CMATMODS Buttah

Op-amp style overdrive voiced to be low-medium gain and transparent. It does those things quite well. Your standard volume, tone and gain knobs. Didn't come with a manual, doesn't need one. Plug in, kick the switch, play.

I'm driving this pedal with my Music Man Axis with A5 humbuckers through a Fargen Olde 800 set as clean as I can without choking off the preamp. There aren't a whole lot of details on this thing on the website other than it's supposed to be transparent and give you that 'on the edge of breakup' sound that other pedals can't. I think this pedal sounds horrible. Yes, it's transparent. The overdrive it puts out sounds strikingly like my amp's overdrive. And that's fine if that's what you're going for, it's not what I'm going for. When I buy an overdrive or distortion pedal I want it to have it's own personality. This pedal has no personality and sounds very unrefined. It has no sweetness whatsoever. I don't want to totally bash this pedal though. I'm sure there's a great number of people who will love what this pedal does. I'm not one of them. If you have a non-master volume amp and want an overdrive that will sound really, really, really close to your amp then this is your ticket. Otherwise, there are plenty of other boutique style pedals out there that are eons better than this one. IMHO

Despite its sonic short-comings, it's very solidly built. Some of the cleanest wiring and soldering I've seen in fact. The knobs have a very smooth and substantial-feeling taper to them, good quality pots. The switch feels very beefy and gives you a sense of confidence when stomping for that blistering lead. If I had the inclination to gig with this pedal, I would do so with the utmost confidence.

This is where I feel bad for not liking this pedal. Chad, the builder and soul proprietor of cmatmods, is a wonderful guy. Very friendly, promptly answers emails, extremely helpful. The man's a class act. I just chose poorly when deciding on this pedal FOR ME. He's got plenty of other pedals I'm dying to try out.

Again, FOR ME this pedal is horrible. But I have an opinion just like everyone else. Don't count this guy's stuff out just because of this review.

Like most quality overdrive/distortion pedals this one is no exception, very easy to dial in a suberb tone out of it. It has three knobs Gain, Level, Tone, just adjust to taste.

At first glance this pedal looks like every other overdrive/distortion pedal until you strum your first chord or pick your first note this is where the butah outshines most light overdrive pedals in its class. The butah has a nice wide open tone to it not thin or compressed. It has a wonderful range of overdrive to it and lends itself as a boost quite nicely too. There is no loss of tone nor dynamics because the pedal is so transparent and has that nice wide open tube amp sound. When rolling off the guitar volume this pedal reacts exceptionally well. Cleans up so well you would not know you are playing through a pedal. My current rig is Korg Pitch Black Tuner>Morley Wah>MXR Dyna Comp(vintage 70's)>Cmatmods Butah>Cmatmods Brownie>Cmatmods Deeelay>BFD trem>Lovepedal Echo baby through a Fender tele deluxe and a fender HRD amp. The Butah plays nicely with all of its friends, very smooth overdrive.

I don't use back ups, I try and do my homework so I can buy quality the first time around and chads pedals are top notch in quality.

First Rate customer support, I have put chad through a slew of questions and he has returned my e-mails in a quick kind manner. Incredible Product, Incredible Person!

I have played through my share of pedals like most guitarists searching for "the tone". After several hundreds of dollars later....Hmmmmmm if I could have saved that money I would be debt free by now, oh well ...where was I ? OH YEAH.... I finally came across chads pedals and what a find. I am a self motivated person but having the kind of gear that makes you want to hear and play more is a true treasure and that is what chads pedals do. I encourage you....NO! I dare you to try one and see if maybe it is a tone treasure for you too.

this pedal is really simple to get a great mildly overdriven tone with. i just plugged it in, messed around with settings for a minute, and wowee, there is is. No big manual to read, just plug it in, and it sounds great.

i use it with a zion radicaster with kinmans, and a Hamer newport pro with Lollar imperials, through a fuchs slx 50 with a port city 2-12 cab with a scumback h75 and h55. this pedal is great in the neck position for that mild barely-breaking-up tone. it also does more distortion, but really for any pickup setting, it really shines. dead quiet, too. I also have a cmatmods signa drive, and it is a great pedal, too. i have used a Kelley modded boss bd-2, and an xotic rc booster, and i like the buttah even better than those 2.

build quality is great, nice and solid with quality switches and pots. i would use it for sure without a backup.

Chad is a SUPER guy to deal with, he got it out right away, and was great with letting me know what was going on with the shipment. I wish they all had as good a personality. LOL

I play in a few bands, one is a smooth jazz/funk band, another is a blues band, and another is a latin/jazz band, so i need to cover a lot of styles musically, and that is where this pedal shines. For the carlton-barely breaking up tones, this pedal is da bomb. now i set my fuchs for more gain, and use this pedal for all the low drive stuff. cool.

As easy as any OD, except that I can't seem to get a bad sound out of it.

I've searched for years for a good pedal that would give me just a bit of grind. I keep my amp totally clean because I need that sound sometimes. The Butah is it! Some pedals get close but are so sensitive if your gain is off a tiny bit it's too much or not enough. Not the Butah; it's truly a low gain OD.

Haven't had it long enough to comment, but seems to be very well made.

Haven't needed it, but Chad is very responsive.

I play Telecasters only. This pedal is great for that "amp at the edge of OD sound". I use it for Stones, Blues, driving country, etc. I push this a bit with a Jauernig Luxury Drive. I also use a Jauernig Gristle King for the next level of OD. Great combination. I was using a Keeley modded BD2. This is a step up.

Very easy to use. No problem to dial in a VERY sweet sound in seconds. You don't need a manual, so it doesn't come with one (savin' trees man). Layout is pretty standard for an overdrive - gain, tone, volume, and a shiny LED. Runs on a 9v adapter, battery, or daisy chain. Mine is a hot pink color of sorts, which will come in handy if it ever falls overboard and I need to dive for it in 20 feet of water. I kinda dig the funky-colored pedals, but I know some guys out there will swear that the color of your pedals affects tone. Metalheads, the Butah won't cut it alone, but you should check out the CMATMODS Brownie.

This pedal brings home the tone! I've been using it with my Bedrock BC-50, Mesa Boogie Heartbreaker, and custom low-power Twin clone. I've had a chance to run it with my Tele and Strat (both with American Vintage pickups) and my stock '92 Les Paul Standard. All 3 sound AWESOME. The Butah is one of those pedals that makes you want to play all day (girlfriends and wives beware). It works really well with other pedals, and if you need more gain, just put it alongside another gain pedal or a compressor. It sounds great with either the gain or clean channels of 2 channel amps. The pedal is almost zero noise, and is completely transparent, allowing for a nice clean boost as well. It really lets the sound of your guitar and hands shine through the amp. Not many pedals can do that well, and this one really lets the chime and ring of each note shine through. It has a really smooth gain (like Butah), and you can actually get useable tones from the full range of all 3 knobs!

Chad's stuff is built to last. He stands behind his work. I wouldn't give a second thought to needing a backup. If you break this pedal, you really need to take it easy on the Kurt Cobain leaps and stop kicking your gear off the stage.

Chad is a friendly guy, he'll answer your questions and put your pedal committment fears to rest. Go ahead. Send him an email, and you'll hear back in about a day or so. Nothing beats talking to the guy who actually makes the stuff. Go to his website, read about the pedals and listen to the sound clips. You'll get a pretty decent idea of what they sound like, unlike so many other websites.

I really have to emphasize that I'm not throwing 10's around without much consideration. I just can't fault the Butah on anything. I've been a player for the last 24 years, part of those years I was a semi-pro touring and recording musician. I've owned hundreds of pedals and have seen some amazing stuff and some utter garbage. If you're on the fence about this purchase, email Chad, ask the same scared nerdy questions we all ask, and then spend the money. I did, and now I just bought the Brownie and the SignaComp Drive. I can't see how anyone could be disappointed in this pedal - especially for the cost. I could have spent twice the money on other brands without getting anything more - and in many cases, much less.

Three knobs.
Gain, tone and level.
Dirt simple to get going.
No manual, but really, why would you need one?

I'm usiing PRSs, Fenders and Washburns.Hardly any noise and therefore can be stupidly loud before any buzz-even on maximum gain. Superb.This pedal is a low to medium overdrive. It sounds totally natural and nuetral.
My trusty Tech21 trademark 60 2x12 keeps me company these days.
My favourite artists are Carlos Santana and SRV.
The Buttah overdrive is supreme at becoming the convincing overdrive of whatever amp it's put in front of.

Built like a brick out house.

Chad is a very patient man. He's the kind of person I like to do business with and if you inquire after his products, he'll help instead of hinder.

I've been playing for over 30 years. My work is well known both in Europe and the United States.
My sound is similar to Carlos Santana, but instead of the Zendrive-type Dumble accent he goes for, my own tone is fat but more frequency. The Buttah somehow captures all the response I need to articulate what I'm trying to say in a melody.
Also, this pedal cleans up to reveal juicy rhythm textures.
I used to own the Zendrive, but the Buttah is clearer, more touch sensitive and toneful to my ears.

Three knobs: Level, Drive and Tone. Similar to most overdrive pedals. The drive can be subtle or combined with enough of the level knob to produce a nice creamy overdrive. This pedal is not high gain. If you are a metal player read no further. If you are a classic rock or blues player, read on.

I???m going to sound like a broken record here but like the Deeelay and Ross Comp Clone pedals there is not much to say here other than Chad Matthews has nailed the tone within the Buttah (pronounced like Butter) Like the name implies, that???s exactly what you get warm, thick and creamy tone. I run the tone knob at about halfway with my setup (see gear description below). The tone is warm and full like an analog pedal, although it is not sold as an analog pedal. I???m not sure what more I can add other than this is a great pedal. For the money its right in there with stock overdrive pedals that do not have the same mojo of this low gain pedal. A little trick I???ve tried to give this pedal a little boost for solos is using the Fulltone Fat Boost. It just amplifies the Buttah and the tone knob can be dialed in to add more low or high frequencies. If you want some more growl and grit to your tone turn the Drive knob up on the Fat Boost.

Here is a link to the website for soundclips and info. http://www.cmatmods.com/EFFECTS/EFFECTS.htm#Buttah

My setup can run from extensive to basic depending on the range of music I like to play. I'm partial to classic rock, blues and contemporary Christian music. I play either a 1976 Les Paul standard or a 1992 Fender Strat with Fralin Blues Specials pickups. My amps are a THD BiValve or a Peavey Classic 50/410 that has been upgraded with some Weber alnico speakers. My old standby is a 1974 Peavey Vintage Twin Reverb that is all original except for upgraded Weber alnico speakers. The THD is played into a old school Silvertone 2x12 cabinet with Celestion Alnico Blues. In the tube department I'm a big fan of NOS or OS tubes. The new Chinese or Russian offerings just don't have the same mojo. On the pedalboard the chain looks like this: Boss NS-2>Boss tuner>CMATMODS Ross Clone Compressor>Fulltone FatBoost>CMATMODS Buttah>Menatone Red Snapper OD>Menatone Blue Collar OD>Boss EQ>Lil Alligator volume>Boss CE-2 Chorus>JD Lauering Tremolo>CMATMODS Deeelay. Most of the time I running compression, some form of overdrive and delay.

Not sure. Have had the pedal too short a period of time. Based on other user reviews, should be okay.

Chad is the best. Nice guy doing good things. Great communication, promptly responds to email. Even takes an interest in his customers.

I was not looking to add another overdrive pedal to my pedal board but after buying the Deeelay and Ross Comp Clone I knew I would like what Chad could do with a low gain overdrive pedal. Again, if you want to spend your money on one of the big name boutique pedals that is your prerogative. I decided to buy a quality product from a great producer. I think highly enough of Chad???s work that I believe he will be one to watch in the future. His pedals are that good. When you get over sticker shock from some of the mass produced, overpriced and in my opinion overhyped pedals, take a serious look at the Buttah. I???m glad I did. The online sound samples are helpful to get a nice taste of the pedals capabilities. I found it hard to believe this was the first review for this pedal as the database did not pick up the name.

I have been playing for about 32 years and have had the opportunity to try an number of pedals but this one will be my last, it???s that good. Why keep searching when you???ve found your nirvana? If lost or stolen I would buy another in a heartbeat. One last note about the cosmetics of the pedal. My pedal was a bright metallic copper color. Chad does not do fancy or eye-catching text or decals on the pedal. He just writes with a black sharpie below each knob its function. I went a step further and had some fun making a logo and adding text with white decal paper. It turned out pretty nice. The paper and supplies will run you under $10. You may want to do the same. Anyway seriously give this pedal a listen at the website and buy another of Chad???s pedals instead of giving it away for some boutique pedal manufacturer. You will be glad that you did. I know I am.