I tried this pedal with both my Blackheart Little Giant and Killer Ant. Both have Sovtek power tubes and JJ pre-amp tubes for higher volume break up. While it sounds better than some other Tube Screamer-like clones that I've played (Behringer, Bad Monkey), the CTO still has that Tube screamer mid-range boost that you either like or don't like. My mid-1980's RAT with the clipped mod sounds much more transparent than this at low gain settings. Plus, the RAT doubles as a distortion box as well. And for a 5w class A amp, I really prefer turning the amp up a bit more and backing off on the guitar volume. To my ears, that sounds better than boosting the signal with an OD. I wanted to like this pedal, but it ended up going back.

I own both the Paul Cochrane Timmy pedal, and the Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive pedal. I actually purchased the Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive pedal just to check out what the all controversy was about between these two pedals. They are both extremely similar in tone, and what they accomplish. Even though I own all high end gear for the rock genre, I actually prefer the Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive pedal as my personal favorite overdrive pedal that doesn't color your guitars' natural tone.

So this pedal was determined to be an almost exact clone of the Paul Cochrane Timmy pedal, which is an amazing pedal in its own right. This one just about nails it. The quality of the Timmy isn't there, as this is a cheaper knockoff but the sound is great. I use it to drive my HotRod Deluxe with a PRS SC245, and also a Telecaster and sounds great with both. Only complaint is the position of the controls right near all the input/output jacks, but re-housing the pedal solved that. Great buy for the money!!

This is an awesome transparent overdrive pedal! It does exactly what it says in that it provides a very cool overdrive sound without sacrificing the tone of your guitar. I play Gibson Les Pauls in various rock contexts, and this pedal is second to none. Of course it's great having true bypass, metal casings and jacks, which are all necessary pro features. I also like how the control nobs are not in the way of your feet in live applications. All this at a nice low price.

I have owned this pedal for about 3 months now and just love it. I use it to boost the lead channel on my Bugera 333XL combo and it does the job awesomely.

First thing I did was compare it to my BBE Green Screamer. The Danelectro Cool Cat CTO-1 Transparent overdrive IS very transparent compared to the BBE, and has more tone control via a combination treble and bass knob. Easier on the wallet too, that's a plus.

The only bad thing I found about the CTO-1 is that the knobs move too easily. This is easily fixed redneck style by using black electricians tape.

Thanks for restoring your rep Danelectro!!