Seymour Duncan SFX01 Pickup Booster Boost Pedal
This boost pedal works with your pickups to give you your desired amount of gain. It can make a single coil pickup sound like a humbucker.
Overall User Ratings (based on 43 ratings)
Submitted March 30, 2011 by a customer from aol.com
"Must-have pedal"
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
The search for the perfect clean-boost pedal is over. This is it. Even if you never use the resonance shifting, the clean boost does exactly what one should do: boost the signal without coloring the sound. The resonance shifting is just icing on an already awesome cake!
Sound
This thing is exactly what the manufacturer says it is. I bought it to thicken-up my single coil strat pickups when needed. No, it doesn't make a strat sound like a les paul, but it does make it sound like a strat with humbuckers. ...Which is perfect! I can have single coil sweetness, or, click the button and get humbucker bite when needed. I find myself using the clean boost even when not using the resonant shift. It really brings out that strat "sparkle and chime" on clean amp settings. This pedal should come with every single-coil guitar sold.
Features
n/a. I guess a power supply would be cool, but few pedals come with one anyway.
Ease of Use
The pedal is completely transparent. A blind monkey could use this and it would sound great.
Quality
Built like a tank.
Value
Worth every penny. Best pedal I ever bought!
Manufacturer Support
n/a. Perfect out of the box. Never needed to contact them.
The Wow Factor
"Sex appeal?" We're talking about a pedal, right? I like the red color... But we've agreed to keep the relationship professional.
Musical Background:
Professional Musician
Musical Style:
Covers (Rock/Motown/ Hip Hop/ Country...)
6 of 6 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted September 21, 2023 by A.J. J in Fresno, CA
"Love this pedal , since day one !!!!"
I have two SD SFX-1 Pickup Boosters, one as the first to add and change the punch of my pickups and a second one drive the signal from my pedalboard to my racks .I still use older Digitech multi effects units, the modulations are as good as today's Lexicon Modulation, Reverbs or Delays, but the overdrives and distortions are some what lacking and the SFX-1 Pickup Booster, solves that issue .Now , I can do better simulations of my EHX Big Muff, Boss Distortions or Overdrives .This was the first version of the Seymour Duncan Pickup Boosters, they have a new version with the same resonance switches . The SFX-1 has a boost of 6dB to 25 dB , todays version has a zero dB to 25 dB feature .I personally prefer the older SD SFX-1 Pickup Booster over the newer version .
Musical Background:
Professional gigging musician and Guitar Teacher .
Musical Style:
Classic Rock, Neo Classical Rock, Blues, Hair Metal, Speed Metal , Thrash and 1980's Metal .
Did you find this review helpful?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted December 28, 2008 by a customer from bugsBeddow.com
Seymour Duncan SFX01 Customer Review
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Sound
I use it to boost my trombone volume for solos. I WANT a clean boost in volume to have my sound clear & loud, to be heard over the R&B band I play with.
Product would be better if when on, it allowed you a range of volume from totally off to very loud. There is not enough sensitivity in the first quarter turn of the volume knob. Product is clean with no background noise, which is a good thing. I haven't found another product that will do the job any better.
Features
I use a power supply - not batteries. Works great
Ease of Use
Very easy to use
Quality
On/Off Button should be replaced with the method used on BOSS pedals, which is a quiter on/off, and doesn't wear out.
Manufacturer Support
Company very nice.
Musical Background:
bugs Beddow band - band leader/trombonist/flutist/vocalist
Musical Style:
Trombone Driven R&B and Funk
2 of 4 people (50%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted February 23, 2013 by Scott D in Traverse City, MI
"Great clean boost pedal"
First of all this pedal is a clean boost which means that it adds nothing to your guitar sound it does not mean that it is just for your clean channel. It actually slams the front end of your tube amp to create more creamy distortion. It has a 3 position switch that mimics vintage humbuckers (pos.1) high gain humbuckers (pos.2) and the middle pos which leaves the signal unchanged. All 3 setting are very usable. This pedal has to be the first pedal in the chain, nothing between it and your guitar or the resonance switch does absolutely nothing. There is a YouTube video from Duncan that explains this.A friend turned me onto this pedal two months ago and I think it's one of the best pedals ever and easily my favorite. I have a Les Paul Special w/p90s that switch does some amazing things to those pickups. It also works very well with humbuckers.
Musical Background:
I play guitar, keyboards, saxophone and have played in numerous bands in the last 35 years
Musical Style:
Rock, Jazz, Country and Blues
Did you find this review helpful?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted February 23, 2013 by Scott D in Traverse City, MI
"Great clean boost pedal"
First of all this pedal is a clean boost which means that it adds nothing to your guitar sound it does not mean that it is just for your clean channel. It actually slams the front end of your tube amp to create more creamy distortion. It has a 3 position switch that mimics vintage humbuckers (pos.1) high gain humbuckers (pos.2) and the middle pos which leaves the signal unchanged. All 3 setting are very usable. This pedal has to be the first pedal in the chain, nothing between it and your guitar or the resonance switch does absolutely nothing. There is a YouTube video from Duncan that explains this.A friend turned me onto this pedal two months ago and I think it's one of the best pedals ever and easily my favorite. I have a Les Paul Special w/p90s that switch does some amazing things to those pickups. It also works very well with humbuckers.
Musical Background:
I play guitar, keyboards, saxophone and have played in numerous bands in the last 35 years
Musical Style:
Rock, Jazz, Country and Blues
Did you find this review helpful?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted December 11, 2007 by a customer from aol.com
"Seymour Duncan pick-up Boost Pedal"
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Sound
If you need a clean channel boost this is the pedal for you. But who needs a clean channel boost?? When you stomp on this thing on your distortion channel all you get is white noise.It doesn't boost anything at all except loud obnoxious noise. I returned it and ordered a MXR boost pedal and I am hoping it will be better than the Seymour junk pedal.
Features
no accessories and it eats up batteries like its going out of style
Ease of Use
different choice of db boost but none of them boost a distorted signal.
Quality
....
Value
no value at all to a rock guitarist looking for an edge in the lead boost department.
Manufacturer Support
useless
Musical Background:
touring guitarist
Musical Style:
rock
3 of 17 people (18%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Submitted May 9, 2008
Seymour Duncan SFX01 Customer Review
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This is mostly in response to the review below mine. I can't have this decent pedal have a terrible review for it. It probably didn't do anything for his amp because his amp is a piece. If you have a tube amp it will definately over-drive it, that's what all clean boosts do. It's great for bumping up your volume for a solo, or boosting a weak pickup. Single coil's always sound quieter than humbuckers, I use the pedal to boost my strat to the same vol as my Les Paul. Perfect for switching guitars, otherwise the singl coil won't push the amp and other pedals the same.
Sound
I'm not sure how to rank this as it doesn't actual change your sound, just cleanly boost it.
Features
Clean boost AND settings to change the tone of a single coil pickup to sound like a humbucker. I haven't played with that though.
Ease of Use
On/off, how much boost.
Quality
Like a rock
Value
Got it used at half off, can't complain at all
Manufacturer Support
N/A
6 of 6 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Please wait.