Levana EQ Booster

The Levana EQ Booster is a boost pedal from Studio Blue's Levana Audio line, reviewed by Premier Guitar in June 2023. At its essence it is a preamp built into a compact pedal, and what sets it apart from a plain clean boost is frequency selectivity: as Premier Guitar put it, it is "a pedal that can selectively boost a specific band of high-end frequencies to tailor your tone"¹. Where a graphic EQ pedal lets you boost or cut gain at fixed frequencies with multiple band sliders², the EQ Booster focuses its boost on one band of high-end frequencies, lifting the parts of the signal that add clarity and definition rather than raising everything at once.

A boost for a band of high frequencies

Most boost pedals raise the level of the whole signal. The EQ Booster instead targets a specific band of high-end frequencies, which is a different tool: rather than simply getting louder, the idea is to make the most pleasing frequencies in the guitar's signal more present. Premier Guitar's reviewer found the results striking, writing¹:

That combination of boost, clarity and note separation is what a player hears in practice: notes hold longer and sit more distinctly in the mix. Beyond the frequency-selective boost, the pedal carries a conventional control for volume, so it can also serve as a straightforward level boost¹.

The enclosure is worth a note. It looks like a wooden casing, but Premier Guitar found it is really a silk-screened piece of sturdy, weighty bent metal¹, so the wood appearance is cosmetic rather than structural.

How it compares with other boost/EQ pedals

The boost-plus-EQ idea shows up across several makers, in different forms:

The Diamond Boost/EQ, for example, is closer to a boost overdrive with a tilt EQ and a mids sweep³, and Diamond specifies relay true bypass switching and a 9V to 18V DC power range on its product page⁶. The MXR Six Band EQ takes the graphic approach: fixed-frequency bands you boost or cut with sliders². The Levana sits apart from both by concentrating its boost in the high-end band rather than spreading control across the spectrum or tilting the whole tone.

Power and connections

The EQ Booster is powered by a 9V wall wart, and the wall wart is included in the box. Premier Guitar's review is direct about this: "And you'll have to use the included 9V wall wart to power the EQ Booster"¹. That is a contrast with some competitors: Diamond's Boost/EQ takes a 9V to 18V DC adaptor that is not supplied⁶, and KSR's Eros Boost + EQ ships without a power supply as well.

On connections, the pedal works with any instrument that has a ¼" output¹, which covers the standard guitar rig: instrument into the pedal, pedal into an amp or the next pedal in the chain.

Acoustic guitar, bass and other instruments

The EQ Booster is not electric-guitar-only. Premier Guitar found it "will actually work well with any instrument with a ¼" output to add clarity to acoustic guitars, basses, vocals, brass"¹. For an acoustic player fighting a muddy piezo tone, or a bassist wanting more note definition, a targeted high-end boost is a practical fix, and the review's findings put the pedal in play for those jobs. Players comparing options can also look at the Solar Chug EQ Boost, which press coverage notes also works on bass, or the broader bass pedal and acoustic pedal categories.

What reviewers said

Published coverage of the EQ Booster centers on Premier Guitar's 2023 review, and its verdict is strongly positive on the pedal's core function: the ability to boost the most pleasing frequencies is described as "utterly astounding," with the reviewer citing otherworldly sustain, clarity and note separation as the outcome¹. The review also flags the practical points a buyer cares about: the true-bypass circuit, the metal enclosure dressed as wood, the included 9V wall wart, and the $275 street price at the time¹.

Videos

Click to load

Questions