It took me a while to reach a point where the fat-boost was dialed in right so that it didn't overload the 'Rang. This pedal is absolutely fantastic as a stand alone pedal. It will give your strat more volume than a Paul and yet retain that pure bell like tone that only comes from single-coils. It does compress things ever so slightly, but this has the effect of diminishing thin or brittle tones a bit and helps make it sound -well- FAT. Don't get me wrong, it does not muddy things up at all, it just kinda takes the edge off the harsh ear-piercing brittle tones sometimes produced by single coils, and beefs up the lows a bit so that the sound is fuller as it becomes louder, all of this is very subtle- in the way a sprig of mint might alter the favor of a glass of ice tea. No hum. No noise whatsoever.

Stomp it.

Still works.

It's good for fixing a quiet strat. It's good if you like clean tones coming through tubes with a side of spring reverb. In short -blues lead. As far as amplifing other sounds, it does just fine, but lets not scrutinize its effect upon the fine subtle characteristics of an active humbucker coming through a boss metalzone, or some other neat sounds that have their origin in a bunch of ones and zeros... Not that they are bad, (I use them too) but this box really shines when there isn't much between your guitar's output jack and a good tube amp.

This box has 3 controls: Input Gain, Tone and Volume. The only way to get a good sound out of it is to set the Input Gain and Tone to the max and then adjust the volume to the required level, otherwise it is very dark and muddy sounding.

The controls are smooth and not noisy when rotated. There is little noise when the you are not playing. The sound quality is less than I expected for an expensive custom-made effect. It is dark sounding and definitely colours the sound. The input gain needs to stay at it's max setting for minimum noise. The tone control is too heavy and I found that i was leaving it at max almost all of the time. It was *okay* sounding with my tube amp but not so good with my transistor amp.

This box is very well made. It is solid and the construction is excellent. The gray goop that is all over the circuit board is bad in that it would make repair very difficult and it prevents me from making a mod to the tone control to improve the sound.

Never dealt with manufacturer directly.

I was really disappointed with this box. It has so little useful range on the tone control that it is almost useless. Also if you turn down on the input gain it begins to get noisy. If you want a good clean boost then the Z.Vex Super Hard-On is a better buy. I plan on selling my Fat Boost and trying something else.

I opened up my Fat Boost and traced the circuit. If you want to see what makes it work then see my page at http://kickme.to/fatboost

The pedal sounds great, and does exactly what the name says- it fattens the tone, and boosts the signal going to the amp. There is plenty of gain on tap, from a little to way more than you'd need. I don't get what some others have said about noise- my FB is extremely quiet, and I use it after several other pedals. I plug into all-tube non-master volume amps, and it makes the sound bigger at lower volumes, as if the volume on the amp was cranked a few notches higher. It doesn't produce a more middy, cutting tone, like a Tubescreamer. It can also enhance the tendency to get controlled feedback at low volumes, another great feature. I'm not giving a numerical rating because that's become meaningless on these reviews. For what it is designed and advertised to do, I don't see how it could be much better.

Excellent to deal with. Pro quality products and support whenever you need it. I feel there's pride in their work. So they don't want to chat for a half hour on the phone, and they don't say "have a nice day" or put smiley faces at the end of e-mails, so what. Call Mr. Rogers if that's what you need.

Very easy to use. I would have given a "10" here, but the little input trim knob gets somewhat lost on a dark stage.

I use a strat or L.P.(P-90's) into various 60's bf Fenders, depending on the size of the gig (Princeton Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, blond Bassman). I bought this pedal because I needed a boost for solos that wouldn't mess with my tone. I go straight into the amp & usually have to turn around and crank the amp for solos, then turn it down again. This pedal solves that. It sounds like my amp at a louder volume when I kick it on, and the bypass keeps my tone intact. I've had no problems with noise or signal loss, and this is coming from someone who has NEVER liked using pedals. I've liked the sound of a few different pedals (my buddy's MXR Phase 100 comes to mind), but they're only on 10% of the time & the other 90% my regular tone get's muddied w/o a true bypass. I finally own a pedal I can use.

It seems really solid, but I haven't owned it long enough to give a valid opinion.

Again, I haven't had to deal with customer support yet, so no opinion.

I play rock, blues, country, basically everything but screaming loud metal/hard rock. It this pedal were stolen or lost, I would probably buy another. I considered the Klon, but figured I'd give this one a try since it was half the price & I didn't need any overdrive. I just needed a boost for solos that wouldn't ruin my regular guitar-cable-amp sound, and this thing covers it.

Very simple layout. The only reason it doesn't get a "10" here is that little input knob can be tricky on a dark stage.

I have always been happy with my guitar/amp tone. I've heard some pedals that I've liked, but they never made it into my rig because of the fact they always ruined my straight tone. This thing goes in line without messing up my tone. Depending on the gig, I use a BF Princeton Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, or Blond Bassman. I bought this pedal because I got sick of turning up my amp for solos. By the way, plenty of people have told me I could take care of this by turning my guitar's volume down & keeping the amp cranked, but I have never played a guitar that didn't lose definition or top-end when I roll off the volume. This little pedal takes care of it. Kick it on, I get a little volume & drive added to my sound, just like turning up. I like it. As far as the people who say it's noisy w/ other pedals, I don't use any so this isn't a problem. By the way, have you ever thought maybe those Boss/DOD cheapies were noisy anyway & that a 20db boost of ANY kind would result in more noise?

This thing seems pretty solid. If it ever died at a gig, it probably means I left the cable in it & killed the 9 volt.

3 knobs. easy as pie. Only loses a point cuz the gain knob is so tiny.

I'm pretty much just writing this to point out a good use that I don't think anyone else has touched on. This thing makes my acoustic/electric Rickenbacker sound like a real acoustic when played through an amp!! (I use a Vox AC-15 w/ alnico speaker). It's great. It's wonderful. If you have an acoustic/electric and a tube amp, give it a try. No more tiny, brittle sounding tone. Just nice, creamy, acoustic goodness.

Of course, it also is great for overdriving my amp with an electric. (Ric 370 is my main axe). I've also tried it with my Danelectro Longhorn... doesn't really do much of anything for it 'cept make it louder... whatever.

Seems pretty solid to me. One thing though, if you have a piece-of-shit AC adapter, and you leave it plugged in with the box in bypass mode, the adapter will get really hot and then stop working within about 20 minutes. I went through 3 crappy wal-mart multi-adapters, before I finally stole my little brothers Danelectro AC (which doesn't have a problem).

never dealt with'em

I gots no particular style I don't reckon. As Kid Rock said at that Las Vegas Phish show, "I just love fucking music!" (well, I've never actually fucked music, but I think you get the idea)

Anyhow, if I lost the thing, I would get another pretty quick. It's useful, for sure.

Very simple. The thing I have found is not to get the input bias knob turned up too high or you can get some clipping, the kind that isn't musical. I'm sure it depends on the type of amp and what other boxes you use with it.

My setup is a modified '57 reissue strat with vintage hot lindy fralins (neck and middle) and a 7% overwound blues special in the bridge. Effects are Teese rmc 3 wah, Fat Boost,
boss cs-2 compressor, boss od-3, boss ds-1,boss dd-2 delay and rv-3 reverb/delay (I only use the reverb).Amp is a Marshall JTM-45 that was reworked by the guys as Clarke Amplification (not cheaply either) to mimic a model #1987 circa 1969-70 4 input top.Cabinet is a Mesa 1x12 with a vintage 30 celestion. I have another with a 200 watt EV.
This rig is very versatile for the music I play, which is anything from Van Halen to hendrix to srv to clapton etc. Big Strat sounds.
My rig sounded good before I got the fat boost and it sounds even better with it. I didn't actually intend to buy one of these but I went to my favorite guitar store and they had one of these running through a bogner with some other pedals and it sounded great.
This is a pedal that, to me, makes your amp have the same sensitivity and high end sparkle you would have at high volume at a reasonable level. It does work great as a boost. But, I think it just makes my guitar sound BIGGER with out any squashiness or compression, although it does increase the sustain. It works well with gain or clean.
This is not a distortion or overdrive. I have read that some people who have the Klon are insulted that people try to compare this pedal to it. Who cares! Get a life! The fat boost is a cool thing all by itself and really adds depth to your sound where you might notthink itneeded any. The thing I want to emphasize is that this pedal is very musical sounding. I have also had an oppurtunity to hear this pedal with a PRS McCarty with the p-90's and there was a definite improvement with the fat boost. The sales guy at the shop where I bought the unit had been putting itat the end of the effects chain and wasn't really impressed with it. After I changed
the order they had set up,the guys face lit up. He told me that I had sold him on the pedal and was going to take one home that night.This brings to point that, you its hard sometimes to tell if something will work with your rig. Then there's a chance you're using it wrong.

who knows, it seems sturdy enough. things break?

never had to deal with.

This is an icing on the cake deal. If your rig sucks or your axe sucks or even if your playing sucks this won't help you sound like your favorite guy. I've been playing for 25 plus years and have had a friggin' boatload of gear. To me, the best guitar sounds are the ones that are uncluttered and pretty straightforward, a little gain here a lttle distortion there some delay or reverb in there. I've never written a review before but I felt the need here because I think some people have the wrong idea about this pedal. It's inspiring to play with this pedal and there really aren't too many things (guitar-wise)
that you can buy for 150 bucks and say that about. I've had a fat boost for about 6 months and I like it more now than I bought it. How many pedals can you say that about?

Much has been said in other people's comments so I'll puy my spin on it here:
Very easy to uses except watch the little gain trim....you need to balance this for your particular situation so as not to emphasis noise from your OTHER effects or single-coil pickups

This unit is clean and not noisy

Fender Strat w/ Linday Fralin vintage p/u's into Boss Dynamic Filter FT-2 >> Fulldrive II >>> Boss DM-2 digital delay >>> Fat Boost >>> 65 Deluxe Reissue with Weber P12R speaker

The pedal does exatly what it is supposed to do: FATBOOST

Nothing to break really...no need for back-up

Ask a question (e-mail works best) get an answer...what more can you want?

Rock/Country/Blues/Funk etc....This pedal is a great for adding fatness to your amp without cranking it. Also can be used for a clean boost during solos. Side benefit is to use it for clean boost soling on acoustic guitars especially when you don't have an on board volume knob

The pedal is a no-brainer. However, if one is unfamiliar, dialing up the right mix of input gain and output volume may prove a little tricky; but hey, in the tone game, it's all about the end result, right musicians? The manual gave me a chuckle when Mr. Fuller referred to the dB levels of the pedal by saying, "...use common sense here..." Well said!

I use an older, yet very beautiful Electra 335 and a strat through a 4x10 Deville (soon to be a Bassman if someone will trade me!) and a JCM 800. Both amps are non-master volume amps, for which this pedal was designed, and the unit delivers 110% Another triumph from the casa de Fuller. This makes my 4th Fulltone unit along with my Clyde, Deja'2, and Fulldrive II..I put this effect before the Fulldrive just in case I go loco on stage..LOTS OF HARMONIX then! The pedal deilvers especially on making the sound bigger. I was surprised to hear Eddie Van Halen sounds coming out of my JCM 800 w/ this thing on..yes, I was jammin'..HARD. The unit delivers 100% of what I bought it for..and anyone who buys this looking for an OVERDRIVE should not even bother writing a review..for that is his/her error, not the pedal's.

Mr. Fuller builds his equipment to last. One of the main reasons I buy Fulltone, not only because of their pristine sound quality, but also because they are reliable..hence, Mr. Fuller is reliable all the way.

Mike is always quick on the keyboard to get back to inquiries. He is friendly, direct, and to-the-point. Personally, that is re-assuring. Coming from south Texas, we don't put up with alot of b.s., and evidently, Mr. Fuller doesn't either. If that's not a sign of a well-run business, I don't know what is.

I play everything save Punk/Ska/Thrash. This pedal works for it all! I'm still only an intermediate player at the VERY YOUNG age of 18 and have only been playing for nearly four years; but, having been around music all of my life, I can tell you what busts chops and what doesn't. Every dime I have goes towards music someway or another..and this is the most sound investment you'll ever make. If it were stolen I'd have another a.s.a.p. There is only ONE thing I wonder about this pedal..and that is why the AC plug is in front of the output jack rather than behind it? It is obviously some technical thing that Mr. Fuller would have rectified had it been viable without having to re-draw the whole design. It doesn't matter either way, I just have to use an 1/8 inch more patch cord..boo-f'n-hoo. Kudos to you Mike! Another great product and you haven't disappointed this musician yet! I'm just waiting to check out a Distortion-Pro when you're ready to release them! If you have any questions, feel free. By the way, Mr. Fuller, if you read this review as I know you do read them mostly, give Mario from Century Music in San Antonio Texas a big pat on the back. He's always been helpful and we always talk about, "Mike" and "what he's gonna do next."

Ease of use is simple. Take it out da box, plug it in, play with da knobs and find out what sounds good to you.

My set up starts with an Ibanez Prestige guitar (strat style - 2 humbuckers - 5 way switch) or a Gibson 335 Studio into a Boss TU-2 tuner, Boss DS-1 Distortion, Boss SD-1 Overdrive, Boss PS-5 Super Shifter (which I use mainly as a harmonizer), Boss CH-1 Chorus, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, Fulltone Fat Boost (which is always on), into a 65 Fender Twin Reverb Re-Issue. All effects are attached to an SKB PS-25 Pedalboard with Monster Jazz cables exclusively (I don't care what anybody says, these cables do make a difference). I power my effects using a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power (just for noise sake). I send my pedalboard into a Whirlwind Hot Box DI to the input jack and my amp to the DI through jack, which is sent to the PA. This way I can get my stage volume the way I want and the soundman has control of overall volume FOH. I use the Fat Boost as a master volume control. My amp has only one volume knob and has so much power that I could never turn it up past 2 1/2 or 3. I could never use the real sound of the tubes because it was always turned down so low, so with my Fat Boost I crank my amp to 8 and control my volume on the Fat Boost volume knob with the tone control cranked all the way to the right and the input gain at 12:00. With this setup I can really get some tone and feeling and my effects are happy now too, because of the tube saturation I can get from crystal clear to vintage overdrive to screaming distortion. I play in 3 bands and play a variety of music. I play Hawaiian music ( I have a trio and originally come from Maui- you can make bookoo bucks playing this stuff on the mainland by the way-private parties rule) which I use my Fat Boost and delay only. I play in a 10 piece top 40 band with 4 horns (we do Tower of Power, Chicago, Kool and the Gang, Earth-Wind and Fire, etc.) and and original Contemporary Hawaiian Surf rock - Jazz Fusion type band. I love my Fat Boost. When I paid that money I knew what I wanted and I got it. Its not fancy and it just sits there out of the way, but its always on and makes a huge difference in my sound.

Yes, I guess can depend on it as long as I take care and don't abuse it.
I don't have a back up of anything I use If it doesn't work I just wont use it. I haven't forgot that I can play just as well with a dry signal with a little reverb from the amp. All the effects are just bells and whistles.

N/A

I've been playing for 25 years and have bought a lot of great stuff and also a lot of crap. My set up now is very versatile and it works for me. I'm always getting compliments on my tone, people can't believe I use Boss effects especially my $30.00 distortion pedal. Mahalo to Fulltone for making my rig soung the way its supposed to.
Malama da 'aina and each other

This pedal is very simple to use, easy to get good sounds, but you do need to adjust the gain level for different guitars. The knob is very small, which is good for avoiding hitting it with your foot, but it is quite difficult to see your setting, impossible if the stage is dark.

I'm using a G&L ASAT or an Epiphone Les Paul into the fat-boost, into an ayan smooth & slim, into either a fender blues junior or reissue deluxe. This pedal has moved me a lot closer to what I'm after tone-wise. I've learned that I really don't like the tubescreamer or pedals similar to it, I own a fulldrive 2 and I keep an elastic band under the volume/comp-cut knob because I hate what the compression does to the feel of the guitar interacting with the amp, it's sort of becomes this generic rock tone. The fat-boost I find to be much more natural sounding(feeling), it does change the tone(and I've experimented with it quite a bit)and I do notice some compression, but I find the overall effect to be pleasing. This pedal is a good tool for dealing with the problem of having to have your amp turned down, which I unfortunately have to deal with regularly(hence the blues junior). I read some people saying that you can get the same or a better effect as a clean boost from the fulldrive 2, well I don't get it, I tried it and did not find that to be the case, but different tastes are good. I've also had good results at higher volume using the fat-boost for solos.

I completely trust the quality of this pedal, I'm careful with my equipment anyway, but this thing is absolutely solid.

I've never dealt with Michael Fuller.

I grew up listening to the beatles, the rolling stones, led zeppelin, and jimi hendrix while people my age were listening to metallica, madonna or ll cool j. I always wanted to play at high volume through marshall stacks, but that was never practical, the closest I ever came was being able crank up my fender twin at some of the larger venues. I mainly play jazz/blues gigs now and small amps are a necessity, I even did a very large gig recently with a huge PA and stage, and the sound techs needed me to turn down my (22 watt) deluxe, times have changed! If it wasn't for the fat-boost in that instance it would have been hell, I think that is a kind of hell for guitarists, playing in front of a large audience and sounding like you're playing through a small radio! Tone isn't just in the hands and mind, although those are the most vital components, an electric guitar is only half an instrument, unlike an acoustic guitar, so the amplifier it's paired with completes it, and that's your voice. The effects are just colour, like putting the singer's mic through reverbs and delays for a certain mood. I feel that if your amplifier is not interacting with your guitar the way you want it to, it's not functioning and needs to be fixed. If you stuffed a towel into your acoustic guitar, you could still be creative and make music, but if it's not inspiring, what's the point? Life is short. The fat-boost helps the guitar interact better with the amp when I can't crank it, so it was very worth it for me. If the pedal were lost or stolen, Michael Fuller will be pissed off at me for saying this, but I'd probably order a Klon Centaur, it's discription certainly suits my needs. The fat-boost is half the price though, and I have no regrets about buying it.

Three knobs...Pretty simple, but what's the deal with the tiny input gain knob? Did Mike Fuller ever try turning that stupid thing with sweaty hands from playing?

Personally I don't think it does what it's supposed to do. I read the other reviews, and I have to agree...The clean boost thing is a crock. Granted I'm using a Matchless Chieftan, and clean isn't exactly in its vocabulary, but neither is the pedal.
My biggest beef is that it colors the sound a lot when used in conjunction with any other pedal. I've probably moved the Fatboost around my pedal board about ten times trying to find the best location for it where my Fulldrive2 wouldn't get it's tone characteristics all goofed up. All to no avail!

I would give this a lower rating, but I have to say that it works well as an overdrive unit with my Matchless. With the input gain cranked all the way, the volume at around 10 o'clock, and the tone knob at around one o'clock I get a nice touch of overdrive. I just wish it had a little more compression going on.

Currently I'm using a Fulltone Clyde, Fulldrive2, Dejavibe, and the Fatboost, and other than a noisy Fulldrive I've never had any problems. However, several of my friends use Fulldrive's, and at least a couple of them have had problems with switches...Mike sent them free replacement parts.

I've emailed Mike several times, and I've gotten a response from him 9 out of 10 times. I do have to say that he does have a bit of an attitude about his product. I suppose I can't blame him though, I probably would too.

My rig consists of the following: American Standard Strat, Tele, Matchless Chieftan 1x12, Fulltone Clyde, Fulldrive2, Dejavibe, Fatboost, Guyatone/Flip Vintage Tube Tremelo, MXR Phase 100, E-bow, and a Danelectro Danecho.

I play a myriad of styles, and have been using the Fatboost occasionally. I don't think I'd buy it again, but I'm not going to get rid of it either. I can't say that this really matches up to the other Fulltone products I own

In theroy it is easy to use...but I would not want to use it because it sounds bad. The clean boost is okay but it only works when your amp is not cranked up. When you are loud there is not any headroom anyway (this is true with any clean boost pedal).

Sounds pretty bad to my ear. Very tiny and shrill when used as an overdrive with the amp loud. It feeds back (not the cool feedback that you want that makes notes ring forever) like crazy and is NOISY!

As a clean boost it is good if you keep your amps volume WAY down. I use a Vox ac30 so anything past 4 on the amp and the pedal turns into an overdrive. It sounded good in the store because I didn't crank up at all. If you were a jazz guy who plays REAL quiet or you use 100watt marshalls I think it would be alot better because you would be able to make it work as a clean boost. As an overdrive it sucks. I have owned the Fulldrive also and that was a much better overdrive but it was a little to murky sounding. I have a supa-trem and LOVE that.

As a clean boost with the right amp/situation I give it a 8
As an overdrive I give it a 0. I think any cheap ass Danelectro mini pedal would get a better overdrive. My fave overdrive on the market now in the Maxxon od808.

Mike makes GREAT pedals. The switches he uses often die but otherwise his stuff is bulletproof.

He is a cool guy. I have heard good things here. Great that you can get him on the phone.

I guess I would have to admit it is a good pedal and would work with the right rig. For me with an ac30 it did not work because I play with the volume on about 6. I don't think it's main focus is supposed to be an overdrive so I won't take points away here. Like I said, if you use an old 100watt plexi and have the headroom or play a smaller amp at a very low volume it would work great as a clean boost.

It is very easy to use with only three knobs. Input, output, and tone.

I'm using the Fatboost with a Tele and DC-30. The other overdrives/boosters I have for comparison are the Klon, Fulldrive II, Analogman modded TS-9 reissue, TS-808, Z Vex SHO, and Rx Overdriver. I don't find it too noisy to use. It reacts nicely with other effects, but my favorite sound comes from going straight into the amp and I usually only use one overdrive and my Echodrive live. I don't understand why people are all up in arms about the Fat-Boost VS. Klon ordeal. Man, it's like the WWF or something! People should just relax. They are both great sounding pedals. They really don't sound all that similar to me. The Klon is midrangey and will make an overdriving amp scream for mercy. The Fat-Boost is lightly compressed and hi-fi sounding. Both great sounds. If you like your pedal, great. Just don't go around slagging other people's tastes. It all in YOUR ears anyway.

I have other Fulltone products and they have never let me down.

I've emailed Mike Fuller a few times and he always responds promptly with detailed messages.

I mainly play rock based styles with some blues. If it were stolen I would replace it. I especially like the tone knob on it and the fact that it is small.

Very easy to use with just a volume, tone and small knob for input gain. The manual is very helpful and straight to the point.

Fender '62 reissue strat (japanese) with Fralin woodstock '69 pickups,Fulltone fulldrive 2, fat-boost into a 40/40 watt Marshall valvestate amp. Now while I realize that the fulldrive 2 and fat-boost are best suited to all-tube amplifiers, this set-up allows you to hear the quality of the PEDAL itself, rather than the interaction between pedal and amp.
The fat-boost nicely boosts the volume and 'fatness' of your guitar signal. Some say that the fulldrive 2 actually has a better clean boost, but after extensively trying both pedals, I have to say that each one has it's own particular sound. Set up for clean boost, the fulldrive 2 sounds a bit more 'open' than than the fat-boost, but with a tone slightly reminiscent of a wah pedal in half cocked position. The fat-boost sounds bassy with a nice shimmery top end and a somewhat compressed midrange. The gain control increases the fatness and fullness of the sound.
I find that the fat boost also has the interesting ability to balance the response between the three pickups on the strat even better than the fulldrive 2.

Seems solid and sturdy, but I haven't had it long enough to realy tell.

I've only e-mailed Mike Fuller a few times to ask some questions. He has always been prompt and straight to the point.

While I dislike categories, I have to say I lean towards the jazz/blues/fusion spectrum of guitar playing. I also adore the clean sounds of Hendrix, Andy Summers and Ben Monder. The fat-boost seems well suited to the jazz/blues styles, whereas the fulldrive 2 in comp cut mode with the gain off sounds great for classic blues-rock/british rock styles. Of the two, the fat-boost has the nicer clean/fat boost (in my opinion).

Basic controls. They are very sensitive & may require some tweaking
to get what you want from it. The gain knob can be a little tricky depending
on what else you are using.

I use a 51' NOS Nocaster->Clyde->DV2->FD2 TR100->DD-3->Vibroverb.
This pedal "IS" very noisy, especially with single coils, which is probably at
least half the world. I am a huge advocate of Fulltone products, but I
have to say that this thing does nothing for me. I owned it for 3 months &
I was unable to get a "uncompressed" sound out of it. I tweaked it in every
way imaginable, and spent hours trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.
To say this thing "doesn't affect your tone" is an outright lie. The FD2's boost
is FAR more transparent and natural sounding. Save your $180 & spend some
time mastering your FD2's boost channel.

Like all Fulltone products, this bad boy appears to be solid as a rock!!

I have called Mike many times & have always recv'd friendly informative
advice.

I play "ALL" styles of music in a couple of bands & I use only top
notch gear. I baby everything I have. If it were lost or stolen I would be
mad that I wasn't able to sell it on E-Bay, but I would never buy another one.
In my opinion this pedal is really useless unless you have no idea how to
use your volume knob in conjunction with whatever kind of overdrive you are
using, be it natural amp OD or a pedal of some sort. Both of which destroy the Fat Boost.
I'd like to reiterate that I love all my other Fulltone stuff. I do ,however, feel like we may be getting
scammed here. Buy an FD2 & use the boost channel & get both effects for
the price of one. C'mon Mike, enough with the overkill. Make an analog delay
and get even richer. We are all waiting!!

nice and simple

i have tried this with everything from speek and spells to moogs to you name it. and yess it is noisy but who cares. i personally use it exclusivly with my fender Rhoads-- It kills. the klon in the same set up was boomy and bass heavy BUT when it comes to guitar Sorry Mike the klon murders the fat boost- Try this Maxx out all the knobs and play now turn the tone knob down and listen to it choke the volume hmm stange that the tone's a volume too like i said nice try but my Schaller treble bass boost pedal eats this thing up. however my rhoads loves it. why does this remind me of my BI-FET DOD studio Preamp or am i the only one?

Built like a tank
awsome quality

mike's a sweetheart when you compliment him and a devil when you criticize but he seens to care at times

nice but if you brag hard about somthing i feel you should deliver
and when a 30 year old Scaller half ass built booster has just as much juice i say nice try no die
oh the rating would have been higher i the boast was true

Pretty simple. Three knobs. Sit and play it with for a while to get the "sound" or "boost" you are looking for. Small input knob is irritating.

Its not noisy at all but as stated in some other reveiws it does add a bit of compression. Pretty bold statement claiming to blow away the Klon...two different pedals...simple as that.

Would rely on it if I ended up buying it.

I have spoken with Mike before. Bottomline: He is the "I'm right, your wrong" type of person. Nice guy nonetheless.

I didn't buy the pedal for a number of reasons. One, I wasn't shelling out $180 for a boost pedal. And I'll tell you why. If you either own 1) a Fulldrive II or 2) a Fulltone Supa-Trem there is way to acheive a similar boost through both pedals (in fact, I beleive Fulltone may have come up with the idea of making the FatBoost from the trick discovered from the SupaTrem). Although this may not be ideal for all live settings, both pedals will work as boosts the same as the Fat Boost. The Supa-Trem manual actually tells you how to set the pedal to acheive the boost setting. If you own one, set the mix knob to zero. By doing so, the footswitch on the far right now acts in tremelo/boost mode. Sure it makes your Supa Trem a little less versatile but it works. The Fulldrive can be used as a boost using the Comp Cut on the Volume knob. You can even dial in the tone and amount of overdrive you want turning it into somewhat of a Klon. My other reason for not buying the Fat Boost is that I have had alot of small problems with a few of my Fulltone pedals lately. I think alot of the problems may stem from the cheap footswitches that were on many of the older pedals (older meaning six months or less). Luckily, Fulltone has switched to the really sturdy "built like tank" footswitches. Unfortunately, everyone has there breaking point when pedals start to go haywire. My Supatrem still makes that "popping" sound everytime time activate it, my Fulldrive has burned out twice from a "dirty" pot and my Dejavibe needed two replacement parts. All this from products under a year old!

Thats my case...I still love Fulltone products (they sound great but I 'm starting to question the construction quality) but I won't pay for the same thing twice.

Pretty straight forward, three knobs. Volume, Gain, Tone. The manual has insight, and some useful settings.

65 Strat, Vox Clyde Mccoy, TS808, Fat Boost, Ultra Vibe, MXR Analog, The Plex, Alessandro Beagle, Dr. Z Maz 18 jr. I split the effects into a multi amp set-up. The Fat Boost reacts well with all the tools in this chain. I feel that this pedal enhances the overall projection of my set-up and allows me the ability to change volume without affecting the amp EQ'S. I'm not looking for this pedal to be "in your face", more as a means to pump up the amps pre-set tone. If your looking to "thrash" this is not your toy! It is the perfect single coil boost pedal. I've tried the Klon (and a few others), not my cup of tea. Too much gain!! I'm a Duane Eddy, Ventures, James Burton, Brad Paisley, Brent Mason, Hendrix, and Stevie Ray kind of guy. This is tool for use with the clean stuff. I have found it works well in conjunction with the TS 808. However, back off on the volume of the 808 when trying, and also use minimal gain from the Fat Boost (Around 9:00/11:00 works).

It's a Fulltone? Mike stands buy his product.

Again, Mike stands buy his product!

Blues, Country, Rock, Surf, and Jazz. The Fat Boost works well with all these styles, one note, make sure you are using a TUBE amp with this unit! I've been playing 25 years (I guess I'm getting old!). You really have to search for your sweet spot with this toy. I have found that setting the volume at 11:00/1:00, the gain at 10:00 and the tone on 2:00/full meets my needs. Overall, this is a very effective Boost for my style....

Darn easy to use: Volume and a simple low cut. However I do not get why the Input Gain knob has to be so small; this seems a bit odd.

I use mainly a PRS 22fret and an old american Fender Strat into Boogie or Engl amps. The "Fat-boost" does exactly what its name implies: Not only it boosts the volume but also adds a hint of higher (supposedly even) harmonics. This raises the percieved loudness of your sound and makes you sound bigger, fatter, call it whatever you want. However, I rate it not a ten because I miss the "magic" that some of my other little boxes have inherently: They adapt to your playing and to the amp as well as to all the other gear... the Fat-boost has a rather constant effect on your tone pretty much regardless on how you play and whats else in your signal chain. A bit static but in a nice way.

Seems to be unkaputtable. Draws an amazing low current - the battery lasts forever.

I give it a 9 because it is great but not outstanding. Try it out before you buy because it might not exactly be what you are after (as I read in earlier reviews some guys have sent it back already). If I should compare it to the clon I find the clon more versatile but also more obtrusive, though in a very subtle, organic manner. I do agree to the person below who stated that it seems a bit stupid of Mike to advertise his pedal by turning the clon down, but he seems to be like that ;-) Anyways, the Fat-Boost does what I expected it to do, not worse nor better.

Very simple box with a clear manual. Every sound is usable.

The ultimate clean boost pedal I have ever played including the often referred to Centaur. I like this unit because it will also fatten the tone up by using the tone knob. I am running this through a 1964 Fender Deluxe Reverb and it can make this amp sound like it's putting out almost twice the normal power it does.

Built very solid. Has some weight to it. I own two other Fulltone products and have never had any problems with them.

Mike has always returned my e-mails with good speed and thorough information.

This pedal has been a godsend for my live amp because I can now keep up with all of the instruments in the band when I solo through my Deluxe. We play good old classic rock and some blues. I love this box.

Very easy to get a terrific sound out of. A two page cheat sheet arrived with it, which explains what you need to do.

Various guitars into Rivera or Mesa amps. Not noisy at all; I run it in my effects loop as a volume boost for solos. It does exaactly what I want it to do and adds something in the bargain. The solo tone, while maintaining the eq of the amp, is thicker as well without adding any obvious distortion or compression.

Yes to both.

Haven't dealt with the company, although when I emailed about this item's lead time Michael answered within 24 hours. I ordered on aTuesday night and received it on Friday. Yow...

Very good match. I play a variety of cover tunes in all sorts of styles and this fits the bill in every way. I was about to part ways with my Jake because I had no acceptable way to get a controllable volume boost for my solos, and now I can rest easy with it. A fine, fine pedal. It's changing the way I hear myself.

Very >small<, simple pedal. 3 knobs and the foot switch. There is a knob for volume, input gain, and tone. Also a led that glows red when on. There is a manual, which I found to be quite useful.

I play a 99 american deluxe strat through a wah, fulltone dejavibe, fulltone fulldrive II tr100, fulltone fat-boost, way huge aquapuss analog delay, compressor, into a '65 fender twin reissue. I power them all with a voodoo labs pedal power except for the vibe, which I use an adapter with. I have it set closely to the volume boost specs in the manual, with volume at 3 o'clock, input gain at 1 o'clock, and tone at max. I use it exclusively for boosting solos and it works great. No change in tone or eq. This thing packs alot of punch, so be careful. It is true bypass as well so no tone loss when off. Sounds great.

This thing is a brick.

Mike has contacted me before about reviews I have posted here about his pedals, offering to help me tweak them better to my specifications, plus his website is excellent. He is quick and to the point, no bs. Great service, more than what I expected.

I have been playing for about 9 years, mostly rock, blues, and alternative. I had originally got it in hopes of it replacing my compressor, but I quickly realized that the compressor was an indespensible part of my sound, and that the fat-boost would work great to boost my solos, so it fits in my pedal board nicely. No longer will my solos be lost in the mix or will the band have to compensate by playing softer. It is a little pricey, but its worth it if you are into professional sounding tone. For the record I dont own a klon.

Very simple to use. The supplied instructions are clear, well written, and an excellent starting point.

I am a studio guy so noise is NG. This is a very quiet box.I use the Fat Boost with a variety of vintage Gibson, Fender and Rickenbacker guitars into several tweed, blackfaced Fenders, A Vox AC-15, and a Marshall 1962 Bluesbreaker. I play in standard and open tunings for slide and can emulate Allman, Betts,Knophler, Garcia, Haynes,early Clapton, Walsh & Felder.
This device is an outstanding clean boost, that a low studio levels make the amps sound like they are running hotter than indeed they are. The box adds smoothness, thickness and warmth that is very subtle but it IS there.

seems well constructed, but like any good audio gear or instruments, why would you throw it around ???

Having heard of Fulltone via touring/studio friends in Nashville, I knew nothing of the company.I communicated with Michael Fuller on several occasions and he answered me promptly and his website is truly outstanding.He is a real tonemeister and an excellent player too.

I play American roots music:blues, jazz, funk & rock all with a Southern influence.Having played for 35 years, I can tell you I have NEVER used pedals before. I keep this pedal on all the time now.My array of superb guitars and amps is extensive but I can not play at high volume.This is were the Fat Boost has helped me by giving me my regular full, clean tone at lower volumes. Instead of turning my amps up to volume 6 or 7, I can acheive MY sounds, with rich harmonics and excellent sustain at volume levels as low as 2 to 3.I can really get some great rhythmn, lead and slide tones that are richer sounding than before. I can see using this box for punching into a lead or slide solo if playing live. I certainly buy another if it were lost or stolen. It works equally well with single coil or humbucking pickups or solid body & hollow body guitars. I am so happy with this unit I am considering Fulltone's Fulldrive to add some dirt to my slide sound, and in conjunction with this should nail what I'm after. I have absolutely no affiliation with Fulltone or any of its staff.

Once the manual is read, should be no problems. The Input Gain knob might be the thing to throw people off.

Excellent boost with a gradual passive treble cut knob. Very clean and transparent when you want it to be, and fat and warm when necessary.

Fulltone.

Yeah, yeah. Fuller's up and down, but will always get the thing serviced in the rare case it's needed.

Fantastic pedal that is compact and very useful. I like it much better than my Klon Centaur, though this doesn't get as heavy of an overdrive. Doesn't matter though because the Klon has a raspy distorted tone that isn't much good for anything. I find this pedal to be a killer value. Works great with my Strat and Les Paul. Amazing for a great Tele booster too!

see other posts

My set up: '59 slab strat or 66 tele into a Klon, Menatone Red Snapper and TS-808 into a splitter to a Dr Z MAZ 18 jr with 2 10s and a '58 Tweed deluxe.

This pedal is an FET boost, much like the Boss FA-1, but with better fidelity. It's primary competition would seem to be the Klon and the ZVek Hard On. Both the Klon and the Hard-On are better boost pedals, the Klon being the best. It's too bad that Fuller feels that he has to run down someone else's product in order to promote his (as he does in his ads and on his website). It's worse when he doesn't come up with the goods. This is pretty uninspired.

N/A didn't buy it.

N/A see above

Nothing special. Buy a Klon.

See other reviews

First things first....here is the set up:

AS Strat>Fulltone Fulldrive>Fulltone Fat-boost>Ibanez AD-9 Analog Delay>Fulltone Supa-trem>Ernie Ball volume pedal>Dr. Z Carmen Ghia>Mesa cab w/ Celestion Vintage 30

It's good to know this upfront. I usually get half way through a review and then realize that the person is reviewing a pedal made for tube amps and using a Crate or Peavey solid state amp. Gee..no wonder you think the Fulldrive sounds like crap. Go play your Korn tunes and leave tone up to the rest of us who care.


anyway........

I love this pedal. No, it is not better than a Klon. It is simply different. I wish that Mike had never said that this pedal will make you want to trash your Klon. They are totally different pedals. The Klon will put you way further into the overdrive realm than this pedal will. As far as clean boost goes I like both of them equally. The have different characteristics about them but each will hold it's own in the clean boost realm.

Here is where the Fat-boost shines. It works perfectly as a level booster for solos. I run it directly after my Fulldrive. This way I can set my Fulldrive at a nice volume for a great cruchy rhythm sound and then use the Fat-boost to put me over the top into lead territory. I cannot tell you how happy I am with my current set up. With these two pedals working together and a great analog delay going into a low wattage tube amp with great, raw, in-your-face power tube overdrive it is pure heaven!

This pedal is also great for clean boosts. It will add some compression to your sound (hardly noticable and very welcome to my set up). It will also fill out the bottom end and add some sparkle. It will push your tubes just enough so they will start cookin' at a lower volume much like the Klon will. Very nice!

Bottom line...

If you are a Klon guy, keep it. But if you really want to get rid of yours I will give you ten dollars for it. My e-mail address is....just kidding. If you want a pedal that will give a tube amp some hop and bounce at lower volumes, this is your pedal. If you are tired of reaching down and turing a knob right before your solo and you want a pedal that will kick you amp and overdrive pedal up a nothch, this is your pedal.

Highly recommended!

Between me and a few of my friends we have owned almost every single Fulltone pedal on the market. Besides what I am currently using I have owned the '69 and the '70. I have only had one problem ever. The switch on my Supa-trem went out once. But it was quickly replaced and all is good! These pedals are some of the best made and most reliable pedals on the market and the fat-boost is no exception. I would and will gig without a backup.

I actually called Mike and ordered this pedal. He was very nice and courteous and a pleasure to do business with.

When the switch on my Supa-trem went out I e-mailed Mike and he had me send it up to him to see what the problem was. Before I even thought of seeing how it was going the pedal was on my doorstep fixed and ready to go. The only thing I had to pay for was shipping the first time. Kudos to Mike Fuller!

This has been covered in other posts.

Well it must be me, Im clearly in the minority with this, but I just received the new Fulltone Fat Boost which was supposed to make me chuck my Klon out the window. Well I think the Fat Boost falls way short and my Klon's not going anywhere. I was hoping the Fat Boost WOULD take the place of the Klon. I couldve then sold the Klon used and still cleared $100 for my pocket. Anyway, I wouldnt say the Fulltone sucks but it sure doesnt do what I expected it to do. Its advertised as the clean boost of all clean boosts. Maybe I dont use these things the way Mike Fuller does or most other people do. But very simply, I set my Matchless Chieftain with the volume up about 2/3 so that it is overdriving naturally. I want a pedal to very slightly boost my solos with just a bit more volume and sustain but to sound as close as possible to the unboosted tone. The Klon is not perfect but so far the best Ive found for this (as long as the gain is on zero and it is used as clean boost only). The Fat Boost, no matter how I set it compressed and thickened the tone. With my neck pickup on the LP, there is an open clarinet like sound that I have to have that filled right in with the Fat Boost. Sure it adds bottom and adds a smooth warm overdrive but to say that it alters the sound less than a Klon, well I dont get it. It works nicely if you are playing the amp very clean and want to fatten the tone and increase overall volume. But once the amp is overdriving, I feel it compresses the tone too much. Also if you have the input up about halfway and the volume up halfway it is very noisy. Yet if you continue to turn the input volume all the way clockwise, then the noise goes away but the gain is too much. Kinda strange, I dont know if its supposed to do that. Anyway, at least the Klon keeps things open and airy. The Fulltone already is on its way back. The search continues for the perfect pedal...

Im sure fine, built well

I play blues rock, use a '59 reissue LP with original PAFs and like the tones gotten by guys from Allman and Betts to Bloomfield and Green. I use a Matchless Chieftain modified with a 50w plexi output transformer that smooths out the top end and mids in the amp. I like the tone to be open and airy and I couldnt get that from this pedal. The Klon does it a hundred times better. And no I dont have any special interest in the Klon company, I was really hoping this Fulltone would do it for me. Again, most people obviously love this pedal and it IS good for smooth overdrive or boosting an amp that is set very clean so your amp sounds like it has more headroom. But for slightly overdriving solos while your amp is already overdriving, it doesnt cut it for me. I didnt like the Fulldrive at all either, so it must be a tone taste thing.

Impressive little pedal. Volume control which, in my case, doesn't make the amp louder, but controls how hard the input will be hit. Tone is a treble rolloff and input gain can create a very useful overdrive tone as it overdrives the FET's.

My setup is '64 Fender Mustang-P.E. Experience (for octave)-fuzz factory-P.E. Vibe Unit-Boss DD-5-Fat Boost-Fender Blues Junior. I can be noisy because it amplifies the noise already inherent in my setup. The nature of the beast. This pedal makes a huge difference for doing so little. I have been using it as overdrive rather than clean boost, although it excels at both. Using the treble roll-off, very useful jazz tones can be obtained.

Like any fulltone pedal, it is built like a rock. It does have the fulltone 3pdt switch contrary to some reports I have heard. Mike makes great stuff.

I have heard varying reports on Mike, and I have only dealt with him through e-mail, but he was always quick and helpful.

Pretty much any kind of music you can name I play. I have found a use for this pedal in all of them. This and the PE Germ almost sound like the same pedal, if you are looking for a comparison. I choose the fulltone because it has the tone control, but you can switch between overdrive and clean boost on the germ. Pick which feature you want. Anyway, I am very impressed. It is a great pedal.

This is an udate to my previous post. I sold my Fat boost, but not because I was unhappy with it. I have gotten several comments questioning my rave reviews since I sold it so quickly.
The Fat boost is a fantastic pedal, and excels at clean boost. It makes your sound bigger and fuller. I sold mine because I got a power attenuator and I found that when my amp was cranked I got the same tone as the fatboost pedal. This is a good thing, I just didnt need the same sound that my amp has out of a pedal. I was very impressed at the tone of the pedal, but i found i can get all my clean boost with a cranked tube amp, compressor and volume knob on my guitar. But anyone who is looking to add some umph to their tone should check this thing out. IT does a great job of filling out your sound, especially if cranking your amp is not an option.

This pedal is very easy to use--3 knobs-Volume, input gain, and tone. This is a class A FET driven circuit offers up to 20+dB of Clean Boost without change to your EQ while making the sound bigger. The manual explains things very well, but is not really needed.

I am using this pedal with a Tom Anderson guitar going into a reissue fender twin amp, I have a skb pedalboard with a rat, boss dm-2 delay, voodoo labs tremelo, a ts-9 tube screamer, boss ce-2 chorus and boss tu-2 tuner. The fat-boost will never leave my pedalboard. It is quiet and the sound is simply amazing--very clear, crisp and very fat. I tend to leave it on most of the time.

This thing is built like a tank. I have no worries about the pedal and would use without a backup.

I have talked with Mike several times on the phone and through e-mail and he could not have been more friendly and helpful--very professional-- I honestly don't know how he does all he does

I play in a country band as well as an alternative band and a praise band at church and feel this pedal can cover all these bases easily. I have been looking for a good clean boost pedal for awhile and finally found one. I have always wanted to try a klon cause I have heard good thing about them but where I live I have never had the opportunity to hear one. If stolen or lost I would without a doubt get another one asap. Great product!!

Doesn't get easier than this.. Three knobs
1) Input gain ( determines the gain to the box VERY active, with a wide range)
2) Volume +20db control LOTS of gain to play with
3) Tone (straight treble roll off)

The sound quality is far and away better than anything else for a straight boost that is currently available

Haven't had any issues.. But if it's like anything else I've had from Fulltone, it's gonna be pretty bulletproof..

Mike has always been friendly, open and up-front with me.. There have been times when he's been real busy, but he's never been rude, just in a hurry which I can appreciate

I play blues, R&B, country, etc

Layout is easy to comprehend: Volume, Tone, and input gain. My only beef is that the input gain knob is too close to the other knobs, and its hard to get my fingers in there to turn it.

No doubt about the sound quality here. This thing is a perfect 10. I never turn it off. I'm getting the best tone I've ever had with this pedal. My tone is stronger, more broad, more dynamic and glistening.

I dropped it on the way out of my house yesterday right after I got it. It hit the concrete hard and probably every neighbor for a mile heard me yell. It now has its first "character scratches" and it suffered absolutely no functional damage whatsoever. Its a sturdy little unit like everything else Mike builds.

Everytime I've talked with mike he's been great. Great guy, great service. Tone Guru #1!!!

I'd recommend this pedal to everyone who's looking for some tonal inspiration. This thing brought my strat back to life, and makes my sg snap like a pit bull. Just go get one.

This pedal is very easy to use, I give it a 9 because the little gain knob in the middle can cause some confusion. There are two main control knobs, volume and tone, and the little gain knob that determines how much gain is going into the pedal.

Here's my setup
60s fender strat with kinman pickups>Teese RMC3 wah>EH Qtron>Fulltone Full Drive 2> Crowther Audio Hotcakes > Sweet Sound Ultra vibe > P.E Clean Octave Blend> Ernie Ball Volume Pedal>Maxon compressor>Fat Boost>Line 6 Dl4>Boomerang>1971 Twin Reverb.

I have a very quiet setup, using top quality cables and pedals, so if I get a new pedal I will notice it's noise. This pedal is very quiet, though if you crank it to extreme settings you can get a lower frequency hum, that may just be my amp, and is very slight and not even noticeable when playing.
this pedal is best described on the fulltone website, it makes your sound BIGGER, rolling the tone back rolls off some high frequnecy and gives you very big, deep jazzy sound. (This is exactly what I was after, something that would give my sometimes thin sounding strat some balls)
It's basically a clean boost, but does a tremendous job of fattening the sound, that's what I was looking for and this pedal shines.

I've heard mixed things about Mike Fuller, I've had no personal experience with the man, but I hear he can have a temper, and may not be forgiving of people with lower learning curves. but he makes great pedals, and he's quick to respond.

Easy to use, 2 knobs, Volume,Tone ,one small imput knob...

This is a killer clean boost, you can dial it in to have a natural distortion if you want because it has FET's. You can adjust the amout of imput that is going to the pedal. So if you want to hit the FET's harder you can get that breakup that sounds killer, with out hitting the front end of your amp for breakup, if you just want crystal clean back off the input, there is a Voulme knob that does what is says, then there is a tone knob that doesnt really act like a a normal tone knob, when you turn it CCW it does add bass, rolls off the treble, like a more jazzy type of sound, if you turn it all the way CW it doesnt add treble it just takes the tone knob out of the circut, which i found to help clean up the pedal for clean boosts.I used to have the Austone Soul-O-Stomp, this is way better. The tone is warmer and not so harsh at louder setting's, probley from the FET's. Im running a US strat(frailins)or Tele plus Budda Bud wha>Ibanez TS-808>Fulltone Supa-Trem>Fulltone Choralflange>Maxon AD-80 delay>70's Small Stone>PHAT Boost>Twin Reverb. The sound is huge, i can get that Jerry Garcia, Steve Kimock clean sound to the max. For country chickin pickin leads it smokes, It also sounds great with the other pedals, Supa-trem, Small stone, ect.

dont need a back up, you know whats up with this stuff

Mikes cool to me

When i saw Mike was come out with the Fat boost i had to check it out, cause ive always been into a crystal clean sound, and a good boost to kick in to take it over the top for solos. Its a nice warm boost. I play alot of Jazz/Rock, improvisation Jam band stuff so this this works out well! It will never get lost or stolen, i already had that shit happen.

Okay, this is a short review, but I'll post a longer one whenever I get the chance to check this thing out a bit more with my rig, though I could probably tell you now what my opinion would be. At first glance, I probably would not have spent almost $200 on what is essentially a clean boost pedal. However, I was persuaded to try it (just came out) by one of the guys at a local music store that carries Fulltone (they make a point to try and have several of each unit, to be able to say "we have the full line"). I couldn't believe the difference it made with every guitar in every amp. I thought, well, I'm in the "high end" room, so that might explain it, but I have similar stuff, so what the hey. The controls consist of Volume, Tone, and a tiny Input Gain adjuster.

So, I'm on my way to a jam that night (lotta blues, but a lotta other stuff too). I hand it to one of my friends (guitarist in house band) before they take a set break. His rig consists of some nice old Strats w/EMG pickups, Marshall preamp, Rocktron Chameleon FX unit, Rocktron Velocity power amp, open-back 2x12 cab w/vintage 30's. His pedalboard includes a TC Electronics Chorus+, tuner (of course), Boss Compressor, and usually a real cool boutique overdrive or fuzz. I figured out that a lot of the "processed" thing I heard was that compressor, though I didn't say anything. He plugs in the Fat-Boost in place of the compressor when they get back onstage. The difference was immeasurable. It sounded like he was playing through a tube amp with a lot of headroom and punch (and huge sound). Only problem was that he kept overloading something so he had to switch back to the compressor. He figured out later that he could have simply turned the tiny Input Gain knob down a few hairs and solved that problem. Everyone who has tried this loves it. It just makes the difference between soundedin (or feeling) a little flat, and the notes just kind of leaping from the fretboard (or speakers, rather). It adds that fatness. Makes everyting take off. What more can you say. My next review of this will probably be even shorter. I mean, it's pretty simple. It just makes you sound (or even feel) better. Makes your amp seem more open and maybe a little more powerful. If you get the chance, try one, or just take the chance and order one. Mike's right, you may never turn this thing off, especially if you're a bluesy or other kind of "roots" player, like country "chicken pickin", or rock, or, well... ANYTHING, really. I like experimental music (I'm not as eclectic as I sound, though). I can't imagine having this thing in my rig without it being on. I give it four stars and two thumbs up.

Check it out at: http://www.fulltone.com/