Danelectro Cool Cat: Drive vs. Transparent Overdrive?

[riolux]

I don't use pedals very much, but I'm thinking of getting an overdrive pedal. After days of watching youtube reviews, I think I've narrowed it down to the Danelectro Cool Cat series.

But what is the tonal differences between the two? All the reviews have them at different settings, and to be honest, I don't know which one to get.

I'm looking for a slightly overdriven sound, just a bit of gain and grunt but I don't want it to sound too compressed, I'd like to keep as much of dynamics and original tone as possible.

At the moment, all I've got is an old Boss DS-1 distortion. I can get some nice sounds out of it, but it's a bit too much metal.

Any help or input gladly appreciated. Thanks!

[Ringo]

Sounds like you would like the TO better, but to tell the truth, they are both great sounding pedals, and they are pretty cheap, I bought both of them.
There are a lot of good threads on the TDPRI about both pedals, just do a search.

[littlewing6283]

im selling my tubescreamer b/c I like my cool cat drive so much. i bought 2

[riolux]

Thanks! Nice to hear from someone who has both. I ended up ordering the T.OD for 28 Euros. The Drive was 23 Euros, I would have gotten one of those too if I hadn't bought so much ither stuff...

I've heard that they're making a V2 of the T.OD, does that mean that they'll stop making the "V1"?

[jmecale72]

I have both of them too. They actually stack nicely with each other. The drive has more gain than the TO, so you may be happy with the TO, but both clean up nicely when using your volume knob.

Dano is making a version 2 of the TO, and from what I understand, they will stop making the V1.

[k tone]

The worst part of the Dano's is the jack/ knob configuration. If you are putting it on a pedalboard it takes some planning. I have the TOD and the Vibe and think they are great but they are not on my board. If Dano decided to issue these pedals with a traditional metal pedal box/ metal jacks/ true bypass for a similar price they would corner the market.

As well if you can try the pedal first do it. My TOD had a bad (noisy) pot when I got it home. I was able to fix it with some contact cleaner

[TNO]

I have both and I've never been able to warm up to the TO. The stacked tone controls are are hard to deal with. The Drive pedal sounds much closer to the bypassed tone and sounds great anywhere the gain is set.

[eddie knuckles]

they both serve a purpose, and i ask alot out of my 5watt amp and play acoustic, tele and lap steel thorough it. I find having both overdrives set differently give me a great tone pallette on the fly, from acid rock to ZZ top to country snarl, its all good with both, sometimes stacked.

[eddie knuckles]

If I did have to choose one over the other, I'd choose the TO.... maybe my sparkle drive depending on the day

[cqmurphy]

Have them/use them both. LOVE the CTO.

[pcypert]

Darn you guys and these threads... well actually I should say thank you :)

Went by my local guitar store and they had these for 38 sgd (about 25 USD). Picked up the trem and CTO yesterday and will go back and buy the drive today. Sold my Boss Blues Driver for 100 SGD...what a deal, 3 really good pedals (well ok 2 really solid and one not so good - trem) for the same price...no brainer to me.

Will wait till I have the Drive in hand before I let people know they're clearing them out so cheap though :p

Paul

[holgaguy]

I have both. I use the TO for a little gain and the Drive for that added midrange bump.

Both are great pedals for the money in terms of tone and sound but the controls do suck.

[malko]

quick question. my transparent overdrive drive control doesnt seem to do much until its about at the 2 o'clock position (assuming you are looking over the pedal) and it also crackles a tiny bit around or just before this position where it has an effect. Is this normal?

[pcypert]

What order do you put the pedals in if you don't mind me asking holgaguy (Im also a Holga fan)? Do you put the TO after Drive or vice versa?

Paul

[malko]

Originally Posted by k tone

As well if you can try the pedal first do it. My TOD had a bad (noisy) pot when I got it home. I was able to fix it with some contact cleaner

Bumping an old thread but mines has the problem. Please explain how you did this. thanks

[studio1087]

I'm looking for a slightly overdriven sound, just a bit of gain and grunt but I don't want it to sound too compressed, I'd like to keep as much of dynamics and original tone as possible.

You should love the TOD - I have them both. The Transparent OD is exactly what you want.

John

[maxsmith]

I have both the Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive and Drive pedals.

I use small Fender tube amps, I like them with the volume cranked and use the volume knob on the guitar to control the amount of dirt I want.

This isn't always feasible when practicing at home with family or at rehearsals, so the TO lets me dial in some nice dirt or crunch at lower volumes without changing the natural tone of the amp and guitar very much.

It also works great as an extra solo boost when I can run the amp at full tilt.

The Drive pedal is more of a crunch to lead pedal that works great for classic rock or blues rock.

Given the price, they are both nice boxes to have in your trick bag if you're not a boutique or mod type.

I just picked up the Vibe for $45 US with free shipping - can't wait to give it a whirl, so to speak.

Max