Vox Cooltron Brit Boost

This pedal looks simple enough, but offers so many flavours that it's use can be simple enough or quite complex depending on the sound you are looking for. The choice of combinations makes this pedal one you should definately experiment with for a while before figuring out where it fits into your sound

I've been looking for this sound for a long long time. I've finally found her. This peddal offers true bypass which is necessary for most musicians. The "tone" effect really cleans up your frequencies and almost acts like a built-in equalizer. Power up both effects simultaneously and you get that fantastic Brit-crunch sound we all love. Play around with the settings in this mode in order to achieve the sound you're looking for- this can be a little tricky at first and obviously depends on your setup. For that final boost, step off the "tone" effect and this box really crunches! I can't say enough about this pedal. Fantastic.

Recommended Styles for this pedal: Indie, Rockabilly, Blues, Rock.
My setup: Gretch, Tube Screamer TS9, Vox BritBoost, Morley VW, Zoom Board, FenderDbl Twins.

very reliable- make sure to change batteries often!!! This pedal really eats em up.

never needed it

this was exactly what I was looking for and so I give her a 9- losing out on points only because it takes time to figure this one out in your setup.

well,you won't find many boosters that are NOT transistors, but tube circuitry,and this one can apparently run on batteries!

sound quality is excellent,with my Marshall superlead,I can get really many sounds out of this box,and while it's pushing the amp hard. These pedals are also VERY quiet,and this is one of the main reasons why I'll use it. All my other transistor boosters are far noisier and they don't sound as good

built very solidly

Pretty straightforward - the knobs do what they say they do, period.

I play through Fender 4X10 Hot Rod Deville 60 watt combo amp. I use Strats pretty exclusively, so maybe with the common "brightness" one expects from a Strat, my use experience with this pedal is not a fair assessment. But I was quite disappointed that for $225, this pedal added a very (I mean VERY) slight overdrive to the original signal. Also, with the tone knob twisted fully to the bass side, the sound was still too brittle. Compared to the TS-808 reissue pedal I use, which yields a perfect (IMHO) tone range from bass to treble, the VOX pedal was too bright and too much of one trick pony. And this is using the switch on the Full Range setting. When I attempted to use the Treble Boost feature, it added little to no noticeable distortion or gain, just the same guitar tone, albeit brighter and equally as clean as what normally comes from the amp. The pedal was NOT noisy in the least, even using a Strat equipped with stock fender single coil pickups.

Didn't keep it long enough to develop a problem, but it seemed very well made.

Have not dealt with VOX, but if they are anyting like Marshall (as distributed through KORG USA, forget about customer service.

I sent this pedal back and exchanged it for a BOSS DS-1 and a Pro Co Rat 2, both pedals I have enjoyed and owned in the past. I play classic rock - stuff like Hendrix, SRV, ZZ Top, all the way to Elvis and Johnny Cash songs depending on our audience at the particular gig. In all fairness, maybe I was expecting something beyond the intended capabilities of this particular pedal, after all it is touted as a signal (and treble) boost pedal. It may be my misapplication of the pedal that rendered it usueless to me in achieving a sound I wanted. My experience with all other VOX products has been good. I'm not saying it's a bad pedal, it's just most likely suited to hotter pickups and darker sounding guitars and / or amplifiers.

I got mine used, no box, no manual.

Very easy to use - 3 knobs, 2 foot-switches. Only problem is that the device does not specify which mode is which (ie, light on or light off), but it is pretty easy to figure out which is the full boost and which is the treble boost.

Ok, I really like the sound quality of this pedal, but some marks are lost (read on).

My rig is Gibson SG/Fender Telecaster -> Crybaby wah -> Rat2 -> Digitech Bad Monkey -> Vox Brit Boost -> Guyatone Compressor -> Vox AC30CC2.

The full range boost is great - among the best I've heard. It is very tranparent. It makes my AC30 sound like an AC30, only cranked beyond the amps capability. I think that the term "boost" is a bit misleading, as this thing has a LOT of volume/gain, and can push a clean amp into lead mode. When I think boost, I usually think of a slight push, not a huge amount of gain. The full range boost is a bit bright, but this can be dialed down.

The treble boost is decent (not really my thing as it turns out, but nice to play with) but the problem is that there is a HUGE loss of gain/volume when you switch from full boost to treble boost. This could pose a problem in live settings.

The unit is quiet and true bypass, which is nice.

Looks rugged, but who knows? It has a tube in it, which may eventually die.

This pedal is rather large and takes up a lot of real-estate on the pedal board.

I like that is has a huge range of boost and two different modes. The tone is very nice and transparent.

However, I do not believe that this pedal is worth the $220 US that it is being sold for. I bought mine used (new condition) for $150 CDN (~$130 US), and I consider that to be a good price. $220 is a lot of money for a pedal.

Level, Tone, Gain. Simple.

I love all things tube - even my main distortion pedal is a all tube device. I've come to be leary of devices that claim to be "tube", but don't run at full voltages. So with that said, I don't care what it says about servo circuits (blah, blah, blah). I'm not so sure about how much of a contribution the tube actually makes in this pedal. I mean, come on, the blue glow is just gimmicky. I can't even see the heaters glowing. Now, not to sound too much like a tube snob said...

My main amp is a custom built JTM 45 - type amp with a more modern voice. I use it through a 2x12 cab with V30's. I set the amp with a every so slightly dirty clean tone, and use a Epicenter Audio ValveBoy for distortion.

I have two guitars:
* Ibanez SZ320 gold top w/ Duncan Jazz and '59;
* Fender Deluxe Player's Strat w/ stock noiseless PU's.

The combination of the this pedal and the Ibanez isn't pleasant. It becomes flubby and farty. Not a good match up with this guitar, as it is already thick and somewhat dark sounding on its own.

The pedal with the strat, now, that is a different story. The mid emphasis that farts out the Ibanez, beefs up the strat! Great matchup. I set the Brit Boost with the tone @ 11:00 and the level and gain to push the amp into a purring, soft clip, great for bluesy stuff. When I punch the ValveBoy on, the strat is launched into the "stratosphere" (no pun intended) with tight, punchy, distortion - great for metal, hard rock and the like - and this is with a strat of all things!

I've only had it a day (but have played if for hours on end). Its contruction is very sturdy. I'd predict that it is a rugged, stage worthy pedal.

If your guitars are thicker sounding, like a guitar with hot humbuckers from Dimarzio, Duncan, EMG, etc, I'd steer clear of this pedal.

Regardless of the actual usefulness of the 12au7 in the circuit, this a excellent pedal for guitarists needing to beef up a brighter, less mid-heavy instrument.

First of all this is so easy to use 3 chicken-head knobs, 2 footswitches 1 for effect and one for full treble boost. It is very easy to get a good sound from this. The manuel is helpful but you don't really need to refer to it for anything because it is so simple to use.

At the moment I am switching between 2 guitars an Epiphone SG Custom (tuned to D) and a Gibson Tony Iommi Signature SG (tuned to #C). The amp is a Marshall MG250 DFX but I am soon replacing it with a Laney GH50L and 4X12 Quad. It is noisy when the volume control is turned right up. Also when the tone control is turned right up. I have the volume control set at about halfway and the tone down low for a deeper tone and the gain right up. I can get the sound I want but it took alot of playing about with the amp settings.

I can depend on it to last it is solid metal and it looks very sturdy. I would use it at a gig without a backup.

Never dealt with VOX.

I play mostly Black Sabbath and Tony Iommi uses a treble booster so to that is why I got one, to help me get that sabbath tone. I have been playing for 6 years now. I also own heaps of other effect pedals but I don't use them now because I also recently bought a Korg AX10G Effects Proccessing Unit which is great. If it were lost or stolen I would buy another one. I didn't compare this to any other treble booster because I couldn't find any in the country other than this but I am happy with it. I would recommend this to anyone looking to get just a bit more from thier amp.

Three chicken-head knobs:
Volume (output level)
Tone
Gain (input/overdrive level)

Two foot-switches:
Effect (On/Off)
Treble/Full Range (select treble or all frequency boost)

One Blue-lit ECC82 (12AU7) valve (tube).

The manual is a large folded sheet of paper with a bunch of different languages running side by side, over and under and every which way, making it hard to see at first which bit follows what. Eventually it all makes sense though which in itself is good preparation for understanding how this pedal can work with an amp.
The actual words in the manual are to the point and interesting. Most of them aren't really all that necessary though.

I bought this Brit Boost via the internet without trying it first. I knew what I was looking for, and was influenced as to quality by positive reviews of the other two pedals in the Cooltron range.

On it's arrival, I played with the few controls for a few minutes through my amp set squeaky clean, to get a feel for the pedal's responses, quickly found a setting that sounded promising then started to push the amp a little to see how the two interacted.
The blend of drives from both the gain stage of the pedal and the amp being driven by the output stage creates opportunities for many variations in tone, texture, etc.
So, on the one hand this a very nice sounding, simple overdrive and on the other it's a catalyst to a pretty complex situation...

However you approach it, it has everything it needs and is pretty simple to use. Just play with it and your amp 'till you get what you want.

White Fender classic 60's Stratocaster.
Planet Waves 10' instrument, 2' Patch, and speaker leads.
Peterson Strobostomp Tuner.
Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah.
Fulltone '69 Fuzz.
Vox Brit Boost using the Full Range setting. (All 'True Bypass' pedals)
Cornford Mk50 head.
THD Hotplate attenuator.
Cornford 4x12" Cabinet.

I have other guitars, but the relatively low output classic has a tremendous, sweet character and through the Cornford it's just massive and I get it all, which is what I want from a guitar. I want it all...

Is the Boost noisy?
Well, yes. It hisses a bit.
Only because it's being run with the gain and volume flat-out. With more conservative settings, it's very quiet.
When it's off it's invisible.
I recon pedals exist to compliment tone and excitement, they're not there to take anything away.

For live work, I have my amp set for a slight power stage breakup, and I wanted this pedal to act as a boost to push the amp into a pretty full-on valve distortion as an alternative to the full-on fuzz from the '69 pedal. Two distinctive types of lush gain.
In this respect I was surprised: The Brit Boost doesn't offer a clean boost as far as I can tell; the gain rolls down to silence rather than parity with the original signal, and it starts to distort as soon as it hits a meaningful level.
However the boost has a really musical break-up of it's own, and this together with the pedal's volume pushing the Cornford?s pre-amp a little gives me what I want.

As with the amp itself and the '69 fuzz, the guitar volume controls the Brit boost?s palette.
Reduce the guitar volume and the tone sweetens and cleans up, and there isn't a bad or mediocre sound in there.

I'm sure it's reliable. No problems yet and I don't anticipate any.
You have to look on the bright side...

No opinion since I've never yet had cause to say hello.
I've said 'Thank you'.

I like music that gets the blood and the adrenaline flowing. This pedal does exciting things to the noise a guitar makes without taking anything away from that initial noise.
Power, musical feedback, rich harmonics, the wire, the wood - All present and correct.

I've been annoying people in a loud manner for 30 years. This is the most exhilarating rig I've ever strapped into and it should last me for another 30 provided the oil lasts out...

I'll not hesitate to replace the boost should it be stolen.
I might replace it with something else... Only if something better comes along which at the moment is unlikely - Vox seem to have the transparent-overdrive thing nailed.

I like the Brit Boost, and recommend it to you.