Carl Martin Hot Drive & Boost MkIII

No troubles getting it to work.

Very much like my amps, got something that is crappy sounding on the signal line, it will only multiply that fact.
Has a pleasing midrange, the wave guide can go from wicked to quite dark.
Lots of gain, quite natural not oversaturated or weak.
The boost can get you even more if you like, lots of range there.
Nice to have that extra, easy to control too, no extra noisy eq stuff here.
I like the simple useful design.
The sum of the parts is good here, as you just set your amps or amp to a good setting you like, and this thing will just add that extra dirt.
Sounds great through an old Vox AC 30 top with two greenbacks.
My Bassman 4x10 Tweed likes it too.
Very good natural tone, adds pleasent harmonies to fading notes, can easily be coaxed into feedback heaven.

No troubles.
Bought in late 03.

No dealings, but that pedal is a good representative for me.

Good for several styles, it just becomes one with my amps.
Got alot of other stuff too that I have collected for +20 years now, this one is still on the topend of the pile, as descibed, it is a natural part of the whole sound now.
Works for rock to blues in my case.
Even for some oldtime fusion playing.

Very straightforward setup.
Like the cleanout for the tuner.

I use an AC-30 from 67 and a Bluesbreaker style combo.
This pedal brings out the amps natural sounds, nice harmonics when you let the notes hang, defined and fat, from low gain settings to middle settings are very nice, like a super tubescreamer that is more open and with more natural mids, have no problem with blending in with this drive.
Use a LP jr modded with two P-90's from Seymour Duncan, and a HW-1 strat
with two singlecoils and a humbucker.
I play classic rock and this pedal does this job more than to an adequate level.
Chords are well defined and leadlines sings and the overtones builds up very well.

Had no troubles.

No dealings yet...but they seem like a good company, have been around for more than a decade now, so it can't be bad.

As said before, I play classic rock stuff, use it with a Peavey Valveverb and a Chandler echo, I am thinking about getting their new Red Repeat when it arrives.
It has a very natural sound and is a serious overdrive in the middlegain category, right up there with FD's and Banzai Fireball's.
Use the boost for clean leads, very very good clean booster and I use the cleanout for my tuner, that way it will never enter the signal path!
A few could learn from that.

4 knobs for boost, level, wave, drive.
Two switches for individual boost or drive or both together.
And the boost is after the drive, big plus here.

I use it together with my TS-808, I cascade them into each other, they compliment each other very well.
On its own it wants an amp with character, that is good for some situations, if it needs more I use it together with the 808.
Very creamy and smooth then.
No noise and plenty of drive for my useage, it can be very loud if you like.

No troubles, I keep my stuff tidy and don't abuse it.

No dealings

Very good overdrive, functional layout, works well with other pedals, my 808 and the MK3 really likes each other.
Sold a row of pedals and kept only the Ibanez for this one.

Very easy to use. No hidden trempots or small buttons for "comp-cut", "scoop" or such, just 4 very effective knobs and 2 footswitches. The boost also works when the drive is off. Couldn't be better.

I use it with a stratocaster and a small Mesa Boogie amp on the clean channel. Sometimes I combine it with a Maxon tubescreamer in front for extra smooth, Gilmour-like leads. Very wide range of sounds. The website says there's no mid-emphasis, but playing with the drive and wave controls makes some mid-emphasis absolutely possible. No bass-cut. I used the HDB 1 en 2 and the Plexitone (too much bass-boost) in the past, but this is the best, allround and clear overdrive I ever used. Excellent low and high gain sounds with great harmonic overtones.

I have used many CM pedals for many years and I never had a problem.

All I know is that Soren Jongberg allways replied on the few emails I sent him. Seems like a great company.

This pedal works for all styles, although ultra heavy scooped sounds are not in there. The reason I use a TS in front is to smooth out some lead sounds and to make pump up the gain by putting my foot down. The Plexitone is also great for that, but the Plexi had to much gain for me, even in the crunch-mode. My only complaint is that the Boost is so freaking loud, that I can hardly put the control beyond 8 o'clock. Also, a little more compression/treble cut when using the boost would have been nice. But overall it's is a very good and professional overdrive. I think Carl Martin pedals, and especially this one, are very underrated. Maybe because they don't look as flashy as the Fulltones or other so-called boutique pedals. I don't know. Only a handful of reviews for this piece of art...unbelievable.

It is fairly easy to get a decent sound out of it because basicaly it sounds OK, but working out the diferent volumes is not simple as the boost is extremly loud unless you play a fully cranked amp. it is not a useful pedal for me when playing in quiet rehersals where the amp still has lots of headroom, or even worse if it's a solid state. the wave control seems to be useles. maybe in the studio the subteleness is working.

mainly my '82 Ibanez AS200 and the Boogie Mark III, and also the american strat . also ran it to a Marshall plxi, JCM 900 and a 50w valvestate combo. The good things are that its quiet, transparent and has masses of gain to load on an amp. the distortion itself is not very muscular and is lacking of high end. I got realy great sound using only the boost to drive the lead channel of the Boogie- it does give you an extra kick. when I switched to the overdrive on top of the clean Boogie it sounded dull and compressed. it is a nice overdrive but it is so transparent that it almost has no character. it does not sound like an overdriven tube amp for it self but if you play one it can help you drive it over the edge.

I am playing guitar or nearly 20 years and my style is basicaly free improvised music ranging from free jazz to free feedbacking whatever, though I also play mainstream rock'n'roll, raggae, funk, etc.. it sounds better then the Ibanez metal charger I own in every sence. I have a Boss metal zone that does the job of keeping it's tone in every setup muuch better but the tone itself is not realy good. I bought it to be my main distortion pedal because I needed a pedal to go with me to every gig and be in front of any amp and not sound like a toy. it sounds decent but it varys so much in every diferent guitsr\amp combo that it misses the point. I wish it had a more powerful tone control so it could compensate for the tamed highs and all the changes when switching gears with it. on one hand it gives me many options and can be looked at as a useful tone shaping tool, but on the other it's not a plug and play piece of gear. the sound can be surprisingly bad at times, which makes me play some parts clean instead of using it. If I choose again I'll probably go for a japanese or modified Boss DS1\2 or SD1\2.

One cleanboost at the end, level and wave plus drive.
Straightforward operation.

I play mainly classic rock stuff, I use an old AC-30 topboost combo.
This pedal really fits the Vox very well, thick articulate good midrangy sounds, just like the amp itself...this baby loves good amps.
Silent as overdrives in that calibre goes.
Use it together with a Memoryman deluxe, nice combination.
I am deeply satisfied here, my old TS-9 got the boot here.

Build very solid, good feel on the knobs, the switches looks sturdy.
No troubles, no need for a backup with this one.
But it is new so I'll have to see what happends...you never know, sometimes a freak accident can happend, nothing is safe.

Have not dealt with Carl Martin...don't antcipate any troubles, they have a good reputation.

As said I play classic rock and other rootsy music.
It sounds like my Vox, no artificial sounds here.
Have played for 28 years and this pedal gives me the sound I want.
If it ever got swiped I wouuld get another one so fast you would not belive it.
Love the cleanbooster at the end of the chain.
Blowed away my midhumpy ts-9...no more mr nah nah naaah.
For those who can get their amps at good levels this pedal will deliver the goods in classy nice sounds.
Plenty of gain for oldstyle stuff.

This pedal is very easy to use and in my opinion you don't need the manual at all. The manual is good though, since it gives you some very useful settings just to get started. It's very easy to dial up at good sound.

I have had many pedals where it was very difficult to get a good and useful sound out of it. And where the controls had to be set very accurate. In other words they had just one good sound in them - the Hot Drive?n Boost MK3 has many and are easy to find.

It also has a built in regulated +-12V power supply, which in my ears gives the pedal a much higher headroom than the typical 9V. Sounds great!

I just love this pedal. It has the best tube-like overdrive I have ever heard from a pedal - and I have tried an awful lot during the years. I have also tried various tube-pedals (Hughes & Kettner, Tonebone, Electro-Harmonix) but still I prefer the warmth of the Hot Drive?n Boost.

In my opinion this pedal is very versatile. You can easy dial up both a Tube Screamer-like sound and the more heavy stuff. I use both singlecoil and humbucker-guitars, and tube and non-tube amps. And it works great with them all.

I also loves the Boost-function. In regard to transparancy, its just excellent. It don't color you tone at all. It has a very click-free by-pass and is free of noise. I guess it could be because of the built in power supply. And the combination of the boost and the drive makes your amp go crazy :-)

This pedal is built very solid - quite heavy, which I like. I use the pedal daily and have never had any problems.

I havn't dealt with them.

If it was stolen I would run to the nearest store to get another one. I have been playing guitar for over 15 years and have poccessed an awful lot of stompboxes through these years. This one is among the top 3 and top 1 when it comes to overdrive. This was definitely money well spend!!!