BAD Cat 2- Tone Pedal

Time For A Test Drive
Ok, now its time to see what this thing can do. To test the 2-Tone, I turn, once again to my trusty Music Man RP 112. The reason that I decided to use this amp versus another is because I have always been able to get excellent tone whether I'm playing acoustic or electric and I plan to test this pedal with both. Usually I use a few other pedals in a chain before the input of the amp just to add a little extra coloration to the sound. This time, it's all about the kitty. The 2-Tone is a tone and hi-gain pedal in one and I'm in the mood to see how high the gain can get. I invited a few friends over just so that I could get an accurate test on how well this pedal could stand out in a band setting and I wasn't let down. Starting off with everything on the pedal dialed in at about five and playing one of my acoustic guitars equipped with a Fishman Piezo pickup and a Fishman powerjack internal pre-amp. While playing we all traded lead riffs and while doing mine I used channel one as a clean boost with excellent results. Each and every note rang out brilliantly with piercing clarity, without so much as a little bit of crunch. The excellent tone of my amp sang without any extra coloration that I have gotten from other boost pedals. After a few minor tweaks the harmonics were emphasized ever so slightly and I could not have been more impressed. I wouldn't suggest that you use channel two with an acoustic though, unless you are using a feedback suppresser. When I switch over to playing my Strat I got the same excellent reaction from the pedal as with my acoustic, excellent piercing volume with precise clarity.

Bring On The Crunch
After playing quite a few tunes with channel one, I decided it was time to see what kind of power the 2-tone REALLY has. Channel two is set up just like the second channel on most amps. It has a gain, two tone and a master volume control which leaves this channel to be either an eardrum piercing lead channel or just a high quality overdrive channel. Still keeping everything set at around five, I kicked on channel two and HOLY $#!^ was it loud! Time to turn down just a little. Since I just wanted to play a nice crunchy rhythm I set the master volume at about two and left the gain and tone controls on five. Ahh, that's better. After a little more tweaking of the tone controls, I coaxed the perfect crunch out of the 2-Tone. The pedal provided a very full crunch without all the extra feedback that you hear from so many other overdrive pedals on the market. Absolute silence between strums and perfect clarity from each note that I hit. Now I had an idea of what I had to work with, but I could tell that this shining little beauty had more to show me. To see what kind of leads I could pull out of the 2-Tone, I switched over to my slide guitar. After playing around with the master volume and gain controls a little more, I found the perfect setting to bring out the true harmonics in my guitar and still push out really throaty leads. Playing leads over some of the rhythm tracks I had recorded before, the pedal provided a sound that is nearly unparalleled. Another great thing about the 2-Tone pedal is that the channel one switch also acts as a true bypass switch. That way if you have channel two on you can use channel one to switch back and forth between badass leads and true bypass clean rhythms, all without tap dancing on two switches to do so.

The Final Movement
The 2-Tone pedal is in my opinion by far one of the best two channel pedals available. This Bad Cat pedal is an analog blessing in a world being overrun by the digital market. Being powered by two 12AX7 tubes gives this pedal the ability to sound exactly how it looks, big and beefy yet still clean and pristine. The extensive control options and strong construction make the 2-Tone a must have for any guitarist on the quest for perfection of sound. An excellent deal at the list price of $399. Overall, I would say that the 2-Tone is definitely a Very Bad Cat!

Information:
Bad Cat Amplifiers
909-808-8651
www.badcatamps.com