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How does this "Boost" button control actually work? 2016 Trad Pro III

Karldoog

New member
Joined
Apr 3, 2017
Messages
132
Guys,

One thing I have to say I'm disappointed in is the lack of explanation in how to use the boost switch on the Trad-Pro III LP. I can't hear any difference when I engage the pot. (OUT is "on", correct?) Since the guitar doesn't sound much different, does that mean the battery might be dead?

Same thing with the coil splits--"in" is "full humbucker"; "out" would be split, correct?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. :peace2
 

Grog

Active member
Joined
Apr 7, 2012
Messages
562
I have a 2015 Les Paul Deluxe T with the same features. The 10db boost does boost it about as much as it was advertised to do so. Just enough to add a little boost to a lead solo. On mine, shortly after I bought it, I was hearing a shorting\crackling noise in the boost mode. After a lot of dinging around, I tried a new battery & that solved the problem. I didn't think the battery was that old. It must have to be fully charged to work properly. I like the single coil feature, but use it mostly in humbucker mode.
 

Karldoog

New member
Joined
Apr 3, 2017
Messages
132
I have a 2015 Les Paul Deluxe T with the same features. The 10db boost does boost it about as much as it was advertised to do so. Just enough to add a little boost to a lead solo. On mine, shortly after I bought it, I was hearing a shorting\crackling noise in the boost mode. After a lot of dinging around, I tried a new battery & that solved the problem. I didn't think the battery was that old. It must have to be fully charged to work properly. I like the single coil feature, but use it mostly in humbucker mode.

Thanks you for your reply; I sincerely appreciate the information. I guess I find it difficult to hear that boost through my rig; probably the little bit of compression and maybe noise gate settings that I'm using on my practice rig...I'll keep that in mind about the battery--I'll replace mine this afternoon; no way of knowing how long it was in there, in-store... :)
 

Flat6

New member
Joined
May 7, 2017
Messages
2
Guys,

One thing I have to say I'm disappointed in is the lack of explanation in how to use the boost switch on the Trad-Pro III LP. I can't hear any difference when I engage the pot. (OUT is "on", correct?) Since the guitar doesn't sound much different, does that mean the battery might be dead?

Same thing with the coil splits--"in" is "full humbucker"; "out" would be split, correct?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. :peace2

Yes, out is engage. I have the same circuit - the more gain you are using, the less noticeable the boost will become. It adds a bit if an edge.. a somewhat fresh battery helps. The coil splits are also engaged when out and very useable for me, especially the neck pickup.
 

clearmudd

Active member
Joined
May 26, 2016
Messages
499
On some models there is a micro switch in the control cavity that you can adjust the amount of boost, factory set is the lowest i believe. I had this on my Trad pro II.
 

cincyguitar

Active member
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
Messages
431
I just bought a new Trad Pro 2017....don't see any vids on youtube or anywhere on the Boost switch...didn't know there was a battery in it till after I bought it...lol...Gibson should post a youtube vid about it...but it is a great sounding guitar....thanks to anybody that can post a vid with info in it :hank
 

clearmudd

Active member
Joined
May 26, 2016
Messages
499
Personally i leave the battery out and use it as a kill switch, since the guitar will still function without the battery. When the boost switch is activated without the battery there is no signal to the output jack. With the boost switch OFF the guitar will function as normal.
 

cincyguitar

Active member
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
Messages
431
Personally i leave the battery out and use it as a kill switch, since the guitar will still function without the battery. When the boost switch is activated without the battery there is no signal to the output jack. With the boost switch OFF the guitar will function as normal.

Thats a great idea....but I do kinda like the boost sometimes....:3zone
 

Karldoog

New member
Joined
Apr 3, 2017
Messages
132
Thanks everyone for your responses! I didn't know about the control inside the cavity; I appreciate everyone helping out on this.!
 

JohnT

New member
Joined
Mar 17, 2022
Messages
1
Hey guys, new member to the discussion. I just got a great deal on a 2016 Epiphone Les Paul Traditional 2 about a week ago. I was cleaning it up in preparation for some hardware that I ordered and opened the control cavity out of curiosity. My 2020 60s model has the Probucker 3 in the bridge, same as the Traditional. The two guitars sound nothing alike, the Traditional having better edge and clarity. I wanted to see if it had anything special under the hood, just 3 push/pull pots and a 500k alpha pot. The thing that stood out was the gain pot on the pot being used for the boost! Since getting my Blackstar 50 watt head recently I have been using very little preamp, just letting the amp get dirty on it's own. I tried adjusting the extra pot and found a definite difference in gain . I adjusted it back about 30% from wide open and I'm gonna see what I have under my normal settings.
Why don't we have this option on more guitars? I kinda like having that little extra gain on hand if I want it. Honestly though, I'm so satisfied with the sound of the guitar, even without the boost feature. It's a nice thing to have that separates the Traditional from the other Les Paul models
 
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