Cats-Eye ESP Hop Hed Fuzztone

the knobs or casing don't have numbers or markings on so that is a minor inconvenience but you can use the screws that hold the pots on as reference ponits,which is what i do.still,it hardly renders the pedal useless! :D

a very special pedal indeed.my favourite overdrive is the crowther audio hotcake and this is my favourite fuzz.i didn't find my experience with this pedal quite the same as some of the other reviewers here.the tone control seems to boost the bass to the left and cut bass to the right.it doesn't seem to actually add any high end to my ears.the fuzz is quite subtle and the volume control gives very little boost.i have the fuzz knob at about 2 o'clock,the tone at about noon and the volume on full and this seems to give me unity gain.the sound of the fuzz is fantastic:just the right amount of grit but still very warm and articulate.there is a very slight bit of additional noise with this pedal on but nothing obtrusive.the keeley fuzz head is another fantastic fuzz but the hop hed sounded a bit more gentle and retro to my ears.

my god is this thing heavy for it's size and everything is neat and tidy inside.i'd be surprised if this thing broke down but i'm not going to rate this category as i haven't had the pedal long enough to do so fairly.

not contacted them.

i've been buying and selling overdrive/fuzz/distortion pedals for the last 21 years and have only kept the hotcake and this one.amazing pedal.

Inspired by the SolaSound/Coloursound Tonebender made famous by Page, Beck and other 60s British guitarists.

There are three knobs representing volume, tone and fuzz. The drive and fuzz knobs overlap to a certain degree, in that turning up the fuzz also results in an increase in volume. Inside there is also a little trim pot that sets the overall output. Very nicely voiced, with the tone knob having a reasonable sweep (though it becomes a bit too trebly for my taste after about 11 o?clock. Useable though, for a ?sounds like you?re playing through a transistor radio with a ripped 5? speaker? sound)

On the downside, the pedal has a 1/8? power jack, which goes against the industry standard in this day and age, but Dean?s (the builder) intention is to maintain his pedal line?s retro style, hence why the give you an adapter (on in my case, a plug that I can solder myself eventually). Comes with ?screw feet? that you can remove by hand to replace the battery (all pedals should).

Quite an attractive colour scheme IMO.

I don?t own a solid state amp, so I?m not sure how it sounds through one, but through a cranked tube amp it sounds righteous. Very articulate, not too crunchy or smooth, equally good for rhythm and lead. Very responsive to the guitar volume, retains clarity well on low gain and simply sings with the volume cranked. IMO sounds a bit nicer with humbuckers driving it. Not overly noisy. Also not particularly 'fuzzy' either - a little crackly/unstable around the edges but not messy and IMO can easily double as an overdrive/low gain pedal without the unnatural boxy sound that all ODs I've tried seem to have. To my ears the tone is very simple yet organic - whilst I don?t think it sounds dated, you certainly won?t get ?modern? rock tones of the kind they play on Top 40 commercial radio (ala Nickleback), but it doesn?t sound anachronistic on eg Foo Fighters songs.

Can sound a little tinny/artificial through a cold clean amp.

This is my second Cats Eye pedal and I think they?re the best build quality I?ve come across in a boutique pedal. Dean uses an enclosure unlike any other manufacture I?m aware of that?s very hefty, and their enamel is baked on hard ? you?ll have a tough time scratching or chipping it. The circuit board is very neatly done. Everything looks professional.

When I first received my Hop Hed it was having issues with my guitar where the volume and, to a lesser extent, the gain, dropped drastically when the pedal was engaged. I?ve since determined that this is simply a quirk with the guitar I was using (probably caused by some conflict due to the internal preamp it has for the active bridge pickup), but Dean was very quick (as in same day) to respond to my emails that the pedal was broken, and he even offered to send a replacement pedal. When I eventually got my shit together and worked out that it was my own gear?s fault, he was very cool about it and even sent a follow up email just to make sure everything was still ok. If something were to go wrong with it you can rest assured that you?ll be looked after.

I play what could loosely be called indie rock and it's perfect for this. The pedal's best feature is that it is usuable along the full spectrum of gain. You could have it switched on for an entire gig and simply control the gain with your guitar volume. It's become my all purpose drive pedal (I also have a Big Muff which is confined mainly to 'wall of noise'). I can't say enough good things about these Cat's Eye pedals (I also had a Mutha Fuzz a few years ago, which I stupidly sold because I thought it was a bit too wooly on the bass strings). They deserve a lot more attention than they get.

Simple to use, has volume, tone, and fuzz level control. Easy to get a great tone from. The tone allows you to boost the amount of treble you want. Also a small yellow LED to indicate when the unit is engaged.

This fuzz rocks! Cat's Eye claims it was designed to nail the Zeppelin sound from the first album, and it does nail it, but it also has a ton of it's own sounds as well. Very responsive to the volume control on your guitar. Turn the guitar volume down a bit, and the fuzz cleans right up. This pedal will inspire you to play. I use it through a Trace Elliot Bonneville and a 2x12 cab. If you set the amp to just start breaking up, the Hop Hed does a great job of overdriving it.

If you use the AC power supply included, it's a bit noisy at higher fuzz levels, but with the battery power, it's really quiet. As Cat's Eye mentions, they include the adapter for convenience, and it's an unregulated adapter, they specifically warn that it can be noisy. I guess the solution for this would be to go buy a regulated adapter with the right tip polarity. You won't get metal shred out of the Hop Hed, but you will get a solid sounding fuzz with a lot of usable tones. With the neck pickup cranked and the fuzz cranked, you can really nail the tone Jimmy used on You Shook Me, but as I mentioned, you can get a huge range of other usable tones by adjusting the fuzz level and your guitar volume.

This unit is hefty, has to be one of the best built pedals I've ever owned. Solid metal casing, and very neat wiring inside. Looks very well built, so I don't anticipate any problem with the unit other than normal wear and tear. Great painted finish on it too.

Dean is very responsive and understands the value of great customer service. The unit comes very well packed, there's even bubble wrap inside the unit to protect it during shipping. Any questions I had were answered promptly by Dean both via email and telephone. Excellent customer service.

I don't generally go with all 10's on a review, but this pedal definitely deserves the rating in my opinion. It motivates me to play and responds to all of the nuances of my style. I've been playing for over 40 years now and have owned lots of different effects in that time, and in terms of fuzz tones, this is undoubtedly one of the best I've owned and used. I play a wide range of music from jazz standards to rock and blues. I love how it responds to the guitar's volume control. I would definitely purchase another if it were stolen or damaged.