MXR Timmy Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal (CSP027), Blue

Product Information

Paul Cochrane builds all of the pedals himself by hand, so with this ever growing influx of interest, the waiting list also kept on growing.

Finally, the MXR design team worked with Paul to select an op-amp that perfectly complements his expertly crafted design. They chose the LF353, a component well-respected by Dunlop engineers for providing high output, high gain, and hi-fi signal delivery. The resulting MXR Timmy Overdrive is a professional-grade must-have for players who want sweet, harmonic breakup that responds to playing dynamics and maintains a rig's personality at a fraction of the standard pedal size.

Paul Cochrane’s Celebrated Boutique Overdrive—Available from MXR

There are bass and treble controls for tone sculpting, as well as gain and volume knobs so you can dial in exactly what you want it to do. There’s even a voicing switch that eases off on some of the bass frequencies - ideal for using with darker sounding guitars. The term "transparent" refers to the fact that the pedal doesn't significantly color or alter the tone of the guitar's signal, allowing the natural sound of the instrument to shine through.

If you're looking for that type of touch sensitive, transparent overdrive and boost that keeps your core sound intact, the Soul Food delivers it.Generally, it's best to place the overdrive pedal before any time-based effects (such as delay or reverb) in your effects chain. This ensures that the overdrive pedal's sound is not altered by other effects. Whichever one you opt for, and however you’re using it, an overdrive pedal will give you a bit more of what you’ve already got, with some added grit and volume that can help you play with more feeling and expression. There can also be EQ controls, allowing you to change the character of your overdrive tone without messing with your clean tones. Some pedals, like the MXR Timmy, feature flatter EQ profiles that are going to allow you to boost your tone without changing your core tone EQs. Type

If you’re looking for the best overdrive pedal for you, then there are a few things to consider beforehand. Firstly, what are you looking to get out of it? Are you looking to use it as a boost for solos? Do you want one as the basis of your main sound? Are you using it to push an already driven amp? Thinking about the application will help you figure out what you need in an overdrive pedal. What's the difference between overdrive and distortion? Overdrive pedals come in all shapes and sizes (okay, mostly just rectangular), and as such, can feature any number of different controls and settings. Any overdrive is likely to feature at least an adjustable gain and tone knob, but there are a number of other features to look out for as well. In terms of sounds, the Klon is often described as 'transparent', but we've always found it to be distinctly colored, chewy in its drive tone at lower gain settings, and crunchy and dry with the gain up – these qualities are also true of the Tumnus.It just doesn’t make sense for me to chase another Timmy v2. Not when this pedal from MXR is widely available. What Is A Timmy Pedal? So what I’ve been doing is using the MXR Timmy to give me a light overdrive sound, straight into the Origin 20H. By modern tastes, it probably still counts as a clean tone, but I think it’s really sweet. How Does It Compare To The Original Timmy v2? I built the first Tim Overdrive for myself and my specific needs. Nobody was making exactly what I wanted—a pedal to cleanly boost my Marshall Plexi Super Bass.

The three-way clipping switch provides you with even more options and different headroom settings. Overall, the MXR Timmy Mini is a really good take on a classic pedal - it keeps everything that players love about the original, and houses it in a smaller casing. Some pedals, like the Keeley D&M, feature two or more channels, usually in the form of an overdrive and a boost channel like we see here. The overdrive is going to generally be higher-gain, while a clean boost will crank your signal without necessarily dirtying it up as much, ideal for an already distorted amp. Not a transparent drive, but a classic nonetheless that'll beef your midrange up and make your amp sing. Depending on which pedal you buy, you can also use your overdrive pedal in tandem with other distortion pedals as a boost, or combine with other pedals for various effects and endless fun. Verdict There's something inherently musical about the Timmy's brand of overdrive. It enhances the harmonic response of your amplifier, feeding it some extra juice that you can really lean into and dig in with.What I will share, though, is that I have not felt the need to grab my original Timmy v2 pedal to A/B them. To my ears, the MXR Timmy is close enough for my needs. Final Thoughts