Becos FX Mini Solo Boost Master and Ziffer Overdrive Punch Well Above their Respective Weight Categories
Readers will know that I recently acquired Becos FX’s Jordan Ziff Signature Overdrive, while my good friend Carsten also graciously gifted me a Solo Boost Master which was surplus to his requirements.
I had long wanted a Becos Mini Boost, since I featured it in Edits back in September of 2018. I had thought it would be around for a while as it was so impressive at the time, but Costel Barac has stated that said pedal was particularly fiddly to engineer and build and it was discontinued really very early on - and not many at all were made - meaning that for a long time I had thought I had missed out on the opportunity.
I’m very lucky to have such wonderful readers and friends - and the Mini Solo Boost turns out to be everything I had hoped for really.
Solo Boost Master Controls - Active Tilt-EQ, Boost (+20dB), Cut Lows, Cut Mids, Cut Highs, Mid Sweep (360Hz at -3dB to 720 Hz at -9dB).
The Solo Boost Master is based on a Clean Fet Buffer/Booster circuit - which can also be used just as a straight up Buffer when Gain is set to Minimum.
The Boost features one of my favourite Tone-Stack Combinations - Tilt-EQ plus Mids Sweep, but then you have the additional finesse of those 3 individual frequency band Cut Switches - which very elegantly reduce those bands by just the right musical amount. The Cut Switches are essentially ’borrowed’ from classic Audio Mastering Consoles - typically used in the final phases of production. These make it incredibly easy to fine tune the frequency output of the boost.
"The mid-cut section has the most powerful effect in conjunction with the variable Mid Sweep control, which selects the cut spectrum as well as the amount of cut." (-3dB to -9dB)"
All of this combines beautifully for precision sound-sculpting, and maximum impact from the least amount of controls. The Solo Boost Master is an exceptionally powerful boost at any size. And actually - to be honest, the Ziffer Overdrive has plenty of tone-sculpting of its own, and doesn’t really need the Solo Boost - while that can add further saturation and slightly more finesse.
Ziffer Overdrive Controls - Gain, Tone, Clip - Classic (Symmetrical), Asymmetrical, LED, Deep (Bass Boost), Dry Active Tilt-EQ, Wet>Dry Mix.
The Mini Ziffer is just an amazingly versatile overdrive full stop! - the gain-range is not quoted, but it goes from barely there to really quite immense!
The three Clipping Options take you through the gears really - with each one progressively getting gainier, louder and more saturated. The Top Classic setting is your standard TS808 style Soft Symmetrical Clipping, while Middle - Asymmetrical mode (which was so long under patent for Boss) is the sharper OD-1/SD-1 sort of variant. And the Down position 2 Red LEDs setting takes you to peak saturation - which is actually relatively high gain at fully CW!
The Deep switch loads more Low End frequencies into the circuit - essentially a Bass Boost as far as I'm concerned. And the Dry Tilt-EQ and Mix controls are simply genius! You can use them to temper and finesse the gain and output character of the pedal, as well as significantly extend the range of the Tone knob. If you want killer low-end you simply set the Dry Tilt-EQ to full CCW and gradually bring that into play with the Mix control. This unique combination is really incredibly powerful and capable of so many great in-between sounds that you could otherwise not access.
So you have 3 gears here via the Clipping switch, and very significant tone-sculpting via - Tone, Deep, Dry Tilt-EQ, and Mix controls. I dare say this could be my favourite Tube Screamer to-date - certainly in the top tier among the usual favourites. Costel Barac is the master of delivering just the right degree of feature set - all his pedals are among the most formidable of their type, and this one is no exception. There is such an incredible amount of range onboard here that I can't see how anyone would be disappointed. Also the control tapers are just right - so that adjusting each of the controls and getting exactly where you want to is as easy as can be.
The Solo Boost Master and Ziffer Overdrive are great in their respective categories - and actually the Ziffer really doesn't need the Solo Boost - although you can get an even further heft in gain / saturation and frequency accentuation with that. I tend to use the Solo Boost more on other downstream pedals - to refine and sharpen their output!
When last on sale the Solo Master Boost was priced at €129, while the Ziffer Overdrive is currently ay €149 - both excellent value I would say. The Ziffer is available right now on the Becos FX Webstore.
I've said before that the Solo Boost Master is the best Mini Boost out there in my opinion - and by the same measure I would say that the Ziffer is likely the best Mini Tube-Screamer out there too - in fact one of the best overall - even when compared to much larger alternatives.
I don't think you can go wrong with either of these - each is State of the Art for Mini Pedals - and further underlines just how good Mini Pedals have become. There was a period when Mini Pedals were associated with being cheap, inferior stripped-down models - that is certainly not the case here. All my favourite Minis deliver the same as their larger compact size alternatives - and several deliver a lot more than most of those!
Both of these are incredibly impressive - while the Ziffer really doesn't need the Solo Boost, but there are plenty more pedals that do!
Note that no official demo was ever made for the Solo Boost Master - so you need to hear it for yourself to believe it!
