Roger Mayer Voodoo Boost

The Roger Mayer Voodoo Boost is an analog clean boost pedal, described by its maker as a 20dB clean boost with fatness control and the latest in the Voodoo Series of analog guitar effects¹. It does more than raise volume: Roger Mayer states it controls not only volume boost but also has a fatness control and a gain/distortion control, so it can push an amp's input or shape the tone of the boost itself¹.

The controls and outputs

At its core the pedal is a volume boost: a touch of the footswitch engages what Roger Mayer calls a significant distortion free volume boost to the amplifier's input¹. Around that, the fatness control sets the tone required when the boost is used, and the maker says a wide range of amplifier tones can be emulated with ease, from Screaming Tweed Twang to Classic British 4 x12 tones, with no overriding nasal tonal quality¹.

The output arrangement is unusual for a boost pedal and worth understanding before you wire it up¹:

• Dual direct drive buffered outputs: capable of driving very long leads without any loss, which Roger Mayer describes as reducing output lead length to zero¹
• Traditional hard wire output/bypass: provided as well, to enable comparison between using a buffered output in your patch and a straight wire¹
• Buffer disconnection: the buffered outputs are disconnected when the hard wire output is used¹

That makes the pedal a candidate for the end of a board even if you normally avoid buffers; players who prefer no buffering at all can simply use the hard wire output. For more on where a buffer belongs in a chain, see Buffer Pedals, and for other pedals in this family, see Roger Mayer Voodoo-Blues, which adds a Tone control along with Gain and Output knobs for fine tuning the blues tone without adding more distortion³.

Placement in the signal chain

Roger Mayer designed the Voodoo Boost to be used last in the effects chain, just before the amplifier¹. That placement matters: the boost is meant to hit the amp's input directly, which is how the pedal delivers its range of amplifier tones, and the buffered outputs are there to carry that signal down long cable runs without loss¹. If you are comparing boost designs, the Boost Pedals page covers the wider type, and the gain/distortion control also overlaps with what Overdrive Pedals and Distortion Pedals do.

Power and battery life

The Voodoo Boost runs on 9 volt DC, with a regulated output recommended, and draws 50mA or more¹. Power access is through a standard DC power jack with a 2.1mm center pin, situated next to the jack sockets, and it uses the standard negative center pin connection protocol used by many leading manufacturers; an external AC adapter is not supplied¹.

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