Electro-Harmonix Hot Tubes

Not difficult to deal with it, just Bass and Treble controls mislead me because they are not standard tone controls you would find into a pedal or an amp.
The powering led is useful. Easy access to tubes for replacement.

I play an Electrical Guitar Company, single coil pick-up arranged like a strat through a Fender Princeton Silverface and with external 2x12" Marshall cab.
Well, i don't like how it sounds at all. Bass and Treble controls when turned introduce a strong phase cancellation which sucks tone out from your guitar and your overall sound. As said, they are not simple passive eq to deal with (wich would be much more useful) but they add distortion to the low and high frequencies. Distortion is way too dirt, like the one you get putting three distortion poedals in series one after the other! I mean, no great dynamic and ugly tone. Even when few gained to get crunchy but still clean sound you get a slight unpleasant distortion on low freqs.

Owned for a couple of days

can't say

I'm just looking for standard rock sounds, going from clean, crunchy, fuzzy to full screaming distortion (no metal). This pedal does it but does it bad. There are better distortion pedals out there. I bought and took it back after a couple of days.

Takes some time to dial in.

10 for me.. I'd give it a 7 for guitar use, since most guitar players already go through a tube amp. A guitar player struggling with a solid state setup may find this very useful though....

Here's what made it shine for me- I've been searching for YEARS for an ampeg-in-a-box. I play bass, have been for 12 years, and I have a holy grail 60's B-15 that sits at home. I wanted that sound, but footswitchable through my modern rig. I tried everything out there. Nothing came close.. I've had overdrives, distortions, preamps.. the only thing that got even close to the sound was tube preamps, which were expensive and not footswitchable. I modded some pedals to help nail down the tone... no good. Everything sounded either too modern, too overdriven, or both.

Then I tried this thing, with everything on 1 except bass and master. Absolutely wonderful. Now I can have clean modern sound... and at a switch go totally motown. Eureka!

Change the stock tubes to some good ones, well worth it.

This is a tube device, on a floor. Not the best combo. Be weary. Also trade out the jack for a boss-style.... before something catches on fire.

First off, I'd like to end a debate on these reviews. Yes, there are some transistors and diodes inside, but your signal is not going through them. Check this site for lots of info from someone who knows what they're talking about.

http://www.analogman.com/hottubes.htm


Resale value on these things suck. Buy one used... super cheap.

Overall, for my purpose, absolutely fantastic. I would have paid $500 for something that accomplished this goal, that is, to sound like a B-15 with volume on 3. NOTHING out there did that for me. To pick one up for $65.. is a dream come true.

Takes time dialing a tone, but well worth the search once you find it. That's part of the fun of owning a pedal anyways.

The sound is freakin killer. I've owned many pedals. This is it.
Perfect with my LP and 1975 Fender Pro. I run it into the clean channel and WOW!...from gritty Neil Young to off the hook fuzz. Sometime I get a hum from the pedal, but that depends on the room itself. (Ground/power issues - I know this because I've taken the HOT TUBES in/out of the line to trouble shoot).

I have one of those Marshall MD30 thingy amps for practise. I ran the HOT TUBES through the clean channel and CRANKED IT!!! WOW-BOOST! and a pretty respectable sound from the stock speaker too.

so far no probs! I don't leave home with out it.

Like other post's have said, hard wire the AC cord (great idea), because that alien looking plug looks like a car crash waiting to happen.

No time for repairs. Life is too short.

I play ROCK with one foot in the blues. This stomp is perfect.

This pedal is very easy to use. After about 10 minutes you can find a sound your looking for

The sound quality is amazing. Warm rich tones. You can dial in a distortion that is light.. or... full out fuzz. The hardest thing I've found when using a distortion or fuzz, is finding a pedal that won't hide your chords in the pedals. But this pedal sounds great in fuzz or in distortion, when playing single notes or chords. I'm now convinced that the 2 tubes in this pedal is what makes the tone so sweet. I've since dumped my vox valve stomp and TS9. This pedal is a best kept secret, but what the hell. Give EH a plug I say. They make great stuff. I liked it so much I grabbed a Tube Zipper too. That one takes more time to dial in a tone. I use it with my 76 Les Custom and my 69 Plexi and it's freaking amazing. I'm getting an Orange this week and I'm looking forward to hearing the tone on that.

There are tubes in this pedal, so you may still want to transport with extra care, but VERY nicely built. Mine didn't, but I think they now come in wooden box. (My TUBE ZIPPER did) It also has a strong metal cover over top of the tubes for extra protection. I found that having the HOTTUBES "in front" of my Leslie Emulator in my chain, was cliping out my Emulator. Now I run it as the last pedal to the amp and everything is fine.

Not applicable

I play straight up rock. (Humple Pie, Free) and this works great. Been playing for 25 years. I have yet to run the HOTTUBES with my other gear 66 Baseman, Es-135, 60 Gibsonette, 77 Farfisa, 84 Les Paul Standard.
If it were stolen, I would call the police and buy another one. This pedal just makes playing that more enjoyable. Warm. Rich Velvet with a hint of salt. My only complaint, is the adapter. It's a custom exclusive to EH. They should use a standard adapter. God knows I loose enough adapters and this pedal CAN"T run on batteries due to the tubes (batteries would last for one song). So loosing it would be a pain in the ass trying to order a new one in I would think. This pedal has ended my search for a good distortion/drive pedal. The only reason I didn't give it a 10 Rating, is because the price was a little rich. $260 Canadian Dollars. ($150 -175 would be fare) But I am very happy with it.

This review is for a late 70s solid state model, 'tube amp overdrive simulator'. It's Memory Man sized, with an AC cord attached.

The pedal has 3 controls - Overdrive, Tone and Volume. It also has a switch to switch out the tone circuit.

With respect to some of the other reviewers this shares nothing in common with the Big Muff. The Big Muff is a 4 transistor fuzz, this is a IC based overdrive, probably EHX's response to the Ibanez Tubescreamer and Boss Overdrive. They sound nothing alike. The Big Muff is huge sounding as it's very scooped in the mids and very creamy - think Smashing Pumpkins. The Hot Tubes is a gritty tweed-sounding overdrive which has a slight mid boost but is very tonally transparent next to a Muff. Think "Teenage Riot" by Sonic Youth.

I think it functions best as a light gain device - it's a bit harsh with the overdrive too high. Basically I just leave it on all the time for a lo-fi indie kind of tone. The pedal responds wonderfully to the guitar volume - it'll clean right up as you roll the volume control down. It also responds great to playing dynamics - dig into the strings a little harder and it'll grit up.

Personally I think this pedal kills the Boss Overdrive and Ibanez Tubescreamer. It far more tonally transparent - those other pedals boost the mids significantly and shave off a lot of bass from the signal, trying to make you guitar fit their image of what an overdrive should sound like. Personally I prefer the grainy nature of the Hot Tubes drive - most other overdrives I've tried are too smooth, generic, beer-commercial sounding. I used to have an old 70s Big Muff that sounded better with the tone circuit switched out, but this Hot Tubes sounds a bit dull with the guitar volume low unless I switch the tone circuit in and brighten it up a bit.

Nothing is perfect and minus a point because it's not exactly versatile, at least not with my setup.

Hard to say. The unit I have has recently be reconditioned by Howard Davis, chief engineer at EHX in the 70s, but these pedals are approaching 40 years old now. I'd certainly have a backup ready just in case.

I like brighter, grainy overdrives and this is certainly one of those. In typical EHX fashion they went overboard with the size, but I can live with that. I've been through a few overdrives recently - the Boss OD-1, SD-1, Ibanez TS-9, MI Audio BlueBoy and this is the first I've really liked. The others were too boxy, unnatural and generic sounding. The Hot Tubes forte is light-mid indie rock overdrive. If you want to play heavy you'll want something else.

Most of the time I don`t use a drive knob... output does well
Bass and treble on 9 o`clock and it sounds pretty nice
Well it took a time to find out how the hell is it working..

Well, Radiohead, Nirvana, Sonic youth....I do my own stuff and a bit harshy distortion suits me well.. As I said add some bass, trebles, and drive it a bit and you`ll get some noise. For serious and concrete distortion, overdrive play only with output knob..
It`s a bit noisy ..but it is a true bypass Haleluyah!!!!!!
It doesnt still me tone when its off AND THATS IMPORTANT.

Looks solid, works fine, supplied in wooden box..no probs

never dealth with them

I`m playing for ten years now... I`ve own and sometimes stupidly sold all kind of effects you can remember. I have had Bosses, Ibanezes, Dods and so on.
Hot Tubes sounds good. It has it`s own nuances I`ve never heard before.
It`s kind o second amp channel in the stompbox.. yeah..
OK.. Works fine with boss DS-1 and Fender twin, EHX deluxe mistress, and Boss dd-5, Vox wah. Walvetronix AD60VTH was really shoked by that fuzzzzzzzz and went to heaven.

Most of the time I don`t use a drive knob... output does well
Bass and treble on 9 o`clock and it sounds pretty nice
Well it took a time to find out how the hell is it working..

Well, Radiohead, Nirvana, Sonic youth....I do my own stuff and a bit harshy distortion suits me well.. As I said add some bass, trebles, and drive it a bit and you`ll get some noise. For serious and concrete distortion, overdrive play only with output knob..
It`s a bit noisy ..but it is a true bypass Haleluyah!!!!!!
It doesnt still me tone when its off AND THATS IMPORTANT.

Looks solid, works fine, supplied in wooden box..no probs

never dealth with them

This is a review for the newer tube pedal. The controls all do what they say and are easy in that respect, but it's all interactive (especially the EQ) so it takes time to get used to it.

I use it with bass and I'm very happy with it. The Drive knob is more like fuzz, and the Gain knob is a rougher overdrive, and I use the Gain most often, as it flattens the signal less. Depending on where you set the EQ, it can tend to sound like a stuck wah, so it takes time to find a balance between effected and uneffected that makes the most sense. I'm going to look into modding it with a switch between the existing EQ and a simpler shelving EQ for more options. I've had no problems with hum. It has HUGE gain, and I think it might melt my amp if I put it up even half way.

I've only had it a couple of months. Many people complain about the wall wart and the odd power plug, so I didn't even start using it until I made a small pedal board for it and the rest of my crap. Now I use no batteries for anything, setup is faster, and I don't have to worry that my plug will get knocked out or broken. I expect no problems. Otherwise, yeah, it'd be a problem.

I've never dealt with them, but their pedals tend to be easy to work on, and I know a few local spark chasers, and of course the famous analogman.com mods lots of the ehx stuff.

The lower ease of use actually adds to the overall in this case because it's a bonus to have so many options. I've tried a lot of distortion pedals before getting this one, and nothing else sounded as full or varied, and many lack enough gain for bass. It's a true tube device, running the tubes at the high voltage you find in a real tube amp, and that was a huge selling point. I use tube amps because that's the sound I love, and the "starved plate" designs out there don't measure up. Since it's the best I've found, I'd buy it again without hesitation. The peaky EQ is a bonus, but if it had a regular EQ option as well, the overall rating would be a 9 or 10. We'll see how the modding goes.

Not an easy pedal, takes a bit to get yr head around it. Interactive controls, so experiment! Its all in there. You don't need a manual, just use ears.

Its a brute, but a magnificent one. Can be kind of gentle as well. Bit noisy, but hey, it's valve! Im playing a Gibon 1979 The Paul through a vintage Roland Bolt 30 hybrid. Unusual setup, but I like it like that. The sound initially can seem coarse and harsh, bit fizzy, but work with it. Pays off big time.

Its surprisingly light, aluminium box with nothing much in it but some EQ and a set of valves. Build quality seems ok. Has an external power supply, so that will fack up someday or get lost.

No idea

Its a beautiful thing. Hard to tame, and not easy to get yr sound, but once you find the sweet spot, you're laughing. A mid- control would be the icing on the cake ( apart from an internal power supply fr god's sake....MANUFACTURERS, LISTEN TO YR CUSOMERS! WE DO NOT WANT ANY MORE ADAPTERS!!!)
Nevermind, if you can get one fr a decent price, get it. Its a classic. Comes in a nice big wooden box as well, bonus!

this is a follow up to an earlier response and a reaction to others i have read. one person claims there is "not a bit of sand" in this pedal and implied that somehow it made its distortion purely through two preamp tubes. i changed out my tubes for some 60's baldwin labeled rca's and i can tell you that there is a board full of capacitors, transistors and the like and that their claim is pure bunk. still, the pedal sounds great and being preamp tubes, they don't run very hot, at all. in fact, e-h put a little light in the box to make it look like the thing is working overtime. so, you get special effects with this effect... LOL. i got this thing really cheap. so cheap that the new owners of harmony-central won't let me tell you. just check back and see if the price is listed at seventyfive buckaroos. i wouldn't give it as high a rating if i had to shell out the big bucks, so i am changing my vote to a 9 by giving it an 8 this time around. i don't think paying almost 200 clams for a single effects pedal is a fantastic value.

because of the way it is wired, this pedal requires alot of tweeking. you should take notes on different settings that you like and maybe mark them in different colored permanent markers on the pedal. i did this and it helps alot.

i am using this and playing a 1994 hotrod fender strat with overwound pickups wound to 9.0, 9.4 and 10k. absolutely the best sounding distortion pedal i have ever owned in the 20 years that i have been playing.

care is needed when using a pedal with tubes and the setup should be done thoughtfully, and slowly. put it where it won't get kicked around and don't pull it across the room running around and you shouldn't have any problems.

i play rock. this pedal lets me stretch the definition of rock with its versatility. this distortion pedal is really a preamp on steriods. better than a big muff (which i consider to be a one setting pedal) by a longshot. creamy, rich distortion that can go from subtle, to over the top and still sound great. hope you like to play loud. this pedal isn't for quiet bedrooms.

change the gain and you change the perimeters of the treble and bass knobs, and you have to adjust them again to find the right setting, again. the manual is useless, so you have to toy with this stomp. you will get an oscillating signal at some settings. adjust the treble, or bass and it will go away. if you don't know this, you will go crazy trying to figure out how to quiet the pedal, or give up on it and say it is sh#t, if you are kind of stupid. the ac adaptor is kind of weird, and i would like to replace the tip with one i consider more stable.

This pedal is TRUE BYPASS (yay!), accomplished by means of a 12VDC DPDT relay operated from the 12V filament supply. As far as I could tell, the operation of the relay was noiseless. I confirmed true bypass by taking a direct reading from tip-to-tip on the input and output jacks with an ohmmeter.
Here's the *best* part, though...NO SAND IN THE SIGNAL PATH(read, this means not a single diode, or transistor makes the distortion... it is PURE TUBE distortion)... I mean nil point, zip, nada! The whole thing is 100% tube from input to output; the only sand in it is used for rectification and regulation. Probably why the thing sounds so damn good.

This is the pedal that started the all tube pedal craze five years ago.
Vox and others have copied this pedal, but none have really passed it. Many of them have diodes, and transistors and the tubes are just for show. The EH HOT TUBES is REAL TuBe DiStOrTiON, while others have tubes just for show. Creamy, creamy Real Tube distortion, even in its very extreme modes, and this is electro harmonix and by nature, leans towards extreme... the Hot Tubes pedal has one serious sh&tload of sustain. It's very smooth sustain, too...not the kind that jumps from level to level as the string decays. T-Nice. Very Good crunch, too. Don't let the price get you down, this pedal is distortion like no diode, or transistor can provide and is worth every penny. DD says Check this one out. SIX STARS...

no, this is not a particularly easy pedal to use. hence, it is more versatile. there is always a trade off, you know...

this thing gives you the creamiest distortion, and it is quite flexible... has that big muff miles of sustain in a more versatile, controlable package. perfect for my uses.

i have had mine for 5 years and while i changed the tubes a while back, there have been no other issues with this pedal.

the hot tubes is best distortion pedal i have ever owned. not a diode, or transistor to be found in it. the distortion comes completely from the overdriven tubes and your guitar signal. hand wired in nyc and ready to rock all of america. yes, it is alot more expensive than many classic analog transistor, or diode pedals. but, it is money well spent. works great pushing a tube amp, or as a straight distortion pedal.

Yes, easy to use.

tones were NOT great! too sweeping.
wasn't happy when used with a bass.

I Agree with most of these...power supply was CRAP!!!
Returned the unit within 1 month to get a new one and replaced the power supply twice in 6 months.....both chincy pins BROKE OFF within weeks!
THIS IS ROCK AND ROLL E.H.!!
Why NOT hard wire the power supply like the old ones OR at least OFFER battery as an option! EH should be ashamed!

Recieved a new unit within bringing it in.
Got new power supplies in the mail quickly.

This is for the 2005 version, with two vacuum tubes.

Pretty obvious controls: Master, Gain, Drive, Bass, Treble. All do what they say. Very low gain and drive gives nice slight crunch. Moderate gain/drive a good vintage distortion. High gain/drive don't really add much, in my opinion. Lots of range on bass/treble. A control for mid-range would have been nice.

Power pack is a piece of crud. It makes a lot of racket (audible noise, not electrical noise) and has a horrid cheapo connector that's too easy to pull out accidentally, with the risk of shorting.

Rickenbacker Dakota and Mexican Fat Strat, through the Hot Tubes to Fender Blues Junior. Very little electrical noise. Very nice tube crunch or vintage distortion available, and accessible at moderate neighbour-friendly volume.

Haven't had it long, but the pedal itself looks and feels quality. Power pack is rubbish, as already mentioned.

Achieves what I bought it for, very well.

I give this opedal high marks for ease of use because it has very few controls. Only the ones a player needs in order achieve a desired tone, and it doesn't lack a single control that it really needs to have.

The sound quality is fine, however, one thing about this pedal pisses me off. This pedal is little more than a pre-amp that prduces ditortion through two 12AX7 tubes. That being said, I am mystified as to why Elecxtro-Harmonix would put such crappy tubes in it.

With the stock tubes, this thing was noisy and the distortion consisted of either too much buzz or too much mud. When I replaced them with Groove Tubes, this pedal quited down very nicely and does exactly what I wanted it to do--give me a third, super hot, searing, smoking, ringing rocking channel.

I think this pedal work best if the bass and treble knobs are turned to 0, and then inched up (far more parts treble than bass) after the gain gets dialed into roughly the right zip code. But I don't inch them up too high. Bass is just a hair above 0 and treble is at about 9:00.

I don't use the "drive" knob, so I leave it parked just above 0. I find it adds little to the mix, but I use this pedal primarily with a Peavey Classic 50 combo, which has a post gain control through which I dial in whatever warmth I want in the tone.

I use the the pedal in the majority of the solos I play, setting the "master" so that it bumps my volume slightly. I really, really, really like the pedal. Far more than solid state distortion or overdrive pedals. It is great for rock and blues (i just saw Buddy guy in Monterey, and that cat played a Fender tele with humbuckers through a Marshall that producing some serious distortion).

But I'm still pissed that I had to drop an additional $30 into replacement tubes.

No problems thus far.

I play rock and blues, and I would replace this pedal if lost or stolen. Along with a Fulltone Wah, this is the only pedal I use. I use with a Les Paul through a Peavey Classic 50, and it producing a searing hot sound, but does not compress my guitar's tone to the point that it loses it character.

Have I mentioned that it pisses me off that players have to add $30 to $40 to the purchase price to replace stock tubes in a product called Hot Tubes?

this review is for the current model with tubes not the 70's one that sounds like crap. compared to decoding the rosetta stone it's pretty easy, but for a gain pedal it's pretty tweaked out. Every setting of every knob effects every setting of every other. You must observe it's ways untill the five knobs become one.

The eq is really a filter not an eq in the traditional sense. To hear the closest thing to your clean tone turn all the controls fully counter clockwise. Now bring up the gain until it starts to sound clear. At this point you've got a good clean boost going. With that as your starting point you can realize an ass batch o' tones with this beast.

The thing is that as you turn up the eq you must turn down the gain and drive controls to keep the same level of saturation. Consider that every knob is ADDITIVE to the overall level of gain so at a certain level of gain it just starts to sound like a big muff. It's not the pedals fault. You just went to far. (probably with the bass knob. The bass knob really MUFFles things up a lot). The trebles is almost like a resonance control. I don't think it is at all fair to call this a big muff with tubes though. Even at full big muff roar it is tighter, better defined and you can hear a chord through it even at square wave distortion.

this pedal is not kind to bright amps, but sounds really f-ing great with a class a/b fender type amp. Garage tones from heaven. I think it sounds like a cross between overdrive and fuzz as opposed to the big muff's distortion with fuzz.

knobs get loose and must be tightened. Hmmm....I've seen better build.

this pedal rulZZZZZZZZZ. you must give it time.Rock it for at least an hour by yourself. Don't expect a smooth mild mannered pedal. It is an electro-harmonix pedal after all!

Mine is an old 1970s model that is beat and bent and scratched all to hell. No tubes. Purely solid state. Ac cord means no batteries ever.

I play it with a solid state Fender Princeton and a 2000 American Series Fender Stratocaster. I use it in the church band every Sunday night.

I've been playing electric guitar since 1975 and this old thing is awesome. It makes all my DOD and Boss pedals sound dead.

It's actually a very mild overdrive yet the tone is huge. I don't know what words can describe it's tone. ah, BIG...ah, CLEAR...maybe, REAL...

Stevie Ray Vaughn would have loved this thing. Really sounds like Cold Shot. Also, the Rolling Stones songs....Midnight Rambler and Satisfaction.

Not really a wild solo device but playing Little Wing by Hendrix is an orgasmic experience with this pedal.

Big, Fat, Full, Clear, Dynamic, Rich, and best of all SUPER QUIET. I can't hear any floor noise! Amazing!

I feel bad for all the raving reviews I've given other pedals such as Boss, DOD, etc pedals as this thing is on another arena all together. It's like comparing black and white to color tv....huge difference!

30 years old and still works. AMAZING!

I've been playing since 1969 and on a daily basis.
I play blues, grunge, rock, metal.
I'm not waiting till it gets lost or stolen...I'm looking for a replacement now.
I've got a bunch of old overdrive pedals to unload now. My old favorites are just rubbish now.

No palm muting heavy metal with this thing but absolutely the best Grunge pedal I've ever heard. Absolutely perfect for classic rock and blues too.

EH Hot Tubes, bought new in 2003. Volume, Gain and separate Drive controls, Bass and Treble controls as well. Easy to dial in the tone your looking for, from relatively broken-up clean crunch to all-out over the top overdriven screamin' leads. The manual is for all practical purposes inexistant, but who neds one?

I play a Gibson LP or Tak GZ-300 solidbody, through a class-A tube amp. The Hot tubes is plugged into the clean section of my amp so I can get a different type of gain than my dirty channel. I usually have the gain and drive knobs turned to around 2 o'clock, and with my Les Paul I have to cut the bass quite a bit and turn up the treble to avoid muddiness. The pedal generates a lot of noise, so I use a Boss NS-2 noise suppressor to clean things up a bit. It is quite versatile in terms of how you can shape your sound, but it can get quite noisy (obviously) on hi-gain hi-drive settings, and you cannot use this pedal in my opinion for ultra-high gain scooped modern metal sounds. I kept the stock 12AX7's, and haven't yet tried swaping them to see how it would sound with JJ's or Mullards.

Built like a tank, the only thing that's an irritant is the wall wart, which should be made illigal for any serious piece of gear.

Never had to deal with 'em.

Great pedal, a definitely good-sounding overdrive pedal with lots of tone-shaping possibilities.

This is for the older transistor version. Very easy to use - 3 knobs + a tone bypass switch.

I use this with my Les Paul Electra copy w/ Gibson pickups. This distortion has the potential to sound amazing. I second the other reviews that say it doesn't sound too good at bedroom levels - however, I played this through my Fender Champ and cranked that up and got a beautiful crunchy, creamy sound that made the whole setup sound like it was being played thorugh a cranked Marshall stack...very vintage, huge sound. Lots of sustain and crunch at higher volumes. I use this with the tone bypassed because it seems to give the setup a bigger, fuller sound. I love this pedal and it sounds great for crunchy, raunchy rock 'n roll. However, you really do have to play this through a cranked amp or using another distortion pedal because on its own, at low amp volumes, it does sound thin and tinny.

Only had it for a few eeks, but so far so good. I may have an intermitent switching problem, but I plan on replacing the switch. Other than that, seems solidly built and has lasted a long time for an older pedal.

N/A

Great sounding pedal with a '70's rock mojo...but it needs to be used with an amp that is cranked up because at lower volumes, this pedal does not sound good. Crank your amp & the difference is like night and day and then this pedal sings.

THIS REVIEW FOR THE OLD GERANIUM TRANSISTOR VERSION!

When I first got it I set it down, pluged it in, turned on the amp, nothing. Hmmm...Lets see check switch, volume, ahh! I put the cord in the direct out not the effect out. So, I switch it around, nothing. Hit the switch and BOOM! Out poured the finest harmonic distortion I'd ever heard. After the idiot (moi) found out how to set it up it was easy from there just tweak the volume, tone, and OD knobs.

Well for this one I pulled out my old Charvel with Duncans (Distortion and '59) and first played through an ADA MP-1 preamp direct to my 4x12. The MP-1 was to processed for this kind of effect and I could sense it instantly. So, since I'm in amp limbo and can't decide what kind of head to get I pluged it into an old Pignose. The two fit together real nicely, actually. The hot tubes is an excellent sounding effect that is great for pushing an overdriven amp into to total mayham. Since i first got it I played it through a JCM-800 and I soiled my pants. Literaly. This thing pushed the JCM like crazy. It sounds like a Big Muff with less of a bassy mid scoop tone. Great for classic jams.

Even though this old EH stuff is notorious for cheap build quality there stuff always seems to hold up like troopers. Why? No one knows, I guess Mike really knew how to build 'em.

Never dealt with them.

This is the finest distortion I've ever played. If you have the chance to pick one up do yourself a favor and act on it!

its pretty hard to get a good sound of it but when u find it its like wham its there u just gotta werk at it
plus i had mine modified to sound much tighter less flabbery then a big muff which is wat i like
very ac/dc tone just awesome

its awesome i use it primarily as a booster

i opened it up and modified seems like a tank
tuff to modify but it was done and its much bettr now

this pedal rules thats all i have to say no need to bore u with other facts

This is pretty much a standard distortion/overdrive set up. It takes some playing time to get a sound you like, but there are almost limitless variations of that sound.

I played this with a 1978 Strat through a crate, a marshall, and a mesa boogie dual rectifier. It sounded great through all of them except the boogie. The boogie has too much natural tone for this effect, besides with the boogie gain I had no use for this pedal. Definitely worth the effort if you are looking for a vintage Big Muff sound. Also try different tubes, they come out quickly and different brands give different sound qualities.

I never had any trouble with it except the power cord can get knocked out easily during a gig (tape it in). I stomp the hell out of this and it laughs at me.

I live near the EH factory, so I deal with them in person when I need to. I never had a problem with this pedal, but they were great when I had a problem with a small stone.

This is a very versatile pedal as long as you are looking for that 60's-70's sound. You won't be getting those super death metal sounds unless you have an amp that can augment the pedal to that extent. I recently sold mine because with the mesa boogie I no longer need it, but it was quite a bit of fun while I had it.

Three knobs, all of which have a great effect on the sound

This is a real Vintage Hot Tubes, an analog, Solid State device, not the new one with tubes that sounds horrible. These vintage Hot Tubes pedals are amazing, you can go from subtle overdrive to over the top, bBig Muff distortion. this is the most usable pedal EH Ever made. It makes all my guitars sound better. Very Mid 70's sound. I have two, and i will never part with either!

Electro Harmonix stuff is notoriously cheaply made, but for some reason, these Hot tubes pedals don't die, I've had one for over 15 years without a problem!

Never Needed it.

This pedal is indespensable, a perfect design, this box lays my Ibanez TS808, and Mxr distortion+ pedals to waste, I don't even bother to use them anymore, but I always ues the Hot Tubes!

Takes ages to find a good sound, but once you do, it sounds BRILLIANT.

When I first bought this pedal it sounded horrid - it made an unbearable hum when it was on. Turned out one of the valves was loose. 5 minute job to fix. Sounds great now. Can get anything from smashing pumpkins to zakk wylde out of this pedal when plugged into my marshall TSL.
It can sound a bit harsh if you arent careful with the tone controls though

I wouldnt trust the plug - the wire is too thin and the pins that plug into the pedal could easily short out and kill the adapter, as they are completely exposed. The pedal itself is bombproof however. I also have a 1970s Big muff which still works perfectly - these pedals are built to last.

Never had any experience with them

I play anything from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Black Label Society, and this pedal can cover just about everything, except heavily scooped metal sounds ie pantera/metallica

Easy to use. Parametric EQ offers a huge range of sounds.

When I first checked this pedal I was really pissed on its sound. I really expected something different when I ordered this very potential Baby. It sounded harsh and "cheap" like a transistor pedal.
I was close to sell it.....
My last idea to make it a good one was changing the tubes. And that's it ! KICK THE ORIGINAL TUBES !
I tried some old Mullards and some Fenders. Now it sounds awesome. Warm creamy sounds, still with Bottom and Punch. Even the typical "Big Muff" Settings sound really "tubedriven" now. It's a complete different pedal now. Amazing ! Check it out, I promise you'll be surprised !!!

No probs. Very realible.

Haven't dealt with them....

I've been playing for 20 years. I play Jazz, Pop, Latin, Phunk and Rock. I compared it after changing the tubes to the Fulltone Fulldrive II, Hughes & Kettner Tubefactor and Tubeman. The HT is the best choice and I would certainly buy it again.

It's pretty easy to deal with this pedal. Pretty straight forward... It takes a little while to figure out how the "Drive" and "Gain" knobs differ and how they work together but after a few minutes of experimentation it should all be pretty clear.

I gave this pedal a 7 for sound quality but that rating certainly needs elaboration. The quality of sound emitted from this effect (being pretty much a preamp pedal with the high output of 2 12AX7s) is quite dependent on the type of amp you are using and the particular settings you use on that amp. I bought this pedal intending to use it as my primary overdrive for a Mesa/Boogie Nomad 100 2X12 combo... however, after using it for a few months I started to suspect that it was far too much pedal for far too much amp. Mesa's definitely have their own tonal characteristics as do boutique type pedals and I started to think that these two nice pieces of gear really just weren't getting along. The hot tubes dirtied up what had been a very musically useful tone on my amp... even at very low settings on the effect. So, I tried it out on a more cut and dry type of amp... i switched to my fender deluxe 1X12 and I found that the pedal really could glow in that sort of a setting. So, I'd say that if you have a nice amp with nice preamp settings that you like... don't bother with this pedal because it isn't your run of the mill overdrive/distortion unit. It is practically an amp with a tone all its own.... if you, however, have a more stripped down amp that you'd like to give a tonal boost to... this is your unit... I give it a 4 for sound quality on my nomad and a 10 with the fender... average that and you get 7.

has been reliable so far... one problem... the AC adapter is an odd shape and has a very small pin as it one of it's connection points... i have already had that break off once... so you have to be very careful with it. The unit itself is built like a tank.

When the pin on the AC adapter broke I called EHX and with no questions asked a new one was shipped to me in just 4 days. that's great service!

I play sonic youth/king crimson sorts of compositions with lots of transitiions between clean and overdriven sounds ranging from crystal clear to hardcore distortion... This unit would sit on the hardcore end of that spectrum if played with my mesa amp... it would be in the middle if used with the fender amp... If it was stolen I'd be bummed but i'd probably just replace it with something cool made by Nine Volt Nirvana because those pedals are incredible. To sum this review up I'll just say that this pedal is ALOT of pedal... play it with an amp like yours before buying it because the type of amp really will make a huge difference.

Incredibly simple to get great tones. Play around with the bass and treble a few minutes and you'll be amazed at the tone.

Sounds great with my Les Paul and awesome with my PRS Custom 22, but it's with my Strat that it really comes alive. Fattened up the sound on the Strat and totally blows away my ProCo Rat.

I took this out on a 6 month club tour and it was perfect every night.

Called tham before I bought it and they were very helpfull. Like the last guy said, thay seem very interested in input from their customers.

I've been playing for 19 years and I can tell you that this pedal is great for everything from classic 70's Rock to modern Heavy Metal. If this were stolen I would definitely buy another one.

Very simple to use. If you've ever had a tube amp, then you know how to get great sounding distortion and overdrive. If you've never had a tube amp, you'll be totally blown away by how easy it is to get an awesome sound from this pedal.

Great for everything from mild overdrive (think SRV) to classic rock (think early Led Zeppelin) to heavy metal (think Metallica). I have alot of guitars and amps but my main setup is: 1969 Gibson Les Paul, 1971 SG, 1967 335, or 1964 Fender Strat through Teese RMC 1 Wah, Foxrox Captain Coconut 2, Fulltone Fulldrive 2, Fullton Distortion Pro, Analog Mike TS-808, Analog Mike Clone Chorus, Zvex SHO and Diaz Texas Tremodillo into Marshall JCM 800, Marshall Plexi, Fender Super Reverb or Diaz CD30. This pedal has replaced my Fulltone Distortion Pro and my Fulltone Fulldrive 2. Yes it's really that good.

My band plays live 4 to 5 times a week and I've been using this for over 8 months without a single problem. It always sounds great no matter whether we're playing a tiny club or private party where we have to keep the volume down to big outdoor shows where I'm using the Super Reverb and the Plexi each cranked to 10. I've been using it without a backup so far without any problems.

I've spoken with them a couple of times and they've been really cool. I never had any problems with any of their gear but they seemed very interested in hearing how their pedals perform on a daily basis.

I've been playing for over 30 years and I've been playing professionally for over 20 years and I've had every type of distortion/overdrive pedal there is. I've had everything from cheap BOSS/MXR type stuff to very expensive handmade stuff like the Klon Centaur. This pedal blows them all away. I always get complimented on my tone and this pedal is one of the main reasons. I play everything from classic rock to blues to jazz. I even do Hendrix tribute shows. If this pedal were ever stolen, I would buy another one the very same day because I use it to get the incredible tone that I use to make a living.

Purdy dang simple pedal to operate. This is a review of the old transistor version, discontinued many moons ago (in an Electric Mistress style box, with all the knobs lined up vertically on the right). Controls are the usual "volume, tone, and gain" suspects. Just keep trying to remember, this is NOT the new version. The current Hot Tubes pedal really has a 12AX7 tube in it, and has five controls. This ain't it.

This is an old (probably late 70's, early 80's) distortion pedal. Rather than preamp tubes, this has a germanium transistor in it (like classic fuzz pedals). This is a two edged sword. On the one hand, pedals (like the Fuzz Face, Big Muff, and this one) that use these were made by guys that had no clue (or didn't care) that germanium transistors have widely varying tolerances. Meaning they will sound totally different one to another. But on the plus side, when you get "a good one", germanium transistors have the biggest sounding, most natural warm overdrive tone you ever heard. I became painfully aware of this when I got a Russian made Big Muff from GC. It sounded wonderful, but stopped working one day (within a month), so I took it back and got another, and it didn't sound the same at all - it sounded bad, really edgy and blatty. Quality control back then (in those companies) wasn't quite what it is today with all the hand-matched parts and high QC with companies like Fulltone, Foxrox and the Analog Man and all this craziness (I like that kinda crazy).

Anyway, the pedal I have is definitely one of "the good ones". Sometimes, when you hear a bad one, the bass sounds weak and thin, and the high end is scratchy, crackly, and the gain is a hoarse sputter. Not so with this Hot Tubes. This has got all the harmonic gooey-ness of the best fuzz; a complex, silky midrange, warm highs, and a huge bass with a bottom end that, while not exactly the tightest, stays together and doesn't waffle. It's maybe a little fuzzy, but it doesn't sound like a fuzz. It's not really the big muff "Corgan-tone" type of pedal used for knocking walls over, either. Lower gain sounds like Beck and Hendrix and Clapton. Higher gain settings sound just like that, except with a lot more gain. Don't know how to describe the sound, really.

I've tried a couple of the newer ones, and let me be the first to tell ya, this is a totally different sound. The new version has all of the "swarm of killer bees" high end that you'll hear on a badly executed 12AX7 design. I don't own this pedal (gave it as a gift to another player, after getting a couple of Fulltone fuzzes), but I have it again temporarily to get it fixed (more below). Though temporarily stricken with a slight pang of regret, my Fulltone's do everything this one did (especially my Distortion Pro - it goes beyond). Still, this one is "just as good" as any fuzz or germanium powered distortion or overdrive that's currently on the market today. Though, if you see three or four in a store somewhere (which is unlikely), maybe one or two out of those will be really good, and the others will likely not fare as well. Or, if you really knew your stuff, you could go "bucket brigade" on a small scale and get your hands on a few of these transistors, and swap 'em out until you get a "magic" one (or if you had the right equipment and knew the value to look for).

This one has had two of the knobs (and subsequently, the pots) broken off at a gig (at the Tattoo Bar - you do the math). Except for stuff like that, it shouldn't spontaneously explode. The cosmetic condition of this one is simply terrible (paint chipped off and slightly rusted in areas), but it works great.

Have not a clue, never had to deal with EH.

This unit is actually provides an overdrive/distortion sound that works great in ANY style that a gain box will fit in, save for the heaviest of metal (definitely won't do the Metallica/Pantera sounds). Kinda sounds like a Sola Sound Tone Bender x 2, except a little warmer, and with a lot more gain. Still, because they're "classic germanium" units, you may have to play through a couple (if you have that luxury) to find a good sounding one. So, the moral of this story is, if you go to a store, play one, and it doesn't sound good, PLEASE don't write me with "You tone deaf moron...", etc. I'll likely start my response pointing out your lack of reading and comprehension skills, as this is a point I covered over and over in this review. If you find a good one, snag it, it'll probably be cheap enough. If you don't want it, someone else will.

This is the EH reissue hot tubes with two 12ax7s in it.

fairly easy to use. 5 controls: volume, gain, drive, bass, treble. Only confusing if you don't know the difference between gain and drive but a few minutes twisting them and you will figure it out.

Sounds exactly like a big muff. Instead of a tone control you get bass and treble, and instead of a drive knob you get gain and drive. Big deal, still sounds exactly like a big muff. The only advantage of this over a big muff is that you can get subtler shades of fuzz, but who buys a big muff to turn the gain to 1? I like the sound of big muffs, but i would buy a bm for $50 before this for $225. for that, i give it a 5.

it's got tubes and an ac adaptor. Because of that you have to be a little more careful with it so ya don't break em. It's got a large metal shield over the tubes that looks like the ventilated barrel of a tek nine which should hold up well, and the case is made of pretty durable steel. Looks fairly reliable.

haven't dealt with em.

A good pedal, sounds great. But it's basically a big muff with tubes, which doesn't make it sound any different if you ask me. MIGHT be slightly smoother gain with the tubes, but I think the older bmp's sounded pretty smooth anyhow. I'm returning it due to the fact that it's basically an overpriced big muff with tubes.

out of the box it is very intuative but the tone notching takes a little time to get used to

i use an italia modena, gibson sg and a fender tele with an enchanter 20 custom amp simular FE3 tweed deluxe. i found myself frustrated using the pedal because deluxe amps are so transparent and the hot tubes pedal seemed to give me the same sound no matter what guitar i was playing or even which pickup the guitar was switched to. pedal sounded like tree bark feels. along the lines of a hepcat mated with a big muff. if you want to play mc5's kick out the jams this is the pedal for you.

seemed to be well constructed. used for one gig and then headed to the nearest mail box to send back.

owen is a cool dude. very easy to get along with

fran the man knows her sound well and sticks to it. i tried it but just had to pass.

Never got a bad sound,(excluding excessive gain & being too close to amp type scenarios).BLEW AWAY My 70S BIG MUFF!!!! Im talking about totaly stomping it. a 10.

I play lap steel guitar,so my tastes are somewhat dictated by the fact I only have one pickup to work with. The pedal is kinda dark toned, which is cool for lap guitar in all settings but C&W(no distortion here).I can afford the treble loss. use with Fender Deluxe Reverb (blackface)with Fender,Gibson,National&custom lap guitars.In short,Killer!

Bought from friend for 10 bucks,a solder joint wasnt quite up to par. how that connection survived all those years without failure mystifies me still. resoldered it 8 years ago,still goin strong.I HAVE gigged it without backup!!!!

No clue here.

I have been playing rock,blues,country &"experiMENTAL" for eons. I own various gutars and amps i have aqquired over the years.Stolen,HAH,this thing is so ugly people are too scared too touch it, much less steal it.I love Fuzz,Distortion and Overdrive pedals. no such thing as too many.One question,why slide switches? yech.

Five knobs- everything is very, very sensitive. I really would have liked a more complete technical manual, with the actual frquency cutoffs, bandwidths, etc... The 'manual' was nothing more than a sheet which told you what the knobs were. Thanks, guys, I really coulkd have just assumed that from the writing on the unit... I spent (and still spend!) a lot of time playing with it, it is very versatile and allows for a plethora of sounds which are very easily acessible. All you gots to do is turn those knobs...but I still don't know how the circuit really functions. If they had included a more technically specific manual, I feel as if I could really use this unit to the utmost potential.

Oooooooooooooohhhhh...I love love love it! I play a Tele through a Silverface Twin (non-boost master volume) and have longed for a box that drives my amp and adds some grit without sounding too artificial. It really is like another channel in the amp. It is very natural sopunding, and highly sensitive. On the more extreme settings, you can really get anything ranging from Big Muff to near Octavia, but I generally bypass the bass and treble settings and just use a little bit of drive, just enough gain, and try to match the master volume to the output of the channel on the twin. This gives me a great, natural Keith/Ronnie sort of tone and allows me to do the ol' turn-down your-volume-knob trick for dirty/clean variation. I really am not a huge fiddle on stage sort of person, so I generally run my Crybaby into the Hot Tubes, into a delay, followed by a Small Stone. Using this setup I am able to utilize all of my effects without any muddiness. An excellent box, not too noisy on the non-extreme settings.

It seems utterly dependable- but the proprietary spade/pin adapter connector for the transformer seems suspect. It is not very sturdy and seems like it could break. And the other day, it sparked when I put the already-plugged-in transformer into the pedal. That is another bummer- no seperate on-off switch. 12ax7a tubes are tough but having them plugged/unplugged constantly- I really don't know how good it is for the pedal. I would have liked to have seen a built in power supply for this with a standard ac plug. For the price they ask, it would seem appropriate. Other than that, the box is well constructed, and seems like it would (hopefully) last a lifetime. I don't really have a backup super-tube-pedal, so I would use it on a gig and pull it out if it failed, turning up my amp channel to compensate.

I have loved this pedal since I first checked it out in a boutique music shop in NYC. I got it on a blowout, which is why I now own it- the asking was 180, I got it for 139- much less dear. I want to own and use this for a long, long time. It is really almost everything I've ever wanted in a gain pedal- clean warm gain, distortion, overdrive, intense tone shaping- I just wish it had: 1. A power switch; 2. Another gain stomp, i.e the visual sound Rt. 66, so I could have two discrete gain settings; 3. A more precise manual covering more overall aspects both technically and sonically; 4. A built in power supply or a non- proprietary standard barrel adapter. For the price I see it at most of the time- upwards of $190- all of these things should be part of the construction and presentation of this unit. I highly recommend buying this pedal if you have the means. The only other thing that comes close is really any 808-style OD, but you really don't get the chunky warmth or the tone-shaping capabilities or the sensitivity you get with this unit. I am only giving it an 8 because of the deficits mentioned. I really love this pedal and will be a lot less tense once I buy a new pedalboard and can just keep it plugged in and set up all the time.

This is the new Hot Tubes Overdrive, which uses two 12AX7 tubes (housed under a metal bracket, which is held in place a screw at each side). Controls include master volume, gain (distortion), drive (overdrive), bass, treble, footswitch, and two led's (one for power, one for effect on/off). The electronics are housed in your typical E-H (industrial looking) metal enclosure, and comes packaged in the trademark E-H pine box.

This box really took some getting used to. The controls (especially bass/treble) are VERY sensitive and abrupt. When I first plugged into this I immediately turned the controls to max and struck a power chord. My my first impression was that this is just a Big Muff with tubes (for the novelty factor). From there, I fiddled with the tone controls, but could get nothing more than a few fuzzy sounding squeals and burps (Cool sounding, but not what comes to mind when I think of "Overdrive"). After 30 or 40 minutes, I finally got a feel for the controls, and actually got some nice sounding OVERDRIVEN sounds. The manual is no help here, just work at it!

My set-up changes weekly, but I'm currently playing a G&L Commanche and US Masters Vector through a VHT Valvulator (line driver/power supply)--> Tech21 Killer Wail Wah--> Guyatone ST2--> Fulltone 70--> E-H Hot Tubes--> Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive--> Line6 MM4--> Boss NS2--> Line6 DL4--> Tech21 Trademark 60.

The Hot Tubes covers a LOT of sonic territory, so for comparison purposes, I will use the Fulltone 70 and Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive. The Hot Tubes can get a nice overdriven sound (not unlike the Sparkle), but lacks the midrange sweetness of the Sparkle Drive. It can get dirtier and nastier, but the you really have to search for the sweet spots. They are there, but it doesn't come easily.

As mentioned above, you can get some Big Muff tones from this thing (and really GOOD sounding tones as that), and at extreme settings it can get pretty bizzare square wave distortion. The Fulltone 70 can not get quite as extreme as the Hot Tubes, but the Hot Tubes couldn't match the 70's range of sweet spots. Where the Fulltone really left the Hot Tubes behind is how it interacts with your guitar. Turn your guitar volume down through the 70, and your tone cleans up beautifully. Turn the volume down through the Hot Tubes.....well, it just turns the volume down. At lower settings (on the Hot Tubes) it did clean up, but lost a lot of top end and sounded muddy. Also, regardless of settings, the Hot Tubes always seemed to be a bit noisier than both the 70 and Sparkle.

Seems pretty sturdy and well built, but time will tell.

Never dealt with them.....Hope I never have to.

I play a variety of music, but primarily dabble with heavier blues/rock, and also play on a church worship team. I've been playing for 20+ years, and have owned enough guitars, amps and pedals to last 50 life-times. I know rating anything is going to be a bit subjective, but having played through hundreds of "blue collar" and "boutique" stompboxes over the years, I feel I can give this pedal a fair assessment. So, what is my rating? Pretty good pedal. Is it worth the money? Possibly. It does cover a lot of sonic territory, and if you're looking for a good sounding do-all overdrive/fuzz, this could fit the bill.

I have th ere-issued version of this pedal so it has five knobs on it as opposed to the five on the previous versions. I really had to play with it to get the sound that i wanted as the treble and bass controls alos change the sound dramatically rather that just those two tones (the treble for instance seems to add an almost 'wah' like quality to it). The there is also the drive control which if crakned up too migh just gives far too much middle

Once i did find the setting i wanted though i banned anybody from touching it cause it would just spoil it. The sound i have found is a real AC DC sound which is just a really nice distortion without picking up too much feedback. I have also found some other good tonesin there. It can sound a lot like a big muff (which i also have) and so this could be good for Pumpkins type stuff. However the dials mean that there is a huge amount of tones in it, you just have to make time finding them and then dont do what i do and forget to make a note of the ones you liek as i lost a really great tone once and cant find it again (doh!)

I own four EH pedals and haven't had a problem with it that isn't fixable. The only slight problem i had with it was i dropped it and one of its vavles popped out of its cradle but all i had to do was take off the cover and pop it back in again. It works fine now. I have had no other problems with it (although the power supply is really bad in UK plugs)

Never had to deal with them

Great pedal if you are prepared ot sit down and play with it. I wasn't at first ut i came round to it after playing with the dials all day. If you want a broad sounding cool distortion pedal then you cant do much better than this. The Tube king is also great but i prefer this one as it has more Big muff qualities than the tube king

three knobs,in, out, switch to step on...is there anything more on a good overdrive pedal?

m'kay, i bought this from a vintage shop in the area, when i tried it out, i had a sears silvertone wonderously ancient tube head running through a peavey(ich!) 1/12 cabinet(the only thing with matching ohmage), it took a moment to work, which made me hesitate, waiting is not good,ESPECIALLY if it's a solid state unit, i was assured it was old, and since i've had it, no more waiting...anyway, i grabbed an axe, an early 70's mustang(71,72?) as i fiddled with the knobs on the guitar (to get the right pickup on) the signal started coming through the amp. of course, being a devout mc5/stooges fan, the overdrive was set on 11, tone on about 7, volume on 11...normally, mustangs tend to sound a little thin at low volumes...NOT IN THIS CASE!!!
i had the bridge pickup in a mustang sounding like the neck pickup in a les paul...it was thick, creamy, and just plain beautiful, a tear came to my eye, for i had found the single greatest distortion unit on the planet!!!
m'kay, so that was at the store, right? it's always different at home when you set it up with your rig isn't it? i use a DiPinto galaxie(four pickups, heh.) and a laney linebacker l50r(i know what yer thinkin' but it's only for practicing at lower volumes!)as i set up my rig, i told myself not to get my hopes up, things always sound better in the store...HA! open E chord, everything cranked... like a kick in the gut with a lead shoe!!!!THICKER THAN THE TONE DROPPED TO THE BOTTOM ON A BIG MUFF!!! i just got way too exited...

i've had it for only 2 months, practice, gigging, bedroom, i get very aggresive when i play, and tend to flail and thrash, and jump around alot, and fall frequently! i also abuse(i.e. throw) my equipment around, ala townshend, and it works pristine, like brand new, oh and it is not a reissue, it is an older one...i don't know how old though

i've not dealt with E.H. but if i ever had a problem with the pedal, i'd search the universe for another...or buy a reissue, which ever i feel like doing at the time.

i play a wierd sort of music at the moment, kind of "industrial, with nutra-sweet" modern rock billboard 40 stuff, i play live guitar, no studio stuff yet, and my wayne kramer/"sonic" smith style works pretty well with the music,(my stage amp is a kustom 100 212 combo...tuckn'roll...heh.)it's a single guitar based group, a few of our songs require two guitars though. when you double the decrepit sound of my "vintage" junk rig, with my singer/bassist/on/off guitar player's smooth mesa, digital, line six "look at me i'm cool" in a pretty box guitar sound, it really molds well, really cruddy, and super-perfect, the two sounds together can't be beat! the perfect balance of analog and digital! i never thought that could happen!!!
ELECTRO HARMONIX ARE THE GODS OF PEDAL MAKING!!! NEVER USE ANYTHING ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

as my colleagues said: three knobs and there we goohoooooo...

it's marvellous! it's the grown up brother of the big muff: it clearly sounds similar, but with less distortion/fuzz and more delicate. oh, it's surely no tube simulation, but it's a wonderful distortion unit! it's really strong at midrange and i use it for lots of guitar sounds that require some "kiss my a%%" attitude, my favorite GLAMROCK-distortion: sweet, delicate and even somewhat controlable.

i nearly took it onto stage, but i have to rely on more distinctive tools. if i was forced to take a "fuzz" unit, this one would be my choice!

there's a ac cable fixed to the unit. i didn't gig with it, but i guess i won't break at once!

i give it a ten - for about three decades of wonderful effects manufacturing!

my glam rock diamond, my rock and roll jaws, my rhythm'n'blues bitch... do i have to tell You more?

you plug in, and there is a button---not so difficult. oh and its own built in ac----------dont have to fuss with wearing out a battery.

warmth. really warm. i have a 59 duo sonic and a 67 bronco. tones are warm. real warm. sunn head.

nothing went wrong.

mike? i dont know him.

why bother getting something else, youll just end up getting this in the future.--------if your ears know good tones-ha ha very few do.

Three knobs, one for distortion, one for tone and one for volume. There is one input and two outputs, one direct out (uneffected signal) and another for the effected sound. Getting a good sound out of this pedal requires a good amp basically, it sounded great at any volume through the clean channel of my tonemaster, but my AC30 needed to be on about quarter volume before I could get it to sound acceptable, with a bit volume from the amp, this pedal really starts to sound great, if you want great dirt at bedroom levels, forget it, at this level it sounds really quite bad, but at gigging volumes is one of the best pedals I've owned (and I've owned quite a few)

If you max the volume out you get an enormous boost in level especially when overdriving a clean sound, but background noise is quite high if you set the volume above three-quarters. The best sounds to be had from this unit are obtained from bypassing the tone circuit (there is a tone-bypass switch) as the tone circuit isn't really up to much, and setting the distortion no higher than around 8, otherwise it gets too fizzy, if you set the volume to match the level of your clean sound when the pedal is off, you should get a decent crunch, but if you set the volume too low, you don't get much balls.

I've only had it for a week, it seems sturdy enough, and the internal wiring looks good enough and it's an original not a re-issue so if it's been around for all this time and still all original and working fine, this to me is a testament to it's good build quality. It has now entered the ranks as top gigging distortion unit

Never dealt with them, but New Sensor who now deal with all things E.H. seems to be quite helpful and informative.

I would certainly buy it again, and I possibly will if I find one in better condition as mine is fairly cosmetically-challenged but is still working fine. The sound is one of the best I've heard from a solid-state distortion unit, the only thing I don't like is the inability to get good sounds out of it at low volumes (bedroom levels). When buying this pedal I must have tried about every distortion pedal in the shop, but this won on all scores. If you want a good pedal for solid crunch, check one out !!!

Simple controls, Level, Tone, Overdrive, plus a tone bypass switch. Sounds kinda like an Ibanez ts-9 but more aggressive Marshall kinda sound than a Tube Screamer. Not a whole lot of gain but more than the TS-9. Also is AC powered only

Kinda noisy. Sounds best when used as an overdrive booster for an amp thats already overdriven, but also is good on its own. Much more low end for chords than a Tube Screamer.

Most EH pedals are pretty dependable none of mine have ever broken down .

EH went out of business in 84 but I'm sure there's someone out there who could fix it if iot were to stop working.

I'd maybe buy it again if the price were right. Decent overdrive sound but kinda noisy and big size make it not as desireable as a TS-9 or Real Tube.