The famous “Bluesbreaker” amplifier made by Marshall in 1962 is one of the most sought-after guitar sounds on the planet, one of those tones that players are always searching for. Sometimes, a pedal comes along that really nails a certain sound, and a tone from a certain era of guitar stardom. The Mad Hatter Overdrive from Pedal Monsters seeks to re-create that illustrious Eric Clapton tone, and does a pretty damn good job.
While not the heaviest of drives in your trick bag, the Mad Hatter provides some great crunch with superb tone, much like those famous amps did in the 60’s. As far as layout is concerned, this isn’t your ordinary overdrive pedal. FOUR knobs make up the controls, along with one toggle switch right in the middle, for a big range of tonal options to choose from. Volume, Gain and Tone are the drive standards here, but the fourth knob is Presence, which adds just a little something extra to the mix, providing that extra bit of spark to your sound. As Presence is usually an option found on amplifiers, it’s inclusion in the Mad Hatter shows the amount of detail and re-creation that went into it’s shaping and construction, not to mention the sound. The toggle switch adds even more depth and options to this pedal, flip-flopping between diode clipping and LED clipping, allowing you to really dial in exactly what sound you’re looking for.
While most pedals can never truly emulate the sound of some of the classic amps we all know and love, there are a lot of pedal builders out there who are coming closer and closer as the years go on. The Mad Hatter from Pedal Monsters is a fine example of these new intelligent and innovative design techniques, at a marginal fraction of the cost of an original amp. If you’re looking for that classic Clapton sound,but don’t want to sell your car to get it, you just might want to check this pedal out, and see what it can do.
Submitted by Mike B, Website
Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard
