January 2009 \ Reviews \ Effects \ Danelectro Cool Cat Fuzz, Transparent Overdrive and Vibe Reviews

Danelectro Cool Cat Fuzz, Transparent Overdrive and Vibe Reviews

Adam Moore

Danelectro Cool Cat pedals offer tone on a budget. We look at the Fuzz, Transparent Overdrive and Vibe.
Premier Guitar January 2009
(3 of 3)



Download Example 1
Intensity at noon, Speed at 11:00, Mix at 11:00.

Cool Cat Vibe
It was obvious that Danelectro could do dirt, but I wondered if they could do modulation. I played around with some of the other entries in the Cool Cat series, but was left a little wanting with items like the Chorus and the Trem (both respectable as value picks, but nothing that would wow experienced players). Then I stumbled across the Cool Cat Vibe, which surprised me with a versatile range and a mess of tasty sounds. I should note before going any further for players looking for a Univibe sound – or the uniquely off-kilter Univibe impression done by the superb Danelectro Chicken Salad – that this probably isn’t going to fit the bill. The Cool Cat Vibe is more of a vibrato, with the manual calling it akin to “a prehistoric chorus that has emerged from a swamp.” Take that as you will. Featuring Mix, Speed and Intensity knobs across the top, the Cool Cat makes it simple to dial in a number of really smooth vibe sounds, from deep, organic swooshes to fast rotating speaker sounds. There were even some pseudo-chorus sounds to be found with the right settings. If you’re a true tweaker, or just like really overdone effects, there is also a trimpot located inside the unit which controls the overall intensity (although it should be said that in the stock position the Intensity knob has more than enough range) although this isn’t advertised by the company in the manual. Sonically, the Cool Cat Vibe sounds great, and could hang with vibe boxes twice the price. There’s a little bit of a high-end roll off, which helps keep everything smooth and fluid, along with a slight volume boost. The volume boost is perhaps one of the more controversial design decisions here, and it’ll either escape your perception or drive you absolutely nuts. If your rig if carefully calibrated from beginning to end, this pedal may be disqualified immediately by adding in saturation; likewise, players with hot pickups or a heavy hand will be able to make the Vibe breakup. That said, if you’re playing a grungy Hendrix cover, it only adds to the pedal’s aura. Regardless, a simple Volume control could have been a nice addition to enable players to control the level, and resulting tone, themselves. .
Buy if...
you’ve been looking for a solid, organic vibe on the cheap
Skip if...
you can’t deal with the slight signal boost
Rating...
3.0 

MSRP $69 - Danelectro- danelectro.com

The Final Mojo
In the end, the Cool Cat series from Danelectro is a solid collection of effects available for a fraction of the price of the boutique stuff. And while these mass produced pedals may not have all of the nuances or responsiveness of high-end effects, they certainly do one hell of a job. Add in the fact that they’ve been well updated with solid metal cases, sturdy footswitches and jacks and true bypass wiring, and you cannot go wrong. Even if you pick one up and don’t dig it, you can always give it away as a holiday gift. And isn’t that truly gearhead peace of mind?

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Comments

 (12 comments) display by
UsernameComment
SpiroGiro
on 06/06/2012 		I got the V1 - Drive, Trans Drive and Vibe just before stocks went and Dano were forced to redesign the OCD/Timmy/Uni Vibe clone circuits. I am not a pedal geek but am a Guitar and Amp geek and have top quality and vintage gear so it wouldn't make sense having any of these in front. Well, they make great sounds and feel 'just right' under my foot and fingers and my ears appreciate this fact too! I also use them in conjunction with a PROEL DS10 and that is a true Transparent pedal and the results are stunning... and the whole lot came to less than £100 !
ToneSage
on 12/11/2009 		leave your thumped-to-relic-bible signature on your Pat Robertson forum posts, bud!
ToneSage
on 12/11/2009 		it will do an adequate job at goosing the front end of a tube amp as a semi-clean boost. but i get the "un-altered sound at about 80% wide open treble/40% w-o bass/ wide open volume/ 20% w-o gain. this sound should be achieved at wide open volume, minimum gain and 12 oclock bass/treb. as soon as you start upping the gain the compression and fabbiness starts coming in and there is not enough treble on tap to counteract this. so this to me is an entry level od. save your money for another week and get a boss blue driver. save it another week and send it off to keeley for a mod.
ToneSage
on 12/11/2009 		just bought the Transparent D(O)H!verdrive at the behest of a friend who I would consider in the top 5% of guitarists. I am taken aback, honestly, because this guy is a full time professional guitarist with more chops than you and I combined will ever have. Tasty chops. but this pedal falls short of true transparency-which isn't so bad if you can crack it open and modify it with a few personal quirks one might have. but, alas, this pedal uses sub-miniature, cheap-o computer grade parts mounted on its board. so the best you can do is either take it back to your local shop or be resigned to the fact you spent $40.00 on a box for you put your favorite clone into.
Manny
on 09/23/2009 		just got the TOD - very nice, clean, brings out more chime in my neck pu and even at apt dweller volume levels it makes a noticeable improvement (for ....cheap) - Danoelectric rocks!
Hiei
on 09/03/2009 		I bought a Danelectro Cool Cat Fuzz Pedal in late June this year, and now it has stopped working.?
Yesterday, the pedal was working just fine. But tonight, only the the bypass would work. Its so strange! I didn't do anything to it! I never banged it up, spilled anything, or any sort of thing like that! I put back in the box when im done with it! What could possibly be wrong? Please be detailed! Im not afraid to open it up and modify anything.
Joe C.
on 07/15/2009 		I just got the Transparent Overdrive and I gotta say I love it. The audio and video demos I have heard just don't do it justice when it comes to its ability to give you a very nice clean boost with just a little hair/good sutain if that's what you want. It gives my Strat and Deluxe Reverb a very "Derek and the Dominoes" glassy grind- very sweet and dynamic IMHO- Like my Boss Blues Driver (which I love!) with better Tone control
Jon Merlin
on 04/18/2009 		"Because modulation wave forms by nature give me the illusion that they are a tad weaker than your original guitar signal."
-Green Beaver

Yeah, the doubling of the sound is always going to sound weaker than a single original signal XD

(no kids I'm joking)
Doubled signals are 3db louder.
Green Beaver
on 01/01/2009 		Yes I agree with Richard (below) the initial signal boost is a little in your face but once the modulation signal engages it is hardly noticable (in a band situation).Because modulation wave forms by nature give me the illusion that they are a tad weaker than your original guitar signal.Therefore I for one think that it is a good thing that I can hear a nice strong vibe effect through the mix.
Richard
on 12/30/2008 		After seeing the online demo of the Cool Cat Vibe, I had to get one!

I agree with the previous post that it's a great unit for the price. But...the volume boost is the thing that I really disliked. Hopefully someone will come up with a mod (Like the mod for the Rocky Road) that will fix the volume boost issue.

I would strongly suggest a power supply for it.



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