Crowther Audio Hotcake

The unit is a 2009 with internal switches for Bass/Guitar and Hotcake/Bluesberry options. Easy to use but you must remove the four screws from the base to access the battery, this is only a big deal if you forgot to pack a phillips head screwdriver.

I have tried this pedal with Humbuckers, Single coils, Soapbars, EMG's and an active Ibanez bass into a Boogie Mk2 C+, Carvin Legacy head into sealed 2x12 and a Blonde Bassman head into a quad.

All these combinations left me downhearted and deflated with a searing case of buyer's remorse.
The basic tone of the pedal is quite nice, it has a snappy attack up to medium gain after which it gets a bit wooly and loses definition.

My first gripe is the fizzy/spitty overtone which is present even at minimum gain and turns your smile to a frown as you trail off with a little fart. Sansamp gear does this too but to a lesser degree.

Second gripe is the strange sustain characteristic which sounds great then suddenly dies as if you've rolled back the volume pot.

Third gripe is the bypass is very noticeably a tone sucker, leaving the signal brighter than the original.

Considering that it's been around since the early 70's I can't help thinking that this pedal has survived on sheer hype, which is incredible as Mr Crowther seems to do no marketing whatsoever.

So if you are a famous drummer you should probably consider making overdrives.

I compared it to TS, Rat, Std DS1, Std SD1, Sansamp, V-twin, Bad Monkey, GSP1101, Tube Driver, Purple Plexi, everything in the box but if you want to know which one really kicked it's arse out of the park then read on.

A short while ago I was lucky enough to meet the guy who does (amongst other things) the "Purple Dot" mods to the ubiquitous Boss DS-1 pedal. I say lucky because he rarely leaves his house up in the Adelaide Hills. Only a handful of these pedals exist and I managed to borrow one from him for a week. I have owned Keeley and Allums versions of this pedal and they are very good but they are still very much DS1's so I was doubtful to say the least. This version is very different - It made my eyes grow wide. No toggle switches or flashing lights. It was smooth, dynamic and clear even at maximum gain, no fizz or fartyness; even at gig volume. I couldn't fault it at all, it cleaned up with the guitar's volume backed off and responded beautifully to light and heavy picking. True bypass with a 3P3T stomp switch and of course a purple dot LED which seemed to have an unusual calming effect when I looked at it.

The kicker is he wouldn't sell me one. His eyesight is dwindling and he makes most of his money building amplifiers and something to do with the military which he wouldn't talk about.

If you ever get your hands on one these grab it and run like hell.

N/A

I believe Mr Crowther is a great guy and will answer emails and do repairs no problems.

Lately I've been moving away from hard rock and getting a bit subtle, playing jazz, blues and fingerstyle.
Got my first Strat in 1977 and my first Boogie in 1986. The Boogie is the nicest amp I've played and is still going strong.

Like most guitarists I'm always trying different gear, particularly overdrives, and I shudder to think how much money I've wasted over my lifetime but this purchase really made me feel like an idiot. The last time I felt this way was just after I bought a V-Twin.

This is the greatest drive pedal in existence, easy to use, easy to get a great sound out of and tonally superior to anything else out there in the OD stomp box range. It is everything people say it is. My faith is restored.

This pedal will not save your crappy solid state mmm kay. This pedal is built for tube amps. With a good clean tone, something my Hot Rod Deluxe is capable of, this pedal can do anything from pure clean volume boost, to shred box. With the drive pointing north this beast will give a smooth, creamy, dreamy blues tone that makes you want to swoon, particularily with a neck pickup. For gain, this pedal can produce your typical rocky Marshall stack distortion. With my US Strat this gets fantastic Blackmore, Page or Clapton sounds with drive at 8-9, even through my pretty averidge Hot Rod Deluxe. With my Korean Epi LP Std this pedal gives balls out hard rock tone with elements of Angus through to your Nicklebacks and Creeds. If you add a Boss GE7 like I do you can further shape your drive tones to generate everything but searing metal. This pedal is my rythem distortion, and my lead drive with the help of the Boss GE7 boost and eq. Since i don't like messing with pedal settings while on stage, a TS808 reissue does the lighter OD tone and blues, but in the near future this will be removed to make room for another Hot Cake. They really are that good.

This pedal will do ANY overdrive tones you want, unless Megadeath covers are your staple. Metal searing metal sounds are not here, this pedal is built for tone. If you want blunt force trauma, buy your Metal Zone and forget about tone.

The very minor weaknesses with this pedal are...

This pedal is best used in front of an amp, and will thus tinker with your tone when not on. It is not anything drastic, but without it in line, you can notice a slight difference in your clean tone, compared to having it in line. It's minor, so it doesn't bother me, i very rarely use a purely clean tone. Any pedal in front of an amp will do this.

Secondly... No quick access battery compartment, means changing batterys requires a screw driver and about 5 minutes. Not an issue if you use a power adapter like you should.

Lastly... The power supply jack is in a stupid spot, below the input jack. It will make you retink how you get power to it on a board if you run adapters and dolly chains. But again this is a minor fault. If you really want a beautiful drive tones, or indeed just an un-touched clean boost, this pedal is a must.

Built like a tank. Solid as a rock. Will not break unless your a tool and abuse it. Ultra reliable so far, but i never gig without a back up for anything. Have the TS808 reissue or the woeful Hot Rod Deluxe OD channel should this break down. Hopefully will get another Cake in the near future so they will back each other up.

Never needed it personally so i wont rate it with a number, but Crowther audio's reputation in this area is unmatched by anyone. This little companies reputation for customer service and repairs is first class.

I have searched far and wide to find a good overdrive stomp box. I had bought a heap of pedals but been unimpressed, tried everything my friends had, from the cheap to the expensive and the multi fx units. I had given up hope of finding a good drive box. But since my Hot Rod Deluxe has a crap od channel, i decieded to try just one more OD pedal before giving up completely and saving for an expensive Vox, Orange or Marshall. Lucky for me i bought this.

For awsome OD tones this pedal is the top of the class, it renewed my faith in stomp boxes. Don't bother with other OD pedals, i bought heaps of em, got crap sounds and wasted heaps of cash. I tried everything, and this was the only drive pedal worth its salt. You need to use it with a tube amp, solid states will not work with this pedal, but hey if you love tone you'll have a tube amp already. This pedal does everything you want it to, everything we've all dreamed about from a stomp box. It craps all over the Boss stuff, the Tube Screamers and the rest of the fuzz boxes out there.

They are hard to find, and quite pricey, i had to pay $300 Australian to get a hold of one. They are worth the effort and the cost. I'm currently saving for a second one to replace the TS808 on my board. They really are that good. If you really love your tone and like a bit of drive you owe it to yourself to get hold of one of these things are try it. Brilliant stuff Crowther Audio.

Very easy. Three controls for level, presence and drive.

This is an excellent sounding pedal that for me works best with EL84 and EL34 tube type amps. Mark Knopfler uses a hotcake and it was a favorite of Ken Fischer who designed the Trainwreck amplifier. At low drive levels it maintains the original tone of the amp extremely well. The slight color it does impart is musical and full of character. Pushing the drive to 12-2 O' Clock produces some great overdriven tones with a bit of compression and good harmonics. Beyond that it gets a bit fizzy for me. I prefer the presence between 12-1 O' Clock usually. It won't really do high gain very well, but stacks well with many pedals for gainier sounds.

My older hotcake developed a scratchy drive pot after many years of use. I emailed Paul Crowther and he immediately sent me a new pot for free.

Excellent. I received a reply straight away when I emailed Crowther Audio and he took care of the problem. He obviously stands behind his products one hundred percent.

This pedal is a classic and the only pedal I have two of. Highly recommended for low to medium gain overdrive. I have a lot of other overdrive and distortion pedals that I like: Fulltone, Cornish, Keeley etc. This pedal more than hangs with the best of them. Furthermore, Paul Crowther provides exceptional customer support.

As Straight forward as possible

Ive had my Hotcake for 3 years, and found it hugely versatile for a variety of tones. It works well for adding subtle boost and a little distortion through to hi gain dirty tones.
I play funk with a tele (Dirtys up my sound without affecting the tone at all) and also Jazz (subtle gain boost for solos with a tiny bit of breakup on the higher louder notes)

Very usable distortion

3 years no issues at all. Im in New Zealand so could easily get Paul Crowther to sort it out if anything broke im sure. ive seen old Hotcakes around with no paint left at all, just a silver case but still working perfectly!

perfect for my uses, Adding dirt to my guitar sounds without losing any tone at all.

Im sure they're great for a whole range of genres, definitely great for funk and jazz

Easy.

I can honestly say that at first- I was turned off by the compressed sound of the drive- but I love it now. This pedal is what everybody else has said.

Dependable

I'm almost embarrassed to write this- but, I really wanted one of these because Steve Malkmus swears by it. I have never bought a piece of equipment because someone whose work I admire had it- I'm just not that guy; however, I really enjoy SM's tone and this is definitely part of what he's got going on...

The sound is Amazing- I found one on ebay for a very reasonable price. I'm glad I took the leap for this. It has paid off.

Real simple, 3 knobs. The only thing is that if you're into using batteries you will need to unscrew it to get the batteries out.

Fantastic, perfect for led zeppelin type distortion. Great if you want to add a bit more to your already distorted sound. Not much noise either.
Theres nothing else like this sound!!

Nothing wrong at all. Good metal casing. would gig without backup.

Not dealt with, heard good things though!!

I play led zeppelin type rock and also heavy rock like van halen and guns and roses. Its great by it self for a zepplin tone. but add it to a distorted sound and it will make you sound like you have active pickups at the right setting!! I'm proud it was made in NEW ZEALAND

3 knobs, and one is for volume. pretty easy to use.

cool grindy low-medium gain OD. gets more throaty as you turn up gain, still fairly quiet all the gained out.

no worries so far.

Have not had the need to contact them.

very cool OD. sensitive to pick attack. clean low end, not muddy. tight highs along with warm breakup. great for rock and blues.

Very easy to use. Mine is the Mk II version. Has a drive control, presence control and output level.

Easy to dial up a clean volume boost (drive up to about 9o'clock) right up to a thick fuzzy distortion and everything in between - including a smooth overdrive which handles chords brilliantly. Add a bit more mid-range bite by increasing the presence control.

Sound quality is great. Basically completely silent whether run on battery or adapter up to about 2 o'clock on the drive. Gets a little noisy at extreme gain settings but show me a distortion pedal that doesn't.

I've read something about this pedal leaving the undistorted portion of the sound wave intact. I'm not quite sure how that works but basically, it sounds very transparent and there is almost no loss of low end.

I play a USA standard tele into a MXR supercomp, hotcake, hotcake, FuzzieBro Overdrive #4 (NZ made), MXR phase90 and Boss DD5 into a Jansen 645 combo (NZ made version of a Fender style amp).

The first Hotcake I use as a volume boost to drive the input of the Jansen (which has no gain control). The second I use as a high gain device for gobs of sustain and distortion. The hotcake will compress quite a lot at high gain settings.

The hotcake sounds great - I've not played better - and I'm proud to fly the NZ flag with a lot of my gear.

Exceptional reliability. Never had one break down. The first I bought new years ago and has been gigged constantly - never had a problem at all.

The second I bought second hand and it is actually older than the one I got first. Also a beige brick.

Indestructible.

I've never had to use it but I believe Paul Crowther will fix any problems should you have them. I believe he also actually answers emails!

I play rock music. Originals - sorta swaying between stoner math rock and loud folk rock with a bit of alt country thrown in - that's in one band. In another I play sorta guitar driven psychedelic pop in the "Dunedin sound" tradition.

This pedal rules for what I'm trying to do. I like the sound of overdriven tubes (who doesn't?) with the option to freak out my amp should the occasion arise (and it often does).

I believe these pedals are used by Oasis, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth and also by pretty much every NZ band that has/had any taste or style.

The only negative thing I'd have to say is that these things are a little pricey - even here in lil' ol' NZ selling for NZ$269!! at The Rockshop (NZ's biggest music retailer). But, The Rockshop is generally a complete ripoff. You can get them cheaper online. I bought mine for (I think) NZ$160 a couple of years ago - after that the price jumped massively - maybe due to overseas demand.

They're often available secondhand and due to their reliability and sonic consistency second hand is a pretty decent option.

very very easy to use great sounds

great sounds from this pedal - i agree with sir_les on this 1.ive just git this pedal today & am aiming to use it in front pof a 59 bassman ltd, as of yet only had chance to try it in the front end of a 70's fender champ

seems dependable - the knobs are quite stiff - not a bad thing !as i say only got this today & generally never take a back up with me

not hade rise to as yet

i play in a soul blues band - have tried millions of pedals - most of them dont hit the mark. ab'd this with a voodoo labs sparkle drive - the hotcake has something ekse - not quite shure what that is as yet - it seems to sustain very well indeed & has more clout than the sparkle drive- cant wait to use this in earnest !

Very easy pedal to work with, level, presence, drive. Many tones available from this pedal. I think my best result was putting in front of a clean spanky tube amp.

This is a top piece of gear definately enhanced my playing style, I like the blues, with this pedal if i wanted to sound like BB King, Clapton's early tones, Mark Knopfler early stuff, this thing can help in getting very close
Gear that I use Stock Fender Stratocaster - Hotcake - Fender Dual Showman
No noise, this thing is sweet, even when driven hard

I respect my gear and look after it, if i dropped it I think that it could handle it.
Fresh battery every gig, rely on it, yep.

The fact of the matter is I followed a link from a stombox diy site and sent an email to Crowther Audio and asked them a few thing about the pedal, all good, very helpful took the time to help me, and I respect that about Crowther Audio.

Bluesy sooped up jazzy riffs is what i try, been playing about 26 years.
Amps - Fender, Marshall, Vox. Guitars - Fender, Epiphone.
I like using this pedal, inspiring tone to it, ie enjoy playing with a nice sound.

Standard three knobs: Gain, Level, and Presence. Presence does not add or subtract highs or lows. It adds upper mids, the Marshall frequencies. It's very useful for seasoning to taste.

I aready wrote a review of this for guitar many years ago. I'm writing this now because I have stared using it with my Fender Bass, and it is fantastic, better than any bass pedal I have ever used. Because the Hotcake preserves and boosts an undistorted signal, and then adds its distorted component over that, bass cuts, rips, sustains, and compresses without fuzzing out the fat bottom. It gives a great organic "SVT working hard" rock sound. If you have one, ask your bass player to try it out.

Once it broke. Crowther fixed it for $10 and it hasn't broken again.

See above.

Rock, Blues, Country. I play Fender basses through vintage Ampeg and Traynor all tube amps. At my regular amp settings, with the guitar's volume low, it add a little punch and presence, perfect for stepping out for head riffs and solos and stepping back into the pocket. With the guitar's volume higher, it rocks out.

Right so as you've heard there are 3 knobs, level, presence and drive, pretty simple. need to play with them to get a good sound though. Also no manual, but the only thing you really have to think about is the presence, which is kinda like a tone knob, sorta.

It's got a pretty wide spectrum, but doesn't do really heavy stuff, pretty good grunge tones though. However, with the drive at about 1 o'clock and playing it through my amp on clean, it gives the most amazing bluesy, smooth tone that makes me want to cream my pants. Add it to my od on the amp and you get a bit of a boost, with more grit to make it stand out. Never really used it as a clean boost, but when i first plugged it in and set it up as one, i could get an unaltered sound.

It's fairly quite, get a bit of hum, but this might be my set up, which is; Fender mexican telecaster (modded with seymour duncan pickups)>crybaby>big muff>hotcake>boss super chorus>Deluxe memory man>orange ad30 tc.

Use it regularly at church, has never failed me. probably never will, solid construction, good switch. Only problem i've ever had was with the pots crackling.

Had to replace the pots, so i emailed paul. he got back the same day with advice and stuff. Then when it transpired i needed new pots he offered to send them out free as it was christmas :-).

This pedal doesn't do all styles, but it's amazing at what it does. Never heard a pedal like it. I would definately replace it, although its a fair amount f money its defo worth it. The pedal has become an essential part of my sound.

I must start by saying this is not your usual hotcake. This is a vintage one. Dates BEFORE 1985. It only has 2 control noobs, and 1 switch which changes from "normal" ato "midlift".

I also had to modify it with a 9volt power input, LED light, ture bybass switch and the voloume control was wired wrongly which I fixed. Also it didnt work when I first got it, and took some very cleaver solidering to get this thing working properly.

Its important to note that I own both this VINTAGE and NEW 2006 model Hotcake, and I perfer this vintage hotcake. It leave the new one for dust, for my taste.

It is not the easiest pedal to use. The volume control is very sensitive, and the switch changes tone quite dramatically. Though once you get the hang of it is much easier.

OK, this pedal has about 4 amazing tones that I love.

My favourite is when I turn the drive 5oclock and the volume at 12oclock and the swtich on normal. Play it thorugh my Gretsch White Falcon and it sounds amazing! It breaks up into drive/distortion sound with a nice crackly, and then almost sounds like its going to feedback for a second and then the tone drops away!! I have never heard anything like this before, and it is truely an amazing sounds.

It has many more awsome tones too, you can get a great boost with small amount of drive comming from it, or with the MID LIFT you can get a shallow phat sounds comming from it. Too hard to describe the tones. But this is definitly a vintage players pedal dream. I just wish I could find anther one!

I'm giving it a 10 because of the amazing, one of a kind tones you can get from it. Perfect for stuido, or someone with very high quality gear (mine goes way past the $10,000 mark).

Have had some trouble with it, especially before it was working, and fixed, and the mods done (true bypass, 9volt switch, drive pot resoliderd, LED light). Also had some trouble with it live one time. But any problem is worth it for the tone it gets. Also its considerable for a 30 year old pedal.

I rang Crowther personally to get this pedal aged and he was very helpful and no problems there. Enough said

I give it a 9. 10 for sound, but had some reasonbly trouble with it at first. Nothing a good electronic nerd cant fix tho.

My one hope though, is that no one reads this review, and finds any for themselves, because I would be very happy buying everyone that is still alive and adding them to my rig. Best pedal I own, or have ever owned, or will ever one. And on a funny note I only paid $5 for it. It is probaby worth around $400+ though, I kinda feel sorry for getting it so cheap!

This allows me to unlock the classic tone from within my JCM 900 with my classic Stratocaster (what a classic guitar).

This pedal is so classic in its tone. It allows me to rip out some face melting licks and really express my guitar with my fingers. I feel like a guitar god when I stomp this baby on and rip out a wicked Vai lick! It's like Vai is in me... putting his soul into my fingers as I pluck the strings of my axe... Hot stuff... Hot cake.

It's so reliable and gives me classic tone every time. I can rely on this baby to melt some faces every gig... Even with my rough stage antics and my big leather boots stomping this baby like I need to goto 11 with my tone. This baby is so hot.

I rung the guy up to ask for his secrets to classic tone for fat leads and ripping solos... but they didn't get my lingo... So I suppose they're not REAL guitarists... You know what I mean fellas!!! ROCK ON. This baby has some classic tone.

Classic tone in a box... or... in a cake!! This baby is hot!! Classic tone ALL the way... from your fingers to the amp baby...

Simple straight forward experimentation

I've been searching for the right smoothe fluidy distortion for some time and have used big muffs,tubescreamers, fulltone, emma, line 6. This is what I've been searching for. Unlike some reviews I'm using it mostly for long lead sustainy stuff, and a zen drive for crunch/boost. The two pedals interact well and if I need a bit more, I can switch on both. My rig is custom shop strats>buddah wah>barber tone press, dunlop univibe, zendrive (crunch/blues), hotcake, ibanez flanger, boss accoustic pedal>matchless chieftain 2x12. I'm happy with this rig - very quiet. check out www.doonicans.com

too soon to say

too soon to say

Great, glad I found it

Here's how to dial it in: Turn the presence and drive all the way off, and turn the level to about 2:00. That should be unison, the setting where, on or off, it sounds the same. If you turn the level up higher, you get a clean boost without coloration. Turn drive up and you add distortion to your clean signal. Turn up the presence, and you add upper midrange (the Marshall band of frequencies) to your output. Add is the key word here. The clean signal is always coming through, mixed with the drive and equalized by the presence, then the whole mosh is boosted or cut by the level.

The magic happens when this is put into a tube amp. First, the Hotcake is great for getting that "edge of breakup" sound out of a clean powerful amp at lower levels. Then, when you turn up your guitar, it isn't over-compressed, you do get louder, and you can push your amp into its own overdrive, adding that to the Hotcake's drive, and getting a great interaction between your guitar and amp. For hot, liquid leads, I still use a TS-9/Analog Man because that cuts the lows and lets me turn up louder without woofing out. The Hotcake is too transparent for that job

Looks solid, and I've never heard of one breaking. We all have one, we have to mark them to tell them apart.

I play Classic Rock, Electric Blues and Country. I have Teles, Strats, an Anderson Cobra, an Explorer and an ES-335. My amps are a Deluxe Reverb, a Twin Reverb, a Marshall Master Volume 2X12 Combo, a Traynor YRM and a Sound City Mark 3 L100. My effects are only the Hotcake and a TS-9 modified by Analog Man. Needless to say, I rely on the Hotcake every time I play.

As easy to use as it gets. 3 controls, Level, Drive and Presence, just how I like it nice and simple.

I use a Gibson Les Paul 98 Standard with SD 59 pickups into a Marshall 1962 reissue Bluesbreaker amp. Let me tell you the Hot Cake is the perfect pedal for this amp. It drives it wonderfully and doesn't colour the sound at all. Even though the amp is 30 watts, it's loud and for the times when you can't crank it to get your overdriven sound this pedal does the job.
You have to bear in mind the Hot Cake was designed to be used with a valve amp, and sounds better when at gigging volume. I first tried out the pedal when I got it at home on my Line 6 spider practice amp and it sounded pretty bad (bad amp, bad sound). So you have to have a good sounding amp in the first place, this pedal can't perform magic! But I guess at this price, most people who buy it are going to own valve amps!

Only had it about a month, but I can't see it going wrong, it's very well built.

I play Rock and Blues mainly and as I said before through my Bluesbreaker this thing sounds God-like. I have been playing for 12 years now and have had many overdive pedals in the past, admittedly not boutique pedals before, just Boss. You really do get what you pay for with this baby. I compared it to the Maxon tubescreamer pedal in the shop and the Hot cake won hands down, no contest.
If you have the money and you can find one (sounds like the A-Team)and you own a good sounding valve amp then go and buy one. If you expect it to transform your bad sounding transistor amp into a monster then think again.
I don't believe in rating products with a 10 normally, but it really is that good.

The Hot Cake is extremely easy to use. With the Drive and Presence conrols zeroed you can use it as a clean boost. The sound stays exactly the same as your clean amp sound. And I mean very exactly!!! Then you can add some drive while the character of the sound remains pretty much the same. Then add some presence to let it cut through a bit more.

I use it together with an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal between my guitar and my Koch Twintone stack. In the FX loop is a Carl Martin Red Repeat (terrific delay!!!) and a Boss CE2 chorus. I only use the clean channel of the amp and use the Hot Cake to add some drive. It is very quiet. I became interested in the Hot Cake because of Mark Knopfler using it. Together with my Fender Mark Knopfler Strat the sound is pretty much his. It's bluesy but you can use it for screaming lead also. It's very subtile and interactive while playing. It reacts very different to a Les Paul. With both guitars it generates exactly the sound I want without turning any knob!

It's simple and very well made so I think there is not much to destroy! That's good because it is very difficult to get one here in the Netherlands so a backup is not an option.

I ordered one directly from Paul Crowther himself in New Zealand. It took a couple of weeks to get it but it was worth waiting! The pedal and the box are fully loaded with warnings and handwritten serial numbers. It seems personally handbuilt and packed by mister Crowther with great attention to detail. I love these kind of things! I will treasure this pedal for the rest of my life!

I play folk rock a lot and it suits that style very much! I play for about 30 years and own some other distortions. I don't like the preset flat sound of other pedals to let them sound good with lots of gain. I like to get a good clean sound and then add some drive to it. In my opinion the Hot Cake is the only pedal that can do this. I also love the clean boost when you leave the the Drive aside. The pedal is very inspiring! I can't stop telling I love it! Great companion together with a single channel amp!

This pedal is very easy to use - 3 knobs - presence, gain and level. No issues

I use USA telecaster with a Randall RH50T head. The sound ranges from a gentle overdrive, ideal for blues stuff to crunchy hard rock. I find that using this pedal in line with another gentle overdrive or booster pedal gives a great combination, allowing me to use the hot cake for some searing solos or crunchy rhythm stuff.

Great sound

I have had no issues at all with my pedal. Appears to be well built

Never had to deal with the company

This is a versatile pedal. I am going to buy the bluesberry variety now to add to my collection and to have as a back up.

Very easy to use.. 3 knobs

I use my hot cake with a 1961 fender bassman head and a marshall 4x12 (a THD hotplate in between).. I mainly use it with my Epi Les Paul (Gibson burstbucker pickups installed).. Only othe pedal i use in the chain is a Boss digital reverb / delay..

I have been playing 30 years and on the eternal tone quest like everybody else.. to my ears i have found it. I like classic rock and some new rock.. i have always admired Angus Young's tone.. and with this setup I think i get that.. It's a full, ballsy, awesome sound.. hit your favorite power cords (A, G, D) and you'll start drooling on yourself..

I keep my bassman pretty cranked around 7, and have the hot cake at 1:00 on the level, 11:00 on the presence, and 2:00 on the drive knob..

Beautiful harmonic distortion, controlled feedback, thick growl.. hard to describe..

owned it 5 years.. no issues.. i

Never had to deal with any problems

I love it with my setup.. it is a very warm sounding overdrive pedal.. nothing harsh about it.. very full bass response.. only OD pedal I use..

I play a 78 Stratocaster to Wah to Hot cake to Analog delay Carl martin to Twin Amp.
This little baby gimme since a TS9 to Big Muff sounds...Fantastic.
Great as simply Clean Bosster too !

Mr. Paul Crowther is the guy, bro'
I needed help and imediately he solved my problem.

I play Old Rock'n'Roll and i've a Deep Purple Cover band too.
The Hot Cake is the THING man...

Easy as hell. Three knobs, great sounds! No extra tweak-pots or any of that silliness. Volume makes it louder. Presence adds some super-high mids/low highs that really pop it out in the mix. Gain is what it's all about.

Incredible gain effect! One of the best I've ever played. I use a Fernandes Decade Elite with DiMarzio pickups and a Les Paul Custom with Duncan pickups.

I originally bought the Hot Cake to serve as a medium-gain overdrive pedal, to replace my SD-1. If this is what you're after, you won't find it here. I found its gain sounds from 9:00 to 12:00 to be pretty useless. Kind of fizzy and buzzy, but very clear. Might be useful into an amp that's already in overdrive to really kick it over the edge into distortion.

The Hot Cake does three things really well. Thick, juicy distortion with lots of nice harmonics. Not as harmonically active as my original Rat Mk 1 or my older Rat II. This happens around 12:00-2:00, and the Presence knob set around 1:00.

Next is, surprisingly, clean boost. Between 7:00-9:00 you can get nice clean to dirty boosts, with the Presence knob set between 7:00 - 9:00 for a little bit of mid-boost.

Last is beastly thick fuzz. Max out the gain knob, and set the Presence anywhere. You can go from scooped-out, wooly tones (tend to get lost in the mix) or to punchy sounds that are paradoxically transparent. With the gain dimed, it sounds like a super-articulate Big Muff with a "punchiness" control. Perfect for that Dinosaur Jr. sound.

The pedal is super-transparent: it cleans up effortlessly and is very, very sensitive to different pickups. Super Distortion made it really fuzzy, JB made it really thick and clear, single coils make it clean up.

P.S. This pedal has MASSIVE bass response! It will really interact with some pedals like the Blackstone and Zakk Wylde overdrive when you put it up front!

Doesn't do everything, and doesn't do quite what I wanted it for, but it's become a mainstay on my pedal board, kicking off the Rat I (despite its sweeter mids and harmonics) because of its great tone! Neat distortion pedal that may not be everyone's optimum sound, but every player can find a use for it!

Reliable as all hell. I baby it and keep it in a Boss case to keep it from getting smashed while moving amps around. Definitely would gig without a backup, but I'm not sure what quality jacks he uses. The knobs seem a little weak, but the footswitch looks durable. Not a Boss, but definitely not a wimp.

Never dealt with it. But I hear Paul Crowther's a whiz at fixing them and he's a really reliable and understanding guy!

Great sound that runs the gamut from clean boost to breakup to kind of harsh O.D. to distortion, to thick-as-mud distortion to Big Muff-style fuzz.

Great sounds, all of them useable in a band -- the Presence control is the most useful knob on just about any pedal I've ever owned. A really unique feature that's great for a live situation where you can't cut through the mix.

Compared this with my Rat, and it just had better tone. It's different than my Emma Reezafratzitz, which sounds so tubey it could fool Jim Marshall. A great sound that I prefer live - single notes sound authoritative and thick, and chords are articulate but super-fat.

3 knobs, no worries here. No manual, but no manual required, or maybe I should've been given one, oh well, didnt need one.

Only hassle is changing battery requires a screwdriver.

The sound for me is simply unbeatable. I have been giggin with it for the last 2 years and everytime I stomp on it, it impresses me. Its just so warm and full. I also have a XXL by Tech 21 and a TS-9 Ibanez, and they're good pedals too, but they don't match up to the Hotcake in my eyes and I have found myself using the hotcake in place of them (especially the XXL) a lot! With the presence control it allows for a fair variety of sounds.

Simply the best, makes me proud to be a New Zealander (like Paul Crowther)*Tear comes to the eye*

I play in a covers band and I use the hotcake for songs by:
Green Day, Good Charlotte, Franz Ferdinand, Jet, Steve Vai and heaps more.

It can be a little bit noisy, nothing dramatic enough to change its rating to anything lower than a 10 though. If you dont GOT one.... GET ONE

Like I said earlier, 2 years giggin, 2-3 a week. No problems.

It is the best there is. A must have for any rocker.

Three knobs and no brain. I give it a nine because of the fact it actually has knobs, but really. . .

I use a jazzmaster through an Ampeg Reverbrocket reissue. The hotcake goes from lovely smooth overdrive to a nice distorted growl with a hint of fuzz. It's a little bit noisy on the higher gain settings but all great sounding overdrives are. I use a Bixonic Expandora over the top of the hotcake for the really maxed out bits, but for everything else the hotcake is king. With the drive control at a low setting it makes for lovely clipping on a clean guitar sound. No matter what you use, all you need is a guitar and an amp with a hotcake in between. It will make shitty amps and guitars sound good. Oh, and a good taste in music helps.

Built like a tank. I gig without a backup every time and it has never let me down.

Paul is a very reliable and polite fellow - and something of a legend! A pleasure to deal with.

I have tried and own far too many overdrive and distortion pedals to count and this is the one I keep coming back to. My only suggestion for improvement would be a bit of added range on the tone control, but I really do just love it the way it is. A true NZ classic!

This pedal requires a bit of tinkering with both your amp and the eq /drive on pedal.But there are many usable sounds to be got with a little patience.

My set up is as follows Fender voodoo strat with custom shop 69's- Vox Clyde McCoy reissue wah-Dunlop rotovibe-custom built fuzz face clone MXR micro amp-Crowther Hotcake-Arion delay- Marshall 1987x reissue throgh Marsahll 4x12" loaded with Celestion g/backs. The Hotcake is not as noisey as some overdrives out there, and what noise there is...is minimal.

I have not had the pedal long, but it is fixed to my pedalboard and I use a power adapter, so I cannot forsee any problems. However sods law dictates that something, somewhere, sometime, will let you down! so I carry a backup pedal/

When i purchased the pedal 2nd hand, I emailed Mr. Crowther to tell him how impressed i was, to my amazement he emailed me right back,and told me if I ever had any problems with the pedal, to get right back in touch with him. I am sure you would be hard pressed to find anyone else in the business of pedal making that would be so decent and accomodating.

I play in the UK's top Hendrix tribute, and this pedal helps me to get the sounds that I am after.I have used Ts9's Ts8's,Fulltone, Barber, Aramat,Keeley, the list is ensless. If you want a pedal that will do a nice boost through to thick overdriven fuzzy sounds that still responds to your picking and guitar vol dynamics, look no further. Every guitar player will find a use for this pedal.The one thing I dislike is the color!! But Hey ho!

Compared to the other overdrive pedals I have, an original 808 Tube Screamer and an 80's Marshall Bluesbraker, is not as instinctive to use. Like other reviewers have related, if I crank the drive control up too much the sound becomes way too muddy and farty, but after about half an hour my main concern was which of the many "sweet spots" to use!

I'm mainly a Les Paul user, a customized early 90's Classic and a late 70's Pro De Luxe, even though I'm looking forward to try this Hot Cake with my Strat.
On the floor I generally only have an overdrive and my Cry Baby, customized by Roger Mayer himself, after which I plug straight into the amp: so far since I've bought this little Kiwy beauty I've plugged into my usual Behringer Vintager as well as various Marshalls, combo's and half stacks, and this baby always sounded great!
What's interesting is that no matter what amp I use I never have to change the setting on the pedal, always a good sign, like I never have to change guitar!
I keep the Level almost all the way up, presence at 3 and Drive at 2 o'clock and the rest, dynamics, attack and all, I let my hands and volume knob on the guitar take care of.
Very rarely I use this pedal for rythm as the amp is set for a good crunchy tone and then I step on the pedal for the solo's.
Used this way I think it's very hard to beat!

I've only had it for 4 months so it's a little early, still it's built like a tank and if my 808 never had a problem, and it's 23 years old and looks extremely flimsy in comparison, this thing will probably outlast us all, says I!

Can't really say but I'm sure Paul is a top guy!

I play Classic Rock and this pedal is probably the most appropriate to this type of music, expressive and fun to use I've ever plugged into, so much that now I only carry the 808 as a spare, same as screwdrivers, batteries and fuses!
I'm a big fan of creamy overdrivers and if this were to be stolen I'd probably go around and try some more, Klon, Pete Cornish, HAO,...but I honestly think I'd end up buying another Hot Cake as I don't think anything can beat it plus, when I bought, it I did try other pedals and it won the first time around anyway!
I definitely think it's an inspiring little devil, freeing the user from UNWANTED feedback, at almost any volume, and letting the player concentrate on the most important thing; to let the music do the talking!
If Paul Crowther could find a way to retain the drive but get rid of the muddiness, specially on the lower registers, that comes into it once the drive is past 3 o'clock, that sounds intriguing but as I said before this pedal gives me everything I need as it is.
And it's not even expensive, go figure!

easy to use, since there's 3 knobs. oddly enough though, these knobs do more in comparison to other dirt units- especially the gain knob. it goes from slight overdrive to nasty, broken speaker gain.

i use this between my gibson non reverse firebird and my fender blues junior. i have a couple other gibsons that i use, but i use the bird the most. as said in some previous reviews, its almost as though this pedal has three distinct gain levels. when the gain is low, its a very transparent, light overdrive. when you get a bit past halfway (about noon - 2 o'clock) its more of a very musical overdrive crunch. when you get a bit past 2 oclock (especially after 3 oclock) it gets very distorted, fuzzy, and, disappointingly, muddy.

when used as a transparent overdrive, this thing is absolutely amazing. its very clear and very responsive to your picking. lovely boost as well. i dont use it as a light overdrive pedal (i use my maxon od808 for that), but this is amazing in this category.

when its at about 1 o'clock (which is where i use it), its a great rock crunch. it nails the current Oasis tone, spot on. this is my most natural sounding drive pedal i have. i love it. it responds like a tube amp's gain. it responds to your attack and cleans up nicely when you roll back on your guitar volume's knob.

when the gain level is quite high, it gets muddy and fuzzy. dont get me wrong, it can be used for some stuff. if you want your guitar to drop in the background a bit (which i do sometimes), its amazing. if you want your guitar to really stick out, just turn the gain level down a bit.

my only complaint is that i have to keep the presence knob on this maxed at all times, but in all reality, it doesnt matter cos i get great tone. i do wish the pedal didnt muddy up when the gain is high. that's my only complaint.

he's awesome. that's all i can say. he's been a great help. much better than mike fuller, who i find to be a hack.

I really like british music. Oasis and the Beatles are my favorite bands. This is my main drive box. Others i have are: hao rust driver, maxon od808, maxon d&s, and mjm london fuzz II. i use this for most of my rhythm tones. not much i can say except that i really dig this box.

its not for metal so if you're into that stuff, stay away. its great for 90s rock, blues rock, brit-rock, and indie rock.

Very simple to use

Very quiet,used with various Fender amps.At unity gain,it is so transparent you can't tell its there till you dig in.It retains your clean with a very sweet drive and increasing the drive gives a violin sustain.For me its the best drive tone,great with single coils and humbuckers.

I have two,the orignal from 1995 and the new Blueberry.The original is still as trouble free as the day I got it.

You cannot find a more helpful, friendlier person than Paul Crowther,No problem to have your Hotcake repaired.

Slight Jazz and Country,blues,rock,this pedal works great for all these styles that I play.I just recieved a backup,the Bluesberry from Paul,which is a slight variation from the original,its a little smoother on the release,but just as toneful and sweet as the original.

3 knobs, not so difficult, level, presence, drive.
I keep level around 1 o'clock, presence around 12 o'clock and gain around 11 o'clock for a little gain boost.


One thing I dislike is the position of the powercord....Why is it there next to the input on the lower right side? Just put it where most of them put it, and wouldn't it be a good time for all brands to start using the same powerconnectors?

I already had a really good sound, using a custombuilt Korina tele with 2 p-90's (seymour duncan) in either a Rivera Fandango 212 combo or a Rivera Knucklehead reverb.
I actually was blown away by a Klon Centaur (still a must have!!) wich I used in a studio that had one, and started looking for one on the internet. When looking for Klon, you always stumble over the Hot Cake, because everyone seems to comare them to each other.
I found a Hot Cake real soon so I tried it out. I loved it right from the start, just like the Klon.
The good thing about it is that you can also use it as a standalone unit on your clean channel, a thing not a lot of pedals pull off in my opinion.

I hope I can depend on it. Till now it seems okay, although the Klon made a far better impression on me, built-wise.
I would gig without backup.

Havent dealt with them..

I play rock with my band. Soundwise I like the Black Crows classic rock style, and for this style it is very good, I can keep the gain on my amp a little lower and boost it with the Hot Cake. It blends with the sound of my gear as if it was a part of the amp, just like the Klon.
I have been playing for 20 years now and have owned a lot of gear.
A have 2 tele's, both handbuilt by Sjak Zwier, a Patrick Eggle Berlin and a Music Man EVH signature. Amp-wise Rivera Fandango and Knucklehead.
Pedals I have are Ibanez TS-808, Visual Sound Jeckyll & Hide, wich are both very good in what they do.
I might replace it when it was stolen, altough my other pedals do a really good job and I still would like a Klon, but they're so dam'n expensive.

Still, 8 out of 10 is really, really good, but there is always room for improvement. Nobody takes al those 10's over here serious.

Very Easy to get a good sound with this thing. Level between 1-2 O clock presence at noon and drive at 11 O clock
The best thing about this is the harder you play the more drive the pedal gives. Its like some one tuning up the drive when you player harder. Love it

Now I got this one from the man himself. #85 with postage to London England.
I use a Laney VC30 class A and its very clean so I needed some dirt for it. The Crowther Hotcake gives me a nice crunchy tone, and more if I want, but I keep it on a very soft drive and use other pedals for harder sounds.
When I first got it I was not as impressed as I had hoped it would sound. Now 4 months later I realize this is the ONLY pedal I really need. Most pedals, in fact, all Pedals I have ever tried other than the hot cake seem to trim a little off the bottom end. But not the Hotcake, this little guy enhances the bottom end making the sound FULL and FAT and WIDE and sharp too with the presence knob All amps I have used with this sound better in every way!
A/B pedals will it will prove this to be far superior in every way with anything else.
If you want a clean boost this is it, and if you want BEEF this will do that too, I would love to hear this through a massive 4x12 Marshall cab, must sound like a monster. My Laney is now well in the VOX sounding ball park, totally Pro sound. Mr Crowther is a great guy too!

Im sure this will go on an and on and if if i was to brake Paul will happly sort it from what i know.

Seems like a great guy good advice and very friendly

I play British alt rock, verve U2 Coldplay, Travis.
I have been playing for over 10 years and I am a sound engineer too.
I would not let this get stolen. I would buy again for 2 in a row.
I like the look and feel and size, DC port is in the wrong place but no problem really. This pedal will improve you life as well as your playing. Get one if you can. Also its an investment too. Handmade one at a time and all!!!!

Very easy to use. Set the level to 2:00 o'clock and the Presence and Drive knobs to "off". Bring up the Drive and Presence. I dig mine set to Drive: 9:00, Level: 3:00, Presence: 12:00.

Excellent sound from this pedal. It lets the guitar sound come through. It enhances your guitar's sound by making it fuller with more character. The Presence knob adds bite if you need it. It has a wide adjustment range and can get very distorted at high Drive settings (over 3:00 o'clock). But its strength is in its wide range of mild to medium overdrive settings.

Very well made. Metal housing and quality switch - should last.

Paul Crowther has a pristine reputation in the guitar effect field of customer service. I haven't had to speak to him but he has a reputation of standing behind his made-at-home pedals.

I play heavy blues, up to AC/DC style rock. I hate buzzy distorted crappy sounding guitar. I love full, open, and thick sounding power chords that can knock you down. I play Les Pauls through old Marshall four input non-master volume amps. The Hot Cake delivers this clean, powerful overdrive. It has nothing to do with the Tube Screamers and their clones. The Hot Cake is a pure, simple overdrive enhancer that is capable of a wide range of useable settings that don't get buzzy and retain the character of you setup.

Very easy to use and can be set up to boost a clean sound to thumping fuzz

I use a custom strat/80's mij strat/brandoni telecaster. Through a peavey classic 50 410 with a rocktron austin gold to boost my clean settings/jd wah/.This pedal is simply awesome at gig level volumes.I tend to use the Hotcake with more level than drive just to tip the amp into overdrive for solos and boy is it smooth!! I have noticed the more drive you use the more the tone fattens up, so making use of the presence is wise if you need to treble it up a bit. I play Blues/Rock/Funk and tend not to use to many effects but this is one that i shall definately be keeping,I might even buy another to take place of the Rocktron.This is a true bypass pedal so it doesnt steal away or effect your guitars tone when in the off position.Pure tone heaven at 3 0clock (drive)and 2 0clock (level)with my custom strat with the amp at half volume

To new to have an opnion yet but built solidly enough

emailed Paul to ask a few questions on this pedal and he answered same day....I would imagine if there was a problem and you need a quick solution he will be in touch quickly

I have been playing 24 years and have owned some nice pedals in my time: original ts9/ts10/jekyll and Hyde/boutique (to many to metion)and all the digital crazy stuff that floods the market and this is about the best overdrive/distortion tone i have ever had.....Thank you Paul you ended my search.

This box is so simple to use you'd have to be stupid not to b able to figure it out! its easy to get it to sound great too

3 knobs and a true bypass switch (on/off) level, drive, and presence. sound is like wow. can get nearly any distortion sound you want. very throaty distortion and sounds great when you crank it up loud.

i use 3 pedals. this is my main distortion due to its great tone and yeah. i use an ibanez DS-7 for sound boost when playing guitar solos.

i don't think i'll ever need to deal with paul crowther because this thing is just so great! thank you paul you're a legend!

compared to boss, ibanez and every other distortion pedal made since electricity was discovered this is the greatest sounding but its quite loose therefore i use this + an ibanez DS7 for guitar solos because it seems to make a nice medium gain medium distortion that makes even simple solos sound like they are played by jimi hendrix!!

How easy can you get. This thing is so versatile I can't fault it. You can get anything from Jazz to out and out filth. There is no manual cause we all have different amps and gats and styles.

I hate giving 10's but this little baby diserves it. My set up is strat/LPC - Zoom 707 II - Hotcake - Fender "The Twin" Red Knob. I dont need anything else. I dont use any distortion patches on the 707 and just add a bit more verb,chorus or compression when required.SRV<HENDRIX<CLAPTON<SANTANA<SATRIANI<GILMORE<MAYALL<PAGE<BECK<YOU NAME IT!!!! It will nail it!! I find the fuzz can be a bit harsh at times but its all easily adjustable man!! Its that fucking good!!

Its built man. Unlike the Zoom(although there are no problems except its plastic)I would gig it without back up. This thing is the bomb!

I haven't had to deal with the manufacturer but Guitar gallery in Wellington NZ were very helpful. I hear Paul who makes the things is very helpful so again I have no complaints!

I have 3 axes and three amps. Laney320 Tubefusion>The Twin>Ashton 40watt Solid state practice amp.I Play a Ibanez SG vintage,a Fender 62 reissue strat and a LPC Hondo deluxe 748. They all have different character but again all tweakable. I love the sounds it makes through The Twin (clean) and the strat.It smashes the DS1 - DS2 and to a less extent the Zoom distortions which I used up to getting the cake.Its got such versatility!Ive been playing on and off for years and if lost or stolen I would be very unforgiving lets put it that way!!!:>}

just three knobs, folks.. it's not a big deal
to tweak up multiple great overdriven tones..

there is definitely a "sweet spot" with any setup
one might be using.. very little effort is needed
to find it, either.

used with a variety of guitars (Fender/Gibson) and amps (Vox/Orange
Fender/Marshall/Magnatone) this sounds really nice with every single
combination that I've tried to date.. tried it out in varied spots
in the signal chain and as usual there are minute differences as to how the pedals all work together, depending on the order - I like to use the Hotcake as a mildly-crunchy boost and leave the extreme distorto/fuzz work to other pedals - but the Hotcake ~definitely~ plays well with the other kids!
really shines with P90s and single-coil pups IMHO.

backup, schmackup! I've been using this thing for 4 years now
with NOT ONE SINGLE PROBLEM! I can't give it a 10 'cuz "ya never
know" but I'm totally not even worried.. battery change is fairly
infrequent using a quality alkaline type, so that's nice as well.

Paul Crowther is without a doubt one of the nicest and truly helpful
people that I've ever had the pleasure to deal with.

I play blues & rock - and as such; this pedal is right up my alley.. I've been playing for 25 years and I'd replace this box in a second
without hesitation if it were lost or stolen.. as much as the eternal
quest for tone is entirely subjective, I'd reckon that - for me - this
pedal is entirely perfect.. doesn't really change the overall sound of
yer rig, merely adds the nice overdrive just as want it.

I've got the later Hotcake - the creamy one with the Presence control, which I've found to be good on some amps, more redundant on others. You know the other controls, Drive and Level. Single-switch with red LED indicator, one input, one output and AC-adator jack.

I got a really nice mix of overdrive/distortion out of this pedal in the store where I tried it on an Epiphone 335 copy running into a Peavey Classic 30 tube combo. I'm a fan of that half-half sound - smooth, but punchy and this pedal did the trick in store. However, it was a bit harder at home with my rather fussy old 50w tube amp which was made for a different age.

I found the Hotcake, for my needs, works much better run with other pedals as a booster - I have it running into a Boss BD-2 and DS-1, the first for a crunch tone, the second for hard-out distortion. It's pretty easy, like most distortion/overdrive pedals, to get a good sound out.

I have no gripes with the ease of use with this pedal, save one - the placement of the AC jack - it's right below the input socket and to me, looks obtrusive and in the way. Maybe it's just asthetics and I'm used to having it on top, like Boss and most other brands.

Overall, the Hotcake is amazingly simple to operate and comes with no manual, quite simply because it doesn't require one. I have had trouble getting the tone I liked out of it, it just can't seem to emulate that sound I got when I tried it, but I think it comes down to my amp.

I run a setup like this:

50w tube amp & 2x12" cab -> Ibanez Phase Tone -> Hotcake -> BD-2 -> DS-1 -> 335 Replica/Squire Bullet.

This pedal doesn't make any noise at all, I've found that overall, the Level knob is quiet quiet, but that's easily comensated - cranking the Drive tends to beef it up. As previously specified, I'm using it as booster/slight gain. I never play clean-clean, I just leave the Hotcake on to grain the sound out a bit, gives a nice blues tone, which can go into smooth crunch or nasty distortion by using either the BD-2 or DS-1.

I don't really use this to sound like anyone I listen to - I play a mix of rhythm and lead in an indie/alt-rock band and am influenced by artists like Interpol, At The Drive In, Incubus, Nirvana, QOTSA, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead and The Strokes. I can kinda get a mixture of those tones, but I prefer to find my own.

Overall, I have to say the sound quality is very good, it's quite warm and smooth on lower settings and although it gets fuzzier on higher gain, the Hotcake manages to retain a tube-tone of sorts - it's a nice mixture of vintage tones and modern gain.

I've played a couple of better overdriving/distorting effects, but this one is by far one of the best in its class. There's no brittleness or flakey tones, just crisp and smooth gain the whole way through.

It's very solid looking and though I am not too hard on my gear, I can honestly say it'd take a thrashing - I tried a used one in a second-hand store a few months back that had obviously been very, very abused in a gigging situation (missing paint, scratches, general messy condition) and it sounded almost the same as my Hotcake. Definitely built to last.

I wouldn't gig without a backup, but that's what my other pedals are for anyway. Nothing is every deserving of a 10 because everything man-made is fallible, but this is up there with the stuff of excellence.

As I live in Auckland, New Zealand and Paul Crowther is located there, I don't foresee it being an issue to get hold of him considering there's a mailing address on the bottom of the Hotcake. I haven't had any issues that would require service and doubt I would but it's good to know that Mr Crowther is very thorough with his products - I have read glowing reviews below about him from others and know one person who has dealt with him personally and raves about how good he was.

Been playing about seven years, only seriously for the last two. I've had more pedals, amps and guitars in the last 12 months than I can shake a stick at. I'm one of those types who's always on the quest for the perfect tone.

The Hotcake is a very vintage, old-school sounding pedal and those who love that warm, tubish sound will enjoy it. Probably not for all the nu-metallers and thrasher pop-punks who are into the scooped mid and drop-D noise, which isn't me. I got it because I wanted to get rid of my DS-1 which I wasn't getting a nice sound out of and the Hotcake did the job in the shop.

However, I haven't been able to simulate the same tones I got before and that probably due to the fact my current amp, an old 50w all-vavle head was made over 30 years ago and not meant to be used a rock-guitar amp. I have recently bought a Marshall JCM900 and quad and I believe the Hotcake will shine through on this, but time will tell.

It stands out as quite a unique pedal pedal as it has a different sound to any other pedal of the overdrive/distortion variety I've ever tried. It's also solid, reliable and kitsch looking. If you're a New Zealand guitarist, I urge you to try this over other overseas pedals - it's a lot better than most of the ranger under $250 and on par with many other big-name famous effects like the Rat and Big Muff. I'm going to try the Prunes and Custard this weekend as well, I hear that is another gem from Crowther Audio.

Just dial in what you require.
Best settings for me are, drive at 11 to 12 oclock. Midrange 12 oclock
Level to suit.....usually around 1 oclock.
Mid dial make huge difference tone.

Of all the guitars i`ve tried with this pedal, i would have to say the p90 and p100 gibson style pick ups suit this pedal perfectly.
A marrige made in heaven!
Clarity,smooth, fat but not muddy, and driven tones are to die for.
Single lead lines sustain with clarity and are fat and chords sustain well without mushing out at all.
You can hear all the strings and notes in the chords, but the Drive level is crucial to find this sweet spot.
Seems to suit a fender tube amp with this set up.
Also seems to go well with an AC30 from what i read below.
A different animal to a ts9. this unit produces a clearer and cleaner tone even with the gain up. The ts9 and 808 are great for their own kinda thing.
It seems to have the singing quality of an early boogie, but with a more refined tone.
The p90 p/ups just seem to have the right output and tone character to
go with this pedal.
Try it yourself.....The p90`s really do amazing things.

so far....no worries

Well worth looking at.
I wonder if Eric Johnson has tried one out.Everyone knows Eric is
a man of good taste when it comes to tone.
It has always baffeled me that guitarists who use p90 equipped guitars are few.
Exellent tone results... and with this little pedal, sonic results are huge.
One writer on this pedal in this colum, states that he plugged a single p90 guitar into the H/cake then into a Super Reverb with amazing results.....Try for yourself!!

KISS principal used here. Mine has two knobs and a switch for mids or normal. Doesn't need clutter, all business.

I tried it with a strat, a tele, and a 52 Les Paul. It can sound good with all three depending on your ear, your fingers and your brain. I used it with an original 59 Bassman and a solid state Peavey. To my ear, it sounded best with the bassman, warmer and smoother. I like a nice violin-like sustaining overdrive, with little or no break-up. I could dial in this sound hands down. Too many guitarists think they can buy a little box and they should be able to sound like E.C. or EVH. There is just too many factors involved. Not just your equipment but, the acoustics of the place you're playing. How many have dialed in their sound one night and the next night without touching a knob, will sound completely different. The mood your in, the dryness of your hands, how many people are in the place etc. are some of the factors that will affect your sound.

A solid cast aluminum housing. Just like my old MXR dyna Comp. Seems very solid and reliable.

I've been playing for over 30 years, all kinds of music. For my style of playing, this is the best little overdrive pedal I've ever used, and I've tried most. I especially like it for blues and southern rock. It makes my guitar sing, which makes me smile and thats what its all about. I'd rate this a 10 but that leaves no room for improvement. I gotta say it, "I love this pedal."

Bonehead simple, a good thing.

After about a year, I thought it got noisy. See customer support below. I use it now with single coils through a Supro, Victoria, and a Hellhound.

Yes and I have.

I submitted an anonymous review on 11/21/02--about a year ago. Two weeks ago, I emailed Paul Crowther with questions about noise and he told me to send the pedal to him. As another reviewer here wrote, it cost me $8 to ship it to New Zealand where Paul checked it over, put some mojo on it (don't know but it works it works it works great), and sent it back all free of charge. Man, this guy lives on the other side of the world, and I got better support and service from him than my local Ford dealer.

This one I would replace ASAP. This thing puts some special sauce on overall tone that has to be heard. Transparent with full bass. All the drive you need if you want it, but it really excells at giving a clean boost that can take you right to the breakup point by driving the front end of your amp wherever you want to go. Forget the Klon and find one if you can.

piece of cake!

in my humble opinion this is the best tone pedal you can get. what i mean by this is it sounds awful when using it to make a clean sound distorted as it is too thick when you crank the drive, and i think as a solo boost its ok but does sap tone when disengaged as it isnt true bypass. now where this pedal comes into its own is when you use it with an already cranked amp not a modern hi gain amp but a cranked power tube amp tone. the hot cake in my opinion has one good setting, level 3o clock, mid to suit and drive at 9 o clock

ive read a few reports of broken switches but thats the same with any pedal my only critism is the foot switch! as i cant see why anyone would ever turn it off! tuck it in the back of your amp and always leave it on if you want a booster or a distortion add it as well.i think the hotcake should be thought of as an tone enhancer instead

i play all styles apart from metal, and ive been playing for 25 years im 31 now so started early! i use a fender pro reverb bf that i run flat out and the hot cake just drives it even harder yet it still cleans up enough for me when i back off on my volume control. to start off with i didnt like it as didnt give the distortion that i was after but after hours of messing around with amp settings this is my most important piece of outboard that i have ever owned bar none and would not be happy gigging without it

this product is sickeningly easy - volume, gain, and a presence knob. 3D clean boost until gain reaches about 1 o'clock, then Marshall-y Overdrive (like the amp, not a Marshall pedal) commences.

I run this pedal into a converted 1969 bassman - now mounted in a 2x10 combo. I use a 1969 Jazzmaster, LP copy with P-90s, or G&L ASAT Classic. great sounds from the hot cake - a really blooming sound when it operates more as a boost - very 3D and full, I don't know how better to explain it. I tend to not it use it at the highest gain settings, but they are good and gnarly as well.

this pedal is very solid. I like to think that I don't rely on my effects to sound good, so yes, I would use it without a backup. I had a problem with my pedal just recently, after owning for almost a year - but read on for how it was resolved.

Paul Crowther is fantastic. I emailed him and explained my problem, he said we need to take care of that ASAP - so I shipped it off to him in NZ. (I'm in the US). Within 2 weeks, the pedal was back in my hands as good as new. No money changed hands, he repaired the pedal for free, I only paid the shipping to NZ which was like $8. THAT is customer service - what a great way to run your business.

great product, can't recommend it enough, not for metal or anything but can come up with lots of great distortion ~ overdrive textures.

V/easy to use. This is a more recent 3 knob unit with the mid-boost.
I just use it for 1 sound.
`

Fender '79 Strat (25th Anniv.) to Hotcake - Ibanez Tube King - Morley volume ped. - Fender DeVille 2x12 (hotrod) amp. In the FX loop - Boss BF3 flanger (Gate/pan and trem. modes only) and Boss multieffects unit (but only for post-EQ, chorus, delay).
This is a great pedal and I brought it to do what the o/d channels on the DeVille don't do well. It has a nice, grainy but natural sounding o/d which is ideal for rhythm and full chords.
What i do notice, however, is that the 'fuzz' sound seems to be 'detached' or 'sit on top' of the guitar sound at first, but it seems to 'key in' quite ok once the amp has warmed up. Not unusual with a cold tube amp, of course, but the 'detatched' sensation seems a little unusual to my ears.
The great thing with this pedals have been stated by others before, but I will restate:
True bypass great
I love that the drive level does not affect the overall volume of the effect...you can use this pedal as a clean level boost.
Well made - excellent components, pots and switch. Jacks very snug.
Unlike an earlier reviewer I LIKE the fact that this is a SMALL box...my gear cases are already bulging and hard to close with all the stuff I have to carry around to gigs!
Drive progresses to more of a 'fuzz' after 12 o'clock. Not very usable for me personally, but it is not un-musical. Can't quite get the 'Fuzz Face' sound, though (a la Hendrix).
The other thing I really like is that the drive sound adds really nice natural compression to my guitar sound...very nice, as I dislike the notion of using a stompbox to get compression...never liked any that I have heard or used.
The mid-boost control is a nice touch, but I personally have this back at zero.
My normal settings: Volume - 12.30; Presence: 7.00 (off); Drive: 11-12.00.

Very well made, as stated above. No back-up used, but I use a power pack...don't want to open up the nicely screwed together back panel and burr the screws.
Seems to give good battery life, though.
It is a little expensive, perhaps, but then, getting a good sound is wortth it.

No dealings. Got it through the Rock Shop, and based on the amount of gear I've brought from them over the years I would expect no problems.
I live in Auckland NZ, so am a local to Paul Crowther.

This pedal is a staple of my sound. Prefer it to the tube screamer type alternatives. It works very nicely as a tone/gain boost for the Ibanez Tube King, It has quite a different sound to the TK on it's own, but this means I have several different types of overdrive to choose from between the 2 pedals. I was worried that they wouldn't work well together, but was very pleasantly suprised.
I play blues/rock/fusion influenced styles - have been gigging plus some teaching off and on over 30 years. Other 'toys' i use are the Roland GR30 synth and the EBow Plus. Main pitch mod. sounds are chorus, but I have recently brought the Boss BF3 Flanger - I hate flanging, but love the Gate/pan effect -works well with the Hotcake, to my ears that is, anyway.
I would replace the Hotcake if lost, despite the cost. I compared it to Ibanez Tube screamers, Boss O/D and the like, but this is a great unit.
If you want to talk to me about this pedal, or any other stuff, my contact is below. Thx
Note to Paul Crowther: I brought this unit because other guys I gig with use it. I have also recommended other players I know to get one.
I think the best recommendation is when this kind of -word-of-mouth' happens.
Keep up the good work.

It has 3 knobs marked clearly: level, presence and drive and one on/off switch. Very simple to use.

It sounds great, it can add tons of low end if needed. It sounds very natural and has a more power tube-like overdrive. It can be a clean boost all the way to a fuzz pedal. I've tried it with my two fenders, one with single coil PU's and one with humbuckers through a blackface fender bassman and a marshall 30th anniversary both driving a marshall 1960A cab. It's not noisy at all and is very powerful.

Extremely dependable, it's a small metal box with nothing fragile or cheaply made. The only problem I ever had was when the top part of the on/off button came off but it was only minor.

I e-mailed Paul Crowther a question and he responded within 24 hours with a friendly and helpful explanation and told me to call or e-mail him if I had any more questions. He seems really nice.

I play hard rock to funk to pretty much anything else and this pedal is completely essential to my sound, It gives such a natural sounding drive and can be relly heavy and deep sounding. It gives a great blues tone when driving a clean channel, too. If it were stolen I'd buy another one immediately. I don't like overly complex equipment and I like to be able to get a good tone without tweaking things forever and this pedal is perfect for that.

this is one of the earlier models, with the midlift fearture. other than that the pedal has a level and a drive knob.
it is easy to fool around and try settings. you can get a variety of diffent distorted sounds. from a bluesy type sound to very overdriven sounds.
one thing this pedal doesen&#180;t do is the metaltype distortion.

if there would be minus grades for products i would use it.
i play vintage guitars and do not use a lot of effects. mostly straight in the amp.
my current set up is a early sixties vox super twin.
my current guitars are a 65 non reversed firebird with p 90, `65 gibson es 330, 57 guild blues bird and 54 epiphone zephyre cutaway with an de armond pick up. as you can see i am pretty much a single coil player.
first of all the pedal, if you use it in front of the amp sucks tone.
it cuts of the highs and the tone of my guitars is not 'sparkling' any more. so it does not to have a true bypass.
the sounds produced by the pedal add a lot of color to my tone, which i particuilary do not whish.
the distortion sound harsh to me and is not touch sensitiv.

the only good thing i can say about this product, is that it is possible to use this pedal as a booster. but then especially with the vox you are too loud for the band. but even then all the other disadvatiges take place.

the unit is put in one of the usual metal boxes, which seems to be well done and sturdy. the potentiometers seem to be poor quality, because they already produce scratchy noises if you turn them.

i can&#180;t say anything about this. inside of the pedal there is an email adress, which i haven&#180;t tried.

i am playing for about 20 years and i play professional.
i do a lot of recording and with my own band i play mostly 50' sblues and
R'n R'. i bought this pedal to use it primarely in the studio, which did not work at all. (you should have seen the face of the soud engeneer, when i tried it the first time). i have owned in the past almaost every distotion pedal the is, ts 808, ts 9, rats etc. i found that most of the pedals do color your sound, some of them more or less, but this specific pedal does add the most color.
this pedal was a total disappointment, especially cause i have read all the rave reviews on harmony central.

who wants to buy it ??

Very easy. Three knobs (Level, Presence and Drive). I actually started out with Level dimed and Drive at zero and it sounded so good I almost just left it there! While some are better than others, every tweak of a knob is just another good sound.

I tested the Hotcake paired with an Everman Fuzz Drive using a 1980 Gibson "The Paul" into an Ampeg VL-502 and a closed-back 2x12 cab. I tend to run the amp at the breakup point, and then use pedals take it to the next level. After years of feeling trapped by a particular Sovtek Big Muff (trapped in that I wasn't happy with its limitations, but couldn't ever really fall in love with anything else), the last few months I've gotten really serious about researching and testing out OD, Distortion and Fuzz pedals. I've found that most of them (even a lot of other Big Muffs) generally sound like they get all clogged up in the highs unless you turn the tone up so much that it hurts your ears. This isn't just through the Ampeg, either; I've also been using a Marshall JMP-800 and a Reverend Hellhound combo. ANYWAY: the two that I've found that (combined) deliver all the fuzz and drive I desire (a lot!) while still giving the chords room to breathe are the Crowther Hotcake and the Everman Fuzz Drive. To be honest, even though the Fuzz Drive is more versatile, I think I like the Hotcake just a little bit better. With the Drive at about 9 o'clock, it really does sound like the "Marshall stack in a box" that so many pedals promise, but not in a harsh, metallic way. With the Drive at 3 o'clock or higher, it's all Hendrix and Mudhoney and "Wow!" I think the sounds you get will have a lot to do with the amp you're running, as some people have mentioned finding the Hotcake a little dark, while I found it somewhat bright. Along with a good fuzz pedal for your darker, chunkier tones, I'd say that the Hotcake is indispensible. I had so much fun just playing chords and listening to them ring out and break up, and this was using a guitar with pickups in which I was previously very unimpressed. I haven't even tried it with the higher-output Seymour Duncans in my fave Electra SG yet. So... yeah. I really like it.

It's a pedal. The knobs do seems a little rinky-dink, but not any worse than those on a DOD type pedal. I guess I could see the pots getting bent if someone took a bad fall on stage, etc., but I'm not too worried about it. I would gig without a backup, but I may also get another one so I don't have to!

Bought it used on eBay, but the word is that Mr. Crowther is a gentleman.

I play heavy guitar rock, post-punk pop sorta Pixies, Mudhoney, The Who, Buzzcocks, etc. I've been playing for about 9 years now. If this was stolen, I would definitely buy another one. No question.

Easy to use

Guitar - '82 1st year 62 ri strat, custom shop strat. Amp - Bruno Underground 30. Just got it an hour ago. Playing by myself (waiting to hear with a band), the best pedal I've ever heard. Combined with a Klon Centaur after it, the tones, harmonics, are unreal. I will keep this and the centaur, maybe buy one more cake to have a crunch/overdrive setting and a lead setting- or bend over and change it every time! This and the klon are the only two overdrives i've ever tried that keep the full frequency range, and most of all the incredible springy 3 dimensionality of my amp, and add to it! In Comparison, My fulldrive 2, which i will now sell, while sounding nice, kind of flattens out my amp, and especially kills the bottom end (the bassdrive by fulltone doesn't, but still doesn't sound NEARLY as good as the Hotcake). The Cake, in comparison to the klon: the klon is much cleaner sounding, and after going back and forth, i prefer the cake for basic overdrive (and more gain) - kind of an x - factor, maybe 'soul' is the word it adds. the klon adds a beautiful warm 3 dimensionality, but not that x-factor, but the two together are a match made in heaven. One note - I haven't tried my UG30 maxed out with the cake, where a touch of centaur puts it over the top amazing. As a previous person wrote (and if you read this, great commentary!), the klon is the icing on the cake! Final note, of course, this may or may not sound good with your amp depending on the amp - an analogman ts9 sounded great through a plexi style amp i had once, and total crap through my bruno ug30.
If you're interested, other effects i use - teese rmc 3, maxon ad900 delay, analogman bypass box for: big muff, alesis q2 (big digital delay). As well as pure tone, I like psychedelic noise and ambience. Favorite Artists - no interest in getting their sounds, just the ones in my head. Effects i'd like to get in the future - lovetone doppleganger or other amazing phaser, vibrato, flange pedals

Don't know, just got it.

Don't know

Style music - psychedelic rock, jamming, improvising, ambience. I'd get it again if it were lost. For not changing really affecting your basic tone, the best overdrive i've ever heard.

An update to my orginal below...

Great, instant response and right on the money as to what was ailing my cake. Paul Reccomended I try and spray the pots with some dioxin. Took the pedal to a tech and he just sprayed some ?Dx-5? could have been cooking spray for all I know but the guy said the knobs were in dire need of some of this. And voila...My cake is back and better than ever. Thanks Paul. BTW the tech had never heard of the pedal but he and a few others were blown away by the sound. I fell in love again as well.
I know or somin sprayed

Got to increase the rating as a result!

Easy to use...Three nob version. Lots of great tones from this thing. Full bore on the drive yields a thick dark big muff type dist/fuzz. Back off the drive to get more ac/dc-ish. To taste you can get some really great strat SRV tones if you mess around with the drive nob even more. And if you want a relatively transparent clean boost, this thing can also do a great job of that as well.

I use mine primarily through the fron of my backup amp..Fender HRDeville 4x10. I play either a 2001 AM fender strat with the tex special pupsor a PRS Mcarty. I persoanlly like the sound of single coils with this pedal when i use it as an dist pedal. The reason is that the pedal when cranked is very dark and thick so the single coils are a great compliment. Its not really noisy at all even when cranked to full drive. It does not have true bypass. This pedal as mentioned does do a great clean/semi clean boost.

Dependable...? sort of..Mine is only 1 year old and the drive nob is pretty much shot. It has alot of dead areas where it totally cuts the signal out. Turning the drive nob around enough you will eventually find a tone...hopefully it is the one you want cuz if not you are S.O.L.. It seems to work relaibly in full Clockwise or full drive mode. If you want an in between sound you have to screw with it for a while. Its been doing this for about a month or two and I just recently (6-11-03) sent Paul Crowther an email so I hope there is somin that can be done about this cuz the pedal does sound killer.

Like I said...I just sent Mr Crowther an email about my problem so I'll let you know

I play Rock. I have been playing since I was 12...Am 26 now. If it were stolen or lost I am not sure I would replace it..due to the reliability I have seen from it. I have also heard others have had similar problems with the pedal. I would easily compare this thing with the Vintage Rat. Same vibe except way more versatile...the Cake I mean. I wish it had just a bit more tone control..more treble maybe. I always have the presence nob dimed and find it still to be very dark.

Three knobs.. it's easy. No manual with it. But if you need someone to hold your hand to twiddle three knobs, you shouldn't be attempting six strings in the first place.
I wish people would build these things a little bigger though, with some man sized knobs on them. They are used on dark stages with sweaty fingers you know... I'll take a point off for this.

I'm using this with a Maton Mastersound 503 (dual humbucker) and a 1976 Vox AC30 Solid State amp. Other pedals I had tried really layed a new sound over the 'natural' sound of the guitar and amp. The beauty of this little bugger is that it keeps all the subtle tones and nuances of your set up and just breaks it up beautifully.
I haven't found it to be very noisy, but I haven't tried it with any other effects so far.
I was looking for a sound with a little crunch and a lotta bite. Think early AC/DC and Stiff Little Fingers ie. early punk and hard rock. I wasn't really looking for Hatebreed or Slayer or anything like that.
This gives me lots of 'attack' and some beautiful toneful distortion while still being able to clearly hear the bite of the treble strings. To me it sounds a bit cheesy and overdone with the gain up full, but then again with something like a Jackson/JCM800 set up, it might sound totally awesome (I suspect it would).
The gain goes from being really REALLY subtle to really crunchy, sustainy, harmonicy, easy to feedback kinda stuff.

Haven't gigged with it yet and probably wont for a while. So far it's been great. I wouldnt take a back up. Just a back up battery and a phillips head skrewdriver. The battery changing mechanism is sturdy, but quite 'agricultural'. You have to screw off the back of it to change the battery. I'll definitely be buying an AC adaptor for home. No real dramas, just test your battery before you play live, or hell, spring for a new battery...
Also, the back doesnt seem to fit 'flush' with the body', it's kinda bowed. I hope this doesn't cause any problems.
The steel body and the 'clicker' seem really strong but I'll agree with someone else who said the knobs weren't real great. They seem like they would be the weakest point on the pedal, and I might go change them sometime soon.
I'm sure it could handle some serious abuse though. It also looks very 'fixable' should anything go wrong, especially the casing.
I'm giving a nine, but it's really an 8.5

At the moment I am doing solo stuff of bands like AC/DC, Cocksparrer, the Saints, early Skrewdriver, the Jam... it is the most suitable effects pedal I have come across for this.. ballsy without being overdone. I've been playing for about 15/16 years on and off and have tried Boss, Marshall and other cheap and nasty pedals in order to get distortion without having a "Boss" or "Marshall" sound.
The best thing about this pedal is that you get to keep the sound of the gear that you love and paid so much for in the first place without it being bludgeoned to death by a nasty overbearing pedal sound. Even on maximum gain, you can still hear the original sounds of your guitar and amp.
I was originally going to plump for another Boss pedal until the guy at the store made me try the Hotcake. It was pretty pricey, but it's the only pedal I have tried in my life that I have really felt happy with. I figure what's the point of spending money on good gear just to have it sabotaged by a cheap pedal. Paying the extra was definitely worth it.
I'm very keen to see how this pedal sounds with different set ups now.
The wobbly knobs and the suspect fit of the backplate are pulling this pedal down from a ten for me.
Also, small point, and totally irrelevant to it's functionality, is... it's really plain looking. I loved the look of the Marshall Guv'nor but hated the sound, if I could merge it's looks with the hotcake pedal I'd be over the moon.

3 knobs, Level, Presence, Drive. It's obviously easy to use, as 99% of pedals are. Where it loses points is the difficulty of changing the battery, it's no big deal at all to me personally, but people who prefer battery to adapter might find it a little annoying. Another thing to know is that you need to turn the presence knob up together with turning up the drive knob to keep the same tonal characteristics you had at lower drive settings.

Be critical you say? Sorry, there is not the slightest flaw in the sound quality of this pedal. It is the overdrive pedal for me personally. Actually, when i first got the hotcake I didn't like it much. Weird thing, that a few days later i fell madly in love with it. And I only seem to love it more and more even months later. This is the best pedal I have ever owned!

I currently play a Fender Jaguar into: Hotcake, Zinky True Grit, DanEcho, PE Yardbox, Big Muff Pi, Boss BF-1, amp tremolo and reverb into a 1971 Traynor Mark III 2x12 tube combo (EL34's).

I use the hotcake for mild overdrive. here are some of its great qualities: it does not colour your tone, it seems to actually make your tone better, it adds a grit to chords that i cant explain very well but this is easily the best o/d i have used for rythm playing, hit a 6 string chord and no note gets lost, play a bunch of 6 string chords and you hear every little bit of definition.

My favorite thing about this pedal is when i hit a huge chord, it seems to break up when the sustain runs out. its a great breaking up sound too, i guess like a busted speaker but its not harsh at all, its very musical. i really think this is the best overdrive for indie rock type of sounds, and for classic rock feel.

It is really difficult to get a bad sound out of this pedal. There are actually several sweet spots on this thing. Turning the drive knob up to 3 oclock and beyond and you are suddenly in Big Muff Pi land, accept its that big muff ballsy smooth fuzz without any mudiness or loss of note recognition when hitting more than one string.

Anyways, i dont know how to do this pedal justice in words. Ill just say that for my style of playing it is way way better than TS9, BD-2, Keeley SD-1, Vintage Rat, MXR D+ and a few other highly coveted pedals i tried.

I tried to actually find another O/D to take the hotcake into good leads since i use it on milder settings, but every pedal i got (went through those i just mentioned) just sounded thin, coloured, and unmusical when a/b against the hotcake. This is how i came to keep loving it more and more, when i realized that i just could not beat it!

a definate 10. open this up and look inside, perfectly neat soldering and wiring, there is some sort of silicon type stuff globbed over the circuit board which basically makes it invincible, and also difficult to copy. its in a hammond box and the switch feels solid as any. the knobs are kinda cheap though i must say (i put cooler looking ones on)

i really can't comment on this but apparently mr. crowther deserves a ten according to the other 45 reviews.

I can't give it anything but a 10 overall. I mean it's the be all end all of overdrives for me, it's the best and i couldn't ask for more. I actually plan on getting rid of my Zinky True Grit that i got for a boost and extra overdrive to go with the hotcake, and although its the best besides the hotcake that i have tried, it still does not match up. I will be getting another hotcake in a few weeks so i can have it in two stages! (im not kidding) if it broke, was lost, or was stolen i would get another one absolutely as soon as possible. i wouldnt even consider another pedal for my overdrive needs, i learned my lesson trying to find something better and lost alot of money buying new and selling used when the hotcake is all i need.

It's a regular distortion pedal with three knobs, level (volume), presence (treble) and drive (distortion). Real easy to use, you can get that typical SRV "sweet blues" boost in few minutes. Manual? Who needs a stinking manual? Experiment, my friends!!

My setup goes like this: Les Paul or Telecaster -> Wah -> HOTCAKE -> Phase -> Delay -> Fender Deluxe Reverb. So far I didn't notice any unwanted noise. It covers the entire blues, rock, pop, jazz repertoire and still adds personality. I really like it.

Thick as a brick!! Yes, I will gig without a backup... if it fails, chances are, I forget to change the battery!

Mr.Crowther was extremely helpful and kind. I bought the Hotcake directly from him in New Zealand. He answered promptly to all of my e-mails. The pedal took less than 2 weeks to arrive to my country. I'm sure that if the Hotcake ever needs some kind of repair or upgrade, he will take care of it.

I'm a young guitar player living in Portugal, I play since I was 10 and now I'm 22. I love to play blues and rock and try to gig as much as possible. The Hotcake wasn't my first distortion unit but it's certainly the best, I really like it! In the future I consider to buy another one, not for backup but, to use simultaneously the both of them, one as a slight drive boost and the other for a more powerful distortion. I really advise you to try the Hotcake and deal personally with Mr. Crowther, I'm sure you will not regret.

Three knobs. Straight forward, easy to use. When drive gets to about 2:00 O'clock it is way too fuzzy. You can get a nice natural like drive sound out of this pedal but it is limited to the lower settings. My pedal is a newer model with a presence knob.

I play blues , hard blues, soul and some rock. I use a 1952 reissue Fender Telecaster with a Gibson humbucker in the neck position, a Duncan Hot Rails in the middle and a Duncan Hot Rails in the bridge position. My playing out rig is a 1964 Fender Bandmaster head through a Marshall 2x12 cabinet (model 1936). I use a Guyatone MR2 reverb pedal, a Dunlop Cry Baby wah, Ibanez CP-9 compressor and a Nobels ODR-1 overdrive pedal.Before I bought the Nobels ODR-1 the Hot Cake was my overdrive pedal. I have heard just about every pedal out there, since I have been playing guitar for thirty eight years. This includes vintage pedals (heck, I was a kid when the vintage high dollar collectables were new on the market) and modern pedals (including so called boutique pedals). I now use the Hot Cake as a clean boost because the Nobels, which costs about a third as much as the Hot Cake, is a way better sounding overdrive. I have not heard a more natural sounding overdrive, regardless of price, than the Nobels ODR-1. Don't get me wrong the Hot Cake is real nice but the Nobels is just much more natural sounding. The Hot Cake gives you a very sweet clean boost which is a must for traditional blues and soul music. I use it to push my amp just over the line from clean to slight overdrive.

Crowther Audio is known for customer satisfaction. I have never had a problem yet but I am confident that if I did Crowther Audio would repair it fast.

If it were stolen I would get a Nobels ODR-1 as a replacement, because it does a nice clean boost too and is the more natural sounding overdrive. This might not be what some of you would like to hear but it is the truth as I see it and (more importantly) as I hear it.

So simple to use. Start with a clean, loud tube amp, level set to noon, add drive and presence to taste.

Use with either a Tele or Gibson through Victoria 35210, DR, or old Supro. Not noisy as ODs go. Transparent and rich, rich tone with just the right amount of grit. It really sounds as if the amp is at the threshold, which is the sound I want. I've owned and used a Klon, Maxon 820, reissue 808, Sparkle Drive, Z-vex SHO, TS-10, Ts-7...and none of these did the job that this little pedal does. Not even close. I don't know why some below rated this poorly, I've been playing since 1975 and finally feel that I'm hearing what I want to hear at levels that will let me hear the difference.

Too early to tell. A peek inside reveals that it's made by one guy and not a machine.

E-mails to Mr Crowther, who lives on the other side of the world, were promptly answered same day. Wisconsin to New Zealand, yo.

If lost I would track another down asap. Perfer to play blues, don't play out anymore but that could well change this year...if for no other reason than to hear this thing sing. This pedal is so reasonably priced and excells to well that if my listing of previous OD pedals is any consideration, well, save yourself some time and $$$. Get one if you can find them. I got mine through bizland.com in Canada. Scott took good care of me.

It,s real easy to get a "good" sound from this pedal (there is only a couple of potentiometers that specife)

I tried Jackson PS-3T Guitar (and Yamaha ST-400 electric) -> Hot Cake ->Rec Bear MK 120 -> Voodoo Lab Cap Tone -> THD Hot Plate

Sound quality sucked! I get much more better sound (I mean the SOUND, not only bass) from my Red Bear tube amp (or Marchall JM-800) without this pedal.

When I tried Yamaha ST-400 -> Hot Cake -> Zoom 505 - > PA I get much better sound with this pedal than without Hot Cake, so I guess, If you are using tube Amp don't use this pedal, but with solid state amp this pedal is a GOD send to you.

So if you are with solid state amp it's 10 for your equipment but if you have tube equipment, for my opinion it's a waste of money. But anyway only your taste is what counts, so don't believe my words. Find your own sound and play style;-)

If I'd use it on gigs I'd rely on it. It seen good build and don't eat batteries too much (like Zoom effects;-)

Don't have any contacts with customer support, so can't rate this one. But because build with a quite little manufacturer, customer support should be good.

I usually play meavy metal, hard rock, rhythm blues and blues kind of music (and some hard rock ballads). I have been playing guitar about 10 years (first 5 years the distortion was most importand;-) and for the last 5 years I have learnt to respect good sound).

And because everything is up to your taste, this rate absolutelu depends on your taste and music playing style;-)

My suggest is that Check it out before buing.

Have good monents with your guitar!

It comes down to what you want to sound like, its not for everyone, as it brings out the true tones of you equipment. So if you have a thin weedy sounding guitar, it will deal with that sound appropriately, if you have a nice hollow body Gison or Gretsch it will sound AMAZING, I have tried it with most common guitars, and it really has different results which is the reason for buying it in the first place. I would use nothing else, end of story. It enables a very thick sound without compromising both volume, and richness of tone. It gets around that problem of stepping on a pedal and losing tones and depth.

I used a Gretsch Country Gent with a Holden 100 watt head (with 2x12 celestions) combined with a Jazz Chorus, sounded amazing. Now using Gibson Flying V with 2 x Ampeg 140 watts (each have 2x12's). This is the only distortion pedal that is as individual as your setup, it brings the tones of you guitar through, I cannot recommend it enough. I have used almost every possible analog distortion unit and nothing suits me more than the hotcake. But it comes down to what you want, it may not be very good for speed metal or other such thin digital sounds, but its great for balls out rock. It enables a very thick sound without compromising both volume, and richness of tone. It gets around that problem of stepping on a pedal and losing tones and depth.

nothing has ever gone wrong

Mr Crowther is a pleasure to deal with

Its a great match for Rock, Hard core, Blues, Country, solos, white noise, pop, violin etc. Most NZ bands that you have heard use one.

very easy to use. see previous reviews.

no matter what i tried, i could not get this pedal to sound good. it sounded a bit blurry and ragged.....didn't have that grunt that i look for in distortion pedals. i tried it with vox, marshall, fender and matchless amps....with high quality gibson and fender guitars. without a doubt, this was one of the biggest disappointments i have ever experienced with purchasing a pedal. after reading all of the hype, i expected so much more. perhaps i got a dud.(?)

seemed well built.

never contacted them. sold it after 4 weeks of trying to make it sound decent.

i wish i could have tried this pedal before buying it. i sold it at a loss, and couldn't be happier.

I use a Les Paul Standard or Fender American Standard Strat into the Hotcake into a Rivera M-60 combo. The Hotcake really kicks the amp in the ass. I use it mainly as a clean boost. LEVEL maxed out, PRESENCE about 12 o'clock and the DRIVE about 9 o'clock. I never turn it off even on the clean channel. The pedal doesn't color your sound like a Tube Screamer does and has a lot more balls. The hotcake just adds that something special to your tone that makes it a joy to play through. Cranking the Gain up for slide playing also gives a really ballsy slide tone. I just ordered another one can't wait to try the 2 of them together.

No problems so far and Paul is great to communicate with it you did ever have a problem.

The best! I have contact Paul several times and always get a quick response to my questions. He really cares about his products.

I play Classic Rock, 80's Hard Rock and Blues stuff and the Hotcake compliments everything I play.

My Hotcake is the slightly older model with the mid-lift switch. It's a pretty simple pedal. Volume and gain knobs, switch adds mids. Shouldn't be a problem for anybody.

For a raunchy, harmonically rich overdrive, I haven't found anything that I like better. Other overdrives that I've owned: orig TS9 w/ "good" chip, vintage dod overdrive/preamp 250, and a way huge red llama. The Crowther sounds like a cranked tube amp. I play a '57 reissue strat through either a fender pro jr. or a blackface pro rvb. and it sounds great through both at low gain settings. The hotcake can do high gain distortion, and it does a decent job, but it's a generic sound. Also, as the gain goes up, the mids get scooped which i don't particularly like. But I mostly use this for a low gain sound, and it does a great job at that (I leave the mid-lift switch off). The pedal is quiet, but there is a hint of trashy transistor sound that comes along with the distortion...a little like a blown speaker, but much more subtle. I personally like the sound--I think it's rock n' roll--but some people might not.

It's sturdy. I think the idea of backup pedals is pretty lame, so the second part of the question doesn't really apply to me.

Never had to deal with Crowther.

If you're looking for a natural overdrive with a little bit of grit, this is the best pedal I know of. The TS9 sounded boxy with too much emphasis on the mids (not at all transparent), the dod was too bass heavy, the red llama was just too fuzzy. This pedal usually goes for $100-130 used, and sounds a lot better than other overdrives that cost a lot more. I went through a pretty extensive process to find a overdrive that I liked and I'm happy with the Hotcake.

A truly amazing O/D pedal. Easy to use,but the only thing that will take a little twiddlin and fine tuning is the presence dial.This one can change your sonic result rather alot!! This is due to,that it also alters the midrange boost/cut area of your tone. Generally though, an easy pedal to use, and get a fantastic tone result from

Apart from everything i have tried sounding great with this pedal,ive noticed that a Mesa BlueAngel,Vox AC30 T/Boost or other Class A Amplifier,like a Laney to all sound just amazing harmonically with this little Hotcake.They seem to complement each other perfectly. I would imagine that a Matchless,Tophat or Bruno would sound unreal with a Hotcake driving it. The truly amazing thing about this pedal is the amount of 2nd and 3rd order harmonics that it will pull,and this is where class A amps shine anyway.The best tone i have heard to date is my Hotcake that had a L/Paul Junior with P90 Pickups in it, these were then both put through a Fender Reissue Reverb unit, and then into a Vox AC30 TopBoost Reissue with the blue Alnico Celestion speakers. WOW!!!!! The amp belongs to a friend and he also changed the GZ34 Rectifier Tube for a 5Y3,which he states gives this amp a nicer feel and sound,and at a lower volume too. Also,apparantly the amp doesnt run as hot with this little mod.

So far so good. Had it 6 months.

Sounds bloody amazing to me. Try one for yourself. The best pedal ive heard yet,especally with those harmonically rich class A amps.

I hate pedals. I didn't switch from bass to guitar so I could spend my time fiddling around on the floor with annoying little coloured boxes. The HC is great, it's simple to use and solves a number of problems for me. Currently I don't need anything else.

I play a Rickenbacker 'Tom Petty' 660/12 12-string through a Laney VC30 (VC = Vox Clone) A-Class tube amp. I bought the amp to match the Rick, the clean channel is superb and really hits that Rick chime and jangle.Tons of tone, tone to burn. I also use a '91 Les Paul Standard and '96 Strat Plus through the amp which is where the problem started. The Laney overdrive channel is pathetic, 'piss-weak', anaemic. No grit, bite or punch. Just a muffled 'smothered in cotton' foggy kind of sound. I tried a few things: EQ as a pre-amp to cut through the muffle etc, but no real success. Then I came across the Hotcake on EBay and read the reviews here. Then I tracked down Paul Crowther and bought one direct (cheaper than the EBay one sold for). I plugged it in and the difference was absolutely staggering, incredible, sensational. It fits the Laney like nothing else.

I hate the dials on guitars. I set everything at 10 and play. This is the first time I've used the volume pot on my Les Paul. I can use it to go from great bluesy rhythm guitar (about 7) and push it to 10 for leads that harden up the overdrive.

Tried this with my Strat Plus: Turn your guitar volume down to zero, then set the HC volume and presence to 12 oclock and the drive all the way up, now roll your guitar volume back and you can go from bluesy crisp harmonics to full on blatt-splatt, and stop at any point you like on the way. I can dial in EXACTLY the same sound of my amp unboosted (no colour or tone lost), and from there up to 'blatt-splatt Black Sabbath' by turning one dial.

I'm no longer looking for a boost pedal to drive lead riffs, I just use the volume dial on the guitar. The HC really responds to variation in attack, stroke and subtle picking. As somebody said before 'the harmonics that this pedal helps put out front is phenomenal. Your touch is all it takes.'

Too soon to know, but looks built to last.

Paul Crowther is great to deal with. Email him at:

croth@clear.net.nz
-and buy direct from:

Crowther Audio
PO Box 96 104,
Balmoral,
Auckland 1030,
New Zealand.

Overall Rating: For a Laney VC30 rig - 11+++

If you have a Laney VC30 (or even a VC50) the Hotcake is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. If you have any knid of A Class valve amp you NEED this pedal. Without it you just ain't in the game.

takes some tinkering to dial in the first time you use it, ONLY because it reacts so differently than most overdrives. much more conducive to the clean, all-out gain tone i've cried about not finding for years. once you find your preferred settings range, it becomes an easy 10 to work out different tones...

this is EASILY the best overdrive pedal i've ever used. i've been looking for the better part of 20 years for a pedal that would give me a harmonically rich boost without ANY sort of chomping, biting, 'effected' tone... THIS IS IT!!! i've owned ts-808s, mod'd ts-9s, a fulltone, a sparkledrive, a route 66, a ds-1... this is better. by far. and to top it all off, for fuzz and heavy distortion tones, you can't beat it either. my favorite overdrives before this pedal were 1) my ross compressor tweaked for a boost, 2) a ts-9 mod'd with the 4558 chip with the drive turned ALL THE WAY DOWN, and 3) an old soviet made "clay" big muff with the distortion turned all the way down. The HOT CAKE makes them all seem like toys... adding a deeply "complex" harmonic richness that settles beneath your amp's own tone. my current set-up: '53 telecaster - ross compressor - show bud volume pedal - axess buffer/line splitter - HOT CAKE - dual/fex "50's tremolo" - hiwatt 50 watt 1x12 combo

without the power adapter the button starts to pop when your battery is nearly dead. otherwise, built like a rock- knobs are "stiff" enough that my foot doesn't change the settings live (which i hate about tube screamers). super quiet.

everyone's in love with paul crowther... he'll mod your pedal, swap it for a new one, call you direct from new zealand. he likes what he does and it shows.

I play a lot of "vintage tone" guitar setups, and this pedal works perfectly on every set-up i have (my MOST IMPORTANT piece of recording equipment is my HOT CAKE!)... '50s tele, 60s gretsch, les paul jr, any of them through my hiwatt, jazz chorus, magnatone, supro, vibro champ... PERFECT match. the HOT CAKE just gives me MORE of the tones i already have and love. i couldn't be happier, and only months ago my most typical bitch was "i can't find an overdrive i like... and i've been looking 20 years!".

3 knobs: Level, Presence and Drive - come on !

My "setup" is either a Washburn MG-200 Strat Coupe or an old Ibanez 200 ( 335 Style guitar ) -> DOD FX 17 Wah/Volume pedal -> Hotcake ->
'66 Fender Princeton. First of all I have to damit that the Hotcake prefers Singlecoil equipped guitars. 10(+) for Strats, 8 for Humbucking guitars.
The range of Sounds you can get from this little box is enourmos:
From the most transparent and true, clean boost - over SRV style overdrive sounds ( STRAT!!!) to some bad ass fuzz overdrive ( not useful for me ) every thing is possible. I really love the SRV tones you can get with this box, very warm but always transparent and VERY(!!!) dynamic. Try this: Set all of the knobs at 12 o'clock roll your guitar volume back slowly and listen how nice it cleans up. Or just pick a little lighter - very nice !
I think this is the BEST overdrive for STRAT-style guitar players, period!

Okay I'm not quite shure about this, since my Hotcake started to develop a "pop"-noise everytime I engaged this box. After several e-mails to Mr Crowhter I remembered a little sticker on the inside of the box ( unreliable switching may be caused by low battery voltage).
I replaced the Hotcake battery with one out of my other pedals ( a newer battery) and the "pop" sound almost disappeared. I think i will purchase a power supply for the Hotcake here in a little bit.
Other than that it looks very well made - outside and inside.

Okay, this is my main reason, why I wanted to write this review.
In my whole life I never had contact with a company that friendly and helpful! I e-mailed Paul about the problem I experienced with the switch, he mailed back within an hour! Not enough a couple of hours later he sent another e-mail with more advise, he even offered to
send me a new pedal if I would send mine back to him!
Super fast, friendly and helpful - 11 points here. I'm more than pleased with the service of this company!!!

I like Stevie Ray although I play RHCP and classic funk, trying to play jazz. Like I said this pedal is the holy grail overdirve for singlecoil guitars, still great for Humbucking guitars. This pedal is suited for bluesy and ( alternative ) rock stuff, I love to play funky rhytmes a la Fruiscante with it - definitly worth the (high) price. why by a couple of "okay-pedals" if you can have one SUPERFANTASTIC one ?!? PLUS THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE EXPERIENCED ON THIS PLANET.

Just a level, presence and drive. Itsreally simple to use and get a great sound!

With a Fender Deluxe Reverb and a 1958 Les Paul, this pedal is by far better than any I have ever used in my 20+ years of playing. It nails any blues tone you could ever want to achieve. Its not limited to just that though. Classic rock, such as ZZ Top, Skynyrd, older Santana, etc...This thing can nail them all.Very warm and not harsh at all like so many other pedals. I use to think the tube screamers where the "cats meow" but this kicks there a**. Hopefully, no one else will buy one and I'll become the next guitar God, ha, ha!

I just bought mine used, so I haven't had it long enought tosay how dependable it is. Its case is good and strong. It should hold up for quiet some time.

Haven't dealt with them.

I would definitely buy another one if this one was stolen. I cannot find any faults with this pedal so far. My TS10 tube screamers and Voodoo Sparkle drive will be up for sale very soon.

This pedal is tricky. The presence knob is really a midrange adjuster, as far as I can tell at least. That is, it doesn't behave like a presence knob on a Fender amp. So, turn the knob down and you get a scooped mid kind of tone. The gain knob seems to have three distinct regions: clean boost (i.e. no real "gain" to speak of), overdrive and finally fuzz (when it's cranked all the way up). There doesn't seem to be a gradual shift between these regions, making it tricky to dial in your desired tone.

Well it took me a couple days to get this thing to do what I wanted it to but now that I've figured it out it kicks butt.

I play a Telecaster into a Kingsley Deluxe 30 (a Vox AC30 clone, more or less). Everyone says a Hot Cake is the best OD pedal for an AC30. Oh, I tried Tubescreamers and their ilk (including the much lauded MJM Blues Devil) into the Kingsley and it just wasn't happening. The Kingsley is super finicky about OD pedals. But once I got the Hot Cake it was a nice match! The Hot Cake sounds like a cranked AC30 to me. It compresses and gets kind of splatty like pretty much all EL84-based amps when cranked. That's maybe my only complaint about the pedal is the lows can get a little splatty. Not really farty, per se, more splatty. Know what I mean? Then again, it may well be my amp that's doing the splatting and not the pedal. No matter, I dig the tones I'm getting.

When cranked it does an almost Big Muff type fuzz tone. Cool, but I've been keeping the gain knob at between 12 o'clock and 2 o'clock where you get a nice overdrive tone. It's not as smooth and midrangey and syrupy as a TS, but that's fine with me. This pedal is more about chunk, chang, chime and clang. I've been combining it with a clean boost (after the HC) and, momma, look out! Stepping on the clean boost just gives me more Cake! It's the icing on the cake! A hotter cake, if you will. Somebody stop me!

I would not call the Cake "transparent." Like I said, to me it kinda emulates an AC30. You get chime and compression from it not simply an uncolored OD.

Well, all that said the Hot Cake is not perfect. It's not true bypass. It's kind of small and the knobs are sorta hard to get at cuz they're small and bunched up next to each other. The paint job is that same boring tan color that most PCs are. I know I'm being picky but wouldn't this be cooler in hot pink? It was designed by a former member of the Split Enz, after all. (y'know, 80's new wave. hot pink and black? black and white checkered? remember those days?).

And there's the whole issue with the sudden shift from clean to OD to fuzz when you turn the gain knob.

Super easy, 3 knobs (level,drive,presence) You'll be off in minutes

I'm sticking to my LP with the Hot Cake. My Tele sounds awsome as well but I prefer the LP's tone. I may try something different for my Tele,but the Cake is exactly what I've been looking for. Set up is Dillion LP(w/Rio Grande pups) or Fender Nashville Tele>MXR Phase 90>Fulldrive>Hot Cake>Visual Sounds H2O>Peavey Classic 50 4x10

I havent had it that long but its looks sturdy enough. Besides some of us college students cant afford a backup

Couldn't tell ya

This is everything I've been looking for in a pedal. I've gone through so many trying to find something I liked and I finally decided to give this a shot.

This thing rules. Its SO simple. Mine is the original model that only has a level knob and a drive knob. Theres a toggle switch for pesence.

Fantastic. Im using a marshall DSL (which has two footswitchable channels) and up til this point I used one for rhythm and one for lead - now, I have turned the gain down on each channel and using the hotcake I now have 4 channels and much more dynamic range.

I havent, up till this point, been able to find an overdrive pedal that doesnt mess with your sound. This can be a very subtle pedal.

I bought it 2nd hand a month or so ago and havent had a prob. It is very robust.

NA

I play heavyish guitar rock. This pedal enables me to never have to change the gain on my amp or guitar during a gig.

very easy.only 3 knobs...just turn them till ya get the sound ya want...how simple is that.they are easy read knobs ie; LEVEL..obviously volume : DRIVE....errr gain....
all in all... suit beginner to the pros

i mainly use a fender strat (85) though a compresser,crybaby,ts9,hotcake...roland JC120. very quiet no noise when engaging,no noise when on ..i use HC for boost with little drive(11:00 anything after 2:00 started dulling)..mainly to boost the TS9.i tried it the other way (HC-TS9) but found the lack of tone control in the HC pretty hard ..but haven said that i dont think ive played around with settings on amp and guitar enough to make a full judgment on that one.
very natural sounding doesnt so much put an effect on your sound...i feel it brings my JC120 to life
use to have presence up alot but latly turn down to around 9:00(mine start at around 8:00)
one thing i dont like is going to see a rock band...waiting for a guitar solo and ??? what !!!! cant hear it!!! with the HC you can really boost your solos up without loosing tone.

i have no back up..been using it for 1 year,same battery,dropped it god knows how many times. still ticking nicely

never delt with company but i know where new zealand is ...i was born and raised there

i play mainly rock blues for around 15 years now. i'll try other pedals but im quite happy with it ..i mean.. if it anit broke..dont fix it. i chose this pedal out of ignorance ,i was looking for an 808
but as i found out they were VERY hard to find and i saw the HC was hand made in my home contry so i brought it ...
i Dont wish it had tone control coz too much tweeking results in less natural sound i'll have to do some amp/guitar settings
overall im happy with my little box

Doesn't take a lot of tweaking to get a great sound. The presence control as it can scoop or boost the mids significantly. I tend to leave it at around 11 o'clock (with 12 o'clock being no mid boost or cut). I drop my rating one point here only because I find myself tweaking the presence knob a lot. I guess I haven't really found my sweet spot yet.

My Hotcake has a modified circuit design installed by Mr Crowther himself. After a short email exchange, Paul offered to replace my original circuit board with a modified board. The sound put out by this pedal runs the gamut from harmonically rich clean boost right up through heavy overdrive and into a creamy fuzz type distortion. Amazing tonal range and versatility for only three knobs. I can set it for a chunky overdrive and clean it up a bit by playing lighter or rolling down the guitar volume. Or it can set it for a light overdrive and get a very clean sound by easing up on the pick attack or guitar volume. In the latter case, you could leave it on for the whole gig. One less pedal to futz with. I like my Hotcake after my Green Rhino Overdrive with the gain (on the hotcake) set at between 1 and 2 o'clock. with this setup, I get a really singing solo sound with incredible focus and presence. I also use a RAT on occasion but find the RAT to be a little too thick for chording and tends toward feedback too easily (but that can be a good thing some times). With the Hotcake onboard, the RAT doesn't get as much use anymore, except when I want to get into a "tube amp on 11" meltdown tone.

I gig with it constantly. It has never once flaked out on me. Swicthing is silent and reliable. Doesn't eat batteries like some pedals do. Stays quiet when powered from any decent power supply.

The stock Hotcake was working just fine and sounded great but I was hoping for a sound with a bit less teeth to it, so Paul offered the modded board which turned out to be EXACTLY what I wanted. If that isn't enough, he did the installation a NO CHARGE. I can't stress enough how pleased I am with Mr. Crowther's service. I inferred by his emails that he wanted me to be happy with my Hotcake, period. At the time of this writing, I'm licking fresh wounds inflicted by a no-repute "boutique" pedal-vending pirate who sold me a brand new pedal and then disappeared when I had problems with it. Paul Crowther and his company Crother Audio is a class act not even to be named in the same breath as the afforementioned rabble. Thank you Mr Crowther!

One of the best pedal aquisitions I've ever made, especially considering the primo customer service. Don't be fooled by all the advertising hype from boutique pedal "pirates". The Crowther Audio Hotcake is the real deal.

Easy to use - 3 knobs to adjust - drive, level and presence. The presence pot is like a mid boost.

The pedal is capable of some nice sounds. On the lower drive settings its kind of like an overdrive pedal. As you increase the drive the pedal gets fatter sounding. Unlike a tube screamer there is a fullness in the bass. There is lots of harmonic content, at least in the low to mid frequencies, which is unlike a tube screamer.

The down side is that when I use it on the gain channel of my Marshall JTM 30 amp there is a lack of high frequencies. Increasing the presence control will compensate the upper mids (sort of like a Marshall bark)but not the treble frequencies. Perhaps its because the bass and mids get boosted and treble frequencies don't. Anyway my perception of this becomes very certain when I compare it with my Route 66 pedal.

Even with this shortcoming I prefer it to the Route 66 for soloing, because of the richer harmonic content.

Another thing is this pedal is capable of functioning well as an overdrive for a one channel clean amp, something that most overdrives are in my opinion too thin to do.

Yes its reliable. Rugged Boss like construction but smaller. The input for the adapter is in an awkward spot though, on the side of the pedal.

I bought this directly from Paul Crowther, and he is a pleasure to do business with.

I don't expect I will ever require support for this product.

This is a fine piece of equipment. Even with my gripe about the lack of harmonics and high end sparkliness, I realize that I could have paid more for a lesser product. Also, although I have not ventured into other boutique overdrives, I have tried and found nothing in the mass produced (Boss, Ibanez etc) that is as good as this.

Getting the riht sound for right place is very easy. Three knobs can't be too hard to cope with. I didn't get the manual with neither of my hotcakes. Didn't really need one.

As long as I have played with my AC30(=long!), I've had this common "could you turn your down"-thing. HC was REALLY first od/distortion that sounded like vox wide open. As many other have said on their rewiew - HC works really well with AC30. I agree.
Hotcake is very handy in its variety of od/dist. I use two of them: as a od/distortion and as a slightly overdriven boost. With the overdriven boost sound I had to search a little, but I managed to get the sound right wiht 01level/10.30dist. HC works great with Buddawah.
I have also Fulltone 69' and as my customer said they work really well together! They are different enough - and together they sing.I haven't tried it with keyboards etc. but I'm sure of it, that it might work well..
My line: tele>buddawah>fulltone69'>hotcake>hotcake>AC30.

Don't need a backup. Would marry it.

Crowther Audio sites? Is there? Are there gonna be? As I live so damn far away from NZ..

I play mainly soul/rockstuff. Been playing about 13 years. Wouldn't trade/sell/lose it. If stolen, would get new ones.

Very simple to use, the manual is photocopied but helpful,this unit has been made for quite a while with minimal changes.

Gibson Les Paul Custom, Guild S 100 into a `69 Marshall Super Lead and a `73 Marshall Super Bass with matching year cabinets.This pedal is very quiet, it has a very warm tube like sound, works well with other pedals...I use it with a Barber Tone Pump...(Hotcake then tone pump from left to right). Some reviewers say the Hotcake is not good for metal/hard rock etc. The pedal acts good as a preamp, it will give you a good tube like sound, and when combining it with other overdrive pedals, it does it`s magic...in this regard the Tone Pump and Hotcake work great for Metal and loud rock,the Hotcake by it self won`t do it.
I`m using them together with the old Marshalls to get some amazing metal type tones.I also use the two pedals with my `76 Music Man 2-10 as well and it gives me a great tube type preamp sound to help the solid state MM `s preamp section.
The Hotcake makes any amp warmer, I used it for a while with a TS9 through a Lab Series L5 and it warmed that up too.

However... the pedal is lost through my Wizard Metal which is very high gain, and is not needed.So it`s beauty is in cleaner amps so it would seem.

Works so far,I`ve had the same battery it came with and it`s still going strong and that was 6 months ago.

Paul Crowther answered my e-mails promply, and sent out the pedal in a timely fashion.
The pedal is built to last.

I play alot of different styles but lean toward the heavier stuff, I use it primarily as a preamp for my old Marshalls, and to warm up the Music Man amp.
When playing through a high gain amp such as the Wizard, I just use the Tone Pump and a TS9 as back up.

The Hotcake in my opinion is a great warm sounding, high quality unit.

Three knobs. Drive is distortion, Level is volume, and Presence is mid lift/cut. Very easy to get a good sound. Easy easy.

I use it into a Line6 FlextoneII XL. And the Sound is awesome. The distortion qualities change immensely with the different gear you use and this is not so true with crappy overdrive pedals. It's hard to get a bad sound out of this pedal for me. It does it all. It does not do insane distortion but I have a Creamy Dreamer for that anyway. I used to love my Boss DF2 and now I'm considering selling it. The overdrive is very organic and the drive control can be set at alot or a little. I highly suggest it.

It seems very sturdy. There is no pedal that could be used as a backup except another Hot Cake so unless i bought another one ther would be no backup. It gets an eight because the footswicth feels a bit iffy and there is no true bypass. I may get it modded or buy a true bypass box. I don't know.

I said it before rock and punk rock and many others. This thing does everything if it is overdrive or distortion. I imagine the METAL HEADS wouldn't care too much for it as the fuzz is not so insane but that's what I have the Creamy Dreamer for anyway. Get one if you can and I don't think you'll be sorry.

This is a re-review that I amp posting after having my Hotcake for a few years. I have spent many years gathering a rather extensive pedal collection. Fulltone Fulldrives (orange and blue ones), Klon, Rx Elec, Ibanez (808, 9), and many others. After all these years I have realized that nothing can really top the Hotcake for consistently getting me that "sound I hear in my head". I have found that it particularly likes Class A amps. For me it is nothing short of tonal nirvana. Also, the pedal is very dynamic in it's response to your guitar's volume control. I can actually get the exact sound of the amp with the pedal off by simply turning down the volume to a certain point. Anyway, I used to lug around a huge cumbersome pedalboard in a hard case with the power supply, volume pedal, tuner, overdrive, clean boost, wah, delay, univibe, switchers, etc... But now all I have to do is throw the Hotcake in the back of my amp, use the other guitar player's tuner between sets, and off I go! I have found this setup to be very liberating. I don't have to worry about all those connections and all those circuits loading down my signal anymore. I guess I have regressed a little by ordering my second Hotcake the other day. It is the one with the Presence knob instead of the switch like the one I currently have. The moral of this story; "old habits die hard". I suggest you give it a try: take just one pedal the next time you play...or none. It really makes YOU play and not the gizmos on the floor in front of you.

Simple to use. Has the standard Tubescreamer 3 knob (Volume, Presence, Drive) configuration. The older ones have a switch instead of a presence knob which cuts mids. The manual is a xeroxed sheet of paper,
but doesn't tell you anything you can't figure out by spending a few minutes with the unit. The LED is a nice feature, but at the cost of true bypass which is a real problem with this pedal.

I played this pedal with Strats mostly through a 69' blackfaced super reverb. The sound while engaged was excellent. It was very warm and organic sounding. I was rather surprised how good it was having tried
several overdrives in the past(Boss, Fulldrive2) that I didn't like. The knobs cover a very wide range of tones, all of which are very usable. It can go from mild dirt to a fairly high gain crunch. This pedal has a unique type of overdrive which I liked, but makes it hard to compare to others. The stomp switch is completely quiet, no click
at all. As I mentioned earlier, the lack of true bypass on this unit is really obvious, probably more so than Boss and Ibanez type pedals. When the pedal was disengaged, my weak sound became thin sounding and,
for lack of a better word, "plastic" sounding. I loved this pedal alot, but could not deal with the colored clean sound, so I sold it.

The circuit is built into a standard Hammond project box, very sturdy.
All the wiring is clean and neatly laid out. The switch is rugged and worked every time without fail in the six months or so I had the pedal. Never had to change the battery. I hear Paul Crowther, the maker of these pedals is very helpful, but he has no web page, and his e-mail address is hard to come by. I trusted the pedal and it never let me down. That's more than I can say for the rest of the world.

See above.

Overall, this is a very useful pedal if you're trying to achieve a number of different overdrive sounds. The sound quality (while engaged) and build quality are top notch, but the lack of true bypass is unforgivable. I really hope this is changed in the future.

Ease of use? plug in, step on. turn dials to taste. The really amazing thing is that regardless where the knobs are the tone is usable.

I am using this as an od/distortion on a pedalboard that contains a Seekwah-vox 847-super fuzz-TS9(analog mike)-HOT CAKE-fatboost-microvibe-voodoo lab tremolo-DL4-Eball vol---amp (Dr. Z, Orange, Marshall)I have been through a bunch of overdrives from the fulldrive to the menatones all of the maxxon stuff. This pedal is really cool and different from the others. It produces a great grind that goes from clean boost to blacktop smooth with every flavor in between. It is VERY responsive to dynamics and offers complex harmonics. I love the way when I step on it, that until I hit a note I can't tell that it has been enguaged. VERY quiet!

???????time will tell

??????? Where is new zeland and what time is it over there?

Current flavor of the week. I would buy it again because it really behaves like an instrument rather than just an effect. The responsiveness to the pick attack and vol make this a keeper.

Very easy to get a great sound.

I used this with a tele and a mesa DC5. It sounded awesome and was very quiet. I really liked the fact that it did'nt sound like a tubescreamer, and it sounded great at lower volumes as well. I also used it for my fender rhodes and it sounded great for that too. My main only gripe about the Hotcake(and the reason I sold it), was its lack of true bypass switching. I dial in a clean fenderish tone for my mesa'a rythym channel and was using this for a crunch tone, but when switched off it obviously compromised my clean tone. It thinned it out quite a bit and made it sound a bit unnatural to my ears. Would anyone else be able to tell? Probably not, but I could so I sold it. Now that I know about true bypass boxes on pedalboard.com I wish still had it, but oh well.

Great organic sounding OD pedal capable of outstanding high gain tones as well, but if you don't leave it on all the time and you have descriminating ears, you might not be happy. If you already have other pedals without TB switching you probably won't care, But I use mostly Fulltone stuff and I heard the difference.

I have the version with the mid boost switch. I plug in the guitar and out comes a fantastic sound full of rich sounding harmonics.

Great in front of a Vox Ac30 / AC15. Useable overdrive right through the range. My sweet spot is at about 11 oclock, it has that in between sound nailed, and works perfectly at giving an otherwise clean Vox some edge. I tend to run an MXR Dyna Comp into it, and a Ibanez Mos Tortion after the Cake, for extra distortion.

I have owned 2, 1 very old with a plastic bypass switch, and a new version with a metal switch. I have had problems with both switches not always activating or bypassing. I currently use it with a Rocktron Patch Mate so it stays "on" at all times, so its not such a problem.

never dealt with the company.

This would probably be the best sounding overdrive pedal around. It responds like a great amp - play soft / wind volume back and the sound cleans up, play hard and overdrive ! great ! As I said, I use it in combination with the Ibanez Mos Tortion (another great pedal), which between the 2 has a lot of cool sounds / tones covered.

Well I took it out of the box grabed a guitar/amp/cable and krang! it sounded good. Classic controls that work well. Mine has the presence knob instead of the switch.

Sound quality is very good if not excellent. This pedal seems to do many things well. From clean boost to overdrive to distotion they all seem to be usable. I am using it as a slight overdrive with my JMI AC-30. It is very touch sensitive and has more teeth than my fulldrive. By that I mean it has slightly more grit to it. I like the full drive and use it for a clean boost but it's a little too polite when I want to get to get down.

I mostly play blues and rootsy older stuff but I play country, rock, bit o jazz as well. I own a 64 strat, 60 guild Capri, 76 guild S300. I own a guitar shop and get to hear a lot of gear. This pedal gives me what I want: a natural sounding overdriven amp tone. I've been playing about 30 years and appreciate quality. I've owned many different amps and overdrives. This is one of the best yet. I don't like the idea of giving it a 10, but then I can't put my finger on how it could be improved.

Very easy to use. It is a no brainer.

I used it through a brown Princeton, Silverface Princeton Reverb, Marshall 50, and an AC30. I used a Les Paul, Telecaster, and a Les Paul Special.
The pedal seems to like the AC30 the best. It is magical, capturing the natural sound of the amp, allowing me to get a cranked tone at low volume. I cannot tell where the amp starts and the pedal leaves of. Through the marshall (1971) it adds a great overdrive. I haven't had the chance to crank it up yet though. Very organic natural un pedal like tone. I havent experimented much with the fender amps, at this time I still prefer a Ts808.
The switching is 100% noiseless, and it is the best clean boost I have found. I rate it a 9 for the sake of being critical, and I haven't dialed it in for the fenders yet. Also I found the gain too much past about 60%.

High quality components. I looked inside. It was autographed by paul, and encased in top secret silicone to protect his circut. I can tell this will stand up as well as anything.

I Can't speak for the service. I got mine used, but I have heard from everyone I have emailed and talked to, Paul C. is a great guy to deal with.

It does exactly what I heard from others it does. Give a great rocking tone through my AC30. Also great in front of a marshall. If I lost it I would get another one asap. It is a must for all AC30 users unless your in a Beatles tribute band. If that is the case piss off.

The ease in which this 3 knob edition can summon up tones that make you want to jam all night long is a very simple.
You may run out of room when marking on the box the different setting combinations for quick reference, as there are alot of very useful ones.

There are many different guitars and amps that I use, and the Hotcake is at home with each combination. Very well thank you.
Each combination has it's own best settings which are too numerous to go into here. However, my Carlson Turbo Pup and my ES335 with the Hotcake just does it for me without a doubt.
As a matter of fact, it has taken the place of two other pedals that I thought were exceptional. It blew them away without ever looking back!!! Cudos to Paul Crowther.
The boost in which you can drive a clean amp to breakup is pure. That is, it can boost without coloring the sound that you liked your amp for to begin with.
Now that you know it can do this to a clean amp, can you imagine what you can do with an amp that naturally breaks-up? EVEN at low volume??!!!
Folks have said that the Hotcake should be the first effect in the chain with the exception of a compressor.
This is the way I have mine. I have not tried it any other way as of yet. If you do, please let us know how it works out. Rules are made to be broken. For now I am content with my configuration.
I have taken a broken rule out of the path with this unit, and until now, I was happy with the results.
I have always like the sound of my VooDoo Lab Vibe BEFORE my distortion. Rules... This is the first time it has sounded better after.
The harmonics that this pedal helps put out front is phenomenal.
Your touch is all it takes. Low volume, light attack, digging deep. All of the nuances come out. Very Cool.
A very professional pedal in all regards.
It inspires.
Don't take my word for it.
Try one for yourself.

Studio use only.
That said, it is as rugged as the best Boss effect.

Haven't had to do this yet.
However, based on the other reviewers here, my guess is that I'll have no worries.

I'm extremely happy.

Very Easy!

Great overdrive-and clean/dirty sound. Beats most every pedal I've
tried including Original TS9's, everything Boss, Expandora, Mesa
V-Twin, and many others.

Looks good, No problems yet. I would use it without a back-up no problem.

Haven't delt with Paul yet but I've had good luck with small builders
like him. I've heard good things about Crowther Audio.

One of the best O.D.'s on the market period.

Only 3 knobs
Vol, Drive, tone
Although there's no manual, who needs one.

Setting is simple, If it is all set in the middle, it sounds almost clean. Now just increase the drive a little and you get that clean overdrive snd. And the tone of your git is not erased. Although capable of low distortion, try increasing your drive to 3/4 and you will experience the warmest, yet full overdrive sound. If you mix this with Ibaneze Ts9, you will have lots of fun with it. Honestly, this soungs better than and Ts that i've tried. But if you mix them well, the combi is unbelievable. My current set Fender strat 97, through a compr,hot cake, Ts9, chorus esemble,volume, Pan delay and through a tech 60 amp.
This pedal is noiseless.
I play lots of hillsongs ,this set up is great.

i'm using it for only a year, but no problems,
doesn't eat much batt to0
compatible to 9v adaptor

I got this from Melbourne Music centre, so far i don't need their support.

if i lose this stuff, i 'll get another one, with out any qns asked
Just get it, the world's greatest overdrive.

Simple to use.

Used the pedal for the first time in an out door festival with a blackface super reverb cranked and a single P-90 old epiphone. The tone was unbelievable. A number of well known guitarists came up to me afterward to rave up the sound, which they credited to the guitar.
But the pedal definietely added a very musical fatness. I love old TS-808's and am a big fan of every Mike Fuller Fulltone effect, but have to say that the hotcake sounded fantastic. I had an 808 in line with it, and the hotcake just sounded bigger, fatter and better. This was my first time using the pedal, so my feedback is limited. Afterward, I found it a nice practice volume overdrive, to get a dumble like sound.

I had just the pedal for the first time, and the LED light stayed on whether the pedal was on or off. I have just exchanged at the store I bought it, and this one works fine. I never have problems with pedals, so am confidant this will work fine, and just that the first one I had had a minor glitch. But I hope they all sound the same, because the first one sounded so great.

I play mostly blues. I've been playing a long time. I own lots of vintage guitars, amps and pedals. I love this pedal, and think I'll use it a lot. I think it compares favorably with my favorite overdrive pedals, which include about fifteen TS-808's, a unidentified knock-off of a yellow Boss-OD pedal which sounds unbelievable, and of course the Fulldrive pedal. I have about 100 other overdrive pedals, everything you can imagine, and the hotcake stands right up at or near the top.

I spent quite a lot of time testing the Crowther Audio Hotcake. As I plugged in, I could've sworn that I had installed a matched quartet of NOS Mullard EL-84s into my Classic 30 combo! Harmonics were just flying from the amp's speakers, every nuance of "touch sensitivity" is at the Hotcake's command. It appears that it is next to impossible to get a "bad" sound out of this amazing little box from New Zealand. No doubt, the BEST overdrive/distortion box my guitar,ears and fingers have ever heard or used. Blessed with virtually no noise or hiss, it's a very versatile beast as well. Easy to use as a clean boost [like the Fulldrive II or Klon Centaur] BUT it is also incredible when used as a stand alone distortion unit. I get a much better sound using the Hotcake for my dirty tone than I get from using the amp's overdrive gain channel alone. The Crowthers definitely have a winner here in the Hotcake; not a speck of graininess or unpleasant buzzing---only fat, rich, creamy smooth tones abound here in SPADES. Another surprizing aspect to the Hotcake is that it works exceedingly well in direct recording applications. I plugged my Stratocaster directly into the Hotcake then into my Roland VS-840EX digital workstation for the hell of it and was blown out of my seat when I played the track back! Unbelievable! I have tried many different distortion boxes direct into my Roland but they sounded thin and nasal by comparison. In fact, too disappointing! It hardly matters now, because I'm selling all the other OD pedals I currently have lying around.

I have the newer model with three control knobs; the original design's "mid-lift" switch has been replaced by a potentimeter to capture all the subtle "in-between" sounds that were not available before [it had on and off positions only]. The third pot is now called "presence" and it does a great job of dialing in the "attitude" you want. The Hotcake is extremely intuitive and responds telepathically to any change of picking attack from either hand. Its Clean Boost sound is very good and very similar to the aformentioned Klon or Fulldrive pedals [for much less dough]. I am pleased to report that my years of searching for the right overdrive/distortion pedal for me are OVER [and I'll save a TON of money on tubes to boot]...Thanks to Paul and family at Crowther Audio!

I used several Stratocasters, Telecasters, Les Pauls [both humbucking and P-90s models here] TeleSonic, etc. Amps are Peavey Classic 30, various Fender Hot Rod Devilles, Blues Junior and Deluxe, reissue Vox AC-30.

I would not have to worry about having a backup although I will buy another one. Built like a tank and looks like the Rolls Royce factory
inside. Clean as a whistle with quality components throughout.

Paul has gone beyond the call in answering any questions I had before purchasing. Very informative fellow who cares very much about his products!

The overall rating is great. The Hotcake would be a highly useful device for any genre of music. I play jazz, rock, blues, country, fusion, New Age, etc. If stolen, I'd definitely buy another without any hesitation. The Hotcake has added a new dimension to my playing and it is an inspiring sound to use. I've been playing for 36 years and own a wide variety of amps, effects guitars and the like.

Very easy to use. 3 Controls, Level, Presence, and Drive. I have found that I don't like the Presence control, and leave it at zero.

I love this pedal. I can use it as either an overdrive pedal for extra gain while soloing, or as a distortion pedal with a clean amp.

When I gig, I use a PRS Standard with, usually, a Alessandro Redbone Coonhound running into a 4x12 Marshall cabinet loaded with re-issue greenbacks. The other head I gig with is a Callaham EL34. In this setup, the Hotcake makes for an excellent overdrive pedal. The "sweetspot" that I have found with this setup is with the Level at around 1 o'clock, Presence at zero, and Drive at around 10 o'clock. Awesome. Not only does it give a volume boost, but it adds a little colorization to the tone that improves it. As stated above, I only use it with this set up for soloing. I don't like the Presence control because it seems to muddy up the tone the more it is turned up. Some people like this, I do not.

The band that I play in practices at lower sound levels than I am accustomed. I am of the breed that has to crank up a tube amp for power amp distortion to get the tone that I want. Therefore, our practices have always been problems for me. I am always dragging around heads and cabinets, and using a power attenuator (the Callaham is 28 Watts, the Alessandro is 55 Watts), and pissing other people off because I am "too loud." Well, I can't turn down any, because I then would have no tone. I have never heard a distortion pedal that I thought was worth crap for distortion until now. Granted, I still prefer the cranked amp sound, but the Hotcake sounds pretty damn good as the source of distortion with a clean amp. I can use the Hotcake with my Victoria Bassman (cranked, it is too loud for these guys) at low amp volumes and get a really nice distorted tone. The Victoria is easier to tote around, so I think my band practice dilemma is solved (for the equipment that I own).

The switching on this pedal is silent. The pedal makes no noise.

I have not had it long enough to say. It certainly appears to be well constructed, and I will be surprised if it does not last longer than me.

I have only corresponded with Paul Crowther via e-mail. He responded to my inquiries very quickly, and the whole process of ordering and receiving the Hotcake from New Zealand (I live in Ohio) was very smooth, and fast, considering at came from the other side of the world. Paul was very friendly, and obviously takes great pride in his work.

I do not like pedals. I don't use pedals. I like a pure, uncolored guitar tone similar to Jimmy Page in the movie "The Song Remains the Same." The Hotcake helps me to achieve the tone that I want. I also have a Klon Centaur, which is an excellent overdrive pedal, but not really a distortion pedal. The Hotcake does both, and does both of them very well. I think the $125 price, which includes air post, is a bargain. I would replace it if I lost mine.

I will taunt cheesiness and say that this thing is a piece of cake: 1 level knob, 1 gain knob, and mine is the newer version that has a sweepable knob for presence instead of the dark/bright selector switch on the older ones. There are lots of great sounds in the pedal, and the sheet that came with it would help you if you can't figure it out on your own. It can go from just slightly dirty to really distorted and pretty fuzzy. You can get great settings through the whole spectrum. I have not used it extensively, but it's been super so far.

I play an Am Std Strat through a bunch of pedals and then into a '65 Reissue Fender Twin Reverb. I love how this thing doesn't make my original tone and eq disappear. I LOVE how the bass end of my clean tone is still there when I engage the Hotcake. I also LOVE how, as others mentioned, you have so many good options to play with. You can sound like Petty, but I tend to turn the gain up more and go for a distortion sound that's meaty, a little ragged, and a little jangly -- all at the same time. No distortion I've tried pleased me so much for medium to high-ish gain. You really do need to hear it, though.

I would depend on this thing. No backup at this time, and if I got another one, it would be so that I could have two different settings, not because I think it'd break. Time only tells, though. However, if it did break, Paul would be cool and help if he could, I'm quite convinced.

Some of the best service I've ever had. Paul's in New Zealand, and he responded to all my messages very promptly. I told him what I was looking for in a sound and what my setup was. He said that the Hotcake would probably be what I needed. Well, dang if it wasn't. He did say I could send it back if it wasn't what I was looking for. I also liked that he wrote my name on and personalized the instruction sheet. You know, little things that added up to a lot. Also, the price was great. I just feel really good about how I was treated and wouldn't hesitate to deal with Paul again.

I've been playing for about 12 years (not very well for the first 8 years, though :). Currently, I play modern rock with pop, indie, hard, and noise rock elements. I also lead worship at church and conferences, so I do need to be versatile. I would buy this thing again in less than a second, and if there was a version that was a little smoother, I'd buy that, too, while I was at it. I just love it. It sounds real, distinctive, and for what I use it for, it blows every other pedal I've tried out of the water (RATs and an SD-9 were in the running as far as non-boutique pedals, but were not very close). I have tried a good number of boutique-style pedals, but there are a few that would probably be worth comparing to this if you are able. However, even if I liked one of those other pedals and bought one, I think the Hotcake's staying on the pedalboard for a long, long time. I almost didn't want to post this review, since I believe the Hotcake will now be my staple live sound and I'd like to be original, but I think great products and service deserve recognition. Wonderful pedal.

Easy, simple pedal. Good distortion. Volume knob, drive knob. One tone switch.

Sounds pretty dang cool. From clean boost all the way to compressed, mushy, fat distortion. As you turn up the drive, the tone gets darker and more compressed. That's when it's a good idea to switch on the mid lift. It's a 2 way toggle switch instead of a tone pot, but I've read you can now get a HC with a tone pot, which would be even better. I give it an 8 since it's not true-bypass.

Seems very durable.

Paul Crowther seems like a cool guy. He's quick to respond to email and very helpful. I also bought a Prunes and Custard from him. Quality stuff!

I play different styles. I currently have 8 electric guitars (Fenders, Gretsch, Hamer, Jerry Jones etc.) and 4 or five amps (Boogie MKIV, Rocket A-10, JC-120) and the HC seems to sound good with all of 'em. The JC-120 is picky about pedals and sounds only okay with it.

The Hotcake is very easy to use. Two knobs and a switch, or 3 knobs on the modded ons (I have both). There aren't any manual coming with it, but it is difficult to see any need of one either. When dialing in the Hotcake, a little goes a long way. Most of my setting are between 10.00 and 2.00 o'clock on the drive and 12.30 and 2.00 on the level.

Using the Hotcakes with a number of guitars Strats, Tele and Les Paul. It works good with both singel coils and humbuckers, however IMHO it works the best with single coils. Mostly using the Hotcake as a medium gain Distortion (modded one) or a slight drive & grit thingy. It also does the "Clean Boost" thing very well, prefer other boxes for this myself.

It can be a little picky about guitar amp combination. The Hotcake works OK with a Mesa Heartbreaker. The sounds are much more pleasing with a Marshall or Tweed and a true "11" into a VOX AC30 TB. If used with med. drive in the amp and adding distortion with the Hotcake, the modded one with a pot instead of the toneswitch helps controlling the "scream" better.

Built like a tank. Switches, pots and jacks seems like top quality, however there are quite some "goo" covering the electronics, kinda "Dumble" like I guess. So it is difficult to see all the parts, as well as solder joints and general construction.

Paul was very helpful and responses was very fast. As far as I remeber he has always replied within a day. Got very accurate answears on all my questions, and I had a couple. The boxes does exactly what he says they are doing. Really nice doing business with him. Fast shippment eventough it came from New Zealand.

The Hotcake can cover many bases and does it very well. Kinda stupid thing to say, but it sounds trad. in a unique way. It does that Blues grit thing well, and it does a more distorted thing very well think late 70's Heavy rock. Owning some 35 - 40 different overdrive/fuzz/distortion boxes, mostly "Boo-tik" this one are certainly top 5. Priced $50 lower than other high-end stuff its really good value as well. If it was anything that I wish it had, a solo switch I guess pumping up the volume some db's.

No brainer. Level and drive pots and a switch to choose either 'Normal' or 'Mid Lift'. I bought mine used, so there was no manual. I don't know if new ones come with a manual or not, but there really isn't any need for one.

So far I have only played this pedal with a '50's Tele in to a Vox Pacemaker all tube 1-10" combo. This is a very cool pedal. Turn the Drive down and adjust the level for a great clean boost. Bring the Drive up and adjust the level to taste for anything from just a hint of distortion to all out mayhem.

I have set it up as follows - Level: just below 1:00. Drive: 1:00. With my equipment, this Level setting matches the volume of my amp with the pedal off so when I switch it on I get distortion with no jump in volume. This is with the switch in the 'Normal' position. By switching to 'Mid Lift', I get about a 3-4 db jump in volume. In either 'Normal' or 'Mid Lift', I can roll my guitar volume to about 6 for a totally clean tone. This set-up is great because I can use the 'Normal' setting on songs where I don't play any leads that need to be heard over the rest of the band. I can switch to 'Mid Lift' for songs where I play lead and roll my guitar volume down for rhythm parts. I would characterize the tonal difference between 'Normal' and 'Mid Lift' as the difference between the lead guitar tone on Tom Petty's 'Breakdown' ('Normal') and 'The Waiting' ('Mid Lift'). With the bridge pick-up on my Tele, I can nail these two tones simply by switching between 'Normal' and 'Mid Lift'. Aside from the jump in volume, the 'Mid Lift' setting is brighter and has more harmonics. The 'Normal' setting is meatier and is great for getting the sound of a full stack at low volume.

I will restate what others have already raved about... totally silent on/off switching.

Very solidly built. I would gig without a backup.

I was toying with the idea of getting one of these about a year ago but went with the Menatone Red Snapper instead (another great pedal). Paul was very helpful in answering all my questions.

In comparison with the Red Snapper, it's a very different tone. The Red Snapper will not get you a ton of gain. It's best for a transparent clean boost with some gain on tap if necessary. More for pushing an already cranked amp. The gain of the RS is more along the lines of Petty's rhythm tones.

This pedal can go from a transparent clean boost to extremely distorted and anywhere in between. It has, in a very short time, made me think of selling the Red Snapper as it can do the clean boost just as well, but also has more gain available. I love the 'Normal'/'Mid Lift' switch to get a volume boost with completely different tonal character.

3 Knobs and a stomp switch. Not confusing at all.

Smooth and warm. Much like a Big Muff, but I like the way it backs off and lets you add just a touch of overdrive.

Seems tough and well built. Handmade, though the case is a simple steel project box. The pots and switch seem very strong and high quality. If something should have a problem, someone with good soldering skill should be able to replace anything.

Have not dealt with either the retailer or builder for any problems.

Some punk rockers don't want a distortion that is harsh and overwhelming. This is just right. Warm and full, with the ability to add sustain and crunch, but also with the ability to back off and give you just a hint of warmth, sustain, and happiness. Gaspedal.com has some Real Audio samples to listen to...

The unit has two knobs and one switch....not rocket science. I just hooked it up and kicked it on with both knobs at 12:00 and it sounded wonderful. It is very easy to use. I have the newer model with the a/c jack on the side.

My rig consists of a Tele>>>>Z Vex Super-Hard-On>>>>Hotcake>>>>Klon Centaur>>>>custom loop box (with Fender Blender or Roland Beebaa)>>>>Z Vex Seek Wah>>>>custom loop box (with Boss DD-5 or MXR Analog Delay)>>>>into either a Blackface Fender Vibroverb w/15 or Matchless DC-30. With this setup I have many degrees of drive from using the overdrives either on their own or in combination with others. Some of the more insane sounds come from compounding gain on top of more gain or even gain on top of fuzz. I use the Klon to give me a very pristine boost while the Hotcake gives a very nice low end girth to the overall tone. The Hotcake is really a no-brainer and I usually run it with the volume at about 1:00, drive at about 2:30-3:00, and with the switch set to the "normal" setting. The Hotcake does not need other overdrives pedals to accompany it, however. It has a huge, warm sound that falls somewhere between a Big Muff and a Tube Screamer while at the same time retaining a good sense of clarity and never flabbing out. Also if you turn the Volume knob all the way up you can tweak the drive knob to the desired amount of clean boost. It has a very, very nice clean boost. You can get some very nice mushy tones by turning the drive all the way up. At this point it gets pretty fuzzy, but is still a very thick and usable sound. The Hotcake reacts very nicely with all of the other effects in my chain and my amps seem to love the frequencies that this pedal pushes out.

I haven't really had it very long, so I'm not totally sure how reliable it is. I figure innocent until proven guilty.

Haven't had to support the product yet, but have heard only wonderful things about "The Crow".

I play in a primarily rock band with some country-esqe trimmings and this pedal is a perfect match for this type of music. Like I said, this pedal is really a no-brainer. Plug it in and go. It is a wonderfully made pedal that sounds great and is easy to set. What more could a musician ask for. If I lost mine or if it were stolen, I would surely get another one.

This stompbox is extremely easy to operate. Two knobs and one small mid frequency lift switch encased in a light beige MXR style box. Level and Drive are the two main parameters which are fairly self explanatory. The most interesting thing about this box is the different ways to combine these parameters to get different types of distortion and overdrive.
It will run on either a 9 volt battery or if it is recent, a 9 volt power supply.

I am using the Hotcake in conjunction with an Ibanez TS9, Crowther Audio Prunes And Custard, Ibanez FL9 Flanger, MXR Dyna Comp, Electro Harmonix Small Stone, Digitech Whammy and a Boss Delay, through a Fender 1965 reissue Twin Reverb. A customised Telecaster is my main guitar. One of the great things about the Hotcake is that it sounds good on pretty much any guitar (and many other instruments for that matter), and that it responds well with other units. For example, I use my TS9 as my distortion and the Hotcake as a booster for solos. This adds a richer sound with the mid switch on too.
Of all my effects pedals (which are mostly analogue) this would have to be one of the quietest. You dont even hear the switching, and the tone of the guitar is intact as it has true bypass.
This pedal has an extermely wide range of tones, from British crunch (a la Radiohead, Blur, and Oasis) to American rock (Aerosmith et al).

The only repairs I have had done on my Hotcake has been a replaced switch. If I had enough money, I would not hesitate to buy a backup.

I rang Paul here in New Zealand to get the switch fixed and he did the repair free of charge. He was helpful with my mundane enquiries and his service was quick and efficient.

I play melodic pop-rock and it is perfectly suited to this style of music. As I play quite aggressively (I am NOT a shredder) the Hotcake responds well to how you attack it, whilst still retaining your original guitar tone. At NZ$250 this may seem expensive but price is paid for in tone and simplicity. Just ask Blur, Oasis, Pavement, Sonic Youth and Neil Finn!

this box has 2 knobs, level and drive + a switch for normal and mid-lift.it took me a little while to get the sound i wanted, and there seems to be no difference between normal and midlift unless the box is first in the effects loop. it is just a high gain fuzzbox/overdrive, not complicated!

i think this fuzz box has a cool sound to it. it is not a normal fuzz though, more like an overdrive with a lot of fuzziness to it. i compare its sound to a rat, and not a big muff. it does not have the sonic impact of the great big muff and is not as harsh. with chords, the sound is very thick and fuzzy. it sounds like someone overdived an amp to the max, then put its output very low on a pre-amp. this sound is chewy, not pure crunch, because it has that amount of fuzz.this characteristic makes it very similar to an original big box rat. when used for lead i compare the sound to a tubescreamer. it is very smooth, and very loud. it has lots of clarity, yet lots of gain. i think it sounds even better than my modified tubescreamer. the midlift makes leads sound better. i used to use an ada mp-1 preamp for all my lead sounds untill i bought this box. when it is in normal mode, it has that great raunchy chewy rythym sound. and it is not as loud. pavement uses this box, and sonic youth, becuase of its cool snarl. the cool thing about this pedal is it can be used as a fuzz box, a rythym distortion, and a smooth solo enhancer without adjusting the knobs. i get all these sounds by putting it on midlift, turning the level knob all most all the way to the right, and the drive around 3 o clock. you dont have to make any adjustments to the box, just play, and the box will fit your sound. i believe this pedal is great for hendix style stuff, blues, alternative, and classic cock.

the pedal must be very reliable, it is in a mxr style box. the components look good and safe, i am pleased. but who knows.

dont know

i really enjoy playing with this pedal. usually i like to play foxey lady with it and other songs with that vibe. i reall thing its a great pedal.

Can't get much easier. The 2 way tone switch is great for getting different tones. The volume boost is great and the drive can go from subtle to full out metal mania.

This pedal rocks! I hardly use my Fulldrive II. The Hot Cake can get many different tones, all useable. Its pretty quiet, as far as distortion units go.

So far so good. I've emailed Paul a lot, I think he is a gentleman who would stand behind his product.

Paul is very prompt with his emails if you have a question.

This pedal is what I have been looking for! I play all styles but I am fairly aggressive, although I am not a shredder. This thing sound great through my Grosh strat w/Fralins or my JB strat w/Duncan Classic Stacks. I run it through a Matchless and a Victoria. This pedal really stands out well in a loud band context, which is my criteria. It can get a great Landua/Lukather tone. What a great product! I want to get another so I can use 2 different tones. Go buy one now, you won't be disappointed.

Like most distortion pedals, this is very easy to use. It has two knobs, a level and drive, and it has a mid boost switch wich boosts the upper mids, allowing the pedal to cut through the band.
It came with a short letter describing the pedals functions. Hardly necessary as it really is a simple wee pedal.
It is impossible to get a bad sound out of this as ALL knob settings are very useable.

I play a Fender Tele through a Boss CS3 sustain, into a Fulltone Fulldrive, into the Hotcake and into a Fender Blues Deville amp. In the loop I'm running a Boss DD3 delay.
The Hotcake by itself is very very quiet. If you have the Fulldrive on boost mode before the hotcake then it gets too noisy, but you can back off the hotcakes distortion a little and the noise dissapears.
The hotcake seems to be very transparent. If you have the drive down and the volume up with the mid boost switch to normal, there is nochange in the tone of the guitar, just a good clean volume boost.
This pedal does have a lot of bass response with the drive turned up, I guess this is similar to a Big Muff, I don't know, I've never played one of them.

Haven't had it for long, but it looks solid. I won't give a rating for this as I haven't had it long enough to know.

Paul Crowther seems like a nice guy. All of my emails were answered promptly and I was offered a money back garauntee if I decided the pedal wasn't what I was looking for.

I have recently bought a Fulltone Fuldrive, and I'm beginning to wonder whether I shouldn't have just bought two of these hotcake things. The hotcake has more gain when turned up but when it's turned down it is cleaner than the Fulldrive, I think it's more versatile. I would definitely buy another if it was stolen, I think I may buy another any way.

Manufacturer's Response to review submitted on 27 Feb '98. With regard to the abovmentioned review which has been drawn to my attention, I feel compelled to advise that some comments made are simply erroneous. Assuming that the pedal is correctly connected between the guitar and the amplifier, and not into a high-level effects loop, there should be plenty of volume boost available, like +10dB (double volume)with the drive at MINIMUM and the level full. The reviewer also mentions the lack of any tone control. Every Hotcake made in the last 20 years has a tone boost switch. I can only assume from some of the comments included in the review that the second-hand Hotcake reviewed has a low battery, is faulty, is over 20 years old, or all three! The review was made anonymously, but if the submitter should see this response, I would be most grateful if they could contact me at my Email address so I can get any problems sorted out, or write to me at: PO Box 96-104, Balmoral, Auckland 1030, New Zealand.

I thought I'd pass on my first impressions of the Crowther Audio 'Hotcake' distortion pedal I picked up last week. I've tried both it at home at low volume and at rehearsal at band volume and have a fairly good feel for the pedal now. The final verdict isn't in yet but I wanted to let everyone know what the first pass sounded like.

First some background. This pedal is only available direct from the manufacturer, Crowther Audio in New Zealand at a cost of $125 US. Duty and tax, of course, are on top of that. I got mine used so I saved a little.

The box itself is a slightly smaller version of an MXR Compressor. One switch and two controls, level and gain. No tone control.

When I first got it, the gain control seemed to be working intermittently. If I put some pressure on the top of the gain knob though, it worked just fine. Must be some sort of loose connection. I opened up the case and had a peek at the guts. No visible problem. Everything inside looked well assembled and well designed to my untrained eye. A little crowded, but not too bad. A large blob of epoxy encased a penny matchbook sized board of components which I assumed was to keep the secret ingredient a secret from copy artists and home electronics hobbyists. I've seen this in the Klon Centaur too, and if thatUs what it takes to keep from getting ripped off, so be it. The electronics claw (g). I reassembled it and tried backing off the retainer nut on the gain pot. Bingo! It had been over tightened and was causing a short in the pot. Problem solved.

I tried it out at home first. I used a Strat through the Hotcake into my Matchless Lightning 2x10. It sounded great. I set the Matchless for a clean sound, master up full and the volume at 10 o'clock, bass up full and treble around 12 o'clock. At low gain on the Hotcake I got an nice blues growl. I jammed along with Duane Allman playing on Boz Skaggs' 'Somebody Loan Me a Dime' and copped that sound nearly perfectly. I dimed the gain and played along with Govt. Mule doing 'Gonna Send You Back to Georgia' from the Hound Dog Taylor tribute album. I used my slide guitar of course, a Strings and Things Strat copy loaded with EMG SA's. The pedal nailed Warren Haynes massively overdriven sound. I felt like I just hit two out of the park. If it worked this well at band volume I was going to order another as a spare.

Well, now the bad news. At high volume with an already overdriven amp (my 58 Bassman) the high gain settings on the Hotcake get mushy and soft. There's just too much treble cut at high gain. If the pedal had a tone control you might be able to compensate. Next I tried cutting the gain and turning up the level to get a volume boost only. This is the kind of thing my Klon does better than any pedal made. But with the gain cut on the Hotcake and the level turned up full the volume boost wasn't quite enough to jump my solos out of the mix. The tone of the pedal was great but it just wasn't loud enough. Some where between these two extremes there's bound to be a sweet spot but I didn't take the time to find it last night. I pulled out my Bixonic to re-calibrate my ears and never got around to bringing back the Hotcake. The one great thing I noticed at high volumes is that the switch they used on the Hotcake is the quietest I've ever heard. Absolutely silent - even with your amp dimed. Not even a mechanical clunk!

So, the sound of the pedal is great. It may even be the best I've tried. You can go from a warm T-Bone Walker growl to a Duane Allman bite on to a Warren Haynes scream with the gain knob. The downside is that with an already distorted amp the high gain settings get too bassy for my ears. And the clean boost doesn't have enough oomph to jump your solos out of a band mix. In terms of tone alone, the Hotcake easily matches my Klon and Bixonic and maybe even surpasses them (!) but in terms of usability it falls far short. If Crowther was to add a tone knob and increase the amount of volume boost heUd

I've never heard of a single-function pedal that's hard to use, is there one? Pretty much any setting will sound fine with this thing, as it is damn near impossible to get a bad sound out of it.

This pedal can achieve incredible gain, yet it is not noisy in the sense that you can hear every single note, even at the maximum drive setting. Very versatile in that you can make your sound as fucked-up as you want or as understated and beautiful as you want. I would recommend it for most styles of rock, except for heavy-metal (as you would probably opt for the BOSS Heavy Metal pedal for the extremely rad Slayer sound). I use the Hot Cake through my fender twin reverb and it is just pure Hendrix/Stones magic! I read an article where S.MALKAMUS from Pavement stated this pedal is like a BIG MUFF that clips. I agree.

I have always used "old, unreliable, noisy" pedals, so for some reason, the Hot Cake is probably the least of my worries in the reliability department. Though this pedal doesn't look as durable as a BOSS, I would still depend on this thing.

I don't forsee this as being a problem, as P.CROWTHER seems very friendly and helpful.

I COMMAND YOU TO BUY THIS PEDAL!!! NOW!!!

The Hotcake is extremely easy to use, with just "Drive" and "Level" controls and an on/off button with a true bypass feature so not to muck up your sound when bypassed.

I got a nice Stevie Ray tone out of it with the dials set at the 11:00 and 12:00 positions. The unit is very quiet in operation. I am currently using it with a Victoria Amp Company 4-10. Think mild to wild, and everything in between.

I did have a problem with it not working properly at first, so I sent it back to Paul in New Zealand. Not to worry, his customer service is beyond excellent. I had a new unit back in my hands in about one week. Since then, it has been extremely trouble-free. I would not hesitate to use it on any gig without a backup.

Customer support is as good as it gets! As I mentioned above, I got to test this out personally. Paul "passed the test" in a big way. As mentioned above, I did have a problem with it when I first got it. I sent it back for repairs and received it back in about one week. Paul charged me nothing for the repair, and even sent it back to me "expensive" express so I'd have it faster.

I mainly play blues and rock. This pedal is indispensable. I own a custom made Gmp Guitar with Tom Holmes pickups that is absolutely gorgeous. I also have a 1967 Epiphone Regent Stereo. My amp, as stated above, is a beautiful Victoria Amp Company 4-10 with about 35 watts. (Buddy Guy uses the same one!) If my Hotcake were lost or stolen, I would immediately purchase another one. I've tried many distortion pedals, and nothing comes close for naturalness. I love the sound. I don't much care for the bland (dirty cream) color. I did compre the Hotcake to a DOD distortion pedal. The Hotcake is the clear winner, it provides nice overtones and a richness that the DOD lacked. It helps me make music, and gets out of the way. Lastly, my best advice to any guitarist seeking a great distortion pedal is to buy one without delay.