Tonebone Hot-British Distortion

First of all ,let me tell you ,I think it is incredible ! You can close your eyes and think you have a marshall JCM800 or something ! It completely sound like it,by that I mean that the range of this pedal is more or less ,oriented in that direction, it may or may not be an exact JCM800 ,but it`s really not hard to reproduce almost ANY sound (your favorite artist)that used marshall as their sound.I will minus a point for not having a rotary control for the mid,and having put a switch insted,because it would open even more the possibility.But don`t get me wrong ,if I would of try my best and reproducing the famoust Marshall sound and all it`s variation ,by building a pedal myself ,I would have failed ! I also which that the contour knod ,be more like a Marshall contour ,and it kinda does it, but is too bass/treble oriented. But that gives a possibility to try different setting ;you make it sound dark with the contour knob,and bring back the brightness of the sound with the treble knob,so it still gives place to a multitude of possibility .Basically it`s easy to use because it sound good with any amp/guitar setup ,because of the great amount of control you have over the sound.

It`s not noisy ,even when you put a MXR flange,and a BOSS DD-3 delay ,strait into a Trace Elliot V12R (all tube ,class A ,15/6 watts combo,celestion vintage 30 spkr)usually, the background noise is worst and worst ,the more you add pedal (and you can`t hide behind with class A,everything comes thrue,noise included)and it`s not the case here ,and please belive me ,if someone find it noisy ,then he sould check his wiring, he has too much pedal (it only take one noisy pedal to ruined a sound) hoke up ,or he sould check is amp or guitar .However since it`s tube driven ,they may not all be equal.I have talk about noise bacause if it`s noisy , to me it`s pretty much useless ; the pleasure I would get would not equal the deception of it been noisy. The range of sound that this thing offers is unequal by it`s competitor in the quality more than on the range itself ,the range is from a mild breakup , at the store the sellsmen was playing it true a fender stage 100 ,usind a fender strat deluxe , and I was playing with the control to find the different possibility ,and we achivied a perfect S.R.V. ,at home I have not been as succesfull at getting it ,but it did give it once at least ,so it`s capable of it .At home I did ; Van Halen (hot british + MXR flange),on it`s own it does a good Gun`s and Roses ,a credible Ozzy Tribute sound , metallica seek and destroy,and the black album , ZZ Top , Eagles even ,you could get a Eric Clapton women tone I`m sure , and some lighter sound ,because it does not sound thin in lower gain setting , it sound creamier , but still has punch. This pedal is dynamic a lot (lower gain setting icluded) and does not flobb out or sound mushy at all .What it sound like is like a hot british distortion ( a Marshall ! ),and because it let you sculpt it you get a wide variaty of classic rock sound that have a strong backbone and always sound right , and that is saying a lot ,most other pedals have one or two good setting only ,and you have to find them(and match it to your amp/guitar combination) so its very limiting , that is not the case here , here you have a sound that sound good not matters what , and you adjust it to your specific need perfecly . To me this is a small JCM 800 head ,that`s the best way to describe it .And this is considering the dynamic , bass (palm mute response), the mid (so unique and hard to reproduce),and treble (brigh but not piercing )and amount of gain ,by the way the Van Halen and Gun`n Roses sound were Gain at around 1 o` clock ,more than that gives you an over saturated pumping sound that loose it definition ,gain max ed is good when you want a specific over the top distortion .But don`t get me wrong the sound from this thing is always better than average , and when tune perfecly , give you a usualy out of reach type of quality .It`s universal for it`s capability to match with any other effect ,guitar ,amp ,and come out with it`s own personality intact , only modified with whatever you have put it thru .I am usually very critical (noise problem , ear fatigue syndrom ,predictable sound ) but I cannot fault it for nothing ,simply because it delivers the good . Perfect score !

I have it for one week only ,but seem very hi quality ,worked perfecly so far ,so I have to give it a perfect score !

I play rock , blues ,pop ,and find it incedible .Been playing for 12 years . I now live in fear to have it stollen from me , and would run out to buy another one .I did buy a Metal Zone MT-2 ,and it sounded pretty good , but like another have said sounded fake by comparition ,I have to agree. And also agree that it(the hot british) sound like it`s coming out of your amp , I was looking at my amp and though ; what the hell ?!! I didn`t think it could sound like that ! It`s inspiring to play ,subtle ,punchy ,clear ,dard ,heavy ,light ,it`s availlable . I could not describe it better than : ZZ Top ,S.R.V. , woman tone ,for bluesier setting , and , Guns`n Roses ,Van Halen , for heavy distortion ,(using the right guitar ) ,that alone is worth the price . I own one and it`s just like having a miniature Marshall head .I do not work for the company .

Ok, when I first tried it I turned all knobs to 1/2way and left the switches in neutral position... I was not too thrilled about that sound but a little tweaking w/ the bottom end(less than an 1/8 of a turn) and some playing w/ all the mid switches helped me get a great sound in no time fast. I won't go into the amount of switches and knobs on this thing, others have described it best...

I use this pedal w/ a HIWATT DR-103 Custom 100 amp head and either of three cabinets(70's hiwatt 4x12 w/ fane speakers, 90's Marshall 4x12 w/ vintage celestions and G12T-75s, or a fender bandmaster cab w/ vintage celestions). My favorite current guitar is a custom made '62 fender jazzmaster replica w/ Duncan pickups.

There is some noise as to be expected w/ the amount of gain available w/ this unit, but then my pickups are pretty microphonic anyway(jazzmaster!).

The distortion effect is very versatile... this is no one trick pony!
The more time you spend w/ this unit the more sounds you will find from it from scooped mid chunk to mid boosted gain, warm or bright.. it is extremely sensitive and the controls seem interactive.

This thing feels like its bullet proof very nice construction and true bypass switching! I might use another overdrive or distortion box w/ it as this thing is definitely not designed for light distortion/overdrive... the classic distortion pedal might come in handy here! I definitely prefer to have a variety of overdrive/distortion flavors at my disposal.

Oh yeah, if the tube breaks... buy another and stick it in there... incidentally I wonder what this thing would sound like w/ different 12ax7 brands? 12at7? 12au7? May be worth looking into...

The maker of the pedal responds very quickly thru email. Very professional and courteous!

Style of music I play? Ok, imagine the drony, spacey, sounds of My Bloody Valentine/Slowdive/Mogwai/Kranky Records combining w/ San Diego Chaotic Hardcore frenzy(Gravity Records)... although I do also love the sound of classic 60s, 70's rock and 80's new wave, Post-punk, experimental noise, etc...

I've been playing a long time(over 10 years), I also have a Mesa Dual Rectifier head(no distortion help needed here) as well as these overdrive pedals: Barber Electronics Burn Unit, SIB varidrive, Vintage rat... a smorgasbord of delay pedals, etc...

I would certainly buy this thing again if stolen or lost.

I love the abundance of control this thing has over the tone... it is a great accompaniment to the Hiwatt. I wish it had an internal transformer though like the SIB varidrive; Wall-warts just plain SUCK!!!

This thing has a much brighter top end than the varidrive which is pretty dark sounding and very bassy(I usually run the bass very low and I like a thick sound!). It can defintley hold its own against this pedal except one is more overdrive and one is high gain distortion.. definite difference between the two.

Tonebone pedals are in a class of their own... the competition can't even give you this kind of control over the sound.

Go check their website:

http://tonebone.com/homeUS.htm

Very easy to use! The Hot British is a tube driven distortion pedal with controls that include: LEVEL (output), HIGH (10db boost or cut at 4.2 khz) LOW (14.5 db boost or cut at 100 hz) CONTOUR (controls lo/hi balance in conjunction with voicing switch) and DRIVE (gain/distortion amount) selector switches for TOP END (bright/flat/dark) VOICING (scooped 'V' tonal curve, or fat passive midrange filter) and MID BOOST (+7 db @ 390hz or +12db @ 620hz) This pedal is also True Bypass and has a red LED ON/OFF status indicator.

I have a Mesa Boogie Nomad 55 and after hooking up this pedal I like it my amp so much more! It gives it a great Marshall sound and is better than the amps preamp gain. By far the best pedal I have ever had including my modded Tube Screamer. I can get a cranked amp sound now without waking the dead!

Looks very durable in it's metal case. Very sturdy!

I was hestitant at first to order the pedal because it is not a big name company but Denis Rozon answered every Email and was very helpful and nice.

I have searched high and low for a good distortion pedal and this is the best I have heard!It is a real treasure and a bargain considering it's tone and quality!

The Hot British is a high gain tube driven distortion pedal with tons of control over the tones produced. Controls include: LEVEL (output), HIGH (10db boost or cut at 4.2 khz) LOW (14.5 db boost or cut at 100 hz) CONTOUR (controls lo/hi balance in conjunction with voicing switch) and DRIVE (gain/distortion amount) Additionally, there are selector switches for TOP END (bright/flat/dark) VOICING (scooped 'V' tonal curve, or fat passive midrange filter) and MID BOOST (+7 db @ 390hz or +12db @ 620hz) This pedal is also True Bypass and has a red LED ON/OFF status indicator. All of this may sound complex but is actually very user friendly. Dialing up great sounds is a snap.

This pedal is very quiet and sounds tremendous. Other high gain pedals like the Metal Zone, XXL, RAT, etc. all have their place but most of them sound "fake" by comparison. When plugged into the front end of several handwired tube amps, the HOT BRITISH seemed to meld very well as though the amps had received an expensive "mod". More importantly, the Contour knob in conjunction with the 3 selector switches allow this pedal to interface superbly with all sorts of setups. Many amps seem to "like" a certain pedal or certain guitar, but that idea is obsolete with this box. I've used it with 70s Marshalls, VOX, 60s Fenders along with a Les Paul Std., Tele, humbucker equipped Hamer USA solidbody. All of the tones sound
useful and VERY musical.

Seems very well built in a "clamshell" style case reminiscent of
the early small box RAT.. which means it could probably withstand a bomb blast. The controls, jacks and switch all feel really solid. A 15V power supply is included which seems fine as well. I have had this pedal only a short time but feel confident in it.

Denis Rozon is highly responsive and has answered numerous questions via e-mail. It is clear to me that he wants only satisfied customers, and will do what it takes to make that so.

I have way too many distortion and overdrive devices and know what i like when i hear it. The HOT BRITISH is a real sonic prize and 'delivers the goods' in spades. My thanks go out to Eric B for telling me about the Tonebone pedals.

Very easy to use. 5 knobs , 3 switches, and an on/off true bypass switch with LED. Great looking pedals. No manual included with mine, but don't need one.

I own this pedal and the Tonebone Classic Distortion pedal, and they're my 2 favorite distortion pedals. I own about a dozen other currently and have bought and sold about 15 other od/dist pedals. The Hot-British pedal sounds to me like a hi-gain modded Marshall JCM800 and/or a Soldano's distortion. It's tubey and sounds unbelievable.

Only owned it a month at this point, but it appears to be built as well or better than all my other pedals. Very high quality parts and looks great.

Denis has been very responsive to my emails and questions. He mentioned that he built custom made tube amps since he was a teenager, and also that he's involved in the design of a very hi-end all tube hifi power amp that has won awards this year. I haven't needed any repairs, but certainly feel I can count on him if I ever do.

I play rock, blues, fusion, psychedelic, noise, whatever! I'm basically a creative rock guitarist who was raised on Hendrix, but has also gotten into all the 80's metal, punk, grunge, and today's alt-rock. I've played for 26 years now. The 2 Tonebone pedals I own are the coolest distortion pedals ever imo. I'm a pedalholic(better than a pedalphile!!) and would heavily recommend anything made by this company.

Easy to use, good sound instantly.
Go to tonebone.com
This is a tube pre-amp. (a real one)

I'm using it with a Fender Deluxe Hot-rod and a Strat with Texas special pick-up. Practicaly no noise at high gain set-up, I think that's because of the tube, when the sound is HOT the "so caled" noise became a friend and you just hear the good sound of the guitar (you must try) like and old Plexi set to 10. You can get Hendrix on the spot. You have to try this, believe me I'm not joking at all, this is it. The real sound

I love my Stratocaster, my Fender Deluxe amp and my Tonebone Hot-British, those tree are my main set-up, I dont need anything else.
I have been playing for quite some time now and my style is between Hendrix and Trower.