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
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!
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!
Demos
