Clean boost for guitar (or bass)

Posted on July 28, 2010 by jeroen

This is a transparent, clean guitar booster for solo’s and other times when you
need a couple of extra dB’s. No ’boutique’ or other mojo-bullshit here, just a
simple volume boost!

You can also use it to get some more gain out of an amp or distortion pedal. The
circuit is a very common amplifier circuit built around a TL071-opamp. Other
opamps can be used as well, but the TL071 is cheap and produces very little
noise.

The ‘Boost’-knob controls the amount of boost, but can also attenuate the signal
so you can use it as a sort of pre-settable volume knob.

Here’s the schematic:

Notes:

 The maximum gain of this circuit is about 10 dB. If you need more (which
I doubt), increase R2 (or decrease R1).  The gain A = 20*log(1+(R2/R1))
 Rp is optional, it’s a pulldown-resistor to avoid ‘switch-popping’ when
the effect is turned on.
 The circuit also acts as a buffer since it has a high input impedance
(about 1 MOhm). This will give you more overall ‘clarity’ (high frequencies)
when you’re using long cables.
 The booster is preferably used at the very end of the effect chain, just
before the signal goes into the amp-input (or FX-return when using your
amp’s effect loop).
Update: andre has provided a PCB layout for the booster: