ToadWorks Mr. Ed

The Mr. ED pedal from Toadworks is fairly easy to use. It has a metal chassis and comes in Indigo-brown and has white-graphical lettering. The unit has a input and a output jack. Along with a footswitch it has 3 knobs; Brown, Tone, and Level. The knob marked Brown can be described as the gain. The Tone knob is of course for the tone and and obviously Level is how much of its signal you want to put in the mix. The footswich is set in the middle. Along with most of my overdrive effects I have this unit has no L.E.D. to signify if it is on or off. Also, to take the battery out, it takes a phillips screwdriver to remove the four screws from the bottom panel. The unit can be accomodate with a 9-volt power supply though.

I use a range of guitars that are outfitted with either single-coils, humbuckers and also soapbar style. It did so-so with the single coils, excellent with the humbucker and it did okay with the soapbars. Note: In general, it is hard to get a good heavy overdrive from almost any kind of effect or amp with guitars that are soapbar pickups, because it turns into mud, but this unit seems to try very hard. This pedal is fairly quiet unless maxed out on all its settings and sometimesalso when the treble or mids on the guitar ampis pegged. But a lot quieter than any other pedal(especially overdrive or distortion) that I have played with. This overdrive pedal scores pretty well by doing what it was advertised and/or designed to do; that is broadcasting the brown sound through the amp once the strings of the guitar are plucked or set in motion. The dynamics are noticable. It can respond to softer or harder playing(picking strokes, hammer-ons, ie..) Controlling the guitars volume can make a significant difference all to the advantage when needed. The ranges of the parameter settings for Brown, Tone, and Level is not that broad. A more drastic twist of the knob(s) are needed to actually hear some variations.

Needless-to-say, if one is looking for a bit of an original sound, do not just use this box alone, get another overdrive to put behind or before the Mr. ED overdrive pedal, so you won't copy Eddie's sound too much and maybe invent your own sound (imagine using it behind a fuzz face)---this unit does work well with other effects. The Mr. ED stompbox can work with clean and some dirty settings depending how the levels are set. To conclude, it seems that Toadworks delivered what they promised. I am happy with my purchase.

So far this has been a tough unit. I would use this without a backup. I did get a chance to look inside this box and observed that it was definately point-to-point hand wiring--Kudos!

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The music I play ranges from rock, hard rock, and some grunge. This pedal won't appeal for nu-metal or goth fans. It really can't keep up with grunge that much either when summoned. But I didn't buy it to drive real heavy and also I have my amp and other pedals for the extra heaviness when needed. What I mainly use this pedal for is to compliment my existing overdrive sounds. It gives a new twist to the tone and besides being a Van Halen fan(pre-Sammy Hagar) it is somehow what I was looking for.

Straightforward, twiddle the knobs.

Problem. There is only one usable sound out of this box. Granted, the sound is actually halfway decent (think Marshall JCM800 era type of overdriven tube amp sound) but it's not a tweakable version of that sound. It's best full on, and less than that it doesn't have a good dynamic range that you can tweak. I faithfully tried it through a Marshall JTM-45 through a 4X12, a Fender Twin, and a Fender Blues Jr. All times when its full on, it really shines, but when trying to tweak to get another usable tone, it really lacked a high end (it's all mids and bottom) that had any kind of good harmonics. One trick pony indeed.

It is built like a rock. Excellent construction and excellent detail on the inside.

Never contacted them.

I play blues/rock/fusion. I think this pedal has great potential if they mod the circuit to have more variety when the brown knob is used it be a usable overdrive that can be used in a variety of setups. As it is...its a steep price to pay for having knobs that don't interact well with eachother.

Pretty easy to use, only 3 nobs.

This should really be two reviews, one before I sent it back and one after I got it back. I boughht it on Ebay and it sounded really thin, no bass at all. I called the phone number on the website to complain, and they said it's not under warranty but since it was an old unit if I wanted to upgrade to a new circut I could for $15. After I got it back it sounded alot better. It had more bass and the distortion nob seemed to work better. before I returned it it was a 3, after I got it back it was 9

It's pretty solidy built, and when they worked on it they moved the electronics into the main box so now nothing is attached to the back.

They were cool, I didn't really want to pay another $15 but they said the warranty would be good, so I guess it's worth it.

Like I said before it was about a 3, it's much better with the new circut. It has lots of bass now and I think it has more gain but I'm not sure.

aq pedal with only three knobs should bee easy to handle. But Mr. Ed's knobs are working very strange.

Used it with several Marshall and older SF Fender Amps. Wondered how the company got the sound files at their homepage. They must have had some kind of "studio fine tuning". I also tried different guitars (Les Paul, a few strats and a friends HM-axe. But there where no good results at all. I can't understand how they can sell it as a distortion. I'm playing for 30 years now and I can`t remember having tried a pedal which had less effect than this one.

The box is build like tank; but that's all. The battery isn't fixed and after a few days I got problems with the switch. Very bad for a 200? distortion.

Never dealt with them.

If my Mr. Ed would bee stolen I would pay the man if he don't bring it back.

It is easy to get a good sound out of this pedal if you just dime everything.

That's about all you can do with it though, sadly.

This pedal unfortunately is a true one trick pony. It has an excellent overdriven half stack sound (ala Van Halen in a box) however, it has not usabile character whatsoever. I tried it with the following three amps.

Marshall Bluesbreaker - It made it sound like a JCM800
Marshall JCM800 - Made it sound hissy, overdriven and useful for Metal
Fender '57 Twin - this was a nasty combination as the overdrive isn't a clear distortion as much as its an overdrive on steroids and doesn't compliment a clean tube amp as well as you might think.

I'm sure it'll last a while..though I sold it quickly.

Never dealt with them...though they should be explaining the high price tag for their one trick pony.

Overall this thing has a great sound. Sadly, its when its dimed that its useful which makes the point of having controller knobs completely useless. If it were 40 bucks and had no knob controls on it..they could sell it as the brown sound in a box. The $180 asking price is way overpriced for something that is built nicely but completely useless in the 'tone' department.

As others have stated, the sounds of this pedal are SO limited, you basically find that one sound and, like it or not, there it is.

Man, was I disappointed. By far the most over-hyped, least rewarding pedal I have ever owned. As has been commented, the marketing for this pedal has been very clever, but what goes around comes around. This pedal has NO sustain WHATSOEVER. Yes, it does do AC/DC open chords with a nice growl, but that's it. And has been previously mentioned, the Brown knob does virtually nothing through 3/4s of its sweep. How the folks at Toadworks can even release a pedal so crippled in this regard is beyond me. The only pedal I've ever owned where I have actually uttered the word "Fraud!"

Who knows? I sold it on E-bay one week after I bought from E-bay. But, again, as soon as you get it, you feel like the Brown knob is busted.

Never dealt with them, but I'm inherently skeptical about their credibility, after the outlandish claims they have made for this pedal.

I play a variety of styles--mostly it's just me practicing, trying to be musical. In spite of my limitations, I am attentive to good tone. I know what I want to hear, and know it when I get it--contrary to the opinions of some mystical types, it is NOT rocket science.

With its 3 knobs it should bee easy to use. But it's impossible to use this pedal.

You may hear what kind of sound it should has, but it hasn't. I tried it with a Marshall JCM 800, a 1972 mod. Twin Reverb and a mod. Blues Junior. And it sounds awfull all the time.

There isn't a solid construction. The 9V block isn't fixed.

Didn't deal with them. Gave it back the same day and got my money back.

You'd better spend your money in buying an other pedal.

Since the Brown (gain) control is only effective in the last 25% of its rotation, it's easy to get the one sound that this pedal has.More on sounds in next section. Four screws to remove back..a hassle. As mentioned by other reviewers, the backplate is connected to the main circuitry by wires, so one has to be very careful when changing the battery. The battery has no means of being held in place, so it flops around inside the pedal when in transit. Not a real big deal, but for a $180 pedal...

The tone of the Mr. Ed is somewhere between overdrive and distortion. On the plus side, lower notes do retain their clarity and the pedal interacts well with other overdrive pedals. In terms of sound the pedal is pretty much a one-trick-pony. As mentioned above and in other reviews, the Gain control is only effective in the last 25% of its sweep. The Tone control is rather ineffective and goes from treble to more treble. The pedal definitely changes the sound of your tone. I used it with a Fender Twin, a Bassman, and a Carvin Belair. I know the pedal claims to simulate the sound of EVH, but I think there are less expensive pedals that provide more variety of sounds that come close to the EVH sound.

Had to replace the switch. They now use Fulltone switches. Prior to Fulltone, Carling switches were used. No other problems.

N/A From what I have read, they are savy when it comes to marketing their products.

As mentioned, this pedal is a one-trick-pony and it does not do that "trick" so well, especially at $180. (More $ if you want an LED) Maybe at one third that price it might be something worth purchasing.
then again.............maybe not!

So incredibly easy to use that even the average Eddie Van Halen fan could figure it out! Just plug in yer wannabe frankenstrat or lame EVH signature model of yer choice into the Mr. ED(die Van Halen) and run the out into yer MXR flanger and Phase 90 into yer Peavey 5150 and BAM, instant Eddie Van Halen! I give it a 10 for ease of use because it's so easy to instantly sound like Eddie Van Halen with this pedal!

The sound quality is toally friggin' awsome! It's like they broke into Eddie Van Halen's used condom stash and stole some of his DNA to put into the capacitors of this pedal! This thing is guaranteed to make you sound EXACTLY like Eddie Van Halen! This is so much better than trying to figure out my own signature tone, that's too much trouble and requires originality! I'd much rather buy this pedal that makes me sound like the greatest guitar god of all time........Eddie Van Halen!!!! Praise GOD (I mean Eddie Van Halen)!!! If you like lightning-fast finger tapping-pinch harmonic-whammy bar antics, then this pedal is for you!

This thing could survive the harshest 80's gigs just like something Eddie Van Halen would have used back when anyone important gave a crap about him! Totally rad paint job with awsome logo!

This Toadworks guy is like a saint! He must have been baptised by Eddie Van Halen himself! I emailed him to let him know how his pedal changed my life by making me sound exactly like Eddie Van Halen and he actually sent me a lock of Eddie Van halen's hair to rub against my face before I go to bed at night!

I play in an Eddie Van Halen cover band and this pedal is the perfect pedal for me. I can't bear to be without it. I've sewn a special little purse to carry this pedal around with me at all times. I only play Eddie Van Halen covers and if I ever play one single phrase that was not written by Eddie Van Halen, I discipline myself by wipping my own back with a cat-o-9tails in front of my shrine to Eddie Van Halen. If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably kill myself in a suicide bombing at Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo. Either that, or get another one. What do I love about it? Probably the fact that it makes me sound exactly like Eddie Van Halen. What do I hate about it? The fact that it's very hard to make love to it. If you want to sound just like Eddie Van Halen, buy this pedal!!! If you don't want to sound just like Eddie Van Halen, buy it anyway because once you sound like Eddie Van Halen, you'll realise that your life has had no meaning up until that point.

Doesn't get much easier to use... Standard fuzz/distortion features w/ slight changes in the names.

This unit sounds fantastic. Is it "Eddy" well, yes, pretty darned close. Also sounds great w/ daisey chaining w/ other distortion/ fuzz units for truly unique sounds.

Just got it, seems solidly built. One questionable detail is that in order to change the battery you must unscrew four screws to reveal the inner workings, but you must be careful because a portion of the electrical circuit board is afixed to the bottom cover which can be removed but not too far. I think this may be a stress point and "the weakest link"

Great answered questions over the phone and through email. Builds each unit to order so it takes time.

Would recommend in a second. The price has just recently gone up though..