[PaulJay]

Hey Guys, Can an EH LPB-1 pedal be used for unity gain or is it only good as a volume boost? I can get one cheap and want to know if I should add it to my pedal board. Thanks Paul

[JonnyBoy]

LPB-1 is a classic simple boost pedal used to add gain to the signal to help push your amp into clipping, and/or boost your volume for solo's. It doesn't do so much of the "Buffering" like a unity gain buffer would. LPB-1 is not a unity gain pedal, but a pedal adding gain to the signal. If you are looking to "buffer" your signal, then Waldo's buffer would be my recommendation, and exactly the circuit you need to achieve the Jerry Garcia buffered tone. I use to use a LPB-1 and do still depending on the amp I use for certain purposes, I prefer to use an OD pedal with an active EQ to boost my signal in my Jerry rig. If you are looking for a simple boost pedal for solos, the LPB-1 is great for that.

[PaulJay]

Thanks JB, Would I put it before or after the overdrive? I thought it was a similar pedal to the Mxr Micro amp, but I guess not.

[JamminJommy]

Depends on what you are looking to accomplish. If you want the volume of your overdrive, try it after. If you want the overdrive to clip a little harder, then before. I would prefer after, since not all overdrive input stages take kindly to boosted signals. This way, I still get the characteristics of my OD pedal, but at an added volume. With a tube pre-amp, you're then going to get a little additional smoothing/slipping from the tubes.

Just my 2 cents.

Peace,

Jommy