DANELECTRO
Cool Cat
CTO-1
Transparent
Overdrive
DANELECTRO caught some heat when
the original Cool Cat line was released, as many popular boutique
effects were gnashed in the gears of the Cool Cat cloning
machine. Perhaps no outcry was louder than the case of the
CTO-1 Transparent Overdrive. Once analyzed, forum dwellers
discovered that the TOD-1 bore a striking similarity to the Paul
Cochrane Timmy. Cochrane now sells pedals like everyone else,
but at the time the CTO-1 was released, the only way to obtain
a Timmy was to call Paul on the phone and chat with him about
gear. Of course, the idea of a suit at Danelectro, Inc. phoning Paul
and sweet-talking a Timmy out of him only to clone it rankled
a lot of gearheads. This rankling caused quite an uproar and
Danelectro quickly redesigned the circuit, and the original CTO1 fetched ridiculous money. Now that this is no longer true, it
is once again underrated. The Timmy sound is a super-versatile
low-to-medium gain drive used by countless artists the world
ever. Both the shape and ethics are a little unsavory, but the
price is certainly right—they sell for about $50.
22
TONE TALK //
Vastly Underrated (and Not Currently Made) Cheap Pedals: Revisited