Stone Deaf QBoost

The Stone Deaf QBoost is an analog boost pedal and preamp from Stone Deaf, the British builder hand-building pedals just outside Manchester¹. What sets it apart from a standard clean boost is a second, footswitchable circuit: a parametric frequency boost that pushes a specific frequency you can sweep anywhere from 35Hz to 6kHz²³. Stone Deaf rates the pedal at nearly 40dB of total overall gain⁴.

Think of it as two pedals in one box. The preamp side is a full-range booster with switchable vintage saturation¹; the frequency side adds a tunable hump on top, with its gain and bandwidth fixed and only the center frequency under your control¹. Guitar.com summed it up as "a pedal that's about as versatile as a compact tone-shaping and gain-boosting pedal could possibly be"⁵.

What the QBoost does to your sound

The preamp side is straightforward: turn the Preamp knob clockwise and you hit your pedals and amp harder⁶. In Modern mode that is a clean, transparent boost that never distorts², which Stone Deaf says works well for filling out your tone, pushing solos and breaking up your amp⁴. Guitar.com's reviewer found unity gain at around 10 o'clock on the preamp knob, just a touch thicker and darker than the bypass sound¹.

The frequency side is where the QBoost earns its name. Stepping on the second footswitch adds a boost at whatever frequency you have dialed in, from 35Hz to 6kHz, covering the bass-to-treble spectrum of guitar-centric frequencies³⁸. Stone Deaf describes the Q, the shape of the frequency hump, as medium, meaning no awkward resonant harshness should come from extreme settings³. In Vintage mode the Freq Boost knob sweeps the frequencies with that fixed gain and natural EQ curve, adding bite, air, warmth or fatness as needed².

Delicious Audio's write-up captured the range: "The QBoost does it all, from transparently frequency boost to saturated overdrive and 'dying amp' fuzz."²

The controls

The layout is two amp-style knobs, a single toggle switch and two footswitches, with top-mounted jacks³. The enclosure is a rugged little metal brick¹; the limited edition carried Mickey Mouse-themed artwork by McBess².

Vintage and Modern modes

A two-way switch in the center of the pedal selects between the two preamp voices², which Stone Deaf calls a double-sided circuit⁶.

• Modern: A clean, transparent boost that never distorts². Stone Deaf says it fills out bass and guitar tones and is great for solos and breaking up your amp⁴; Guitar World described the modern voicing as promising pristine cleans⁸. Depending on pickups and amplifier, it can induce a glassy overdrive tone⁷.
• Vintage: A more saturated, distorted boost in the vein of old-school treble boosters⁸, aiming at the tone of saturated drive and fuzz⁸. Delicious Audio found it full of saturation even at low levels, delivering distorted and even fuzzy tones at higher gain². Guitar.com's reviewer went further: push the preamp close to maximum and "it could almost be a Big Muff"¹.

Where it came from

The QBoost launched on 16 December 2020 as a limited edition of 500 units worldwide, priced at £170 and available immediately⁶⁸. It was hand-made in Manchester⁸.

In August 2021 the pedal went into full production as an unlimited version, doing the same job with a different paint job, at £139¹. A Silver Edition followed, bringing back the original McBess artwork in a different colorway with a custom toggle switch, after customers asked for it⁷. The original limited edition itself is now sold out and discontinued⁴.

What reviewers said

Guitar.com's Richard Purvis reviewed the full-production version in August 2021 and found it "deceptively flexible"¹. On the frequency boost, he reported that "with the frequency dial set anywhere around halfway, we're greeted by a rich and spicy honk", a tightening of tonal focus, maybe not quite a stuck wah effect¹. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley had earlier reported that depending on where you place the Freq Boost, "you can get some very gnarly Schenker-esque cocked wah tones"⁶.

Delicious Audio called it "an incredibly flexible pedal that does a lot by itself but that can do a heck of a lot more when used in conjunction with an amp"². Guitar.com's 2021 affordable-pedals awards feature echoed the versatility verdict, describing the result as about as versatile as a compact tone-shaping and gain-boosting pedal could possibly be⁵.

Using it with other gear

The QBoost works for guitar or bass rigs², and Stone Deaf positions it as an essential piece of kit for any bass or guitar player⁴. The 35Hz bottom of the frequency sweep reaches low enough to push bass fundamentals rather than just guitar mids³.

Guitar.com suggested typical pairings: pushing an amp into break-up with the preamp side and cutting through the mix for a solo with the frequency side, or pairing it with other drive or fuzz pedals to bring out more focused, filtered sounds from them³.

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