Crowther Hot Cake - why does it sound so f***ing good?

fendermadlewis

Recently got a Crowther Hot Cake in a bundle of pedals to sell on but after quick play I decided to hang on to it for a while. I can't stop playing it! It sounds like a cranked Marshall & 412! Anybody know what the circuit is based on or if it's an adapted version of another pedal? 

Here it is between my recent blackgaurd build and a super reverb during today's lunchtime noodling. 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156839665165897&id=676895896

stickyfiddle

Fantastic pedal. AFAIK it's an original circuit, not significantly based on anything, but I might be wrong.

I haven't used mine much lately; I should get it out for a blast at the weekend.

rze99

I have one but 90pc of the time use Hotplate attenuators with my classic old valve amps and I prefer the natural break up. Only reason for contribution here is that the amp I used the Hotcake most successfully with is my 60s VocAC30. I didn’t think it sounded as good into my other amps as other pedals. The Vox is a fussy beast.

merlin

rze99 said:

Only reason for contribution here is that the amp I used the Hotcake most successfully with is my 60s VocAC30. I didn’t think it sounded as good into my other amps as other pedals. The Vox is a fussy beast.

It was designed to go in front of an AC30, hence why it sounds so good that way.... 

JD50

I had one of these , think it was the blueberry mod? With internal switches. I found it harsh and brittle, guess it depends on the amp.

lasermonkey

It also sounds bloody awful.....with the wrong amp. With something like a Fender Twin, it's harsh, brittle and glassy. Almost painful to listen to, with a most unpleasant note decay. I built one for a friend who had a Marshall. I had warned him of its fussiness and I ended up having to modify it for him, as it was too shrill with his setup.

Put it in front of an AC30 or AD30TC and it sounds incredible. You'd never know it was the same pedal! I had read that it was designed to be used with EL84s and while I don't understand how a pedal can interact in any substantial way with power valves, it does very much seem to be the case.

Philtre

Simple enough.

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/02/crowther-hotcake.html

djspecialist

Sounds amazing in that clip!

Now wondering how one of these would sound in front of my MJW Roadstar (EL84 power section, but preamp similar to a Watkins IIUC @martinw) ... 

Longtallronnie

I used to have a Double Hotcake which was one of the best pedals I've ever owned. It was basically a Bluesberry and Original in one box with independent controls but engaged a third sound when both sides were on. It was ridiculously versatile and could cover anything from clean boost to thick fuzz. Miss that one.

Longtallronnie

As an additional note, all my favourite drive pedals have been JFET based AFAIK - Hotcake, Distortron and Bogner Ectasy Blue.

Wazmeister

I had a new one, but returned it and Im on the look out for a second hand one maybe...

Sounded magnificent through the Matchless

ten77guitar

lasermonkey said:

It also sounds bloody awful.....with the wrong amp. With something like a Fender Twin, it's harsh, brittle and glassy. Almost painful to listen to, with a most unpleasant note decay. I built one for a friend who had a Marshall. I had warned him of its fussiness and I ended up having to modify it for him, as it was too shrill with his setup.

Put it in front of an AC30 or AD30TC and it sounds incredible. You'd never know it was the same pedal! I had read that it was designed to be used with EL84s and while I don't understand how a pedal can interact in any substantial way with power valves, it does very much seem to be the case.

The video Lewis posted is through a Super Reverb. Would expect it to be similar with a Twin. Of course the great playing helps!

Grocer_Jack

My unoriginal contribution to the thread is that it sounded great with my AC30 and arse with every Fender I tried it with (Twin, HRD, BD, Vibrolux). The fizzy note decay was a nuisance, although it didn’t do that with Voxes.

ICBM

The one I tried sounded absolutely dreadful with my Mesa Blue Angel too, even on the EL84 setting. (The power valves don't really dictate the sound of the amp.)

fendermadlewis

Local gig tonight with the hot cake. Super reverb again (bright switch on, treble 2, mids 3, bass 4) and my strat. Kicked the hot cake in for bridge pickup fatness a few times and it sounded like the amp had actually been swapped for an old cranked plexi. Absolutely brilliant. Haven't been this excited by a pedal since I got my first wah at fourteen! Happy days 

roberty

Philtre said:

Simple enough.

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/02/crowther-hotcake.html

Ooh might knock this up. Just got a fuzz dog circuit tester so don't have to box anything up to play it in anger

roberty

Longtallronnie said:

As an additional note, all my favourite drive pedals have been JFET based AFAIK - Hotcake, Distortron and Bogner Ectasy Blue.

The Boss OD-3 is JFET and it's bloody amazing. Not to be overlooked

ToneControl

lasermonkey said:

It also sounds bloody awful.....with the wrong amp. With something like a Fender Twin, it's harsh, brittle and glassy. Almost painful to listen to, with a most unpleasant note decay. I built one for a friend who had a Marshall. I had warned him of its fussiness and I ended up having to modify it for him, as it was too shrill with his setup.

Put it in front of an AC30 or AD30TC and it sounds incredible. You'd never know it was the same pedal! I had read that it was designed to be used with EL84s and while I don't understand how a pedal can interact in any substantial way with power valves, it does very much seem to be the case.

Would it also work well with a Matchless DC30? or is it really fine tuned for the Vox

lasermonkey

ToneControl said:

lasermonkey said:

It also sounds bloody awful.....with the wrong amp. With something like a Fender Twin, it's harsh, brittle and glassy. Almost painful to listen to, with a most unpleasant note decay. I built one for a friend who had a Marshall. I had warned him of its fussiness and I ended up having to modify it for him, as it was too shrill with his setup.

Put it in front of an AC30 or AD30TC and it sounds incredible. You'd never know it was the same pedal! I had read that it was designed to be used with EL84s and while I don't understand how a pedal can interact in any substantial way with power valves, it does very much seem to be the case.

Would it also work well with a Matchless DC30? or is it really fine tuned for the Vox

To be honest, I couldn't tell you! 
When I first built my two clones (the '77 and '03 versions) I thought they sounded awful with my Twin Reverb, though I liked the older one when wound up. I gave them to my friend to try with his AC30 and the difference was amazing. Everything I hated about the Hotcake disappeared, and it just sounded glorious. The '03 pedal never did make it back to me.

Later, once I had bought myself an Orange AD30, I thought I'd try it out with that. It also sounded great.

With the original Hotcakes, it's the op amp alone that's distorting and with my Twin, you could hear the point where the op amp was transitioning from distorting to being clean, and it didn't sound good at all, appearing as a fizzy, crackly note decay. With the AC and AD amps, I couldn't hear it at all and I have no idea why. The shrill quality that was evident with the Fender amp also vanished.

If your DC30 has similar qualities to the AC/AD amps, I'd recommend you at least try one out with your amp if that's at all possible.

smudge_lad

ToneControl said:

lasermonkey said:

It also sounds bloody awful.....with the wrong amp. With something like a Fender Twin, it's harsh, brittle and glassy. Almost painful to listen to, with a most unpleasant note decay. I built one for a friend who had a Marshall. I had warned him of its fussiness and I ended up having to modify it for him, as it was too shrill with his setup.

Put it in front of an AC30 or AD30TC and it sounds incredible. You'd never know it was the same pedal! I had read that it was designed to be used with EL84s and while I don't understand how a pedal can interact in any substantial way with power valves, it does very much seem to be the case.

Would it also work well with a Matchless DC30? or is it really fine tuned for the Vox

I have heard they are good into a Badcat, which has my interests peaked, so I’d imagine that should mean it’s good into a Matchless too

Aidanspaghetti

Was it the lad from Crowded house built these or are my meds wearing off?