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Muir Audio Design's Silicon Steel Boost is a Super High Headroom High Fidelity Tone Enhancer Boost, augmented by an Audio Output Transformer and Active Dual Band EQ

BoostBoost and OverdriveEQMuir Audio Design+-
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2024-GPX-Muir-Audio-Silicon-Steel-Boost-700.jpg

While this pedal shares the name of its Silky Smooth Saturating Overdrive sibling and they both share the same Audio Output Transformer - everything else is quite different. In fact the Silicon Steel Boost is a totally separately originated circuit - developed to deliver ultimate high headroom clean boosting, with potent EQ and subtle harmonics.

 

However much you raise the level - you never quite induce Overdrive breakup - you do get a subtle degree of saturation, while this pedal is mostly just super clean and can get incredibly loud if you need it to. It’s largely developed to be an always-on Tone Enhancer which adds magical sparkle to the top end and makes every Pedal and Amp it boosts into - sound significantly superior.

 

Controls - Boost (+21 dB), Heat (Subtle Low Order Harmonics), Active Bass ±, Active Treble ±

 

I thought the Heat control might be similar to the Germanium channel of the ThorpyFX Heavy Water Dual Boost - but it’s a far more subtle affair - creating elegant Low Order Harmonics via fairly soft Asymmetrical clipping. Even when that control is fully cranked, you don’t get anything in the way of overdrive breakup - instead it adds a little more twinkle and sparkle to the output profile!

2024-GPX-Muir-Audio-Silicon-Steel-Boost-Diagonal-700.jpg

With the Active EQ engaged and elevated - it can sound even louder - where the +21 dB is already incredibly substantial. Even with a 9V power supply you get the most incredible range - far more than I would / could ever use. So I didn't even feel the need to try it on the even higher headroom 18V input - at 9V the headroom is already at skyscraper levels!

 

The Level dial is already quite 'Loud' by the midway point, and as you continue to crank it - it just seems to go higher and higher - it sounds much louder than +21dB - meaning it can rescue and rehabilitate any number of under-powered gain pedals. However high you turn up the level though you don't get much in the way of gain saturation - just tonnes and tonnes of volume - in fact almost breathtakingly so.

 

I tried every which way to get this pedal to break up and get overdriven, which it just doesn't seem to do in my rig - which therefore makes it mostly a Clean Boost with lots of top-end sparkle, some subtle Low Order Harmonics - courtesy of the Heat dial, and some really potent EQ-Shapers via the Active Bass and Treble controls.

 

It really is a Super Hi-Fidelity High Headroom Tone Enhancing Boost - its output and interplay with other pedals is never short of spectacular. This is quite evidently a proper pro studio grade tool! It really looks and feels the part too - it just exudes high quality every which way - a wonderful pedal of its type.

 

The Silicon Steel Boost goes for £199 on the Muir Audio Design Webstore - and is available for orders right now. Highly recommended!

2024-GPX-Muir-Audio-Silicon-Steel-Boost-700.jpg

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Stefan Karlsson
Posted by Stefan Karlsson
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