Vitalii Bobrov's Drunk Beaver (Boba) FET OverBooster is a fantastic take on the long discontinued Boss FA-1 FET Amplifier
Vitalii Bobrov is not the first to do a modern take on Boss’s celebrated FA-1 Preamp, while it’s my favourite take on that original to-date. I had long intended to acquire Josh Scott’s relatively recent Clover Preamp / EQ, but had never got around to that - while it had been at the back of my mind for quite some time.
As it happens, I was already receptive to getting in an improved and enhanced FA-1 clone - but thought for the longest time that it would take the shape of JHS’s version. However, when Vitalii introduced his smartly themed pedal - with the perfect design and colourway - I just had to go for that variety.
Vitalii cleverly seized on the similarly monikered legendary Star Wars Bounty-hunter character Boba Fett and subtly played off that name and colour scheme to brilliant effect. I really don't think it could have been better executed.
Boss's original FA-1 had just 4 controls - 3 knobs : Treble, Bass and Volume - and a 2-way Voicing Switch : Flat / Low Cut 6dB/Oct).
Current second-hand pricing can be as much as £500 equivalent for pristine example on Reverb.com.
By Contrast JHS went for 3-Band EQ with 5 controls - Volume, EQ Mode : No EQ / No Mids / Full EQ, Bass, Middle, Treble.
RRP : £199
Where the (Boba) FET OverBooster has 7 controls - Bass, Mid, Treble, Output, Tight (Low-Cut), Mode : Drive / Boost, Gain.
RRP : $180
I really like Vitalii's take on the format - it is wonderfully rich, yet elegant, open-pored and dynamic with a fantastic texture - it sounds amazing in my pedal-chain - and the accompanying demo really doesn't do it justice - particularly not in the early parts. It just has the most amazing dynamics and texture - subtle in some ways but beautifully say honey-textured even.
Also - I don't like it as much in its Drive Mode - where I spend all the time really on Boost - with the settings as follows : Bass at 10:30 o'c, Mids at 12:30 o'c, Treble at 1:30 o'c, Output at 1:30 o'c, Tight : Off, Mode : Boost, Gain at 12:30.
This is just a really great sounding low-to-medium gain overdrive with a really elegant breakup texture - and it looks great too as a bonus. Usually available on the Drunk Beaver Store on Reverb.com for $150 and equivalent.
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
