One of the earliest products offered by
EarthQuaker Devices, the Black Eye provides 30
decibels of unadulterated boost. Because it is
an excellent buffer, EarthQuaker recommends
using it at the end of your signal chain. It is not
designed to provide any distortion of its own,
but as with other boost pedals, you can push
your other dirt boxes into further saturation
when placing the Black Eye in front of them.
It’s simple, it’s built to high standards, it sounds
great, and it’s from EarthQuaker. What else do
you need to know?
The Arrows preamp/booster is a more recent
entry into Boostville and is designed to
conjure up a more specific tone. EarthQuaker
specifically mentions adding gain to dirt pedals
and brightening neck pickups as recommended
functions. By enhancing certain frequencies,
it takes that which can be muddy and makes it
clear. It doesn’t have as much volume capacity
as the Black Eye, but it’s not supposed to. This
is the perfect pedal to use if you need to clean
up that fuzz you love so dearly, or you want your
Les Paul’s neck pickup to really shine through the
mix. Plus, it’s green and it has arrows on it.
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TONE TALK //
Battle of the Boost: 7 Gain-Changers to Jumpstart your Rig