Fender Engager Boost Pedal Reviews

I've always thought an EQ pedal would be very beneficial, but I never pulled the trigger. I'd have lots of time where I couldn't get my tone quite right or wished I could make it a little less boomy or bright. I finally decided to give the Fender Engager a try, and it solved all of my problems. I can very quickly fix any little issues I have with my sound. I think the knobs are much better than the slider type EQ pedals for making adjustments on the fly. In addition to little tweaks, the controls are powerful enough to completely reshape your sound. If I get a tone I want to emulate in mind, I can usually get something dialed in on the pedal that seems a perfect match within a couple minutes. It won't hide the tone of your guitar, which is a good thing, but it can greatly improve the flexibility of it. I was even able to coax some jangly tones out of my Les Paul, which was impressive. The two options for mid-eq is what really separates this pedal from normal bass/mid/treble controls. Being able to selectively center around high or low mids lets your really dial in that perfect sound.

One thing to note - this is a boost pedal, so the volume nob is boost only, not cut/boost. I have this pedal on all the time, so it's not a problem for me, but if you wanted to selectively engage it, the volume may increase if you are boosting some of the frequencies.

I have owned this pedal for a couple years now and can say with absolute authority that the Engager performs as advertised. It is built like a tank and I personally prefer the simple, straight foreword unpainted casing to all the ugly graphics that look like they were vomited on the pedal. Either by itself as a clean signal boost or paired with my Love Amp 11 Pedal, which is a superb Klon Clone, likely as good as the original, this pedal is faithful both to the tone of the pickups and amp.

I was using the Spark then bought this. I love the pedals versatility with tone control and the buffered,true bypass switch.It really made a big difference on my pedalboard.

I needed a boost to cut through the mix of the band. was going to get a spark but just picked this one up because the store had it. Dang! it will definitely boost your signal without changing your tone. I think one reviewer said it best, it just makes the boost more "Musical"....also its great to have the EQ knobs....ive found myself, maybe increasing mids or treble for certain songs...Strat, tele, or Gibson whatever, it will do the trick. So bottom line as a product, its solid, get it. Secondly its built like a tank. Bar fight? no problem, mugged? no problem, violent heckler ? no problem....i promise that you can use this to "navigate" any of the above mentioned circumstances in your favor and then return this to your board and it will work like a mule for ya!! seriously, what i mean is that its road tuff.

This pedal will give your guitar exactly what it says it will — a clean, non-noisy boost, with a little fatter sound, too. I love the midrange control option. Also the illuminated (even when not switched on) control knob markers are very cool! A simple, easy-to-use, high quality pedal, from Fender, which generally does produce outstanding, solid, dependable pedals. The price is high for such a simple "effect" pedal, but worth it — since, unlike many pedals, it delivers exactly what its product description describes. Highly recommended.

A good signal buffer and boost along with a great sounding EQ, all in the same convenient box. What's not to like?
The illuminated knob position markers are pretty cool too, and you can turn them off if you're too "old school." Looks like a pretty clever battery mounting, but I'm using external power.

Was looking for a good clean boost.Ive had the ep booster and spark mini boost and just did not like the one knob design. Neither were transparent and no tone shape options.Ep booster added low end and added some mids. the spark mini boost added some high frequencies and neither could be dialed out.The fender engager is the most natural sounding and most tone shape options. you can use as a super clean transparent boost or how like to use it into a gained Marshall,cut bass to tighten things up,add some mids but not overkill like a tube screamer. great sounding pedal and like it as much as my overdrive pedals.adds clarity,punch and thickness to your original tone if you dont need more gain,this is a great alternative to an overdrive pedal for beefing up your sound and still keeping your natural guitar tone when pushing an already gained tube amp.Like the easy to read dials and mid frequency switch! the pedal is larger then average but the tone is awesome! Money well spent!

My goals for any type of boost is to stage the guitar signal for recording, or other preamp. This does exactly that. As first in the chain, this will boost your guitar signal without adding additional color or noise. While other boosts are actually just low drivers that add some crunch to your signal, I was able to push the level to the max without adding anything extra artifacts. That is an essential while recording clean.

When you think of a clean boost, you may think of a single level knob and a foot switch. Well, this very clean boost is so much more.

Most guitarists think you just need to be "Louder" during a solo. While that can and is true to some degree, there is more to it. Basically, you just need to be heard. The ability to be heard is not only dependent on volume, but it is mostly being able to shape your solo tone to stand out in the mix.

This is why this pedal is soooooo great. It allows you to boost frequencies you need to stand out in the mix, and allows you to cut frequencies that can become very harsh at increased volumes.

The Bass, Mid, and Treble adjustments on this boot pedal make it not only a boot, but an EQ for your lead tone. And, the Mid Frequency switch allow you to choose where your the mid sweet spot is for your guitar.

Fender and Stan have done a great job with their pedals, and this one is no exception.

Great Job Fender!!!!!!!!

I was to able use my employer's employee recognition rewards to acquire this pedal through a different supplier than SW. Being a SW customer I thought I would share some feedback for others to review if considering;
This is very a nice booster pedal. It has a very smooth sweep to its level setting. Very clean output, and the 3 band tone controls are responsive and shape the tone nice with equal smooth sweep. It has a good weight about it so cables with twist in them don't move it around. The battery cover is slick. Its right up front and folds down to easily make a change. As well, hinges right back up in to place very solid. It worked well in series in the amp input, I've actually placed it in the beginning of the effects loop on my wet side amp. At 25% setting, it pushes my modulation effects a little harder providing a broader response. It even plays well with gain, whether the amps own lead channel or a pedal on the input or both. My only discerning feedback would be, the operating toe height is right at 3" if you use it on a pedal board.

Typically, I wouldn't write a review for this pedal, but I just heard a rumor that Fender might be discontinuing it. (Fender, if you're discontinuing it, please make a few thousand more before you pull the trigger on that strategy, so I can find these on the used market for years to come.) In a nutshell, I use boost/eq/preamp pedals as both tonal foundation pedals and as "get dirty" pedals. I'll take a boost/eq over an OD or distortion any day, and as a tonal foundation, first-in-the-chain pedal, the Engager knocked both the RC Boost and Speakeasy out of contention (and I love the MojoHand Speakeasy and the Xotic RC). As a lead boost/eq pedal, to my ears, it works just as well as a Wampler, JHS, Keeley, choose your master builder, alternative. As an eq, it reminds me of the discontinued 80s Boss PQ4, but the Engager is much quieter (like no hum-hiss noise, at all) and much easier to dial in. The only knock that I'd give this pedal is that it doesn't really have a character of its own; but when looking for a boost/eq, that's exactly what I want. I just want to saturate the front end of my amp and have control over which frequency ranges I'm targeting when saturating. (As another reviewer put it so well, I'm just going to quote him, "the Engager takes what you have and simply gives you more of it.")

This is a fantastic clean boost and EQ. It's very warm, and it adds some character to your tone. It doesn't color it, but it adds thickness and texture. Use it as an EQ without the boost, or turn up the level and give it a kick. This pedal adds a truly clean boost, no grit or dirt. Overall, you will do well to add this to your board!!

This is a great boost pedal. It's a little more complicated than some. I use this pedal in my amps loop to volume boost and add some EQ for my leads. Using it this way is basically like adding an extra channel to your amp.It took me a little while to find the perfect setting with the EQ but now I'm basking in glorious thick punch through lead tones. I have the switch in the vintage setting and the mid control is like a punch knob. The EQ is very powerful on this so you can really shape your sound.

What a great sounding pedal!! Very warm and "musical." You can use this pedal as a straight EQ with no boost at all, or as a clean boost with EQ. The mid frequency switch is pretty much magic...especially when using it to push an overdrive pedal. No muddiness at all and no ambient noise; it's grounded really well.

It's also very nice to run this at the end of your chain and use the buffer switch. You can select either true bypass or buffered output. If you're running a ton of pedals or long cables, having the buffer available is a great feature.

If there was a con, it would be it's size. With all the mini pedals available now, I'm surprised Fender made it so large. It's a bigger footprint on my board than what I wanted. However, the sound and character of this pedal make it's size a minor detail. Get one or two now!

This the best clean boost out there. I tested this pedal head to head against a TC spark, EP booster, and a Rockett clean boost. It is exceptional and can easily do the tone of an EP booster and more. Adding to that it has a buffer option switch. For the price you can't find a better tone shaper pedal. There is no pedal on the market with a full 3 band Eq and an additional two way mid cut switch. All these options allow you to craft any tone including the ones of the pedals I mentioned earlier. It pairs well with a tube screener, Jhs morning Glory, fuzz, and an ocd. My only minor cosmetic beef is the bright jewel led light. Fender pedals are made like tanks and get little press. Buy this sleeper and put it on your board you will never turn it off.

Recently picked this up to use a an always on EQ/Boost. I place it first in my chain after my wah and tuner to add a little more punch to the front of my amp. I Play an amp with a 2-band EQ on the clean and a single knob EQ on the dirt channel.

First off, this thing is very solidly built. Hefty, brushed aluminum enclosure with sturdy jacks and switches. The battery compartment is intuitive and useful if you are a battery user. The switchable LEDds in the knob are a cool addition to the pedal and can be useful on a stage if you change settings during a set. The indicator light is bright. Very bright. NO way your missing that thing!

There's a pretty significant amount of clean gain available (20dB or so) and it really stays transparent with the EQ all at noon. The treble knob can add some sparkle to your sound and starts to drive the freq after about 9 0'clock or so, making it work great for a more traditional treble booster sound. The bass can either tighten up your low end under noon, or add some extra thump when above. Cranking the bass knob in conjunction with the volume can yield some pretty cool fuzz-like sounds. The middle knob can cut/boost at 400k or 800k. I typically use the 800k settings to boost my upper midrange since I play an Orange that has a lot of low mids already. The buffer also works nicely at adding top end back with big boards and long cable runs.

This pedal does an excellent job of adding a bit of bite to my cleans when I really dig in and further shaping my sound. Overall, Id say this would be a great fit for someone needing clean boost, a flexible EQ or noth in their rig, and the added buffer is just icing on the cake.