Barber Electronics Tone Pump

It takes a little tweaking to dial in to your amps sound. But that's why you want it.

The Tone Pump has a sound similar to the LTD which is what I needed for my foundational tone. I dialed the mids out and the bass cranked, presence 10-11:00 with the tone at 9-11:30 and pump at 9:30 on the green ch. This setting is as close to a neutral tone, with a bit of edge, on my amps as I could get. Just like an amp a little past the clean headroom threshhold. It was sweet.
The red ch at this point really deals with the push/pull asym/sym pump knob for my OD tone. When it is pulled up the sound I hear is somewhat softer, or compressed with a flatter mid. Less volume and more gain. These are not dramatic changes from the knob pushed in. In this position it actually sounds a little fuller and I was tempted to make it my low gain ch. It doesn't cut the mix as well though. But in the bedroom it sounds wonderful. With the pump knob pushed in, it seems to be more articulate with more mids and more volume. I assume this is a reasonable clone of the green ch. Which is good. No dramatic changes in tone.
The switching of the ch's live was a very smooth transition that I enjoyed more than any other pedal stacking combo. And takes the pain out of pedal stacking requiring a compromised EQ setting on the second pedal to work with the first one.

Never had a problem with any of my barber pedals.

Call the number on the web site and David barber answers. He also will repair any pedal he made. And has a 5 year warranty, 1 year on footswitches.

I needed to cut down on the pedal dance with my Tone press, LTD mod, SF, & DD mod in that order. The Tone pump did the trick by eliminating the LTD and SF. 2 pedals of this quality would cost $300 plus.

I have a 'pre-EQ' two channel Tone Pump that I purchased a few years ago after being absolutely blown away several years ago by the original single-channel Burn Unit.
Ease of use- it doesn't get much much easier. The problem I have is that the clean 'green' channel is so useful that I can't leave it alone! ( I may cure this with the LTD soon...)

I decided a year or so ago to go back to basics and go with a Class-A tube combo and a few select pedals. This is after spending years trying to get a good tone with modeling/solid state (which is possible now, by the way). I just missed tubes! I knew after my fabulous experience with the Burn-Unit that more Barber pedals were on their way. I purchased this unit on eBay, and it very quickly has become my pedal of choice. I play the amp clean, and use pedals for OD. This is very easy thanks to Mr. Barber.
I use the green channel in two ways. One is with the gain very low, which gives me an alternate clean tone that sounds thicker than the bell-like Fender chime that comes from the amp. The other is to crank the green channel about half-way up into a mild break-up 'SRV' type tone which is very musical and useful. I use the 'red' channel cranked as a heavy rythym/lead tone. It's voice is rich, with a very 'boutique' amp-type quality. I kick the sustain and compression up a notch with the Burn Unit, or something else (Boss SD-1. Don't laugh until you have tried it! Sometimes I still crave that 'over-processed' harmonically saturated tone). The amazing thing is that the Tone Pump responds to these other pedals that same way an amp would.
The end result- This is my desert island OD pedal. A close second would be the Direct Drive, which is an excellent device as well, different, with a more 'Marshally' voicing.
Barber knows OD. Period. There are others out there as well, but his pedals are remarkable. The Tone Pump will add two channels to your rig, and will give the OD channel on your amp or any of your other pedals a run for their money.

Barber's pedals are hand-made with the best ingedients. It doesn't get much better.

I have e-mail the man a few times, and he has responded promptly and personally.

Just a side note- I have been playing for 25 years, and still love it. I am eternally obsessed with tone, just like the rest of you poor suckers out there. The good news is that great tone is now available at a relatively cheap cost, via Barber Electronics.

Bottom line-
Almost impossible to distinguish this pedal from tube-amp distortion. I would bet even the most seasoned pro's could not tell the difference. In fact, many would think the Tone Pump to sound superior to most amps. (this is the case with all the Barber pedals I own).
Once again, it doesn't get much better than this...

It sounds great right away. But there are many options ans some interenal trim pots you can adjust. The trim pots involve removing the back cover, so it can be a bit of a pain.

I play a Gibson SG Standard through either a Paul Rivera made Fender Concert, a Reverend Kingsnake or a Fender Blues Jr.

The Tone Pump EQ is the smoothest, most natural OD I have tried.

Channel one is especially amazing. You can set the gain to just above zero - and it does not add ANY distortion, but still firms up and gives muscle to the sound. NO fuzz at all. This is what Barber is THE best at. I have not found another box that doesn't start introducing a gainy sound too early. Ican actually set the box to sound IDENTICAL to the dry sound, and then slowly introduce gain into the equation. Perfect for a Stones-y grind or lead work if you don't want it to sound too "rock".

Of course you can inch the gain up and it is fat, beautiful and warm. Again, think Stones, Jerry Garcia, Trey Anastasio. Channel one can get a lot of gain (think AC-DC - clean sort of Marshall-esque tone). Lots of variation and usable tones.


Channel two is the same as channel one, but has a push pull pot on the gain knob that switches between symetrical (up) and asymetrical clipping (down). I prefer it with asymetrical. There is a bit more high end and a bit more crunch.

I notice that channel two is a hair darker than channel one. This is good to smooth out the extra gain (gain adds high end). The result is that you can crank up the gain and it NEVER gets shrill.

On top of the pedal is a bass control and a tone control. The bass control is very subtle and I don't really notice it that much. The tone control is also subtle but audible (no extreme settings available here), but it allows you to perfectly dial in exactly how much high end is needed.

David Barber has a reputation for making THE best pedals. Go to his website and read up. The pedal is light and sturdy. The internal battery clip features a unique "pivot" thing, which I suspect may not last forever, but from what I hear he is a stand up guy and I'm sure would take care of that. My pedal is on my board and powered with AC so it is not an issue.

I've heard he is the best. Nice guy, and likes to talk pedals and shop. Have not needed any service yet. I don't expect to either.

Like another reviewer here said: more than once band members have asked me what that pedal was (refereing to the TPEQ) and said "whenever you kick that on your guitar sounds great".

Well, I agree and the Tone Pump EQ is the pedal that keeps returning to my board despite whatever new pedal I try.

It has beaten out two Custom shop Fulldrive 2's, a Menatone KOB, Menatone Howie, ProAnalog Dual Drive, as well as a Barber Direct Drive SS.


The pedals housing is WAY big (too big, but it works on my pedalboard as it rises up above some other pedals and makes it possible to kick it on without hitting the other pedals).

Also,, this is NOT a Heavy Metal pedal. If you want that go for the Barber Burn Unit EQ instead. This is a fat, natural sounding overdrive that can go from hardly there to beautiful crunch.

Very versatile with a full EQ section including Presence control. I like the bass knob being on top. The pull knob on the second channel's pump control switches that channel to asymetric clipping for more versatility!

Great blues to classic rock tone with this pedal. Does a great Cheap Trick sound with My Strat. This pedal seems to like Strats. Really fat and smooth. I play it into a SRRI or a Kendrick BG 35. Likes the Kendrick! The dynamics are not as good as say a BJF BBOD but still the tone is addicting.

All of Barber's pedals are built to withstand alot of abuse.

Haven't dealt to much with Dave but He seems like a nice Guy and gives modding ideas for free!

I play all the usual classic rock and blues. This pedal has almost went ebay several times but I can't seem to get rid of it!

Tone Pump EQ. Has global tone and bass control on top of unit and mid and pres. control inside. Bottom cover has to be removed to adjust mid and pres. Volume and gain control for each channel with push/pull pot for one channel. It switches between symetric/asymetric clipping.

I use this pedal with a Kendrick Black Gold 35 w/ Emi Texas Heat. This combo along with My Strat gives everything I need. It doesn't do Heavey Metal but I don't play much HM anyway. I play mostly blues and Classic rock. I set one channel for a low gain that gives Me a great neck blues tone. Never farty or harsh. I set the other channel for a heavier gain for rockin' out. This pedal's tone is so smooth and thick. It's hard to put the guitar down! It has a personality of it's own that is addicting.
I feel it's the first pedal I've owned that I really connect with. Usually I just think it's a good or bad sound. With the TP EQ I feel I've found My tone. Excuse Me while I dry My eyes.

Built like a tank. What more do You need?

Dave always answers when I call. He uses the speaker phone which I hate but He's a great Guy.

I'm very happy with this pedal. I'd probably get another if it were stolen or lost. I've tried a lot of pedals this past year or so. I'll probably try more but I plan on keeping this pedal. When I was looking at this I was also looking at the Menatone Fish Factory and chose this one because of the bass and mid control and because I trust David Barber's ability and ear to build a great pedal.

My Tone Pump is the older, 3-knob version with a bass trim pot on the inside. I found it easy enough to find the best tones. As with any stomp box, amp or any sound system for that matter, the key is to never assume that the controls SHOULD be set within a certain range. It's like guys who automatically set any graphic EQ they've ever used to that obvious scooped-mid v-shape, regardless of what it sounds like to their ears. Close your eyes and really listen, if it sounds good it doesn't matter whether the knobs point up, down or sideways.

Fantastic! This is easily the best sounding overdrive tone I've ever heard from a pedal in front of my Fender amps, and I've tried quite a few. It's not just 'boutique' hype, this thing completely blows away any kind of mass-market Ibanez, Boss, MXR or DOD, not to mention anything I've heard in a multi-effects rack or floorboard unit. Also, it's not that I'm biased against digital effects processing and modeling. I love the conveinence of patches and I have no trouble with LCDs and menu systems, etc. I WISH I could find one that sounds as good as a real, overdriven tube amp.

Well... It's very well built overall. I bought mine used and sure enough one night recently at a pub gig I stomped on it for a lead and broke a footswitch. It turned out to be a 3PDT, the kind of switch that allows for true-bypass with an LED. This part is not real easy to find, I checked all the local electronics suppliers and repair shops with no luck. I wound up ordering a replacement from torresengineering.com (it has the 'Fulltone' brand on it). This new switch looks to be much heavier-duty than the old one, so all is well again. The worst of it was that I had to get through two weekends using the overdrive from my Boss GT-5. Yuck! This pedal has definitely spoiled me.

Actually... I e-mailed Dave Barber soon after I broke that switch, asking where I could get a replacement. After a couple days I tried emailing the other addresses I found on barberelectronics.com. I never did get a reply from any of them. Not so good. I'd be all pissed off, except I'm a Network Administrator during the week and I support email servers and end user clients, so I understand the global spam problem in intimate detail. I have clients that are so badly buried with spam on a daily basis that they can't even use email at all anymore (without resorting to spam blockers and filters, which often delete legit email).

Anyway, I never actually tried CALLING them, so I guess that's my own fault.

Overall, I love this pedal and can hardly imagine playing guitar without it. I've had it close to a year now, so I've had lots of time to get past the first-impression stage. I just obtained a used Direct Drive which I'm anxious to put through it's paces too.

While I'm here I'm gonna rant about one thing I DON'T like about Barber and MOST other 'boutique' pedals out there. Why, why WHY do they all come in a flat-topped metal box with the knobs exposed, right in front of your toe where you can easily KICK them and step on them in the heat of a live performance? More times than I can remember, I've kicked knobs with my toe and rotated them way out of whack, usually just as I'm going for a big solo or something. ACKKK! I pulled off all the knobs on my Tone Pump and placed rubber washers underneath, then tightened the knobs back down so that they have a lot more resistance to turning. This has helped, but not solved the problem. I've also thought about building some kind of physical cage around the knobs, but haven't tried that yet.

It would be a lot better if they could just come up with a good case design instead of just using off-the-shelf Hammond boxes. For my money, BOSS pedals have the best case design ever. They're small, have a big foot pedal, NEVER seem to break, tool-less battery change and yes, the knobs are recessed away from your foot like they aught to be. Perfection!

This is NOT, in my opinion, an easy pedal to get to know, but that goes for most of the Barber stuff I've owned over the years. Yes, you can probably get some usable tones quickly, but to really get the pedal to sing takes some time and some tweaking. The "owners manual" is really a one-sheet piece of paper which gives some basic advice. It's pretty worthless, IMHO. You would think if you're spending something like $240 on a pedal, they'd take the time to write a decent manual.

Well, for all my bitching about ease of use, the sucky instruction sheet, etc, it's all worth it when it comes to the tone! I'm playing an Am. Std. Tele through a Traynor Custom Valve 40, and with the right tweaking, I'm able to get my rig to sound like a '52 Esquire through a '59 Bassman! This didn't come overnight, however. It took quite a while to get the hang of the top settings (those controlled by the exterior knobs). Then, once I got those to a point where I could'nt improve on them any more, I opened up the unit and began adjusting the internal pots for presence and midrange. It was in here where I finally got to tweak up the tone I've been searching 30+ years for (I wouldn't suggest you open her up, however, until you've had the unit a while. Too many variables at first, IMO). It's a two channel pedal, which allows to set the volume and overdrive independently for each channel. I like to set channel 1 as a crunch channel, and beef up the volume and distortion on channel2 for use as a lead channel. The exterior "bass" knob does a nice job of allowing you to set the bass response (too many pedals drop the bass frequencies when engaged). The pedal is very "volume-knob-sensitive", and cleans up nicely when you turn down the volume. The tone? Well, the tone is to die for. Great bottom, gut-thumping mids, and shimmery highs, all without sounding too metallic or ice-picky. I own or have owned them all, and nothing comes close to the Tone Pump. In fact, I traded in my Barber Direct Drive (which I really never warmed up to) plus cash for this pedal, and I'm so glad I did!

Never had a problem with any of my Barber pedals. No back-ups.

I've always gotten quick and helpful responses from this company, both email and phone.

I, like many, have been on the tone quest for most of my adult life. Most pedals I have owned have satisfied the urge for a little while, only to fade within a few months. This pedal truly is different. At first I was disappointed. I expected immediate godlike tone, but didn't get it. It took some time to get to know the pedal, it's external knobs and internal pots. It was work. But it was well worth it. It truly is a great overdrie pedal. Just take the time to learn it right.

Two channel overdrive- 6 knobs and two stomp switches, 2 led's.
Has seperate volume and drive knobs for each channel, and seperate bass and treble (tone) knobs. The bass (bias) knob is especially useful.

Sounds like a tubescreamer but without any clean signal mixed back into the output. Good volume output also. Nice tone controls. Youll want to use this with a really good amp.

This thing is built to military specs, and it shows. Its a brick shithouse! Best parts available- alpha pots, switchcraft jacks, etc.

Barber burst upon the scene just a few years ago like some friggin' Knight in Shining Armour! Hes the real deal, hes not like the rest of the phoney "boutique" pedal makers out there who build garbage in their bedrooms from cheap Radio Shack parts. Dave Barber is the real deal. His stuff is built as good as it sounds- hes a real pro. I like Dave Barber's pedals better than Fulltone ( I have a Soulbender). Fuller's stuff is sort of mass-produced these days and sounds kind of sterile compared to pedals from Barber and MJM.

My Tone Pump is a keeper! Its expensive but the sound is very pure. Strats and Pauls into tube amps is my style. Man, this pedal looks as good as it sounds. Wow! I own about two doezen gain pedals from Big Muffs and ProCo Vintage Rats to the new maxon OD-820 Overdrive Pro pedal, so I can say that this 6-knob Tone Pump is really something special.

Two channel overdrive- You have to be a two-year old blind deaf and dumb rhesus monkey if you cant figure this one out- seperate volume and drive knobs for each channel, and bass and treble knobs that function as a shared equilization for both channels.

I like this pedal for its very low gain subtle "amp on the verge of breakup" sounds, but it sounds very dark through my Marshall amp- it needs to be played through a very loud amp at concert levels, or through a brighter amp like a Fender. Its not a bedroom practice device- it needs to be going through a loud amp before its tones open up. High gain tones on overdrive pedals dont interest me- they are for idiots who essentially masterbate over their instrument by performing shredding tactics using high gain tones. When I see a shredder I yawn while running away as fast as possible.

This pedal is built very well. A-1 baby, all the way Jose! Im never selling my Tone Pump- I can wail with this sucker!

Decent support- handbuilt down in Maryland or somewhere one at a time with great care. Real pro stuff- thats why I bought it- I aint no wannabe, brother.

I play blues and dig low gain tones- straight into an amp doesnt cut it as most modern amps sound like poop- too clean- so the pedal roughs up my clean sound slightly giving me an edge and addition sustain and body to my beloved tone. Ive been playimng since most of you switched from Pampers to the real thing so I know tone and I recognize superior craftmanship- there are many boutique pretenders out there, quite a few to be precise, bur dave Barber aint one of them. Hes the Real McCoy, the true goods. This pedal is expensive, so dont buy it if you suck on guitar and are looking for a quick fix for your lousy tone- you need to have acquired good tone through years of hard practice before you are good enough to appreciate electronics of this magnitude. Just to give you all an idea of the level of technique and soul I am talking about here- try listening to Ronnie Earl instead of some dumb dumpy modern rock band.

A cinch to use. Just adjust the knobs to your liking.

Sounds clear, lots of sustain and harmonics. Two channels allow you to preset one for rhythm and one for lead. Its about as noisy as any other boutique overdrive, but the tone is rich and full, complex and fat. Can do the old Clapton bluesbreaker sound, or a mild Gary Moore. It does the tubescreamer thing very well.

Well built unit.

Friendly responses to my questions, and quickly too.

I own four other overdrives but this may become my main unit because it has 2 channels and sounds so clear. Pushes my amp's front end, bringing out the amp's reverb very naturally. I use it with a Gibson Les Paul Standard.

Very easy to use. There are two channels available with seperate volume and drive knobs, and a shared 2 knob EQ for bass and treble.
Mine is the newest version with 6 knobs and 2 switches and 2 LED's.

Really does sound better, clearer than any other overdrive Ive heard, and that includes the MJM Blues Devil among others. Both tone knobs are useable over their entire range, and the sound quality is very good- theres very little noise, and the tones are smooth and complex, and sustain well, with lots of harmonics. The Barber Tone Pump is sort of the ultimate tubescreamer, but with true by-pass switching and 2 channels with seperate volume and drive controls, and 2 tone knobs. The only overdrive pedal that I own that can compete with the Barber Tone Pump is my Blues Pearl Blues Screamer, and possibly my Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, but not my Reverand Drivetrain.

The wires soldered to the batery clip appear fragile and may eventually require re-soldering, though the location is far enough away from the circuit board for an amateur like me to attempt such a simple repair.
Otherwise the build is fine, the components are top-notch quality.

Great. Mr. Barber answered my e-mail questions right away, within the same day sometimes!

I play blues and rock and have been playing for 20 years. I own a Gibson Paul and a Fender Strat and run them thru a Marshall 50 watt AVT amp. Some of my other pedals that I own that are not mentioned above include the Fulltone Soul-Bender, MJM Britbender, Wells 5:00 Shadow fuzz, Roger Mayer Spitfire and Axis Fuzz pedals, Blues Pearl Blue Balls distortion pedal, Austone Fuzz Nutz and Textone fuzz pedals, and a vintage EH Big Muff.
The Barber Tone Pump costs a little more than the average overdrive, but its flexibility (2 channels and 2 tone knobs) and sound quality (excellent) make it well worth it, and it proudly joins my gain pedal collection.

This pedal is super easy to use. This is the new version with 3 knobs for each channel (6 total). The first channel is volume, tone, pump ( distortion). The second is volume, bass, pump ( distortion). Two LEDs indicate which channel is on, even the light for the second channel lights up even when the first is off to let you know it will be on when you activate the first channel (NO SURPRISES!).

I currently use 2 Fender roadhouse strats (1997) with Texas Special pickups and a 1974 Fender Mustang with an Orange AD30R class a 2x12 30 watt amp. I love the sound of my amp by itself (no pedals), however as with any class A amp, they sound best when cranked and then they get great distortion. Most of the gigs I play I cannot turn up that loud, causing me to rely on distortion pedals. I have tried most of the pedals under the sun into many different amplifiers. This is the best one I have heard. The first channel has a real natural warm sound to it without getting too harsh. You can dial in anything from classic rock to modern rock/pop to a hard rock sound easily. The second channel is a boost primarily for thick compressed soloing or chordal work. I do not neccessarily like the second channel for a solo boost. There is too much bass even with the bass knob all the way down. Instead I use an EQ pedal for a volume boost, not necessarily an EQ change. Just for volume. If you cannot crank your amp, or you need a great distortion pedal,then this is the pedal to get.

I use this pedal without a backup. If you look inside the pedal like I do with every pedal or rackmount unit, then you will find that this is handmade out of the finest materials known to man. The parts and components are all quality. The battery adapter is a swivel metal holder that will probably never need replacing and makes it real easy to change your battery. The only downside is that you have to unscrew four screws to access the battery. However it is worth it for the quality. The knobs and pots are durable and it appears that they will last a long time. I have used this pedal for about 20 gigs and haven't changed the battery yet.

I called Dave to order this pedal and found that there was a 4 week wait on it due to his parts manufacturers. I then went on the website and found a dealer and he sent it to me in a couple of days. The first time I called, Dave was really helpful in answering questions. The next time I called I left a message and got no answer in a week and a half, so I called back and my questions were answered. Overall it is good customer support. You talk to the guy who handmakes EACH pedal and not some kid making $7 an hour who doesn't care.

Overall this pedal is a great unit for the price. It will give you a natural, uncolored (almost), tone. I have compared it to many other pedals, even the fulltone fulldrive 2, and have found it to be the best uncolored distortion out there. I am not too fond of the second channel, but just the first one is worth the $200 paid. If I were to lose it somehow I would buy another one and maybe even some of the other pedals there too. This pedal is made of quality componenets you cannot find in the mass market machine made pedals. I have been playing rock for 12 years and am satisfied with this pedal. If you have tried the rest and are still looking, it won't hurt to try this. The worst thing that could happen is that you resell it online. They have a good resale value.

great. 3 knobs. these pedals rock. i have 3 tone pumps and3 burn units. here's the deal with barber pedals. in the bedroom they sound darker and have less gain. live, at least through a tube amp other than a twin reverb, you have to dial back the tone and gain or they will be way too bright and have way too much gain---it's wild. my tone pump settings of tone at 3:30 p.m and pump at 2:30 p.m. at home are too dark and not enough gain. live through my top hat club deluxe using my lindy fralin loaded custom relic ash strat w/ rosewood/maple neck the pickup has tons of gain and bite. the same with my burn unit 2. at home i set the volumes at 12 o'clock, tone at 3 o 'clock, dynamics at 5 o' clock, burns at 12 o' clock and 5 o'clock. live i have to dial the burns back to 9 0' clock and 3 o'clock, volumes at 9:30 and 11 o'clcok. this gives me a rhtyhm marshall sound and a searing, raging marshall lead sound!! killer!!

greta. i like barber's pedals. voiced perefectly, great volume and gain. these pedals are meant to be played live...i have too many boutique effects, fulltone, PE, voodoo lab, analogman, teese, vaughn cost ts-9 mod, etc...my barber pedals are my favorite

very reliable, very few parts. solidly made.....

excellent. i have bugged dave barber, he never seems to mind!!

killer. i play blues and classic rock. my gear is all boutique stuff. my tone has never been better. i ususally have 2-3 barber pedals in my pedalboard to handle every concievable sound..

Real easy to get a good sound out this pedal, it brings the natural sound out of your amp, does not color it.I did not get a manual with this pedal, but there is no need for one, Homer Simpson could use it and get good sound out of it.

A few players say the Tone Pump sounds good only with a Fender amp and Strat, that's being partial.

Set up 1;
`73 Marshall Super Bass through a Marshall 4-12 from the same era, the guitar`s are a Gibson Les Paul, Fender strat.
The Les Paul, the Marshall, and the Tone Pump work beautifully for big tone mojo, it`s a work of art when all these guys are combined,you can adjust the gain to your liking, or use the Pump as a clean boost, prior to this Tone Pump I was using two old TS9`s, now the Pump does the same job with one pedal...but it has more clarity amd definition and simply great tone.
The Strat works well with this combo too, for different reasons.I`m using some old Van Zandt pickups in the neck and middle with a hot early `70`s rewind in the bridge, so I`m getting a little closer to a older strat tone(except the bridge)to compare with.I`m getting some killer srat tones with the gain(pump) around 2:00,treble around 10:30, volume about the same, the controls are very sensitive and tweeking is easy, the Tone Pump has a great consistant bottom end that compared to a Fulldrive II that I tried.The Pump works well for roots rock, retro, blues, classic Cream, Bad Co, Hendrix, and much more with this amp setup.

Set-up 2;
Wizard Metal 100, Gibson SG, Gibson Les Paul. I know what your thinking... "no the Tone Pump can`t be good for a high gain amp set-ups"...thats what I thought for a two months, when my main pedal I was using with the Wizard kacked out, and was given the chance to try the Tone Pump with the Wiz.
Yeah, she worked far better than I would expect, I don`t know why I would not expect it, but anyway, it boosted the great sound of this amp, of course you really only need to boost it, so a little gain(pump)around 9:00 is all that`s needed, treble about 9:00, and volume at 3:00.
Again the Tone Pump works well in a high gain amp setup, great for Hard Rock, Rage Rock, Hardcore and Metal.
The Tone Pump is a great tool for any Guitarist in lots of situations.

It`s built like a brick...you know what.
Sure a have a back up(not a Tone Pump)
It will have to be seen if it`s reliable or not, it seems like a trusty device.
I have back up for everything I use,the last place you want ot chance no backups is at a gig or session.
The Tone Pump in very well built, it may outlast grandkids if I had any.

I haven`t dealt with the company, but I`ve heard Dave Barber goes the extra mile with his buyers.
I can only give it a an 8 since I have no experince with them.

I play everything from Roots Rock to Metal, the last thing I need was another drive pedal to match whatever amp being used, now I can carry one.
The Pedal was taken on a partial trade for a Fender amp, it came out of the blue, I was not looking for one, I`m really glad that I the chance to try one,it`s an integral part of my tone for the time being.
The fellow that traded it soon wanted another one.
I`ve tried a lot of pedals, and own a fair amount, the Tone Pump maybe a keeper.
I would buy one again if lost or stolen.
I`ve compared it to the FulldriveII(another good pedal and similar purpose)and I prefer the Tone Pump, it`s more simple, and not as cumbersome.
The Tone Pump DOES not sound like a TS9.
I`m trying to be critical as here as well, but the only thing I can say is; that there are decals instead of real paint.
But I don`t care about that, the damn thing works for me.

I want to mention something others have not. I love the way the LED indicators work on the Tone Pump. They work the way I would have designed them to, and that's more than I can say about some other boutique pedals I've owned. The green (ON/OFF) LED is on when the pedal is on; off when bypassed. The red (STATUS) LED is on when the boost mode is on; off in normal mode. The red LED stays on to indicate boost mode is on even if the pedal is bypassed (green LED off). That way there's no "Suprise, I'm in boost mode!" when you turn the thing on. So intuitive, so well thought out, so easily overlooked. I really appreciate these details.

This is everything you want in an overdrive and nothing you don't. Lower pump settings give slight compression and barely driven clean sounds. This is perfect for smoothing out an overly dynamic clean tone. More pump gives you more overdrive to your hearts content. The volume control lets you match bypassed levels or drive your amp a little harder. Tone control is really tasteful with nary a bad setting in the entire range. Boost mode is just what you need: simple, reliable umph for single note lines. I think the simplicity of the preset level, compression, and eq change is a breath of fresh air in boutique pedal land, and it sounds terrific! Very quiet pedal.

This is the most thoughtfully and carefully constructed pedal I've ever seen. The wiring is beautiful, and the PC board construction is a cut above anything else on the market. It has plated through holes on the circuit board! That being said, I broke the boost switch within 15 minutes of playing the pedal for the first time. It's a good quality switch too, and I didn't stand on it or anything. Just a quick, sure smack, and it broke the body off of the threaded shaft. David Barber confirms that nobody makes an indestructible switch, but seeing how this one was put together, I wonder if he shouldn't look to another manufacturer for a heavier duty one. I don't think you could afford to "stand" on one of these switches. It needs a real battery holder too.

After my problem with the switch, I emailed David Barber about getting a replacement from him. I bought this pedal used, so I figured I would have to buy the switch from him. He responded within minutes, voiced his frustration about nobody making an industructible switch, sent me a switch for free, offered to fix it himself if I would send it to him, and thanked me for buying a Tone Pump! This guy is going above and beyond.

Incredible quality and beauty of construction (inside). The stickers are a bit cheesy, but the knobs are great! Beautiful, clear tone. Not peaky like a TS-9, but more full range and even. Very controlled and useful, like a good tube amp. It's like a transparent secret weapon for tone. It would make any guitar and amp combo better.

Ridiculously easy. Standard three knob overdrive with volume, tone, and pump. Extra boost channel button in addition to the obvious on/off switch.

Of the same ilk as the Fulldrives and Tube Screamers. Familiar sound to the Fulltone, but with a little more "hair" on the boost channel. Very warm and articulate tones. Excellent with all types of guitars.

Top-notch components. Boutique and bad to the bone.

Barber is accessible. Just hard to get really quick service because of the wait times for this pedal.

Beautiful clear overdrive sounds. Definitely equal to the Fulldrives and Tubescreamers of the world with subtle tonal differences. Try them all out and pick the flavor you like best. The Tone Pump is a wonderful no-risk pedal with versatile musical tones. Hype approved.

activation is quite simple,i like the fact that you can get 2 different tones out of one pedal.3 knobs; level, tone, and pump(overdrive). it is a stock tone pump I've had it 8 months.

I mainly use les pauls and teles, p-90,humbucking, and tele single coils all stock. I own 5 lp's and 3 teles. I play through stock 50 watt plexi 4 input non-master volume heads through 4x10 cabs. NO MODS!
I do tons of sessions, I own 60 different pedals(40overdrives,fuzz,boutique) I was impressed with it the first time, and i must say it was the first pedal to ever really make me say YES at last. My main pedals were the ts-808, fulldrive2, fuzzface, and matchless hotbox, i would use them in combination with and without eachother.that was 8 months ago. this is all i use now along with dave barbers "burn unit" (just as mind blowing) it is the quietest and most responsive pedal. allows you to enhance, modify, or just simply attain great, great tone. allows the tone of the guitar to really shine through. Live for instance,chn 1 I use my LP's and chn2 I use my teles, very flexible. I use both channels frequently, I must say that I use chn2 mainly for leads. I personally have never had a problem with muddyness or harsh fuzziness. Keep in mind I play every style with the exception of speed metal, Thrash, or punk.

130 sessions(countless hours in studio)
150 shows( in and out of town)
extremely reliable and the tone has not wavered
I have never had to have a back up but i'm considering another.
I appluad dave for his creation that has suited me perfectly in EVERY way

I have never had to call, And believe it or not I got my pedal second hand through my friend jeff at tonefrenzy.comm he had 2, so i did a session for it for him

i would have to say that For me personally i have found thee pedal.
EZ to use, sounds wonderful, and all my vintage pedals are now sittng and i don't know what to do,(unless there is need for an octavia or some ugly sounding fuzz) This may not sound like an objective review, but believe me when you own many pedals, and have tried an eazy 120 ovedrive/dist pedals both vintage and custom and are in constant demand to produce all kinds of tones and styles for sessions only the right tones will do, I feel at this period I have found the right overdrive, Until then I'm not sure this pedal will be topped for a loooong time to come. I 'd say I'm pretty darn happy

Simple! Bypass switch, Boost switch, Level and Drive knobs. There are absolutely no bad settings on this pedal

Is thing on? Hello? EASY AS PIE!!

It is SUPER quiet. The sound is not a TS-9 clone. A lot of work when into designing this pedal.

Boost off: great for crunchy leads or rhythm. No mid hump or scoop. It it sooo smooth, you'll just have to try one out.

Boost on: best thing I've used for solos EVER. Period. Thank you.

It seems very sturdy. I looked inside, and everything (components, wire, etc.) is of the highest quality. I would depend on it at a gig with no backup.

N/A

I play a unique style of pop/rock which really calls for something that "hasn't already been done." This pedal gives me that smooth creamy overdrive...oh yeah! It is very musical sounding and the harmonic structure is wonderfully pleasing to the ear.

***This is an addition to my earlier post regarding the Barber Electronics "Tone Pump" overdrive pedal. As the earlier post stated, I am happy with the pedal but it's second / boost channel did not please my ear because of the way it was EQ'd and compressed. I thought I would drop an email to owner and creator David Barber and ask him if I had any options regarding the sound of the second channel. Much to my surprise, he responded right away and said that he would be happy to help me with this situation! He has offered to tweak the pedal in hopes of tailoring it more towards my personal taste. Needles to say...I was stunned! I did not think this type of service existed any longer. David Barber has truly gone 'beyond the call of duty' and I wanted to make that known on the same forum I had posted my earlier review on.
As my review stated - I was very pleased with the first channel's sound and with David's help I am certain the second channel will soon make me just as happy!-
If you need a good overdrive pedal from a company that truly cares about their product I urge you to check out this pedal when you are making your decision. It just might be what you need... Contact for the pedal: barberelectronic@hotmail.com

Another take on the classic overdrive sound that so many guitarist are seeking. 3 Knobs - Volume,Tone,Pump (overdrive) - 2 foot switches: on/off and another overdrive stage. Simple to find useable sounds right out of the box. If you've used an overdrive type pedal before there are no surprises here control wise...

The Tone Pump is being used with a Fender Am. Std. Tele and a Fender Strat Ultra with Rio Grande Vintage Tallboys P/ups into a Fender Twin amp. For the past two years I have been relying on the Fulltone Fulldrive2 pedal for all of my overdrive needs. I am currently using a Fulldrive2 with the latest FM mod and have been pleased with it. So it's only natural for me to compare the Tone Pump against what I have been using for the last couple of years. After reading many reviews on the net from Tone Pump (TP) users singing it's praises (especially compared to the FD2), I decided to pony up my $175.00 and get on the 5-6 week waiting list with Dave Barber - owner of the company. He apparently hand makes these babies all by his lonesome so it can take a while to receive one. Ordered it over the phone directly from David and he was very friendly and helpful. But anyway...How does it sound..? Well - it sounds good. I compared it with my FD2 and was surprised how incredibly close they are to each other sound wise. I could easily set the FD2 and the TP to sound damn near identical through my rig. The TP tended to have an overall "brighter" sound to it but not by much and with the tone controls I could dial the two pedals into almost perfect copies on one another... I am somewhat confused as to why many of the net reviewers swore the TP sounded so different then their FD2..?? Perhaps they were not using the FD2 with the FM (flat mids) mod..? There is certainly a sound difference between the two when you engage the TP's second channel. Much like the FD2, the second channel will boost the signal and change the EQ characteristics. I believe David Barber said that it's not really a higher gain channel it's simply the same overdrive signal being fed into a different path that alters it's EQ and compression level. That is instantly obvious when you click it on. The bass signal is noticeably boosted and the overall sound is much more compressed. This causes the sound to become a bit darker, fatter and sustained as the compression ratio is cranked up. Personally - I do not enjoy the sound of this channel. It's too much low end for me EQ wise and the compression ratio is not to my liking. It tends to muddy up my sound when I am playing chords and the compression tends to cause my pick attack to disappear too much on the lower notes. I miss the gain control for the second channel that is offered on the FD2 pedal. Having that control really offers you much more sonic flexability with the second channel. So, for me, the TP will most likely be a one channel pedal. The TP does offer a very nice gain control that is useable all the way up and down the dial from low gain to full bore overdrive. There are no annoying dead spots in the gain range and it is a warm overdrive sound that is never too "buzzy". (keep in mind I'm talking about the first channel only) The tone control offers a very useable EQ range. The volume knob surprised me a bit. I have to set it at almost 2 O'clock to find the unity level with my amp..? My FD2 is at 12 O'clock where you would expect it to be... This is not a real big deal as there is still plenty of volume to go after the 2 O'clock setting but I was surprised none the less. The foot switches are silent when you use them on the TP which is something I prefer over my FD2 as it will audibly "click and pop" through my amp most of the time I engage it or activate the boost channel.

Reliability - hard to say... only had it 4 days. I can say this - when the pedal arrived it was broken. It was very well packed and the box was not overly beat up by the Postal folks but none the less both footswitches were rendered inoperative by the time the package showed up at my house. I honestly do not understand how this happened because the mail package was not visibly damaged to any great extent..? If normal mailing caused not one but both of the footswitches to break then I have to wonder how the pedal will enjoy life on my pedal board for the next few years..? We shall see - David was very helpful with a replacement unit and even managed to ship me a new one after he had just broken his collar bone! Thanks David! The unit is a bit "rough around the edges" finish wise. It does have that hand made vibe which I happen to like. Inside, the wiring looks well done and clean. I'm not so sure how the adhesive Tone Pump stickers will fare over the coming years..? Most stickers I've run across tend to look a bit shabby after a while... But I don't really give too much of damn about that - I bought it for audio not visual.

As I mentioned in the last category. David Barber answers his own phone and replies to email in a very timely fashion. He was apologetic when my unit arrived damaged and replaced it without hesitation. He is a very polite and friendly man which still counts for something in my book as I have not found all the 'boutique' pedal makers to be this way...

To sum it all up - The Tone Pump is a good overdrive pedal. I have owned most of the big boys (808, FD2, Klon) and it certainly holds it's own against those. The fact that the second channel does not please my personal ear kind of cuts the pedal's usefulness in half for me. If I had to pick either the FD2 or the Tone Pump I would not hesitate to take the FD2. They sound incredibly similar to each other and the FD2 simply offers more features and control. Even if I liked the sound of the TP's second channel the lack of control over it (gain wise) is annoying after so many years with the FD2. I also am a tad worried about the durability of the TP after my recent mail experience. It's a relatively new pedal so time will tell how it holds up over the years. The Tone Pump offers a nice, warm, useable overdrive sound and like the FD2 is true bypass. The Tone Pump didn't really take me anywhere I had not already been before... If you're looking for a good overdrive pedal this will do the trick. Try it against the Klon, Fulldrive 2, 808, etc.. and pick the one you like best. They are all variations on the same theme.

Very easy to find good usable overdrive tones. The usual 3 knobs but has a second boost footswitch. This is not just another TS-808/TS9 clone. It seems to have it's own voice.

After 18 years or so, I can't find another pedal as good as a TS-9 for that particular tone. Of course there are good clones, the Jeckyl and Hyde being the best bang for the buck. The TONE PUMP is the best companion I've found for my TS9, for an alternate tone. I love the old TS9 for SRV type vibes but once and a while I want more and or different. The Tone Pump is not as transparent, when used for a semi clean boost as the Klon pedal. It seems to cause some loss of low end but at performance levels at gigs, it's not real noticable. I mostly use the boosted mode as my TS9 seems to cover the lower gain territory better, at least to my old ears. One thing that really needs to be cleared up is the term: "true bypass" The Tone Pump HAS true bypass. I've seen reviews for other pedals where the author has no concept of the term. The only way to have true bypass is to use a double pole, double throw footswitch with no LED. Or use a 3 pole double throw switch. The extra pole switches the LED off and on. These switches are very hard to find and are very expensive. Fulltone and the Tone Pump uses this type switch. The Tone Pump switches very quietly and I really appreciate the effort that Dave Barber put into engineering not only a great sounding pedal but one that doesn't alter your bypassed tone. I've given up trying to build my own pedals, when you see workmanship like this, why bother. The Klon pedal is a very well made pedal but it is a one trick pony and costs hundred bucks more than the Tone Pump. The Fulldrive is a very well made pedal but does'nt sound as good to me as a good Tube Screamer and the second mode sucks. The Tone Pump has it's own voice and territory and it deserves to be in one of those "shootout" reviews in Guitar Player magazine. Be prepared to wait 6 weeks or so for delivery. That is the only minus for buying boutique type pedals but it is well made and by God it was made in the USA, it wasn't slapped together by Commie slave labor.

I can not forsee any problems, its made to last.

No one pedal can be all things to all people, Lord knows I've tried everything out there and owned a lot of them. Distortion/Overdrive pedals sound diffent to everyone. Opinions are like, well you know the rest. I've been playing since 1965. I currently play in a 3 piece Blues band and I could get by nicely with just this one pedal but I would miss my modded TS9 and my Fat Box overdrive. Okay, I admit it, I am a hopeless pedal junkie.

This box is very easy to use. It has three control knobs for dialing in your tone, two of which are more pronounced in their affect on you signal. The volume control performs just as the name suggests and will drive/boost your gain to a considerable degree as you turn the knob clockwise and has a pronounced effect throughout its range (7 O'clock to 5 O'clock). The tone control is not as responsive as the volume in that its most pronounced effect is noted between about 3 O'clock and 5 O'clock where the treble/mids really brighten up (but not to an objectionable degree). The "Pump" control brings out the "grind" or "overdrive" effect and is just barely noticeable at 7 O'clock and "incineratingly" present at 5 O'clock. The knobs are fairly easy to adjust with your feet if you have to. The footswitches (2) are a light touch affair and different from the "clunkier" so-and-so brand that many stompbox manufacturers use.

I am using this pedal with a Top Hat T18-TB head and 2x12 closed-back Top Hat cab with Celestion Greenbacks. My main guitar is an ES 125 TCD. Believe me, I have mother___ng tone at my disposal with this combination, it's just that I have to play at earsplitting levels to get it!! (very satisfying though, at a base, gut level) I also have a variety of pedal effects on a custom made board and the Tone Pump is early in the signal chain. The unit is quiet. Switching is quiet too. The effect is just awesome for emulating a great variety of overdriven tube amp tones both at high, performance volumes and especially at lower, more reasonable playing-at-home type levels. This is what I particularly like about the device. You can really dial in an overdriven type of tone without having to listen to your eardrums distort (mine tend to do that these days). I have no problem getting a great rhythm, subtle, crunchy-on-the-top type of tone or a screaming, creamy, "Texas" or "British" or "Aussie" (if you will) type of lead sound from this little box. When I combine the Pump with my vintage Rat distortion, I'm swirling in a cesspool of mind-blowing tone.

I don't gig. It functions fine so far (a month).

Dave Barber shines in the PR region as far as I can tell. He answered my e-mails promptly. He was pleasant and gracious on the phone the two times I called him and was willing to answer my questions completely and to my satisfaction. He is on the up-and-up to my best estimation and makes good on his promises.

I play R&R in a "classic rock" vein (60's, 70's & 80's mostly) with a little R&B thrown in for color and have been doing it for the better part of 30 years as a "wanna-be" guitarist. At this point, I still don't gig, and really don't know the first thing about playing out in a live situation, so I can't comment on how this unit performs from that perspective. I imagine that if this thing were stolen by some idiot burglar, I'd replace it; but only after I'd tried the "Burn Unit" from Barber Electronics first! I really dig the fact that this item helps me sound like the recordings I try to emulate - all the way from Free, Humble Pie, Jethro Tull, to Bryan Adams and anyone else you can think of. I have never even used a TS808 or anything other than my Rat, (which is kind of harsh) so I can't make a comparison to help in that area and I had my heart set on a Centaur from the glowing reviews it has garnered, but I went with this thing on the merit of a few tasty and enthusiastic reviews on the net and I'm damn glad. Here's my only beef: When I got this unit, it was cosmetically fine and seemed to work well, but a few minutes of tweaking revealed that the control knobs were too close to each other. The volume and tone knobs connected to one another at certain settings so that they actually acted like gears to the point of being inoperable due to friction. I changed the three knobs around to no avail and ended up having to take one of them to the grinder to reduce its circumfrence. That took care of it and I've been rocking ever since. Buy this product!

Right out of the box great tone. Tweaking the knobs actually does something for a change as well! The tone knob gives you a good variance of color through the range.
You have 2 buttons, an on/bypass, and an additional lead (boosted) channel (not unlike a Full Drive2, but more on this later), and 3 knobs: Volume, Tone, and 'Pump.'

In terms of sound quality I would direct this at the 808 and 'elusive blues tone' fans. If you're a Boss Metal Zoner, or fuzz fiend, you may want to look elsewhere. Anyhow, gear-wise I'm a Fender into Tweed fan. That being said, this pedal is the top of the food chain in my opinion. I have never been more impressed with a pedal.
You can dial it in for just a smidge of gain, or ease it into a real singing blues tone, with great transparency of your overall signal. It is the first pedal that I haven't wanted to add another pedal with. Activating the lead channel, you get a slight volume boost, and it seems to be much warmer, but not buzzy or distortion-y, just a great lead tone. The volume boost is right where it should be on this channel which is very cool. You know how you have 2 or more overdrives, and spend all that time trying to find the good balance between the them, and futz around at higher volumes all over again, and end up looking like a jerk with it way off for your lead parts, etc? This may be the answer. When you switch it back and forth between the 2, it seems to be right where you want it.
It does bring out the 60-cycle hum of the single coils, but to me, that says it's bringing the whole signal, and doing its job.
Switching is dead silent, as expected, and the ranges throughout the settings are terrific with no wierd spots. You could even dial this pedal to have no real boost or overdrive, just a darkening of the tone if you wanted, or a clean boost. Very flexible.

Well, I don't know them personally, but apparently they know their stuff. They know Hi-Fi audio equipment, and seem to have over-engineered something as seemingly insignificant as a guitar pedal. Anyone that know the in's and out's of Dumble rigs, and know the PRS folks and other industry folks personally, have to have it together.
I would be absolutely amazed if someting ever went wrong with this pedal.

I heard tale of them, and had a heck of a time finding them on the net. I sent them an e-mail, and they responded fairly quickly. Anyhow, I decided to give them a buzz and get some more information. He spent about an hour on the phone with me, and would have easiliy spent longer if it was warranted. You know right off hand, he knows his stuff, knows where great tone is, how to find it, and how to build a quality product. Heck of a nice guy to. I really appreciated the conversation, and learned quite a bit as well. There is no doubt he would stand behind his product.

This is my 'desert island' pedal. I have been looking for this tone, and really didn't expect it to be this good (especially at the price). I had no doubt I would love it when I ordered it, but I have this tone bouncing around in my skull, and never thought I would find it.
In comparsion, I have a TS-808, a Klon Centaur, Way Huge Red Llama, TS-9, Bartolini Tube-it, and I think 11 other overdrives and fuzzes. I was hoping the Fulltone Full Drive2 was going to be the answer, but I sold it! The Fulltone products are excellent, well built, terrifically engineered, and fill a great market need with a quality range of stomp boxes. Don't get me wrong, but the Tone Pump is what the Full Drive2 should sound like - in my opinion (with no offense intended).
I couldn't recommend a pedal more, and from what I hear, he is coming out with a pedal that is supposed to replicate the tone of a Dumble. Yikes!
Anyhow, I would check him out at his website: http://www.bigbangaudio.com/tonepump/
and the 'Tonefrenzy' website has sound clips and a good review: http://www.tonefrenzy.com/barber_electronics_tone_pump.htm

Quite self-explanitory (vol.,tone,gain) no manual but it sounds good despite its setting. the best "overdrive" pedal i've heard.

I've been using this pedal exclusively for about a year. Mostly I play a custom built tele or a Fender custom shop '60 strat thru a '68 super reverb or a '66 deluxe reverb. the tone pump is always with me. It's VERY transparent. The only downfall I've found with it is because there are no buffers on the input and output it dosen't work as well with certain other pedals (ones that ruin your signal when their off anyhow) It works best with other true bypass effects.

I've used this pedal as much or more than anyone. (I had the first prototype for months before they were availible) and I have been gigging 4 to 5 nights a week with it for over a year (without a backup) and have had no problems

As of now they are hand built by one person, so you can actually speak directly to the guy who knows it best.

I have been playing music for nearly 20 years and have always made my living with it. I have an original band called MAJESTY TWELVE based out of Annapolis MD. I also have played in countless cover bands playing everything from Hendrix and Jeff Beck, XTC and the Beatles, Prince and Tower of Power, Elvis Costello and Jeff Buckley, and of course more of the 20 minute guitar soloing I IV V gigs than I care to remember. I have played ,if not owned every effect, amp and guitar out there. nothing is perfect for everything ,but for a tube screamer style overdrive , I've heard nothing as better than this. There are others as good (not better) for about 60-100 dollars more.

This pedal is very straight forward: 3 knobs - Level, tone, gain and a 2nd stage boost for even higher gain settings. Dave builds these out of his house along w/ great tube amp work and some recording work, this makes production sporadic. My box is #3 - no manual just a thorough conversation w/ Dave both in person and over the phone, but none really needed. It's set-up is classic except for the 2nd gain stage. Primarily runs on 9v battery but he will modify it for use w/ good power source (Voodoo Lab Pedal Power, etc. NO WALL WARTS! If ne knows you're gonna run it w/ typical cheapo wall wart, he won't do the mod. due to the noise) He's a tone freak!

This is the best sounding, most tranparent overdrive pedal I've used, and I've used a lot of 'em. All the good stuff, true by-pass switching, etc. Very quiet. This pedal, like the Klon Centaur, does not alter the sound of your guitar, it just pushes the amp harder. It's simply more of what your guitar sounds like. W/ tone set flat just dial in the amount of dirt you want and there you are. The tone control is subtle, doesn't have a huge effect but more like a tweak of your tone. Set level and gain to taste. I rarely venture into the 2nd stage as the first stage fits what I play perfectly. (Classic rock, blues, funk,r&b).
I'm using this w/ '65 Super Reverb or '66 Deluxe. Guitars are primarly PRS Swamp Ash Special, PRS McCarty w/ P90s or a Strat. It lives right after full-tone clyde wah on the pedal board. It is quiet, unless on 2nd stage w/ gain pushed pretty hard, even then it's not real bad.
It would be hard imagining not being able to get almost any over-driven or distorted tone out of this unless, perhaps you are the heaviest dude on earth! (I will admit to not having explored the 2nd gain stage all that much)

This pedal is not that old. I've had it for 6 - 7 months. I gig 6 - 12 nights / month and have been using solid for 7 months. So far so good, never had a problem. I do have a TS-9 and a Sans Amp GT2 in the "junk box" that goes w/ us to gigs - only prudent! The only reason I give it an 8 is that it's still new and I have box #3.

I have dealt w/ Dave as he is my amp tech. He's pretty good about responding and calling back but I've had no need to have it serviced

Overall this pedal is awesome. Been playing 30+ years...I'm a tone hound - the search never really ends. I am satisfied to the point that I have put this aspect of my tone and gear in the back of my mind, that must mean I'm happy w/ what I have, just like when you find "that" guitar! If my pedal board was lost or stolen, it would be the first thing I'd replace as I consider it to be the main elelment in the chain. (all the pedals are high end Full-tone Clyde, TC Chorus, Voodoo Micro-vibe, etc.) My search for good, cleanly voiced pedals is relentless so I rank the Tone Pump WAY up there.