M
MistaGuitah
Well-known member
I don't want to rag on MXR because they generally make decent, affordable effects ppedals. However, I recently ran a trial of the MXR Timmy and Duke of Tone pedals and a couple of weeks later was scratching my head on how Paul Cochran and Analogman would give their stamp on them.
The Timmy and KOT I know very well. I bought a KOT back in 2012 or 2013. I had a Timmy v1 and v2 on my pedalboard for years. Their tone and feel is impressed well in my mind so when I come across them from time to time, it's like a comfortable pair of shoes.
I haven't bought new gear for a few years, but recently got an itch for a Timmy. I was also curious to see if the KOT waiting list was still impossible. To my surprise, some people are selling Cochran Timmys for $400+, insane! And KOT, forget it. I saw a disclaimer posted on Analogman saying the 2018 waiting list is still being processed.
So I did what any reasonable gear where would do and went looking for clones. That's when I found out MXR was making BOTH pedals. I was excited, especially that the prices weren't absurd. Since they were offered at discount, I got both. This is where the excitement began to fade.
First, the enclosures are ridiculously small. My hands are kind of big so those little knobs aren't ideal. The pedals are so small, I had to zip tie them so they wouldn't keep slipping between the spaces on my pedalboard. But that's fine since it apparently keeps the cost down.
However, the off-putting things about both pedals was a kind of cheap sounding edge in the top end and a cheapish sort of breakup thing going on in the low end. I don't know how to nail it down exactly but there's just something going on in the EQ and breakup that doesn't have quite the same quality as the originals.
Another thing is that the feel and pick tracking is different. I wouldn't call say it's bad, but it's just not the same. That blooming, 3D kind of nuance thing that happens when you hit a note and the way the notes decay aren't the same. I think they both have something reminiscent of those old, yellow or red Distortion+ pedals.
The third thing that was off were the controls. They're significantly off from the originals. Both of them needed the volume around 3 o'clock to reach unison. The tone controls on one, the Duke I think, kind of did little until 9:30, then spiked the treble immediately. After 11 or 12:00, it just gave it a cheap, edgy trickle. The Timmy tone control wasn't as bad but still just lacking the quality a boutique pedal should have.
They're not bad pedals. They're pretty close to the originals, and the price is reasonable. They're a good value if you want to get in that range but still not the same pedal experience of the originals.
I wondered if Analogman would do a Duke of Tone mod to make the MXR more true to the KOT. I'm sure some pedal geeks somewhere will come up with some component swaps for them, but who knows.
Lastly, I'll just say honestly that I had fair enough reasons why I sold my Timmys and KOT at the time. I had Klons, a custom Landgraff DO, and many other amazing pedals. I found the Timmy to be a remarkable pedal overall, but it just didn't have a particularly unique tone in my mind. To me it's high quality and versatile, but just a bit plain vanilla. The KOT, on the other hand, is remarkable in it's tonal character and vintagey feel. It's just a really great pedal to enhance tone. Back then, I had already discovered the magic of running a Klon gain above 9 or 10:00, and the way their midrange comes into play with it, so for some reason, I started to feel like my KOT was slightly anemic in the mids (which I don't think now). I regretted selling that one, not because of the pricing and inaccessibility that followed, but because it's just a really great quality overdrive with lovely tone.
Anyway, I'd like to know your thoughts on these two MXRs. Has your experience been similar? YouTube has become a total whorehouse, so you can't trust most gear comparisons. They get all kinds of free stuff and walk a fine line not to rub anyone the wrong way so, and others seem to have no conscience making claims like, "It's just as good as the original," or "you can't hear a difference." Though I didn't have a Timmy and KOT to compare next to, I know they're different in tone, feel, and definitely the control knobs. I'd say they're a close resemblance but fall a little shy of what I'd consider real clone status. Well let me know what you guys think.
The Timmy and KOT I know very well. I bought a KOT back in 2012 or 2013. I had a Timmy v1 and v2 on my pedalboard for years. Their tone and feel is impressed well in my mind so when I come across them from time to time, it's like a comfortable pair of shoes.
I haven't bought new gear for a few years, but recently got an itch for a Timmy. I was also curious to see if the KOT waiting list was still impossible. To my surprise, some people are selling Cochran Timmys for $400+, insane! And KOT, forget it. I saw a disclaimer posted on Analogman saying the 2018 waiting list is still being processed.
So I did what any reasonable gear where would do and went looking for clones. That's when I found out MXR was making BOTH pedals. I was excited, especially that the prices weren't absurd. Since they were offered at discount, I got both. This is where the excitement began to fade.
First, the enclosures are ridiculously small. My hands are kind of big so those little knobs aren't ideal. The pedals are so small, I had to zip tie them so they wouldn't keep slipping between the spaces on my pedalboard. But that's fine since it apparently keeps the cost down.
However, the off-putting things about both pedals was a kind of cheap sounding edge in the top end and a cheapish sort of breakup thing going on in the low end. I don't know how to nail it down exactly but there's just something going on in the EQ and breakup that doesn't have quite the same quality as the originals.
Another thing is that the feel and pick tracking is different. I wouldn't call say it's bad, but it's just not the same. That blooming, 3D kind of nuance thing that happens when you hit a note and the way the notes decay aren't the same. I think they both have something reminiscent of those old, yellow or red Distortion+ pedals.
The third thing that was off were the controls. They're significantly off from the originals. Both of them needed the volume around 3 o'clock to reach unison. The tone controls on one, the Duke I think, kind of did little until 9:30, then spiked the treble immediately. After 11 or 12:00, it just gave it a cheap, edgy trickle. The Timmy tone control wasn't as bad but still just lacking the quality a boutique pedal should have.
They're not bad pedals. They're pretty close to the originals, and the price is reasonable. They're a good value if you want to get in that range but still not the same pedal experience of the originals.
I wondered if Analogman would do a Duke of Tone mod to make the MXR more true to the KOT. I'm sure some pedal geeks somewhere will come up with some component swaps for them, but who knows.
Lastly, I'll just say honestly that I had fair enough reasons why I sold my Timmys and KOT at the time. I had Klons, a custom Landgraff DO, and many other amazing pedals. I found the Timmy to be a remarkable pedal overall, but it just didn't have a particularly unique tone in my mind. To me it's high quality and versatile, but just a bit plain vanilla. The KOT, on the other hand, is remarkable in it's tonal character and vintagey feel. It's just a really great pedal to enhance tone. Back then, I had already discovered the magic of running a Klon gain above 9 or 10:00, and the way their midrange comes into play with it, so for some reason, I started to feel like my KOT was slightly anemic in the mids (which I don't think now). I regretted selling that one, not because of the pricing and inaccessibility that followed, but because it's just a really great quality overdrive with lovely tone.
Anyway, I'd like to know your thoughts on these two MXRs. Has your experience been similar? YouTube has become a total whorehouse, so you can't trust most gear comparisons. They get all kinds of free stuff and walk a fine line not to rub anyone the wrong way so, and others seem to have no conscience making claims like, "It's just as good as the original," or "you can't hear a difference." Though I didn't have a Timmy and KOT to compare next to, I know they're different in tone, feel, and definitely the control knobs. I'd say they're a close resemblance but fall a little shy of what I'd consider real clone status. Well let me know what you guys think.
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