HNPD: Cool Cat Transparent OD

[F_BSurfer]

For somebody wanting a incredible buy...... three very useful pedals for one cheap price free shipping to boot

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...ack?sku=501248

[duhvoodooman***]

Got my Cool Cat TOD in the mail on Saturday. This Hairy Harry's Music that I got it from may be the best large volume eBay seller I've ever dealt with. Prompt e-mail reply, lightning shipment, excellent pricing, including the shipping. I noticed that the price has gone up $2 to $37, though. Supply & demand, pure and simple....

The pedal sounds very, very good--really quite amazing for the price. Smoother tone than a TS, and not as mid-rangey. Good EQ control range, with separate but concentric treble and bass knobs. I spent most of the weekend fooling around with my new OD2 build, so this one needs some more playing time for me to get better acquainted with it.

The metal casing is a real step up from previous Danelectro effects I've owned, which were all plastic--though I've yet to break one! The knobs take a little getting used to, but really not as bad as some of the comments I've seen posted. Has an attractive matte gold finish. The stompswitch has a nice sturdy feel, too, and a proper "click" when operated.

It's pretty scary that Danelectro can crank out something this good for $40 or so.

[Blaze]

Comparaison with Lespaul & Marshall


http://video.aol.com/video-detail/pa...id=VIDURVMUS03

[duhvoodooman***]

Listen to the voice in this clip. The guys over at HC seem pretty convinced that this guy is Jack Black, the actor & avid guitarist. Gotta admit--sounds just like him!

[Spudman***]

Listen to the voice in this clip. The guys over at HC seem pretty convinced that this guy is Jack Black, the actor & avid guitarist. Gotta admit--sounds just like him!

It's not Jack. I did a bit of sluething and it's not him. And...the guys at HC aren't that bright either.

They don't sound too much the same on this video to me. Still the Dano is what I'm looking for. I've already got all the midrange overdrive anyone could ever need with the ZYS so the Dano will be an alternative.

BTW Voodoo- I put a great big ZYS picure up at HC on another one of the "best TS" threads that go on weekly and incuded a link to your web site.

[duhvoodooman***]

It's not Jack. I did a bit of sluething and it's not him. And...the guys at HC aren't that bright either.

I wasn't convinced based upon such flimsy evidence, but I had to admit the guy sounds a lot like him.

BTW Voodoo- I put a great big ZYS picure up at HC on another one of the "best TS" threads that go on weekly and incuded a link to your web site.

Thanks, dude! : :

[tot_Ou_tard]

As Mark said I have a Timmy, but mine cost $105 I believe. I was on the waiting list for maybe 8 months, but it wasn't a big deal as I forgot about it in the interim.

I am not good enough to put a pedal through all of its paces, but I love mine, so I am happy.

I also want to add that Paul C (Timmy's maker) is a very nice guy.

On the other hand, inexpensive good pedals are a good thing.

Perhaps I should lend my Timmy to Spud, Robert, or Vood for a shootout with their Danos.

[Spudman***]

I got one and I like it. There are times that some midrange hump comes in handy but with the TOD I now have the option of NOT having the hump.

I've only tried it with the Blackheart so far and it's just that little something that morphs the BH into an amp on steroids (small dose). No color just grit. I've even driven the TOD with the Bad Monkey and doing so yields a lot more compression but even though the Monkey is feeding a darker signal the TOD seems to brighten it back up.

I also fed the TOD a Rat signal. That combo was smooth and articulate but too bright. There needs to be some knob tweaking done to run those two together that way.

Now I'm off to try it with the Delta Blues and H&K Edition 20.

[Spudman***]

Just did a test with the Delta and H&K. I ran the pedal - tone at noon, drive at noon, and volume turned to around 9-10 o'clock.

Through the H&K I could get a nicely driven workable sound at a much lower level using the clean channel. It sounded very natural and worked well with the guitar's volume control. On the gain channel it wasn't as nice as I would have hoped. It's probably due to the characteristics of that particular amp though. The gain was over compressed and a little too glassy but that is kind of how that amp is anyway.

Through the Delta clean channel at low volume it sounded much the same as without the pedal and turning the amp up but with the peal there was more note clarity. Dropping the guitar's volume still retained some high end and clarity. There is a little distortion square wave in the over driven signal but it's a good sound. Through the drive channel it was really nice. The bass notes actually sounded more defined and there was no brittleness to the high end. That might be attributable to the 15 inch speaker. Still good clarity and presence when the guitar's volume was rolled back.

Even at the pedal settings described above the drive channels sounded very good and good feedback was easy to achieve. The real kicker is turning up the pedal volume. Wow! There is plenty of power on hand to make your amp sound on fire. On either amp's clean channel I only noticed a slight amount of hiss when the pedal was on. It's not noise free. It's not much but it's there.

All in all I find this a highly usable pedal with a very good sound.

[duhvoodooman***]

On either amp's clean channel I only noticed a slight amount of hiss when the pedal was on. It's not noise free. It's not much but it's there.

It's awfully hard to find a pedal with a significant gain factor that doesn't generate at least a bit of noise. Pretty much the nature of the beast. This one is very quiet, as they go. I've seen quieter, but for a lot more $$.

All in all I find this a highly usable pedal with a very good sound.

Absolutely, yes. Great value there for ~$40. Even beats out the Bad Monkey, which IMO has held the overdrive pedal "value crown" for quite some time.

[Spudman***]

It's awfully hard to find a pedal with a significant gain factor that doesn't generate at least a bit of noise. Pretty much the nature of the beast. This one is very quiet, as they go. I've seen quieter, but for a lot more $$.


Absolutely, yes. Great value there for ~$40. Even beats out the Bad Monkey, which IMO has held the overdrive pedal "value crown" for quite some time.

I was just saying that there was some so that folks don't think it's a super duper boutique pedal.

It has way more output than the Bad Monkey but the two do stack well together. I think it is a better pedal for my purposes than the Monkey alone.

[Blaze]

Absolutely, yes. Great value there for ~$40. Even beats out the Bad Monkey, which IMO has held the overdrive pedal "value crown" for quite some time.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/sho...d.php?t=504231



I m waiting for mine , should get it pretty soon...

Nice pedal on your avatar DVM..

[markb]

So, my TOD arrived yesterday (at 7:30 am!). So far it sounds good. Nice crunch, cleans up well, true bypass, etc. But, it lacks sustain (or, "this amph can't do screaming solo"). I thought I'd sell it on and stick with my SD-1 and then I turned the gain down below halfway. My but there's a world of good edgy tones to be had down there. Conclusion, it's a good rhythm OD (they don't call one of the suggested settings "Leeds Crunch" for nothing) and a really good "dirty boost". I think I'll keep it just for the boost. Did I mention it's very, very loud? Like, volume below 1/4 loud?

BTW, in testing this pedal I've realised just how good the SD-1 is. Not totally "transparent" but pretty good in that respect and with tons of sustain and harmonics. The TOD isn't totally transparent either, I'm sure I hear a thickened midrange but nowhere near a Tube Screamer honk.

[Spudman***]

Mark
Try driving the TOD into an amp ready to go over the edge or one that is already saturating. You might find the TOD very useful in that instance. You might also try driving it into another OD pedal. I love stacking.

[markb]

Mark
Try driving the TOD into an amp ready to go over the edge or one that is already saturating. You might find the TOD very useful in that instance. You might also try driving it into another OD pedal. I love stacking.

I always run my clean tone right on the edge, think Fender DR on 4 and a bit and, yes the TOD is great for that slight push into breakup. Do you hear what sounds like quite a bit of clean tone coming through with the OD or is the pedal just that articulate?

[tot_Ou_tard]

I always run my clean tone right on the edge, think Fender DR on 4 and a bit and, yes the TOD is great for that slight push into breakup. Do you hear what sounds like quite a bit of clean tone coming through with the OD or is the pedal just that articulate?

My experience with the Timmy is that it is very articulate. I only use it in the boost/low gain/crunch realm. When I want a little more going on harmonically but I don't want to kill the dynamics or string definition. It's known to be a gritty rather than a smooth violiny overdrive.


Don't be afraid to kill a lot of treble &/or bass at higher gain settings. If it works like the Timmy that is what the bass/treble cut knobs are for. You can keep your highs & lows at low gain settings & back them off as needed as the gain rises.

[markb]

My experience with the Timmy is that it is very articulate. I only use it in the boost/low gain/crunch realm. When I want a little more going on harmonically but I don't want to kill the dynamics or string definition. It's known to be a gritty rather than a smooth violiny overdrive.


Don't be afraid to kill a lot of treble &/or bass at higher gain settings. If it works like the Timmy that is what the bass/treble cut knobs are for. You can keep your highs & lows at low gain settings & back them off as needed as the gain rises.

This is where the TOD differs. The tone controls are boost/cut unlike the Timmy's reversed cut controls. That's where it all goes a bit wrong in the comparison video. At one point he talks of turning up the tone controls whereas he's actually cutting treble on the Timmy and boosting it on the TOD.

[birv2]

Just picked up one of the TOD's yesterday, fuelled by all those rumors of Timmy comparisons and thinking that if it didn't work out I could always flip it.

But man, I'm really liking it so far. It's got a really BIG sound without being all bassy. Would be great as a clean boost. Since I live in an apartment, I have not been able to really crank it yet, and I'm hoping that it gets enough gain for me. I'd like a bit more than "light" overdrive, though not full-on distortion. It is very transparent, as advertised. Looking forward to taking it to the jam this week!



Bob

[tot_Ou_tard]

Other differences with the Timmy.

1) Timmy has dip switches that allow you to select symmetric clipping, asymmetric clipping, or a more compressed symmetric clipping.

2) Timmy has a socketed op-amp, so that if you are like Vood you can change op-amps at will.

3) Timmy can be run at 18 volts.

None of the above may matter one whit to you.

Someday I'll try different op-amps in mine.