So in a similar way to yesterday’s Caroline Wave Cannon Zero being the best version of that pedal to-date - the same can be said of LPD’s Lucent Boost Overdrive, the second of that variant, and in fact the third Lucent iteration overall.
Lawrence makes no secret of the fact that this is a BluesBreaker derived circuit, but a highly modified and evolved one at that. Some seems to be surprised by the dual boost action, but this is not as uncommon as you might think, my recent All-Pedal Devil’s Triad Essentials has that very same feature. And so did Boss’s OD-200 when that launched back in 2019 - and it feature on a few more in my reference collection too.
It’s certainly a very handy feature to have - as you can exert more granular control over both the volume boost and gain boost elements - and more finely shape the output of that pedal.
Controls - DRIVE } Level, Tone, Drive, Bypass Footswitch; BOOST } Post Level, Boost Mode : Post / Both / Pre, Pre Level, Boost Footswitch.
Obviously Lawrence has tweaked the main gain section also to his preferences and sensibilities, while the special sauce is definitely the Dual Boost functionality. Also now in a really appealing Purple-tinged colourway, and a major departure from the normally Black enclosures for this pedal.
I have a score or so BluesBreakers already in the reference collection, where this Lucent Boost Overdrive is interesting enough to warrant consideration also. I’m hoping my friend Steve at FX Pedal Planet gets some of these in - as the sole UK dealer for this brand. Pricing for those pedals tends to be at $/£ parity - so this Lucent Boost Overdrive ’24 Edition which is priced $245 on the LPD Pedals Webstore, would presumably be £245 at FX Pedal Planet - if indeed Steve decides to stock those!
The 2024 Lucent definitely goes in on the wishlist, while its eventual acquisition will largely depend on whether it’s stocked on this side of the pond! As I explained in this morning’s post - customs charges when buying from abroad can often put a kibosh on the whole situation. In fact for a pedal at this price point - the extra shipping and import charges can easily reach $100 or more - which is quite the premium to pay for the privilege of ownership.
This is in part why I’m always so keen no negotiate a discount if possible - as the challenge each month is to get around 20 pedals in - in order to feed the blog as such, and with such a high cost of extras - the overall pool available to me shrinks considerably. And even though I’m well networked, not all doors are open to me - some people weirdly aren’t too fussed about appearing on GPX, while fortunately most still consider it an honour and a privilege.
In this industry you kind of have to get used to biting your tongue a fair amount. You really need to develop a thick skin or else you would never venture forward for all the setbacks and turbulence you need to contend with along the way. Random trolls, hackers and malefactors constantly digging away at your foundations! I’m still very much a one-man-band here, and it takes a lot of endurance to survive!
In any case the Lucent is a rather distinct BlueBreaker well worthy of consideration - the fates will decide whether this ventures further in my direction!