Muir Audio Design announces Silicon Steel Boost pedal

October 31, 2024 · 2 sources

Muir Audio Design announced the Silicon Steel Boost, a boost pedal built around a transformer-based gain stage, in a listing dated October 31, 2024¹². Delicious Audio reported the launch the same day¹.

The pedal has four controls: Boost, Heat, Active Bass and Active Treble². Delicious Audio gives the gain as over +21dB and describes the EQ as a 2-band section tuned specifically for the pedal, which it says can be used for a treble boost, bass lift, mid-focus or a scooped EQ¹. Guitar Pedal X lists the controls as Boost (+21 dB), Heat, Active Bass ± and Active Treble ±². It describes Heat as using soft asymmetrical clipping for subtle low order harmonics without overdrive breakup².

The two accounts differ on which earlier Muir pedal the circuit relates to. Delicious Audio says the Silicon Steel Boost is based in part on the company's Silicon Steel Overdrive¹. Guitar Pedal X says it is a separate circuit from the Silky Smooth Saturating Overdrive, sharing only the audio output transformer, and calls it a totally separately originated circuit developed for high headroom clean boosting². Delicious Audio describes it as a brand-new circuit optimized to work as a boost that still offers some amount of dirt¹.

Both publications state that the pedal runs on a 9V to 18V power supply¹². Guitar Pedal X says headroom and volume are already substantial at 9V and that 18V offers even higher headroom².

Guitar Pedal X said the pedal was available for orders at the time of its article². No US list price was given in either report.