Jackson Audio GOLDEN BOY

The Golden Boy Transparent Overdrive is a versatile, transparent overdrive pedal that expands the dimensions of overdrive pedals. With rich harmonics and ample headroom, it adds 3D depth and crisp clarity to traditional overdrive sounds. Four clipping modes, a flexible gain cycle, and a three-band active EQ offer a wide range of tonal possibilities. The pedal also features the MOSFET boost circuit found in Jackson Audio's PRISM Preamp, enabling even more powerful sound creation.


BOOST OVERVIEW

The boost circuit is in its own true bypass loop and can be used independently of the DRIVE circuit. The GOLDEN BOY's boost circuit is a MOSFET-based boost, the same as the AMP MODE found in the best-selling PRISM Preamp pedal. Simply press the BOOST footswitch to turn the boost circuit on or off. What sets the GOLDEN BOY's boost apart from other boosts on the market is that it offers four presets. Each preset has a slightly different EQ setting to change how the GOLDEN BOY's overdrive circuit interacts with other pedals.

Preset 1 - YELLOW LED: Bright boost. Very useful for boosting thick overdrives or creating a thinner sound.
Preset 2 - GREEN LED: Mid Boost. Not as subtle as the yellow mode, the green mode allows for more low end and has a mid boost character.
Preset 3 - AQUA LED: Tailored boost. The perfect setting for any GOLDEN BOY overdrive setting.
Preset 4 - BLUE LED full range. No tone coloration! The guitar's original tone!
To select a boost preset, press and hold the BOOST footswitch for more than one second to activate Boost Program mode. In this mode, the BOOST LED will flash to indicate you are in Program mode. Rapidly tapping the BOOST footswitch will cycle through the boost presets, and you will hear the presets change, assuming the boost circuit was active when you entered Boost Program mode. Once you reach the boost preset you want to use, press and hold the BOOST footswitch for more than one second to exit Boost Program mode.



EASTER EGG!

There's an Easter egg in the GOLDEN BOY boost circuit! This boost circuit is based on MOSFET transistors. MOSFET transistors are a very popular type of transistor for use in boost circuits because they exhibit "amp-like" characteristics when clipping. However, this circuit also has its drawbacks. Some very popular MOSFET boost circuits on the market produce a very noticeable crackle noise when turning the boost knob. The GOLDEN BOY has fixed this issue, making the boost knob completely silent. The only drawback to fixing this issue is that you lose about 5% of the gain at the highest setting. The GOLDEN BOY's boost is already loud enough, so this won't be a problem for most people.
But if you're a purist or just want to hear the difference, we have good news for you: by moving an internal jumper, you can switch back to crackling MOSFET boost at 100% gain! Silent or crackle? The choice is yours!
STND BOOST - Our version of MOSFET boost. Same tone, no noise.
ALT BOOST - Improved MOSFET boost. Makes a crackling noise when you turn the knob.

OVERDRIVE OVERVIEW
Because the Golden Boy is based on a Bluesbreaker/King of Tone circuit, the resulting tone is very open, uncompressed, and transparent. Think John Mayer's overdrive tone. The Golden Boy fits perfectly into the mix, adding overdrive and grit while still allowing your guitar to sound like you! What sets the Golden Boy apart from other Bluesbreaker-type circuits is that with the tap of a footswitch, you can instantly switch from operating at a higher gain to a low-gain, transparent overdrive. With four gain settings at your fingertips while you play, you can use the GOLDEN BOY as an always-on tone shaper, a low-gain transparent overdrive, a mid-gain drive, or a high-gain solo drive—all without having to bend down to adjust settings! With the GOLDEN BOY, you can adjust the gain with your foot (or MIDI) while you play!


CLIPPING DIODE PRESETS

The GOLDEN BOY offers four different clipping diode presets, each of which can dramatically change the tone and feel of your overdrive's clipping and distortion. To select a clipping preset, press and hold the DRIVE footswitch for more than one second to activate Clipping Program Mode. In this mode, the DRIVE LED will flash to indicate Program Mode. Rapidly tapping the DRIVE footswitch will cycle through the clipping presets, and you'll hear the presets change, assuming the drive circuit was active when you entered Clipping Program Mode. Once you've reached the clipping preset you want to use, press and hold the DRIVE footswitch for more than one second to exit Clipping Program Mode.
Preset 1 - GREEN: Classic Screamer. Two symmetrical silicon diodes create the classic drive and compression that is characteristic of the Tube Screamer.
Preset 2 – MAGENTA: Asymmetrical clipping. Three asymmetrical silicon diodes clip the top and bottom portions of your guitar waveform differently, creating a more complex and interesting tone. Perfect for carving out aggressive rhythm parts!
Preset 3 - BLUE: Symmetrical Clipping. Four symmetrical silicon diodes evenly clip the top and bottom of your guitar waveform for a more focused, direct tone. Two notable pedals that employ this style of clipping are the Timmy and King of Tone.
Preset 4 - AMBER: Vintage Marshall. Two red LEDs are used to evenly clip the top and bottom of your guitar waveform. These LEDs provide exceptional headroom and an open, less compressed tone similar to a vintage Marshall. Changing the clipping diodes is a great way to radically change the sound and feel of an overdrive pedal, but often the change you hear has more to do with volume than actual tone...until now! When designing the GOLDEN BOY, we wanted to provide tonal flexibility in the overdrive section and, most importantly, make that flexibility usable onstage. So, when changing the clipping diodes, we included circuitry that level-matches the pedal's output between different clipping diodes. This means that the volume level remains consistent across all four clipping options. More importantly, any audible differences between clipping modes are due to the sonic differences of the clipping diodes, not the volume jumping all over the place that occurs with other designs.



GAIN CYCLE

The most exciting feature of the GOLDEN BOY is a new feature we developed called GAIN CYCLE. GAIN CYCLE divides the GAIN knob setting into four equal parts to select maximum gain. For example, say you have the GAIN knob set to maximum, or 100% gain. Each time you press both footswitches simultaneously, the pedal's gain will jump 25% up until it reaches 100%. After 100%, the gain cycle will start again at 25%.
My goal with the Gain Cycle feature is to allow guitarists to easily increase gain while playing live without having to bend down or try to adjust it with the edge of their foot. Here's a perfect use case!
Let's say the GAIN control is set to 100%.
Verse 1 - Gain Cycle set to 25% - A slightly overdriven edge with a breakup tone. Press GAIN CYCLE Chorus - Gain Cycle set to 50% - A distinct overdriven tone. Press GAIN CYCLE Bridge - Gain Cycle set to 75% - A heavy overdriven tone. Press GAIN CYCLE Solo - Gain Cycle set to 100% - A heavily saturated overdriven tone! Tip: Adding BOOST lets you push the overdrive even harder for infinite sustain! Remember, GAIN CYCLE setting #4 (100%) will only provide as much gain as the GAIN knob is set. Think of the GOLDEN BOY's GAIN knob as maximum gain, and each GAIN CYCLE setting is a percentage of that maximum.
The DRIVE LED changes brightness to indicate the selected gain percentage. The higher the percentage, the brighter the DRIVE LED. For example: GAIN CYCLE #1 - DIM LED - 25% of GAIN knob value GAIN CYCLE #2 - BRIGHTER LED - 50% of GAIN knob value GAIN CYCLE #3 - BRIGHT LED - 75% of GAIN knob value GAIN CYCLE #4 - VERY BRIGHT LED - 100% of GAIN knob value

3-BAND ACTIVE EQ
Additionally, the GOLDEN BOY's DRIVE circuit features a 3-band active EQ. The EQ circuit features studio-grade EQ, giving the GOLDEN BOY incredible tonal flexibility. Based on the legendary Baxandall EQ found in countless studio EQs, the GOLDEN BOY EQ has been adapted for guitarists! We've spent countless hours dialing in this EQ to address all the frequencies guitarists need to adjust, sweetening it by removing high and low frequencies that can fatigue the ears at extreme settings.

EQ CIRCUIT
Studio-grade EQ with high bandwidth and flat 12:00 response. +/-12dB boost/cut per control. Center detent on pot for easy return to neutral or flat response.

MIDI FEATURES
We always want our pedals to be easy to integrate into both complex and simple rigs! A word about cables: To use MIDI with the GOLDEN BOY, you'll need a cable that converts the MIDI (DIN-5) connector to a TRS cable. This cable is one we've used with great success, and we can't recommend enough.

MIDI CHANNEL
By default, the GOLDEN BOY ships with MIDI channel 1 selected. This can be changed by holding down the DRIVE footswitch while the GOLDEN BOY is powered on. Press the BOOST footswitch to increment the MIDI channel number. As you hold down the DRIVE footswitch, the BOOST LED will flash to indicate the selected MIDI channel. IE? 7 flashes = MIDI channel 7. There is a two-second pause between each LED flash to let you know the LED has stopped flashing. The LED will continue to flash as long as the DRIVE footswitch is held down. Once you have selected the desired MIDI channel and confirmed it by counting the flashes, simply release the DRIVE footswitch. The pedal will save this MIDI channel in the microprocessor's built-in EEPROM and reboot.

MIDI DETAILS
GOLDEN BOY's MIDI functions are accessed via Control Change (CC). Below is a list of GOLDEN BOY's functions that can be accessed via MIDI and their access CCs.
CC #1 ? DRIVE ON/OFF (value of 127 = ON /value of 0 = OFF)
CC #2 ? BOOST ON/OFF (value of 127 = ON /value of 0 = OFF)
CC #3 ? CLIPPING DIODES (value of 1 = 2x SYMETRICAL DIODES)
(value of 2 = 3x ASYMETRICAL DIODES)
(value of 3 = 4x SYMETRICAL DIODES)
(value of 4 = 2x SYMETRICAL RED LED's)
CC #4 – GAIN CYCLE
(value of 1 = 25% GAIN)
(value of 2 = 50% GAIN)
(value of 3 = 75% GAIN)
(value of 4 = 100% GAIN)
CC #5 – Boost EQ
(value of 1 = BRIGHT BOOST)
(value of 2 = MID BOOST)
(value of 3 = TAILORED BOOST)
(value of 4 = FULL BOOST)

Product size: 127x69x69mm
Product weight 316g
Input terminal 1/4 TS PHONE (AUDIO), 1/4 TRS PHONE (MIDI)
Input impedance 1MΩ
Output terminal 1/4 TS PHONE
Output impedance 100kΩ
Power Supply/Current Consumption: DC 9-18V (φ2.1mm center negative)/150mA (sold separately)
Package size: 14.8 x 8.5 x 8.3 cm
Total weight (including packaging) 0.39kg
Country of Origin: America