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
Guitar dealer and G.A.S merchant by day: www.vibrocaster.com
Blues/rock singer & guitarist by night: www.alexhamiltonguitar.com
Comments
I haven't used mine much lately; I should get it out for a blast at the weekend.
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.
I said maybe.....
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) ...
JM build | Pedalboard plans
Sounded magnificent through the Matchless
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Blues/rock singer & guitarist by night: www.alexhamiltonguitar.com
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.
I said maybe.....