GEAR SPOTLIGHT
MXR
BOOSTER MINI
REVIEW BY SAM HILL
STREET PRICE $99.99
The MXR Micro Amp has
long been a favorite for
players looking to take
their sound to the next
level in the most literal
sense. With a single
knob and 26 decibels of
boost, the Micro Amp
offers an enhancement
of the sound that you
already love. By the same
token, the Echoplex
delay units of old are
beloved not only for their
echo sounds, but for the
glorious-sounding preamp
contained within. Some
players hauled the thing
around just to get the
sound of the preamp,
so you know it’s special.
In a stroke of genius,
48
GEAR SPOTLIGHT //
MXR has combined the
boosting capability of
the Micro Amp with the
magical preamp tone of
the Echoplex into one
tiny pedal. Combining
two legendary tones into
a stompbox only slightly
bigger than a small pack
of gum is a great idea,
and this thing has a lot to
offer.
The Booster Mini has an
idiot-proof control set
with just volume and
tone knobs. The volume
harnesses the 26db of
boost mentioned earlier,
and the Tone knob goes
from warm, smokey
sounds all the way to
MXR Booster Mini
bright, jangly juiciness. I
was pleasantly surprised
to hear that the tone is
not shrill and unbearable
when maxed out—it
simply enhances what
you’ve got with a lovely
top end. On the other
end of the spectrum, with
the tone rolled back all
the way, everything was
still audible and useful,
but without the added
high frequencies. You
could use the Booster to
switch into jazz mode with
the warmer tones, and
head into Byrds-land with
more treble dialed in. In
fact, with the tone knob
around 3:00, I plugged
in my 12-string electric