Hi Mason I just pre ordered this pedal at sweetwater. My question is that connector for the volume pedal also included in the box? Thanks. You make amazing pedals.
YES! Finally got a smaller version of the original! Love this! Just ordered one for my small travel rig that I'm putting together. Thanks for all you do Mason.
Whoa wasn’t expecting this one. Such a great pedal and it might be the only boost that is truly transparent and does not change the tone even a little. Loving the new design. Super clean look and tone as usual.
I have two of "The Boost" MK I ,. This is my volume pedal ! I have tried all the High end Volume pedals. That all suck tone. The Boost is 100% transparent ! I am getting this new MKII version ASAP . The Vertex Boost is something I will not be without !
Awesome! Be sure to reserve yours now at Sweetwater before they're gone. Once they're out we won't get more until May: www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VertexBoostMk2--vertex-effects-boost-mkii-pedal
@@VertexEffectsInc and as we say in France : ça envoie du bois , c est d une patate extra , that means powercul and clean tone in french !!!! Well Done , the question is : what am I going to do without my vertex boost ?????? 🤔🤗😀😅😃😂😀😀😅😃😂😀😀
Wow❤❤❤ it came out awesome and way ahead of our time!!!! You guys did a great job! I love the fact that the doc never say “I did!” But always acknowledge his team effort and give credit to all involved! I just want to know if the only difference between MK-I and II its size only? What a great achievement, you probably should patent it!!!
@@VertexEffectsInc awesome! I was looking online reading about so many versions you had, wow! I’m pretty sure not many of us have the due respect to boosters until you started to show how important they are! I bought two of the simple boosters you have and they do an awesome job, but nothing this! Impressed!
This is a game changer in Pedalboard real estate! The New enclosures and updates to the pedals are so good its scary! Can't wait for the uktraphonix and dynamic distortion (if they are coming 🤭). I love vertex!
It will be worse the lower the impedance you go presuming you have a passive guitar pickup. 25K is worse than 250K, 10K is worse than 25K. No matter what volume pedals will suck tone, and even the active ones that have buffers on-board aren't that great typically and really unload the input and aren't particularly great line drivers. Most I measured were around 1K output which is 10x more degraded than our output impedance. As Tom Bukovac says in the video, all volume pedals suck tone, it doesn't matter the brand. The Boost isolates that impedance where it no longer matters, choose your taper of choice and you're off to the races with ZERO tone suck from the volume pedal.
Speak of the Devil I just watched that Ford demo last night cause I been looking for another clean boost that’s not a katana and was intrigued by it. Last pedal you released the SSS I bought the same day and now I’m probably going to get this when I get back home tonight. Vertex always taking my money
Great video. I know you are a huge advocate of buffers and I'm looking to add a new input and output buffer to my signal chain. Do you think this boost pedal is up to the job of buffering the signal on a 10+ pedal rig?
Not on its own. I would still recommend an input and output buffer in addition to the boost unless you were using the boost first or last in your chain and then you could eliminate either the input or output buffer based on where it ends up.
I’ve been using an Empress Para EQ for boost and was going get your original boost until now with the MK2. Here in Music City they are starting to be used more and more great stuff Mason.
I like this a lot. Instead of having to turn up my volume knob all the time for more gain out of my amp I can just use this pedal. I just don’t like how all overdrives or boosts push the amp but color and compress it in a way I hate. This is perfect!
Mason - would be curious to see how you would approach an attenuator. That’s been the only true game-changer in my chain, as many pedals as I’ve accumulated. It’s more essential than most players realize.
@@VertexEffectsInc Thanks for the speedy reply, cost is a big barrier of entry for players but if they could only try in person it solves so much tone-chasing (I have Fryette PS-2, not all are equal). I would also buy a Vertex Dual Buffer with effect loop relays if you marketed a fully assembled one vs tutorials....
Hi Mason, to use the Boost MKII as a system buffer, do I need a special cable? I get the instrument in, then out to my pedals. How do I get it back in if i'm not using an expression pedal. Thanks for all the valuable info and cool videos you do here ~
Yes, you need an insert cable, see www.therigdr.com to order a custom length or you can get some standard sizes from big retailers with Hosa brand cables.
Hi Mason, hope you’re well! I recently bought the first version. Could you please confirm what are the differences between the first version and this one, apart of the size? I don’t really understand the differences between both versions with the buffer and what are the new features. Thanks in advance!
Functions are the same, it's just 33% smaller than the original and uses an 1/8" EXP jack instead of a 1/4". There is also an additional buffer on the return of the insert, not just on the send.
@@VertexEffectsInc thank you very much for confirming, so nothing different other than the size and the additional buffer on the return of the send, right? I was also wondering where and when will it be available in the UK.
@@CarlosMorgadoMusic correct, Haar is taking pre-orders now and they ship all over Europe, otherwise Anderton's might be a few weeks more before they arrive.
Wow.... just wow... I just began working with a Ernie Ball MVP.... still figuring out stuff since I've been an acoustic guy for so long, now being pressed into service as a Tele twanger... This opens up new horizons... also enjoying your clean drive as my twangerator... BTW, your cable links are not functioning.
Sounds like a neat pedal. If I’m using the TRS out to buffer input and output sections of my board, does the volume boost happens in the beginning or the end of my board?
@@VertexEffectsInc Thanks for the reply. My apologies for not being clear on my question. Let's put it this way in terms of my signal chain: Gtr - Vertex Boost Input - Vertex Boost Send - Pedal Board - Vertex Boost Return - Vertex Boost Output. When I engage/stomp on the Vertex Boost, does the boosting happens in the beginning of my board or after my board? No VP involved.
I just bought the Vertex Mk2 and I love it!Now I am trying to figure out the best way for me to use it.I got a cable to add it to my mini Dunlop Volume pedal but using it the expression pedal option of it.My question is:Can I put the boost at the very end of the chain(I use 12 pedals)so it will work as a volume boost and also as a output buffer???Thanks.🙏🏻
If you insert 12 Pedals into the expression loop you won’t have any dedicated impedance isolation for the volume pedal, however the pedals that surround it may be enough to offset any real issue, depends on what the actual devices are and what they are impedances and whether it’s more valuable for you to just use the boost in series with the volume pedal in the EXP or for you to loop in all of your devices through the insert.
@@VertexEffectsInc Thanks for your help!🙏🏻Yes,I decided to use the boost after my drive pedals and in serie with the volume pedals mini but connecting it only in the expression pedal entrance which is just one insert cable in the Aux position.Actually Yesterday I order the cable:it’s a TRS Stereo 6’ from The Rig Doctor Site!I can’t wait to install it in my final pedalboard!Thanks again!👍🏻
Depends what you want to boost. Just level, a boost is better. EQ circuits are not without their color or filtering, depends on the objective. If it's really just a clean boost, pedals are better than an EQ.
Mason, already pre-ordered 2 weeks ago! Question. I have a matchless HC-30 with a passive loop. Using a Boss ES 8 to run all my pedals through. Right now all in front of amp. If I put this in the volume loop of the ES 8 and then the HC30 loop will it take care of the tone suck the passive amp loop causes?
So happy to hear that you pre-ordered! Thanks for the support Rob! If you want to get in contact with the Rig Doctor for pedalboard tips, the best way is through a tone consultation! You can check it out here: www.therigdr.com/collections/tone-consulting
When you compared the tone suck of the volume pedal to the boost, the boost is no longer in the chain when using the volume pedal alone. So we're hearing the tone suck of the two cables without the buffer that was there before. That's great if you want to show what a buffer does, but hardly anything unique about this pedal. It's a cool feature to add an expression pedal option to a flat boost pedal, just seems an unfair comparison.
Hey Adrian! The volume pedal itself actually introduces a bunch of capacitance to your signal, resulting in tone suck. Using the Boost MkII to control your VP eliminates this problem :)
Will this Boost pedal work with the Lehle Mono Volume Pedal? The manual for the Boost MKII lists a couple of volume pedals that are compatible with it but I'm not sure if it will work with the Lehle Mono Volume Pedal.
Hi Mason, I already had a Y cable, which all three jacks are stereo jacks, can I use this type of Y cable? By the way, I can really tell which 1/4 jack is in or out, does it matter? Many thanks.
I wonder would this have any issues with the volume tuner by EB... or would it work the same. It has its own buffers i believe. Looks like something I could use for sure.
Vertex should make a pedal that when rolling back the guitars volume pot you can get different types of "Clean UP tones". Hendrix specialized his fuzz face circuits to have different types of clean up tones. Listen to Robin Trowers 2000s clean up tones which has a very trademark clean up tone maybe from his fulltone drive pedals or OCD pedal. Rory Gallagher, Ed King, Robert Cray clean up tone has a trademark tones which you can make up a guitar pedal called the clean up tones.
Even active Vol pedals will alter your tone in some fashion; this takes the VP completely out of your chain,. You’re getting all the control, without the tone suck!
Hi Mason, I am curious as to how the MKII would work with/react with an acoustic guitar that I use with a passive fishman neo-d humbucker? Currently have to use an old basic Fishman eq pre to boost the signal high enough to run through my pedal board.
Mason, I have the vertex boost MKII. Love it. I currently use the Friedman 15x30 Platinum pedalboard system. With the Friedman buffer in the front and the Vertex Boost MKII in the loop, do you think this is sufficient buffering? Thanks!
I'm interested in this Vertex Boost in conjunction with a volume pedal. Since the volume pedal is isolated through the Boost's expression port, does if matter if you are buying 25k or 250k impedance pedal?
Hi Mason, I dig the Vertex boost but I do have a question/gripe for all pedal builders including Vertex; why do you insist on mounting the led so close to the stomp button? It forces you to take your foot off the pedal to see it it’s on or off. Now this may not be a problem for most with a cranked boost or other dirt pedal, but with any subtle effect it may not be immediately sonically apparent that the pedal is indeed on unless you remove your foot to see the led. In a gig situation this translates to a huge problem when changes require sonic accuracy for a smooth transition between parts. So please, please rethink the placement of the led towards the top of the pedal where it won’t be hidden by the players foot. Here endith the gripe.
Michael, it's a pretty standard location, and based on the PCB layout inside the pedal, there aren't a lot of logical places to put it that wouldn't impede pots, switches, toggles, etc. The idea is to standardize the sizes of the enclosure when you make custom enclosures with a unique shape like this (instead of using the pre-made stuff that many pedal companies do). This allows you to run off 1000's at time (of the raw bent metal) and drill the common holes universal in all pedal models, e.g. footswitch, led, input, output, 9VDC, and then punch out the specific holes for each pedal that are out of the norm prior to painting. Having a revolving placement for LED model to model would not only introduce an unnecessary variable (you're the first person I've heard request this in almost 15 years of doing this), but would disrupt an establish looks we've had since pretty much the beginning. I'm looking now at a wall of pedals in my office, and about 3/4 of them have LEDs in about the same proximity to the footswitch as ours. I appreciate your feedback nonetheless, but wanted to give you some context around why we made this choice and why you see it commonly among pedal manufacturers.
@@VertexEffectsInc Thanks for the speedy reply. It all makes perfect sense from a tech/manufacturing perspective. It’s surprising I’m the first person to raise this issue, I guess it’s just me.
I’m trying to decide if I should put it after or before my Mad Professor chorus pedal. The manual suggests I put it before modulation. But would I still benefit from the high quality buffer, if I put a pedal after the boost?
What about input head room? Reason I ask is I want to tone shape and ignore the “boost” quality of those tools (because sometimes the thing that sounds right doesn’t boot enough) and use the VBMKII for the signal increase portion. If those tone shaping tools have some boosted out put how much can VBMKII handle without breakup?
Hey Mason, would a 3.5mm TRS jack be the same as a 1/8th-inch TRS? Because 1/8-inch is 3.175mm and I wouldn't want to damage the pedal by plugging in something that doesn't fit. Thanks!
Wow! is this a dual buffer as well? like the mesa high wire? i read in the Sweetwater's article that it can "transform a noisy, novice-sounding rig into a quiet, pro-level one" will it work for 10-12 pedals? are you planning to sell it in Europe? can't wait for this!!!!
Would I be able to use the boost as the input and output buffers and use the boost function at the same time (I want to use the boost in front of my HX Stomp to add a little grit but still use it as my dual buffer)?
I want a buffer pedal at the end of my chain but also have function, this seems to do just that. Would it be okay at the end of the pedal chain? I watched your video on the subject but you didn’t mention boost at the end.
Hi there can this be used on acoustic l have a LR Baggs until in my guitar and it has a low output in volume can use give me more volume on my acoustic Thanks David 👍🏼🇦🇺
The expression TRS jack is a send/return ports? because if you put a graphics EQ pedal or Passive EQ/RCL network can this create glassy clean tones? If you plugged you guitar direct into the RETURN jack port (bypassing the input jack port ) this would just be a 1:1 buffer circuit no boost circuit?
@@VertexEffectsInc Total of 4 buffers in the vertex boost MKII. The problem with buffer pedals Is when you're using various types of soft overdrive pedals and non-booster pedals the interaction of the guitars volume pot and the guitar amplifiers preamp volume set the overall gain. How you set the booster/overdrive pedal volume level on the pedal will change how it DRIVES and Reacts with the guitar amplifiers front end and volume setting because of impedance and gain stages. If you use an Output Buffer on your pedal board this is going to Omit and impedance and gain structure because signal level adds up to a total of gain per stage and the buffer pedal will change the total gain. The interaction of the guitar pedals booster/overdrive pedal volume and the guitar amplifier preamp volume are Interconnected like a see-saw swing. The Volume adjustment on guitar pedals will make the guitar pedal sound different so if you like that sound at a certain level you will have to turn down you guitar amplifiers preamp volume to level out and compensate so it doesn't overload the preamp section. Other guitar pedals overdrive/boosters pedals volume settings sound good at 6 to 7 so you have to turn up the amplifiers preamp volume to compensate. When you use an input buffer pedal and output buffer pedal this changes the gain and signal leveling also.
Im looking for a transparent boost to compensate for the volume change going into dirt pedals when switching from a Les Paul to a Strat/Tele. My signal path is GTR -> Cornish LD-1(buffer) -> Klon KTR -> So on... Would this get weird if I used it after my Cornish LD-19(buffer) and before the Klon KTR because of the internal buffers?? I love idea of this pedal and the size! Thanks!
Nikko. No. The buffer in the boost is ultra-transparent, and isn't going to add noise or color the tone. I would, however suggest that you leave the KTR in the bypass mode for the buffer. There's not reason to introduce that buffer in the middle of the chain unless you have to, and honestly the buffer in the KTR (or Klon's generally) are quite poor. It's a great overdrive, so use it as an overdrive, not as a buffer. The TL0xx series IC chips used in the Klon buffer in general are poor for this application it's so inherently full of color. A buffer should be a 1:1 representation of your signal, not a distortion generator.
I have problem sometimes during gigs and my sound with the PA system is too low and I have to raise the volume and change a few settings on my pedals to sort everything out and it’s a hassle. You’re saying I could just raise my guitar volume and keep my tone with this one pedal?😳
I’m going to buy this. I’m having a little problem with my pedalboard because if I use any high gain pedals with high bass, it seems to overload the amp or pedals and it makes a weird unwanted flubber noise especially when I use the wampler ratsbane and the EH bigmuff. I don’t know if it’s the amp because it’s doing it to my other amp which is solid state line 6 HD47 and my Mesa boogie triple rectifier. Plus I have Marshall cab 4x12 and a new 2x12 i just bought from Harley Benton. What’s your suggestion if you have any.
Nice! Thanks for the support! You've got a lot of high gain pedals, typically running them together won't be advisable. I would set my amp more clean and start with the clean channel and see how you like the settings with your Muff or Rat style pedals, then go to the second channel and see if you still like it with some adjustments. I predict a cleaner amp will have a little more flexibility with the drive pedals and then using the Boost to push harder after these pedals can give you a nice solo tone to boot. Check out Justin Derrico's examples in our other boost videos where he's boosting into high gain amps.
I have vertex boost question in relation to other pedals. I have a way huge blue hippo chorus that has a very loud hissy noise floor. If I run my vertex boost in front of the chorus in my effects loop, will it clean up the super loud hiss?
Depends what the hiss is related to. Sometimes those BBD circuits can be noisy inherently and nothing can really be done to tame it down unless it's actually a bad chip or there is something on the board that is causing the issue. Is it noisy when you use it by itself off of your rig? Just guitar, chorus, amp with an isolated power supply or battery?
@@VertexEffectsInc its noisy with any amp I use, effects loop or front end. I've used an Isolated one spot 9v and also a voodoo labs pp+2 and it was noisy. Thing is just noisy and I was hoping there was a way to tame the hiss and got intrigued learning about the buffer in the vertex boost. I had no idea it did any of that
Kevn, be sure to reserve yours now before they're sold out. We won't have more till May once they're gone: www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VertexBoostMk2--vertex-effects-boost-mkii-pedal
@@MarshallCommaDave I'm not sure what that has to do with this video or the efficacy of the product. You're talking about something that happened almost 8 years ago and was resolved then with anyone that ever purchased that product. In fact, we still leave the door open to any owner of the product that was previously unaware of refund options and keep a public record of all Axis Wah refunds on our website for anyone to view since 2014: www.vertexeffects.com/axis-wah. The Axis Wah is not representative of our company values and the products we make. We've worked tirelessly to make a new impression and continue to maintain a high standard of quality and customer service with transparency around each product and its origins. All we can do is release the best sounding products possible and give our customers the best possible quality and support in hopes that with time we'll earn back their trust.
Soi if this is used before modulation and timing pedals (w/o a fx loop) for tone suck on a volume pedal, one would still need another output buffer at the end of the signal path?
Ideally you always want an input and output buffer no matter what. However, some pedals, if at the start and finish of the signal path already meet the 1M input impedance and 100 ohm output impedance spec, then you can get away without having separate buffers.
I'm slightly confused by the buffer - is the Vertex Boost mkii buffering my signal when it's not engaged and simply in my chain - or is this buffer only engaged when using the trs out? Thanks
to elaborate - it seems like a lot of people reviewing the pedal say how it makes everything sound better even when it's not on - is the buffer in action?
The buffer is on all the time whether the insert/EXP jack is used or not. When the Insert jack is used you have another buffer that comes in on the FX Send (which is on the Ring of the TRS).
It’s 1/3 smaller than the original, and features TWO buffers instead of one. This way, you can use it as a buffered pedalboard interface or FX Loop buffer!
The TRS to TRS and would be appropriate for an expression pedal where there is in a separate input and output Jack, the insert cable would be used on something like a volume pedal, where there might not be a separate expression Jack, only an input and output
@@derekw.459 the buffer is working all the time, if it weren't you'd have no signal. You can send us a routing diagram via email and we'd be happy to review it with you to make sure it's being implemented correctly info@vertexeffects.com
Yes, it won't hurt anything...our buffers are ultra low noise and uber transparent. It's 10x better than say a Boss pedal or similar JFET or BJT buffer in most ordinary pedals.
Many thanks Mason. It wasn’t listed on the sweetwater site so I thought I’d check with you. I gotta wait til comes out here in the UK. One last thing could you recommend a cable like the one in your video? That would be compatible to link your boost to the dvp4. I’m not sure if I can use a straight TRS cable or the Y cable you used. Best wishes to you Mason and thanks for all you do for the pedal community.
@@VertexEffectsInc No.. you just turned the boost on and off. But the pedal is buffered bypass, so it will be interesting to hear the tone/color of the buffer vs plugging straight in.
@@phawinphan you mean putting the boost in a true bypass looper - there's one of that in our cable shootout video a few weeks ago. Same buffer that was in the Vertex Boost MKI and that's in all of our systems. Super linear, no color, line or instrument level on the input, super high headroom.
5:49 What is this special "Ernie Vall Bolume Pedal" that you're talking about? :o Just kidding, awesome video, awesome pedal! Definitely need one on my board!
