The Happy Valley Analog Clean Boost is an extremely well built hand painted and hand wired boutique clean boost effect pedal. Happy Valley Analog is a relatively new boutique effect company with fantastic customer service. They use nothing but the highest quality parts and it really shows in the sound quality of their effects.
The HVA clean boost is a very straight forward pedal with great sound designed to be used with a tube amp. When placed in the front end of your amp, it can push the preamp into overdrive with added volume. When placed in the effects loop (as it is intended), it will provide a nice clean boost to your signal. It has 37db of boost on tap which is much more than most boost pedals. With one knob to adjust output, it’s very easy to set to your liking. This pedal could also be set at moderate levels and be used as a buffer for long cable runs or large pedal boards.
I personally love this pedal. I have it placed first in my effects loop before my chorus, delays, and reverb. It’s great for adding that little bit of volume for solos when you don’t want to add gain (by using an overdrive). It is a very transparent pedal and does not color your tone. It does exactly what it says, adding a clean boost. The only thing that may be confusing to some users is a loud crackling sound made when the level knob is adjusted when the pedal is engaged. The reason for this is the pedal is actually re-biasing the signal in order to stay a true clean boost and not alter the tone, very cool! It’s not a pedal I use often but when I need it I’m glad I have it. Great for when you like your tone and just want more of it. At the price of $50 new, you can’t beat it. I was also considering buying a 20watt tube head with an effects loop and using this pedal to get more volume so I don’t have to tote around my 100watt tube stack for rehearsals. I would highly rev omen this pedal if in the market for a REAL clean boost.
Submitted by Benjamin M, Instagram
