Seymour Duncan Mini Pickup Booster pedal

A Classic Boost, Redesigned for Modern Pedalboards

Over the years, the Pickup Booster has become a "Swiss army knife" tool for guitarists: both a boost, line driver, and a simple solution to recover clarity in a long effects chain. With the Pickup Booster Mini, Seymour Duncan exactly reprises this philosophy in a compact enclosure, designed to integrate more easily on a pedalboard while retaining the iconic model's DNA: a clean, responsive boost and a resonance switch capable of changing the playing feel as if you had swapped pickups.

For Whom, Which Styles, and In What Contexts?

This pedal is aimed both at beginner musicians who want a reliable first boost and at experienced guitarists seeking a professional solution to cut through the mix without altering their tone. In blues and classic rock, it helps make an amp sing, thickens a Strat or Tele, and achieves a more natural sustain. In hard rock and metal, it serves as a clean boost to tighten the attack, increase riff impact, or bring out a lead without adding unnecessary fuzziness.
In the studio, the Pickup Booster Mini is very useful for level matching between two guitars or two pickup positions. Live, it becomes a reflex: one click to go from a solid rhythm to a cutting solo without having to adjust the amp's EQ.

Controls, Operating Mode, and Key Points

Setup is immediate: a Gain potentiometer ranging from unity level (0 dB) to a strong boost, and a Resonance Switch with three positions "1 / 0 / 2". Position 0 preserves your guitar's natural character for a very neutral boost. Position 1 lowers the resonance of single coils to approach a thicker vintage humbucker tone. Position 2 pushes the illusion further toward a fuller humbucker feel, ideal for punchy solos.
An important point for the experience: the resonance switch works best when the pedal is placed at the start of the chain, directly after the guitar, as it interacts with the pickups. On the bypass side, the true bypass ensures a direct signal path when the pedal is off. And if you set the gain to 0, the pedal can also act as a quality buffer to help maintain definition over long cable runs or crowded pedalboards.
Simple and practical power supply: it accepts a regulated DC power supply from 9V to 18V (center negative). At 18V, you don't gain more dB, but you get more headroom : very interesting with high-output pickups or if you want to hit an amp's input hard without crushing dynamics.

The Sound

The Pickup Booster Mini is designed to remain transparent : it adds level and attack without "repainting" your tone like an overdrive would. In resonance mode 0, you get a clean, tight boost that keeps your guitar's signature and highlights right-hand nuances. In position 1, the sound becomes denser and meatier, perfect for giving single coils a more "rock" foundation. In position 2, the feel approaches a more powerful pickup, with more present mids and an increased sustain impression.
With humbuckers, the switch can also serve as a quick sculptor: more bite to cut through a busy mix, or a slight "cocked-wah" type filter effect depending on your setup. This is typically the kind of pedal you forget about once everything is dialed in, but can't do without when you want more control and more impact. Note: this model is notably used by Slash, proving that this small format can perfectly find its place on a demanding stage rig.

Technical specifications

Effects	Boost	EQ	No
Technology	Analog	Type	sector
Format	Pedal	Use	electric guitar
True bypass	Yes	Color	Black

Category	Boost	Input	6.35mm Jack
Bypass	True bypass	Output	6.35mm Jack
Circuit type	discrete, Class A	Power input	DC (center negative)
Gain range	0 to 25 dB	Width	38 mm
Resonance Switch	3 positions (1 / 0 / 2)	Depth	93 mm
Frequency response	-3 dB at 30 Hz and 38 kHz	Height	54 mm
Distortion	less than 0.02 percent (at 200 mV RMS output)	Power supply	not included
Noise	-120 dBV (gain set at 25 dB)	Required power supply	regulated DC 9V to 18V (center negative)
Input impedance	250k ohms (active effect)	Consumption	4.5 mA at 9V (LED on)
Output impedance	150 ohms