boost

A boost is an effect that increases the level of your signal without adding a significant amount of distortion¹. In a rig, a boost can be used as a clean boost, as with the Boss BP-1W's NAT mode offering an ultra-clean boost without added color², or to push an already overdriven tube amplifier, as with the Axess Electronics OBViouS³. Some boosts add character rather than staying transparent, such as the Benson Amps Germanium Boost, which adds sizzle and sweet harmonic overtones at volume⁴, or the Keeley Germanium Amplifier, which adds gain and color⁵. Boosts can also appear as one setting among others on multi-function pedals, ranging from clean boost into overdrive or heavier saturation⁶,⁷.