Carl Martin Hot Drive & Boost MkII

Very simple to use, 4 knobs that all do what they are suppossed to.

I've been through so many overdrive pedals, it's crazy. I've owned everything from vintage 808's + Rats to new stuff like the Fulldrive, Atomic Multi-scream, Blackstone and a bunch of others. I've had the Hot Drive'N Boost II for a few years and it always ends up back on my pedalboard as my main overdrive. I'm playing American guitars through tube amps. The HD'NB is very balanced and sounds great with all my guitars. It can go from a nice light natural breakup to a very heavy overdrive better than just about anything else. It doesn't have a mid-hump or bass cut. It really preserves the guitar's original tone. The boost side will rival any other clean boost ever made, it really sounds great, no tone coloration at all. The duality of this box is key, the boost is a stand-alone unit unlike the Fulldrive wher the "boost" just another drive control to preset. The HD'NB II goes from rhythm to leads very well.

I've benn gigging with mine for a couple years, and it has never let me down. Both switches still work perfect.

I've never needed it.

At $168, this box is a bargain, 2 very useful units in one. I'd definitely buy another if this one gets stolen.

yup , easy enough to use dials all self explanatory

unfortunately this is my 3rd pedal on warranty due to problems with switches which result in either no sound or a nasty hum through the amp.a shame really as the sound of the pedal is very good on the rare occasions that it [for me ] works. i use it with strats and valve amps but cant trust it on a gig and recently had to take it out of the chain at request of a pa sound man due to hum.

ive covered this in the above section

did not return my e mails requesting support and or guidance

been playing 25 years and much of that live.I feel the company has compromised what is basically a good pedal range on crap switches to save a few shekels and squeeze more out of the working musician , shame on them

No issues here. two switches, four dials, two LEDs. No ugly surprises if you experiment with the dials. Except perhaps the fact that the boost level setting can be set quite high. Perhaps to high. Never found the manual - didn't need it.
Oh, and - I don't use a guitar tuner, but if you do, the box has a clean out for a tuner.

The sound is what it's all about, and this pedal does do the trick - to some extend. It's true bypass (i think) - anyway - there's no noise at all in it - even at very high volumes. I'm a novice guitar player, and this is the first effect I bought - Most times I think its the only distortion effect I'll ever need! I play, mostly, blues with my 75 gibson les paul through my vox cambrigde 30r, and this pedals distortion (level, wawe and gain) is right on. The level is a cut level function enabling the pedal to in- or decrease the signal volume - thats a great thing in a song with many different parts + it enables you to reach down and turn up the volume when your guitar is at max. and the amp is 10 miles away. The wawe generates crunch - imperative for me as a bluesman (this dial should be called the Freddie King effect!!!), but if you push it to hard, it'l drain the richness from your tone. The gain is - well - gain. Turn it to "0", and the signal is clean. Turn it to 9 and your notes will ring for an hour. Turn both wave and gain to 9 and - - well - you should have bought a Boss effect board for that crap....
The boost works. and the strike can be adjusted.
be nice to the dials, and the sound is great - fat and rich - noisy and raw - - this pedal does the trick - unlike many others.

its a rock.. ive used it for three years and never had a problem. A friend of mine has one too - he dropped it, causing one of the LEDs to disapper into the box. The two swithes then started to turn on simultaniously even when only the one was pressed. the factory repaired it for free.
so it can break - it takes some bad luck.
Even if I could afford a back-up, I probably wouldn't buy one.

I haven't, but my made, as mentioned, has - and there were no issues. ofcourse I live where they're built - I don't know how the support is abroad.

Its perfect for blues and rock - but also hard rock. The price may seem a lot, but this is a solid two-in-one pedal. It works - and it sounds great - at all times. I'd definately recommend this as THE ONE distortion pedal, at an affordable cost, that has it all.
Even if I had to morgage my soul to get the money, I'd do it if this was stolen.

Ok, 4 knobs. That's not so hard, but at the same time puts the user in a position to explore it. I think this pedal craves it. As mentioned in other reviews it's sensitive and mabye a little to edgy. Be gentile but ambitiouse.

I use a Fender Dual Showman Reverb 135W from -78 with a 4*12" Celestions in a old straight Laneycabinett. Gibson LP Custom -72 all orig. Other effects are Jim Dunlop Wah and sometimes a Chorus(but it has a backgroundsound that i don't like). The clean sound from the amp is more than satisfying and combined with the MKll i get 3 channels. Good clean sound, Smooth rythm drive, and a kick-ass sustained solo/melodic sound. I have to hook on to earlier reveiws concerning the drivemode. It does not perform as good as the boostmode as far as depth and sustain. I feel you have to tamper with it for a while before you think it's ok. Mabye one may solve it if you go back to your amp(that's allways hard for me)but in the same time, the amp is the backbone to the sound, isn't!? Finnaly i would like to point out that CM Hd&B is at an other level of effects. Earlier i have used Overdrivpedals from both Boss and other brands. They just don't perform that much. It's like playing on an cheap guitar vs a quality guitar. Simple as that!

So far it has worked out just fine. No problems what so ever. The shape and contruction, i think, i dependable. I like the soft rubbercoating at the bottom. It makes the box stick to the floor. Earlier, beer and other fluids kept my effect on stage ;)

Hope to get good service in case of emergency or accidents!

I play guitarbased r'n'r with alot of feedbacks. Therefor i really need the little extra that the boost allows. I would be content with just the boost that i get out of this effect. It's "kingen" as we say in the northen parts of sweden. Luckally we tend not to steel other muscisians belongings. If it was'nt that expensive i would like to have some feature effects from CM, like the Delayla or the Corus *2. But i think you have to sell alot of records to afford that ;). So it may be a bit to pricy for my taste but at the same time i got the effect and sound now that will help me evolve and continue doing music with my band.

easy to use, just take a look at the picture!!

the Boost controls the "boost", the level, wave and gain take care of the "drive"

The Boost is the best part of this pedal because it DOES NOT tamper with your tone at all.. It is a perfect BOOST! You can grab some of the natural Distorsion that sounds awesome!
the drive channel sounded ok at best.. I was not impressed at all, it immediatley killed alot of my highs and some of the mids as well.

however.. together (boost and drive) work very well together for solos! Singing sustain!!
You have to be very careful with the gain and boost, they will get hissy in a hurry (as with any dist pedal)

built like a rock! This thing's a pretty meaty pedal, very thick!

n\a

Just to give ya a credibility report from me!!
I'm 33 years old, been playing metal/brutal thrash/rock/classic rock/jazz/progressive for about 22 years. I own a Uberschall and a Recto rackmount.. My main guitar is a PRS Custom 24 and a Kramer Pacer from 86 (loaded with EMG's)

I like the boost alot on this pedal for reasons stated earlier in my review.. I also love the fact it's a true hardwire bypass..

The drive leaves much to be desired though.. you can mix it in with the boost and get a nice sound, but the drive alot was mud city.. could'nt get that "cut throught" distorsion sound that kicks ya in the ass =(

Very easy to use. One footswitch for the boost and one for the drive. Turningknobs tot tinker with the amount of Boost, a 'Wave' knob (=simplified EQ knob for low/high accent), one for the amount of gain for the Drive and one for the overall Level of this pedal. I can only find one thing that could be better: the knob to set the amount of Boost is very sensitive. You can turn it up to ten, whereas I find myself meddling with it between one and two to get it right for a decent Boost. Too much increase of volume with too little turning....Problem is that the knobs turn very easy, so when you transport it: say goodbye to your settings ! I love Ibanez for their tone-loc buttons....

This stompbox is awesome ! The quality justifies it's high price. The sound of the drive is absolutely beatiful. With turning the gain-knob you can go from crunchy blues sounds up to moderate till heavy rock sounds. No shitty Nu-Metalsounds thank God....
The nice thing is that it just adds drive, it doesn't alter your tone. It depends on how much gain you put in your Clean Channel though. But that's no drawback, it's an extra possibility to shape your tone !

I use this box right after my Dunlop wah and before an EH reverb and Ibanez Delay pedal. I play on an Epi Les Paul Custom with Seymour Duncans all over the place and a Squier Fat Tele with a Quarterpounder at the bridge. Both sound very nice with the HD 'n B.
I use the boost mostly to compensate the loss of output when I play clean with the Humbuckers of the LP split: no more tinkering with the amplifier...

I like to set the drive only halfway to get a mild crunch, so I can set the Dirty Channel of my Marshall AVT50 to a heavier gain. That way I have 'three' channels !

When switched off this pedal is QUIET and does NOT change tone what so ever.

I'm not afraid that this baby's goning to die soon....
Don't use it for a terrible long time though, so I won't rate it.

No contact.

I love it. I really think of it as my main pedal. I have never liked simple Boss-distortions or any of that shit and really fell in love with the sound of it. Perhaps when you're using a low quality guitar and only like Limp Bizkit you won't like this thing, but in that case you must buy a MT-2 to compete with your friends...

Two functions in one pedal is great.
And a plug instead of a battery is heaven !!!

Turning knobs should be lockable (or how do you put that ???)

It's pricy, but worth it.

Easy is to put it mildly;)
Got what it needs.
Vol ,Waveguide, gain, easy and usefull.
Boost has plenty of volume.

This thing is a very natural sounding overdrive, it sounds like your amp.
It has that very elusive crispy sound, basicly this is a tubescreamer that has been very carefully optimised;)
It is way more open and better sounding.
Use the boost for lifting my clean sounds or to put into my The Fuzz..............then it screams even more...wow.
I use this baby with a 100 watts modified Sovtek Mig 100H with a 2 12" Rivera cab with old Celestions inside, some also with and old Selmer from 67 I think.
My main guitar is my old 1980 Tokai strat with a Humbucker in the rear, the singlecoils are stock, maple neck otherwise a standart oldfashioned strat.
It sounds is very usefull and I have no complaints what so ever.

It has worked since 97 without any breakdowns.
But I know that they had some trouble with a specific brand of contacts before, sometimes it helps to switch them on and off a few times.
I have yet to use one of my backups.

Fine support, they fixed my Contour for free.
Absolutly no complaints.

I have played for 16 years, gospel, blues, rock, funk and this is by far the very best overdrive I have ever owned, well beside my Heavydrive from the same manufactors, that is one very very good drive, very great on the front PU on a Strat.
Buy it if you like open warm sounds.
I have owned a varaities of other stompboxes, but this is what I prefered, it maybe not be everyones taste but it works for my playing style.
I also uses it with their Contour & Boost for that snarling front Strat Texas sound, great rythm sound.

Dead easy to use....no manual needed....

Well....just have it four days now....Although the soundquality is superb I've got a serious problem when I switch on my amp. Everytime I do this there's exessive noise from the Hot Boost. I've checked and replaced all the cables and after extensive reseatch I discover that the outputjack from the Hot Boost is causing this annoying problem. I have to turn it back to my dealer for repairs...But apart from that....the sound is terrific!!! It's like having e few extra channels on your amp.....The boost is transparent and works in conjunction with the drive-part and switch.

Hmmm...I already mentioned the problem...It's built like a tank....other reviewers didn't like the switches...they thought the switches are unreliable....well...I just like these smooth switches and hope they'll last for years....

Haven't dealt with them sofar....hope they (dealer?) can solve the problem I mentioned above

This is a quality product with a superb sound...I hope the jackoutput-problem is the only thing that slipped through the qualitycontrol.
It's a unique product...boost and drive...and the combination...also no batteries or wallwarts.....

Very easy - much better than Marshal pedals.

I have a Gibson SG '79 and a Marshall amp. The sound is OK. It have alot of gain, but could be quiet without losing gain - and I love that!

It's a very strange construction - if you open it. The lamps was flashing, but I fixed it... It's OK

It's a fine pedal! Some like the sound of the pedal and some does not... I think it has a great sound! But it is to expensive!!!!! 2000 DKR - it's about 300 $!

VERY EASY TO GET A GOOD SOUND OUT OF. 4 KNOBS LEVEL, GAIN, WAVE(TONE) AND BOOST LEVEL. CABLE IN, CABLE OUT, CLEAN OUT. THIS ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE.

I JUST GOT IT TODAY, AND I PLAYED FOR 6 HOURS BECAUSE I WAS INSPIRED BY THE TONE!! ALMOST NO NOISE AT ALL (MORE QUIET THAN A BOSS OD-3, OR MESA BOOGIE V-TWIN). I PLAYED THIS THROUGH ALL MY MARSHALLS (3), AND A SOVTEK TUBE MIDGET I GOT A WHILE BACK (HEY, IT WAS ON SALE). THIS PEDAL IS VERY VERSITLE! USE THE DRIVE FOR THE MAIN CRUNCH SOUND, HIT THE BOOST (WITH DRIVE ON) FOR SOLO'S. USE THE BOOST (DRIVE OFF) FOR A "CLEAN, TRANSPARENT" BOOST. THIS REALLY BRINGS OUT PINCH HARMONICS, AND CUTS THROUGH A BAND SITUATION WITHOUT BEING SHRILL. THE TONE DOESN'T MUSH OUT, AND IT CLEANS UP LIKE MR. CLEAN ON SPEED WHEN YOU ROLL BACK THE VOLUME CONTROL (THERE IS ALSO NONE THE THAT ANNOYING BACKGROUND HISS LIKE SOME PEDALS). THIS WILL BE IN MY MAIN GIG SET UP FROM HERE ON OUT! I HAVEN'T TRIED ANY "BOUTIQUE" PEDALS YET, BUT THIS IS WHAT THEY WILL BE COMPARED TO. I'LL KEEP YOU POSTED...

HAVEN'T HAD IT LONG ENOUGH YET, BUT IT APPEARS TO BE VERY WELL BUILT (I AM A TEST ENGINEER, MY JOB IS TO "BREAK STUFF")

I WOULD REPLACE IT EVEN NOW IF IT WERE EVER BROKEN OR STOLEN (PRAY THE COPS GET TO YOU BEFORE I DO)

It took a little bit of working with this to understand how to use the relationship between the boost and drive functions. The Boost control is very sensitive and needs to be carefully nudged from it's full counterclockwise unity gain to get a slight overall boost. The Drive control goes from a blues growl to a full-out overdriven distortion but not an artificially pumped metal tone like a Boss MT-2 or the buzz of a Fuzz Face. The tone control covers a pretty broad spectrum and also requires gentle nudging to home in on the precise tone required.

I'm using this with a Warmoth Tele, a Schecter Strat, and a Std. Strat through a Vibrolux modded to 50's Bassman specs. I'm mainly comparing this against a Fulltone Fulldrive II,though I also have a Rat, a TS-9, a Daddy-O, a Boss MT-2, and a Fuzz Face. Compared to the Fulltone this unit is much more aggressive and brighter. The Fulltone is like a cranked tweed amp and the Hot Drive is more like an overdriven 70's Marshall. It is capable of "too much" treble and "too much" boost, but that can be usefull. A previous poster claimed that this is full bypass. I don't believe that's true as I can distinctly hear the brightening effect of a buffer amp. Again, this can be good. I was trying to decide to keep one or the other of the Hot Drive or the Fulltone, but the result is that all direct comparison's are a waste of time. They are different creatures. I like both. The Hot Drive for it's brashness and the Fulltone for it's subtlety and sophistication.

Haven't had it long enough but seems well constructed. I normally would have opened it up by now but I've been too busy.

It's fun to play with and that's the bottom line. It's pretty versatile and different enough to keep me satisfied.

There are four knobs, for boost level, wave (tone), distortion, and level. Nothing much can go wrong here.... And two stompknobs, for drive and boost. The reason for the 8 is that the gain know is a little ticklish....more about that later The manual was just fine, but I didn't quite agree with the example settings....but that's just my taste, and the settings are there to guide the user. The boost knob is dead easy to use...set a 0, it's at unity gain with the "off" position, and you just add as much boost as you like from there.

I mostly use this through a beat up-one channel 50Watt Marshall JCM 800, and it is just the trick! The marshall is somewhat noisy, but that is not because of the Boost&drive... on a quiet amp, it's..quiet... On the other end, I normally use a Japan Reissue Tele, or a Guild X-500. I found the pedal to be most useful with the singlecoils of the Tele, and at *really* low gain settings. This is why I gave it an 8 on ease of use. I have to be real careful when dialing in the sound I want, because you don't need to turn the gain knob much to get (in my taste) too much. With humbuckers, I found it not too inspiring..but that's probably because I feel that humbuckers should be played completely clean, or at all-knobs-at-11-distortion...I feel a little silly doing that with an X-500, so the humbuckers don't see much of the unit. But - with a tele and a marshall's clean channel at full tilt, it's gorgeous! True bypass can't be bad either. ;)

This thing seems real well built..I don't think I?'ll be able to break it right away.... As far as backups go, there is always a possibility that something might go wrong...Murphy and his law hasn't called it quits yet. But, I think this unit would be one of the very last items to break down on me.

Haven't needed to.

The Carl Martin Hot Drive & Boost MkII is the best overdrives I've ever tried. I play mostly my own stuff (poppy jazzy stuff), but also coversongs on occations. I currently use it with a Gollmer Fat Dist to cover my dirt needs. And the CarlMartin sees by far the most use. If I lost this thing, I'd have to get me a new one. The thing that comes closest to it in my opinion (not directly compared in tone, but how much I like the overdrive), is the First overdrive from boss...OD-1, was it? One slightly annoying thing about it is the fact that you have to use a separate powercord for it...but that is probably one of the reasons it's so quiet..can't have it both ways! I'll give it a 9 because of its relatively steep price, but it's definately worth it! Go buy! Now! ;)
P.S. I bought it in Norway for about 1800 nKr, so I might be a little off on the US price.....it's somewhat accurate, but probably much cheaper in the US!

Very Easy to use, its a no brainer in getting a good sound, SRV, Hendrix and even Harder Crunch. 4 Knobs, Level, Wave (tone), Drive, Boost level (explained later) No need for a manual.

I am using this with both a Bogner Ecstacy and Mesa Boogi MKIIC+, This unit is very quiet. Will make any tube amp sound even better, Fender, Marshall, Boogie, this pedal reminds of Kenny Wayne Sheppards tone. Has a lot of character, can get bluesy, crunchy or just subtle sweet singin notes. CHords are not Muddied! I checked out the Fulltone Fulldrive II and IMHO, The Hot Drive, is more throaty, sounds more musical. Is also true bypass like FulldriveII. Has boost switch just like Fulltone, you can set your rythem volume for either Blues or Crunh and hit the boost switch for Leads, it has its own volume controll too.

I have only had it a couple of days, Its built well, you can see them in this months Guitar World Magazine. I wont be travelin without it, its coming with me to The U.K in April. I dont think you can break it!

I called TC Electronics to find out if this particular model was in short supply becuase they also have a Hot Drive & Boost I, I could have talked to Tech support easily, or Sales. Easy to get past the switchnoard.

I play Hard Rock and Blues been playing for 17 Years and I have an ear for tone. By the way, I have a Expandora, old MXR Distortion + DOD 250 Preamp Overdrive, and again tried the fulldrive, the Tech 21 XXL, Voodoo Overdrive...and this thing wins hands down. GO BUY ONE!