The Little Horn is a clean boost pedal from Vein-Tap.com, a small UK-flavored pedal maker that describes itself as "Purveyors of the Most Stylish Guitar Pedals This Side of Valhalla"1. It is built to lift your volume without changing your tone: the maker's product page calls it a "Pure, clean, transparent, powerful boost"1. The pedal first appeared on 11 November 2014, the maker's third anniversary, when Ben from Vein-Tap.com announced it would "bring up to 24dB of high quality, transparent boost to your pedalboard"2. It is now in its third version, the Little Horn v3.03.
What it does
A clean boost sits between your guitar and the rest of the chain and raises the signal level without adding distortion of its own. Vein-Tap.com's own buying guide puts the appeal plainly: the Little Horn "can embiggen your tone and push your tube amp into sweet, tight, musical overdrive"5. In other words, the pedal itself stays clean, and if your amp breaks up, it is the amp's own overdrive being pushed harder by the extra level. That is the classic role of a boost pedal, and it is why players also use one to lift a solo above a band mix.
The maker's description of the pedal's character has been consistent across its life: "high quality, transparent boost" at launch in 20142, and "Pure, clean, transparent, powerful boost" on the current v3.0 page1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Boost | Sets the amount of clean boost, from subtle presence up to very high volume1 |
| Tone (v3.0) | Boosts or attenuates the higher frequencies of the boosted signal1 |
| Tone Bypass (v3.0) | Switches the tone control in and out of play as needed13 |
The Boost control goes from a gentle lift all the way to the pedal's full +24dB1. Vein-Tap.com warns new owners to "make sure to turn the boost control all the way down to 0 when you first try it out", because the pedal is capable of a very large jump in level1.
Noise and filtering
Vein-Tap.com credits the pedal's advanced power filtering for making the Little Horn "such a pure, noiseless, hiss-free boost"1. When version 2.0 arrived in April 2017, the maker went further, calling it "probably the quietest, but easily the most powerful, clean boost pedal you can get your hands on"4. That release also changed the circuit so that turning the Boost control no longer caused a crackling sound, a fix carried forward since4.
The versions
The Little Horn has been through three versions, each following the same pattern: as Ben from Vein-Tap.com put it, "every time we run out of a certain PCB we challenge ourselves to take what is great and make it better"3.
- v1.0 (2014): the original clean boost, launched 11 November 201424.
- v2.0 (2017): released after all the v1.0 PCBs sold out, with a revised circuit that removed the crackling sound when the Boost control was turned4.
- v3.0 (2019): announced in November 2019, adding a tone control "that you can switch in an out of play as and when it's needed"3.
Version 3.0 keeps everything that made v2.0 what it was, including the advanced power filtering, and adds the Tone control and Tone Bypass switch on top1. If you are comparing used listings, the tone control is the quick way to tell a v3.0 from an earlier version.
What reviewers said
The pedal has drawn published review attention as well as maker claims: Tone King reviewed the Little Horn as a clean boost pedal, coverage Vein-Tap.com itself highlighted on its site6.
Videos
Vein-Tap.com
Vein-Tap.com
David Bond
Questions
How much boost does the Vein-Tap Little Horn provide?
The Little Horn provides up to +24dB of clean boost, according to Vein-Tap.com. The Boost knob sets the amount, from a subtle lift in presence up to very high volume, and the maker recommends turning it all the way down to 0 when first trying the pedal so the jump in level does not catch you out.
What does the tone control on Little Horn v3.0 do?
On version 3.0, the Tone control lets you either boost or attenuate the higher frequencies of the boosted signal. It can be switched in and out of play as needed, so the pedal can run as a straightforward clean boost with the tone circuit out of the way, or with tone shaping engaged.
What changed between Little Horn v2.0 and v3.0?
Version 3.0 added the Tone control and its Tone Bypass switch while keeping everything from v2.0, including the advanced power filtering. Earlier, v2.0 had changed the circuit so that turning the Boost control no longer caused a crackling sound, an improvement made after the v1.0 PCBs sold out.
Does the Little Horn add noise or hiss?
Vein-Tap.com says the Little Horn's advanced power filtering makes it a pure, noiseless, hiss-free boost. When v2.0 arrived in 2017, the maker described it as probably the quietest, but easily the most powerful, clean boost pedal you could get your hands on.
Sources (6)
- The Little Horn Guitar Boost Pedal from Vein-Tap.com, Vein-Tap.com, 2026-09-01
- The Little Horn Cometh, Vein-Tap.com, 2014-10-28
- The Little Horn Gets a v3.0 Upgrade, Vein-Tap.com, 2019-11-06
- The Little Horn Gets a v2.0 Upgrade, Vein-Tap.com, 2016-08-17
- Overdrive Pedal vs Amp Distortion: Which is Better?, Vein-Tap.com, 2015-05-19
- The Tone King Reviews the Little Horn Clean Boost, Vein-Tap.com, 2014-11-21
