Here's the timestamps, phone/tablet people! 00:00 Hello! 02:45 Loop with the four Timmy pedals 07:09 My thoughts and why I love my Timmy so much 07:57 MXR Timmy 08:47 Caline Pure Sky 10:23 Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive V2 12:11 Final conclusion and goodbye Enjoy :)
When Jan Ray copies the Timmy and charges $400, no one has any ethical concerns, but when Caline copies the Jan Ray, it’s unethical? And the Timmy doesn’t copy anything else. Paul C invented the op amp and clipping diodes? Maybe pedals should have stopped developing with the MXR distortion plus? I cry zero tears for rip off boutique pedal builders
Yeah, I totally agree with you. On a few forums I go on, there's actually quite a bit of criticism directed towards Jan Ray... but it really depends on who the crowd is. Pedals built in China always seem to come in for the harshest criticism though, whether it's justified or not. And you're totally right - all the main pedal types we know and love today came from the same source... stopping any kind of copying/paying homage/paying inspiration in pedals will reduce innovation for sure.
The Caline Pure Sky uses the schematic of the $375.00 USD Vemuram Jan Ray which is the rich man's Timmy lol. If you compare the 2 the Caline is scary close!!! The Timmy started life as a Tube Screamer and is a mod of that circuit. If one has problems with ethics ...where do you start? Even the Tube Screamer started with the Boss OD-1 and simply changed the clipping diodes to create a symmetrical instead of an asymmetrical circuit. Add to that any pedal over 5 years old has had it's patent run out. Ironically the Boss SD-1 pedal is a Tube Screamer so Boss borrowed that change back. LOL All OD's are a mod off of 7 basic circuits. These were all discovered over 30 years ago. The human ear can detect 2 pedals exactly the same even when the only exception being that the components although the same are made by a different manufacturer. So pedals makers would have you believe they have reinvented the wheel with each new pedal ...but of course they haven't. :-) The key is to buy using your ear. Sometimes it does mean buying an expensive pedal and sometimes it is dirt cheap. Many expensive pedals use quieter and have more robust parts and add circuits to inhibit noise or do subtle but noticeable changes to to the voicings which add more parts to the design which justify the higher prices. On the other hand many cheap pedals sound great without these extras. Furthermore fixed to a board and using a switcher the cheaper parts will not break as they get very little punishment.
Yep, it's all smoke and mirrors and good marketing these days, isn't it. Except with the Timmy, seemingly... that one's basically pure word of mouth, and Paul Cochrane doesn't need to do anything to keep the demand sky high. But yes, the ethics thing is certainly a wider issue. It's the same with amp circuits too, and electric guitar design. And of course every new release is heralded as being the latest and greatest new thing, even though 99% are just a take on something that came before. Snake oil indeed :) The Vemuram is definitely one I'd like to try in future. I will need to find a well-moneyed acquaintance who's prepared to let me borrow theirs, though, as I'm not shelling out $375 for it! Especially now you've told me how close the Caline gets, and for 10% of the price. And yes, ultimately it's all about what sounds good to our own ears anyway!
@@RichWordsMusic Copying something is less an effort compared of recreating something with a different approach (e.g. Danelectro way). If a circuit/Product ist patented and another Person finds another approach to recreate the function, that's Innovation, especially if there are restrictions budgetwise, as Pedal Series are Sometimes designed to cost. I know the mosky MM Overdrive. But I don't know whether it is close to a Timmy or maybe not even designed to be.
@@andiebetjemann7920 Yes, copying is certainly an easier way to making money, as you don't do the R&D side. Copying and also adapting/innovating is slightly different, as you say, and I guess I'm more comfortable with that... but as Paul said above, almost every new pedal these days is some kind of copy, or at least very inspired by older designs. So maybe we have to live with it! I'll check out the Mosky for sure, someone else mentioned it. I've never tried them - yet :)
@@RichWordsMusic I have many tech friends who are pedal buffs. First they tell me that there 7 basic designs to make a distortion /OD and all were discovered in the last century. In short everything since is a clone. Even the Timmy, lol. We are now down to a cloning the clones. Yes they change manufacturers of parts or change a few values or indeed the brand of a part. They swap out OpAmps & diodes but the blueprint is identical. Oddly enough the Tube Screamer was meant to sound like the Boss OD-1 but Boss had a patent on how they created asymmetrical distortion so the ts has symmetrical distortion. The schematic was however brilliant so when Boss made the SD-1 to replace the OD-1 they took it but used asymmetrical distortion. Keep in mind what patents pedals can get are only 5 years old so no one needs to literally steal. You may find it amusing the Vemuram is modded Timmy but the Caline skipped modding the Timmy and simply cloned the Vemuram. :-) You can put them side by each and match up the sounds scary close. The same with the Caline Emerald Night ...take a new Ibanez ts9 and you can also get a near perfect match. The Caline is all hole thru manufacture using better parts than what is in most of what they clone. It isn't surface mount. It is easily MXR grade stuff. Unless you use NASA spec even the old brand name parts are made in China. All this stuff even in China is made with the same machines as they 'were' using in Japan, Germany or the U.S. The big savings is not labor that's a myth. It is the cost of utilities, taxes shipping and regulations. In short companies are not making much gourmet but a lot of it is MXR, Dunlop etc. quality. E-H assemble in the U.S. but a fully assembled circuit board made in China is what gets stuffed into the boxes.
@@Andreas_Straub Yep, there is a tendency for some products to become almost mythcial in their statues. Ultimately, they're all 'just' pedals ;) I have to say, though, that in the case of the Timmy and the Lightspeed, I feel that the hype and marketing is actually done by the internet and forums, rather than the brands themselves!
Some good ways to compare pedals and circuits is to test the extreme settings. In general we find a good match in the 10 to 2 area but passed these values, you hear différences. All tones rolled off, what remains ? vol +drive all the way up and it can reveal the limits of the pedal. Here, the pure sky is really very noisy ! And for tones, very less high mids remain than with the jan ray or timmy. So for the price, the pure sky is very good if we keep the knobs quiet !
Yes, that's some great points! I am one of those people who is sometimes scared to push pedals to their extreme settings... but this is why they have the option! So I am learning to do that more. And I also agree, the more you add to the Caline, the more you notice the extra noise. For the price it's still a great pedal, but of course it has some limitations because of that.
Cheers! Yes, the Caline is a fantastic little pedal. Sounds great on its own or stacked with anything else, well built and it's just so cheap. Win for everybody who buys one!
Thanks Rich, I loved this video, I have a Pure Sky, and I never had opportunity to test the original Timmy, here in Brazil is very difficult to build a board cuz the hight dollar price, maybe is not the right way to do, but the clones save us here. Thank you again for review.
their is alot of us here in America who can't afford all the high priced stuff also. My board has all cheaper and used pedals and they make great sounds !! Cheers 🙂 🍻
I have the Caline Pure Sky and while I mainly use the TS-9 and MXR Dist+ for what I play, when I’m playing blues, I throw it on the neck pickup and man does the Caline work well! It works well with a Marshall dirt channel for Blackmore blues tones! Although, whenever I pick up a Duke of Tone, it’ll be replacing the Caline.
Great video! I’ve never tried a real Timmy, but I’ve had the Danelectro pedal for probably 10 years or so and it’s the only pedal that always stays in my signal chain. Definitely a desert island pedal for me. Sure, the knob placement is unfortunate, but once it’s set you don’t have to worry about it. Big plus for the footswitch, very solid and impossible to miss (also toe friendly when playing without shoes 😅).
Yep, for the money, they're excellent. Well, the Pure Sky is just excellent full stop actually. I'd like to try the Crazy Cacti too, it looks fun from the videos I've seen!
I have changed pedals over the last few years. But still have the pure sky on my board. And about a month ago put the crazy cati after the pure sky. Then into my HeadRush Gigboard and use the K drive(klone style). Some songs the crazy cati sounds better and some songs the k drive sounds better. But I have options
Don´t you notice a little bit more compressed the MXR in comparison to the V2 Timmy? In my opinion, It is a clear difference but very subtle though. Thanks for your work, cheers!.
Yeah, there is a very subtle difference, I agree. It's even more subtle once you record it and put it up on TH-cam too. It's a little more noticeable in the room as you play with a cab, but really nothing too massive. Thanks for watching 😊
Does anyone know of a cheap transparent Overdrive? The Caline sounds great but the extra gain makes it a different pedal and the Danelectro is very hard to find
Hmm, the Dano comes up used fairly regularly and cheaply (well, it does where I am in Europe) but I guess you've got to be in the right place at the right time. What about the NUX Horseman, the Joyo King Of Kings or the Joyo Sweet Baby? Or even the Nobels ODR-mini which is currently being blow out at €49? These are all great choices (in my opinion). I'Ve got vids on them here: th-cam.com/video/q0Oe8bEm8Jc/w-d-xo.html And here: th-cam.com/video/HkAQng79G3A/w-d-xo.html If you fancy another round of listening ;) Let me know which one you end up going for!
@@RichWordsMusic Sadly I'm in a place where getting gear in general is more complicated, not only because of inflation but because of the few stores that import equipment.I'll try to get one of those pedals, thanks
Love the demo. Excellent Timmy sounds. There's a lot to think about with the "clones are bad/good" argument. I think Sony Betamax would have probably won the tech war over the VHS format if they hadn't tried so hard to protect their "intellectual property". I think this is why guys like Josh Scott from JHS likes and discusses some of the "knock offs". They cannot copyright or trademark a circuit and know anything popular will be copied. He even states all pedals are based on the same original designs. He goes thru pedals' genealogy on several episodes. Long ago in the dark times before Bill Gates' Micro XXXbox fought Sony Playstation, Sony once had the superior product, better quality ...and lost. This is due to VHS tech having licenced legal clone players (like the MXR Timmy). But Sony Betamax wouldn't license their tech to other manufactures like say LG, Sanyo, Samsung and Toshiba. They said they wanted to protect their assets. While this might have kept the initial profits high but it came at a huge market share future cost when the VHS "cheap players" came to promience. So when the Blu-ray players (Stone age to Bronze age to my kids) came out Sony changed their minds. They licenced other companies make Blu-ray players. It still didn't stop the inevitable obsolescing of tech but hey at least they didn't get smoked by an inferior product. Am.i.rite? In the USA, this circuit cloning needs to be separated from manufacturer trademark. If the clone is copying the graphics, logo and could REASONABLY be mistaken for the real McCoy (looking at you DemonFx) that's often a trademark infringement on a product in the US. Usually then it takes 100 lawyers 100 billable hrs each to send out the "Stop that"- John Cleese. Monty Python. Letter. And the clonester quit or mod the circuit/graphics to comply. Usually. Lawsuits happen. Ibanez and Gibson are infamous for this. If its green and says TS...expect a letter. And then a phanalax of lawyers if you dont. But they have the resources other small companies do not. Some companies test others' "holding of a copyright/trademark" then when it's not challenged... they seize it. Behringer comes to mind. So is this "Legal thievery" an oxymoron or just how business is done? It's a Grey/Gray area mate/dude.... Lots of vids on yt if you wanna know more and better in their explanation. If the pedal maker send the letters to unknown people in China ripping them off nothing will happen in most cases. Its a problem because there is an issue with respecting of international trademark, patents and copyright. Unless you're connected... Nahmean playa? Detroit rock city. Where my grandparents bootlegged liquor across the frozen river. B Q: What do you call 100 000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A: A good start.
The original v1 breadboard Timmy is a cut above the other Timmy’s (the v2, v3 and MXR), it sounds like a whole different pedal…those versions should be going for Klon type prices, they’re that good.
Yeah, I would love to find an original V1, but I imagine there's not many to be had in Europe. One day they will be going for Klon prices, which is pure madness really, but internet hype can do crazy things for pedal values!
@@RichWordsMusic Right, the Klon prices are nuts (I was never able to bond with that circuit incidentally). The Timmy is as iconic as the Klon really, but the original breadboard versions aren’t worth anywhere close to what the original Klons are. Kind of my point being, if you can get an original breadboard Timmy while prices are still reasonable, your ears will thank you and I gather that it’s still a very sound investment…10 years from now who knows what they could be worth. Good demo btw, your chord sequences are refreshing to hear, not the typical bluesy stuff (not that that’s always a bad thing) :)
@@sixbladeknife44 Oh, I didn't know the original ones were breadboard versions! But yes, I would love to find one of those too... before the price hike! All that needs to happen is for John Mayer to be spotted with a Timmy on his board for the prices to spike instantly. Glad you enjoyed the video too, my indie roots coming to the fore there... (I can't play blues either, which helps!)
Yep, that is a good point indeed, and how most people use them (including me!). That said, you might want to tweak for a specific venue/room, or if you use more than one guitar for a show, or something like that.
Useful video, thanks! Just bought the Pure Sky over the MXR and you've confirmed I made the right choice. Regarding cheap clones v premium build pedals I don't think we need to feel any guilt. The circuit is identical and the blind, practical utility is identical... but the fancy artwork, nice box, extra design, advertising and social status you get with premium pedals are very much part of the product. Even if you can make them sound identical.
@@RichWordsMusic - about to find out as it’s in the mail and on the way :). Have an MXR micro amp I was constantly dialing up to get the same light grit overdrive. Obviously got tired of doing that :).
@@m.malina6797 Cool, let me know what you think of it! I have the Micro Amp too. I love it (I bought it because I'm a massive fan of the early Strokes records and it helps nail those tones), but obviously the Pure Sky has way more flexibility - and it does the Micro Amp thing too!
Well, Timmy schematic is very basic and TS like. Apart from the switch to double soft clipping and the bass filter, it's the same but surprisingly it sounds pretty different and colors far less the sound. So in terms of copyright... Nothing that did not exist 40 years ago already ! Just a question of filters and choice of components
You're right. It's funny, all these pedals come from a handful of 'originals' that started it all. And it's interesting how some subtle changes can make pedals that we love or hate. For example, I loved the Timmy as soon as I tried it, but I've had so many Tubescreamers over the years, and never managed to make one sound good! This is my problem I guess, not the Tubescreamer ;) But I would love to get a great sound from one sometime!
@@RichWordsMusic You're so right ! Timmy style is very open sounding and pleasant. Ts are good midboosts for solos and sd1 is a classic 2 dimensions only od great for some riffs, despite all same-ish circuit.
@@christopherebeyrol4553 The Timmy is like my Greer Lightspeed... I put it on and it just seems to make me sound a little better! I need to look at the other suggestions more - you can never have too many overdrive pedals to play around with!
Yes, there's some magic in the Pure Sky for sure (and for the price it's an absolute no-brainer). I think I could get the Dano closer if it was easier to control... I might need to get it rehoused!
I have the cool cat V1 and just shot it out with the Pure Sky. The CCV1 has a bit of a low mid boost where the Pure Sky is more transparent. A bit shocked, as the CCV1 has so much praise, but it doesn’t do the transparent thing as well as the Pure Sky.
Yep, I agree with you - the Dano really does have massive amounts of low-end in it. That does make for a great sound, for sure, but it does also mean that the Pure Sky is a bit more transparent. They're both great pedals, but for slightly different things!
Great video!I have a Timmy V3 a I really love it!!!How do you use yours regularly?I heard How you set the Timmy but:Do you prefer the Timmy on a clan amp like Fenders or with an already dirty amp.I use mine as a main low medium drive into a clean channel of the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe V3…lovely tones!!!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I use mine on the settings we saw here, and my favorite is to run it into a clean amp... it just give that lovely sparkly edge of breakup sound that I love. But I also do occasionally like to run those same Timmy settings into a lightly overdriven amp, just to boost it a bit. It's a great tone thickener! I bet it sounds amazing into your Fender :)
I absolutely have no problems with "clones". I think $200/plus for a pedal is highway robbery ! If Dan Electro and Caline can build these pedals for those prices then so could everybody else. Those BOO TEEK pedal builders should be ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of blue collar musicians.
Sold my new Gold Timmy V2 for too little as I didn't need it (bought new in 2018). Just bought a new Timmy V3 for far too much money (lol) but wanted another. I have too many overdrives but I love them all. Regarding the Pure Sky: is it a clone or is it just a good sounding budget pedal? Sounds good as does the MXR offering. I just don't like the look of Danelectro's so I'd never have one...
Ah, the old selling and re-buying pedal affliction: I've suffered from that too! But I do think the Timmy is worth it, and I'm a huge lover of overdrives too. Someone in the comments told me the Pure Sky is a clone of the Vemuram Jan Ray, which itself is an almost dead-on Timmy clone sold for four times the price of a Timmy! I'd also like to try that one day, but it's well outside my price range. Either way, the Caline sounds very good and it's solidly built - it does the Timmy thing very well. And yes, the Dano is just so impractical for tweaking, and for attaching on a tidy pedalboard. If you find one sound you love though, and leave it there, it's as good as the others!
Pure sky doesn't have the mini toggle, more or less a Timmy V1. I had two V1 Timmy pedals.. Wound up selling them along with my Zen Drive. One needs to know that speakers can do so much with the sound of pedals.
Yep, I've not tried the Timmy V1 but I actually know a few others who've sold them. Someone here told me the Pure Sky is actually a clone of the Vemuram Jan Ray, which is apparently a very lightly-tweaked clone of the Timmy (and much more expensive!). At the end of the day though, they're just one part of the rig, as you say. And most guitarists really underestimate the effect speakers can have on their tone!
Nice shootout! Thanks for doing. I was wondering about the tone controls. From my research I was lead me to believe the Timmy is subtractive EQ and flat when fully COUNTER CLOCKWISE and the MXR Timmy is also subtractive EQ but flat at fully CLOCKWISE. Pure Sky is flat at noon like all other pedals. Is that what you found as well?
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! And yes, I think you're right. The Pure Sky definitely seems flat at noon, and I find that more intuitive than the other two. The MXR Timmy manual suggests you start with bass and treble fully clockwise and turn counter clockwise to taste - you get 'less' bass and treble as you turn counter clockwise. It's the opposite with the Timmy - you get more as you seem to turn down! That does confuse me a bit sometimes ;) I've heard that this is no longer the case with the newest (V3) Timmy pedals though.
Hmm I liked the MXR best. The original didn't seem to have the low end clarity. The clear sky was good but sounded very thin. Didn't like the last one much
I bought the Caline as much out of curiosity than anything else, being I expensive enough to qualify as a bit of an impulse buy, Sitting alongside pedals I really like, such as a Wampler Tumnus (klon) and a JHS Morning Glory (bluesbreaker), the Pure Sky is getting lots of playtime and owes nothing to its pedal board neighbors. Will I eventually buy an original Timmy? Maybe? But I'm enjoying the Sky plenty well enough to keep me distracted for now. It's a great pedal at 2x-3x the price, in terms of tone.
Very impressive to hear the Pure Sky keeps up with your Tumnus and Morning Glory so well! But it actually does the same with my more expensive pedals too... it's a great buy indeed.
Thank you for not leading off with typical, run-of-the-mill blues riffs. It’s hard to believe, but there are guitarists who play genres other than blues.
A clone being an identical copy... no they aren't a rip off. The Pure Sky corrects the counter intuitive control layout and wierd EQ controls. As you mention the Volume and Gain are both different than a Timmy . Seems everybody tries to make the Pure Sky a Timmy clone, but it's not , by your own description. I made note on my Pure Sky , 'Vemuran Jay Ray ' go look . More similarity than a Timmy . And side by side sounding more similar too. Yes, I own a Pure Sky . A great BUDGET overdrive.
I agree. It's a funny world, the world of the pedal clone. People refer to clones even if people change designs, components, or even circuits if pedals are 'close' to the original. Of course, there's only a few genuine originals the rest all took influence from. I have to say the Caline way of having the controls is a big improvement for me - it's so much more intuitive! And yes, someone else told me about the Jan Ray, and now that's also on my list to try... although for the best part of €400 I shan't be buying! I'm more than happy with my budget overdrives too :)
@@PooNinja The Dano is metal (not G3 metal, made of metal!), but yeah, it's also the one I feel least confident stamping on ;) If I was in the Paul Cochrane's position, I would want to protect my IP too... apparently this is not easy with pedals though!
@@RichWordsMusic I’ve tried several Dano pedals and they just seem to be missing that “something “ that makes me feel like “YES I need this!” Whilst the g3 is hard to make sound bad. I’d like to try one of them Iridium amp 1’s but ( stores stores are open again🤗) nobody has one in stock to demo. I’m also looking at just sayin enough and getting the helix but then the katana or G series REVV also look good, it’s a conundrum of consumerism and I’ve... probably got too much gear for a basement blues metal bafoon already. P. S. don’t tell my wife I said I may have too much gear !!!
@@PooNinja Ha ha, my lips are sealed! (And there is no such thing as too much gear!) I dig this Dano, but the other pedals all do that Timmy thing too. The one which apparently is the best in its class is the Back Talk reverse delay, but I've not tried one. Can't say I've ever really used too much reverse delay, except in novelty or Beatles settings. Not sure there are many BluGuitar dealers on the moon, but there's a few on earth that should be opening soon, yes. We do need much better distribution though. I believe you would love the iridium, based on your feelings for the G3. I'm also looking at the Revv D20 and G20 right now, but want to play in person first :)
@@RichWordsMusic here’s to shops being open 🍻,and how they strangely make everything sound better in store! 🤣 guitar store simulator pedals are what we need , at least till Thomann gets that Stompenburg up and running
I have the Caline, best value ever, it works well with my Vox, Marshall and Katana amps. Doesnt sound like a copy of the Timmy. Caline also works well with Joyo American, as a quick plug into the PA.
@@RichWordsMusic tbh I stopped using pedals live years ago, just switched channels on my Marshall, but, during lockdown I bought a Katana 100 2x12 combo, don't have the stupidly expensive footswitch, with the Blue Sky, it is an ideal boost in songs that change dynamics. Like many singers, my PA is setup in the Living room as a stereo, Joyo American plugged in, does the Job, without lugging an Amp out, the combo of the Joyo and Caline does everything tone wise I do.
@@LOFIGSD Yes, sounds like the Pure Sky is a great solution there. And you could buy a couple more for less than the Katana switch if you needed extra flavors of boost/gain! I like the sound of that setup and it’s something I might try in future. Thanks for the info!
@@RichWordsMusic I bought the Katana on ebay, so paying full price for the footswitch isn't ideal, it has some great OD pedals built in, but mainly I play bordering on breakup, and the Blue Sky makes it very easy to add a drive sound when songs change, can do that with the volume on the guitar of course, but that increases volume, and I mainly play rythym guitar and sing, so that isn't ideal, great pedal and a bargain. The American Sound keeps selling out in the UK, clearly people are on to that as a solution.
@@LOFIGSD The American Sound definitely seems to have some kind of magic to it, and a wealth of different edge of breakup tones. It's really good so far! Will be trying it with the Pure Sky soon. I also prefer to change drive levels using pedals and switches rather than with the volume knob... just makes things easier! I will be visiting a friend who has a Katana soon, so I'll try that out and see how it works for me. Thanks again for the advice and help!
The Cool Cat V2 is not a Timmy clone. V1 was. I have the Cool Cat V1, Timmy V2 and a Pure Sky. The Cool Cat is not sturdy enough to gig with. The Timmy and the Pure Sky are different enough ( to me) that I would keep both.
Yes, exactly - the V1 was removed from the market pretty quick, as I mentioned in the vid. I love the sounds of the V2, but I agree with you that it's not really a good gigging solution - either in terms of sturdiness, or as something you might need to tweak on occasion. Someone else suggested reboxing the V2, but I'm not sure that's worth the hassle. The Pure Sky is a great pedal, and I also agree, different enough to warrant keeping!
I've been putting my V1 on and off my board for 10 years. You can gig with it. You can gig with anything, man. You sound like someone who doesn't play live shows, but rather regurgitates what you have heard the great community say about things.
I have absolutely no problem with clones. If it were not for clones, you would likely have hundreds of thousands of guitarists around the world not using pedals because they couldn't afford pedals and their amp are likely between $200-$400. So spending as much for one pedal as you do an amp would leave the options of pedal used completely off the board for many guitarists.
@@RichWordsMusic I had a timmy and the tod v1 at the same time to compare them. I still have the ToD v1 if that tells you anything.I wouldn’t mind having the mxr mini version just for the space though
@@timmyv694 Wow, so you preferred it to the Timmy? I really need to track one of these down to try! The MXR is really decent, especially if you don't mind the mini knobs being a little fiddly. It's worth it for the size for me.
@@RichWordsMusic I sold my timmy and kept tod v1 . It’s got the timmy thing going on but it’s got this upper mid range and compression while still retaining its transparency that won me over. It’s all subjective but if you ever get to play through one I think you’ll like it:)
shame there's no electro-harmonix Crayon overdrive pedal, I mean if you're gonna waste money on 3 copies of a pedal you already own, you might as well buy one more.
Yes, yes, I have a problem, I know ;) The sad thing is I actually have the EHX Crayon too. But it's not a Timmy clone, to my ears anyway. I will do a giant test featuring all of them at some point.
That's a big call - but the Caline is an exceptional pedal for sure! From what I have read online, the Pure Sky is actually a clone of the Vemuram Jan Ray (which is apparently a slightly tweaked Timmy) so it is a little different... I use the Pure Sky more than the MXR too, by the way. Cheers and rock on!
Why would it be wrong for Caline to sell a pedal with a similar circuit to the Timmy, when the Timmy itself took it's circuit from the JRC4558 circuit? It's like saying that one generic version of the Cheerios cereal at your grocery store is ok because it costs more, but the cheaper generic is wrong for some reason. Makes no sense.
I see what you're saying, and in this context it makes sense. But, that said, many people have an issue with the whole 'clone' thing. And many people regard the Timmy as an original and much-copied design (regardless of its origins!). It's part of a wider debate and I would really like to hear some builders speak out on it a bit more. Sense and logic doesn't always come into such discussions ;)
Well at least they're doing their job there! If you mean that they don't sound amp-like, though, that's another thing. I think the Timmy does that really well, but I also think it's something you really hear when you play it in person hooked up to a cooking speaker and push some air!
Ha ha, well if it's helped you realize that you don't need a Timmy pedal, then it's done its job in that way too! I love the Timmy sounds, but they're not for everyone.
@@alexanderm6049 ::: So you can relocate the controls to the top with a forth for bass. As far as value they don't really fetch that much. under$75.00.
@@bigstick5278 I see. You could also try to make the internal dipswitches of the v2 accesible from the outside. Interesting project. Have you tried it ?
@@alexanderm6049 Yeah, they're not really collectible or anything, and fairly cheap, so it really could be worth a try. Would like to hear some feedback from anyone who's done it too...
It is a very good comparison.... But, I've heard some of those pedals in other reviews and your sounds quality does no justice to either of these pedals imho.
Well, what you hear in my videos is 100% as I hear it, with no post-production. Sometimes that makes my videos sound worse than others (who do tweak their sounds after recordings), but I like to think that the sounds in my videos will be quite realistic compared to what you'd hear if you bought one of these for yourself, if you know what I mean. So in that way it could be helpful. But, like you say, there is always room for improvement, and I am always looking to increase the quality of my vids, so thanks for the feedback.
@@RichWordsMusic ok thx. The ear, what can we say about it that is true for everyone? Haha. I listened on yt amongst others to an ox direct out which was the biggest difference. I don't own one , but the sound was very different from your youtube feed with same highest bitrate. I listen on Bose quietcomfort 45(35 is better imho) headphones or Warfendale speakers from the 70' with an old pioneer sa-500a. For what it's worth. Cheers! looking forward to more pedals compared. They re a guilty pleasure for many of us. Thx for your effort
I do - I start with them all at 12 o'clock on all knobs and also regularly make the settings the same when tweaking... But this video is also about getting these pedals to sound as close as possible - and the knobs also need to be in different positions to achieve that.
30 EUR as of today is 25.62 GBP exactly, according to Google. It goes up or down a bit every day, of course, but either way you look at it - affordable ;)
Here's the timestamps, phone/tablet people!
00:00 Hello!
02:45 Loop with the four Timmy pedals
07:09 My thoughts and why I love my Timmy so much
07:57 MXR Timmy
08:47 Caline Pure Sky
10:23 Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive V2
12:11 Final conclusion and goodbye
Enjoy :)
When Jan Ray copies the Timmy and charges $400, no one has any ethical concerns, but when Caline copies the Jan Ray, it’s unethical? And the Timmy doesn’t copy anything else. Paul C invented the op amp and clipping diodes? Maybe pedals should have stopped developing with the MXR distortion plus? I cry zero tears for rip off boutique pedal builders
Yeah, I totally agree with you. On a few forums I go on, there's actually quite a bit of criticism directed towards Jan Ray... but it really depends on who the crowd is. Pedals built in China always seem to come in for the harshest criticism though, whether it's justified or not. And you're totally right - all the main pedal types we know and love today came from the same source... stopping any kind of copying/paying homage/paying inspiration in pedals will reduce innovation for sure.
Paul copied the Tube Screamer circuit to make the Timmy.
Same for amps !@@RichWordsMusic
The Caline Pure Sky uses the schematic of the $375.00 USD Vemuram Jan Ray which is the rich man's Timmy lol. If you compare the 2 the Caline is scary close!!! The Timmy started life as a Tube Screamer and is a mod of that circuit. If one has problems with ethics ...where do you start? Even the Tube Screamer started with the Boss OD-1 and simply changed the clipping diodes to create a symmetrical instead of an asymmetrical circuit. Add to that any pedal over 5 years old has had it's patent run out. Ironically the Boss SD-1 pedal is a Tube Screamer so Boss borrowed that change back. LOL All OD's are a mod off of 7 basic circuits. These were all discovered over 30 years ago. The human ear can detect 2 pedals exactly the same even when the only exception being that the components although the same are made by a different manufacturer. So pedals makers would have you believe they have reinvented the wheel with each new pedal ...but of course they haven't. :-)
The key is to buy using your ear. Sometimes it does mean buying an expensive pedal and sometimes it is dirt cheap. Many expensive pedals use quieter and have more robust parts and add circuits to inhibit noise or do subtle but noticeable changes to to the voicings which add more parts to the design which justify the higher prices. On the other hand many cheap pedals sound great without these extras. Furthermore fixed to a board and using a switcher the cheaper parts will not break as they get very little punishment.
SNAKE oil salesmen I tell ya! SNAKE OIL!!!
Yep, it's all smoke and mirrors and good marketing these days, isn't it. Except with the Timmy, seemingly... that one's basically pure word of mouth, and Paul Cochrane doesn't need to do anything to keep the demand sky high. But yes, the ethics thing is certainly a wider issue. It's the same with amp circuits too, and electric guitar design. And of course every new release is heralded as being the latest and greatest new thing, even though 99% are just a take on something that came before. Snake oil indeed :)
The Vemuram is definitely one I'd like to try in future. I will need to find a well-moneyed acquaintance who's prepared to let me borrow theirs, though, as I'm not shelling out $375 for it! Especially now you've told me how close the Caline gets, and for 10% of the price. And yes, ultimately it's all about what sounds good to our own ears anyway!
@@RichWordsMusic
Copying something is less an effort compared of recreating something with a different approach (e.g. Danelectro way).
If a circuit/Product ist patented and another Person finds another approach to recreate the function, that's Innovation, especially if there are restrictions budgetwise, as Pedal Series are Sometimes designed to cost.
I know the mosky MM Overdrive. But I don't know whether it is close to a Timmy or maybe not even designed to be.
@@andiebetjemann7920 Yes, copying is certainly an easier way to making money, as you don't do the R&D side. Copying and also adapting/innovating is slightly different, as you say, and I guess I'm more comfortable with that... but as Paul said above, almost every new pedal these days is some kind of copy, or at least very inspired by older designs. So maybe we have to live with it! I'll check out the Mosky for sure, someone else mentioned it. I've never tried them - yet :)
@@RichWordsMusic I have many tech friends who are pedal buffs. First they tell me that there 7 basic designs to make a distortion /OD and all were discovered in the last century. In short everything since is a clone. Even the Timmy, lol. We are now down to a cloning the clones. Yes they change manufacturers of parts or change a few values or indeed the brand of a part. They swap out OpAmps & diodes but the blueprint is identical. Oddly enough the Tube Screamer was meant to sound like the Boss OD-1 but Boss had a patent on how they created asymmetrical distortion so the ts has symmetrical distortion. The schematic was however brilliant so when Boss made the SD-1 to replace the OD-1 they took it but used asymmetrical distortion. Keep in mind what patents pedals can get are only 5 years old so no one needs to literally steal. You may find it amusing the Vemuram is modded Timmy but the Caline skipped modding the Timmy and simply cloned the Vemuram. :-) You can put them side by each and match up the sounds scary close. The same with the Caline Emerald Night ...take a new Ibanez ts9 and you can also get a near perfect match. The Caline is all hole thru manufacture using better parts than what is in most of what they clone. It isn't surface mount. It is easily MXR grade stuff. Unless you use NASA spec even the old brand name parts are made in China. All this stuff even in China is made with the same machines as they 'were' using in Japan, Germany or the U.S. The big savings is not labor that's a myth. It is the cost of utilities, taxes shipping and regulations. In short companies are not making much gourmet but a lot of it is MXR, Dunlop etc. quality. E-H assemble in the U.S. but a fully assembled circuit board made in China is what gets stuffed into the boxes.
I have the pure sky. Never owned a Timmy but I am more than pleased with the pure sky it’s a super cool pedal and for the price it can’t be beat
Yeah, the Pure Sky is a great pedal indeed, even without thinking about how cheap it is!
Fully agreed - and it is also proof, that the so called "premium" or "boutique" pedal are often just overpriced marketing driven products ....
@@Andreas_Straub Yep, there is a tendency for some products to become almost mythcial in their statues. Ultimately, they're all 'just' pedals ;) I have to say, though, that in the case of the Timmy and the Lightspeed, I feel that the hype and marketing is actually done by the internet and forums, rather than the brands themselves!
Some good ways to compare pedals and circuits is to test the extreme settings. In general we find a good match in the 10 to 2 area but passed these values, you hear différences.
All tones rolled off, what remains ? vol +drive all the way up and it can reveal the limits of the pedal. Here, the pure sky is really very noisy ! And for tones, very less high mids remain than with the jan ray or timmy. So for the price, the pure sky is very good if we keep the knobs quiet !
Yes, that's some great points! I am one of those people who is sometimes scared to push pedals to their extreme settings... but this is why they have the option! So I am learning to do that more. And I also agree, the more you add to the Caline, the more you notice the extra noise. For the price it's still a great pedal, but of course it has some limitations because of that.
I knew I made a good purchase when I bought that Caline O.D. I replaced the Cool Cat but I'll put it in another board after I fix it. Amazing review
Cheers! Yes, the Caline is a fantastic little pedal. Sounds great on its own or stacked with anything else, well built and it's just so cheap. Win for everybody who buys one!
Thanks Rich, I loved this video, I have a Pure Sky, and I never had opportunity to test the original Timmy, here in Brazil is very difficult to build a board cuz the hight dollar price, maybe is not the right way to do, but the clones save us here. Thank you again for review.
I don't think it's wrong at all, those original pedals are not as unique and original as they claim. They are also based on older tech.
their is alot of us here in America who can't afford all the high priced stuff also. My board has all cheaper and used pedals and they make great sounds !! Cheers 🙂 🍻
I have the Caline Pure Sky and while I mainly use the TS-9 and MXR Dist+ for what I play, when I’m playing blues, I throw it on the neck pickup and man does the Caline work well! It works well with a Marshall dirt channel for Blackmore blues tones!
Although, whenever I pick up a Duke of Tone, it’ll be replacing the Caline.
Great video! I’ve never tried a real Timmy, but I’ve had the Danelectro pedal for probably 10 years or so and it’s the only pedal that always stays in my signal chain. Definitely a desert island pedal for me. Sure, the knob placement is unfortunate, but once it’s set you don’t have to worry about it. Big plus for the footswitch, very solid and impossible to miss (also toe friendly when playing without shoes 😅).
The pure sky is my main drive. Then I have the Caline Crazi Cati to push it. Love the Caline pedals.
Yep, for the money, they're excellent. Well, the Pure Sky is just excellent full stop actually. I'd like to try the Crazy Cacti too, it looks fun from the videos I've seen!
@@RichWordsMusic i also have the Caline snake bite reverb. Really good pedal.
@@johnbweems Another one to add to the list!
@@RichWordsMusic That's it, I'm gettin the Cacti...
I have changed pedals over the last few years. But still have the pure sky on my board. And about a month ago put the crazy cati after the pure sky. Then into my HeadRush Gigboard and use the K drive(klone style). Some songs the crazy cati sounds better and some songs the k drive sounds better. But I have options
Don´t you notice a little bit more compressed the MXR in comparison to the V2 Timmy? In my opinion, It is a clear difference but very subtle though. Thanks for your work, cheers!.
Yeah, there is a very subtle difference, I agree. It's even more subtle once you record it and put it up on TH-cam too. It's a little more noticeable in the room as you play with a cab, but really nothing too massive. Thanks for watching 😊
Does anyone know of a cheap transparent Overdrive? The Caline sounds great but the extra gain makes it a different pedal and the Danelectro is very hard to find
Hmm, the Dano comes up used fairly regularly and cheaply (well, it does where I am in Europe) but I guess you've got to be in the right place at the right time. What about the NUX Horseman, the Joyo King Of Kings or the Joyo Sweet Baby? Or even the Nobels ODR-mini which is currently being blow out at €49?
These are all great choices (in my opinion). I'Ve got vids on them here: th-cam.com/video/q0Oe8bEm8Jc/w-d-xo.html
And here: th-cam.com/video/HkAQng79G3A/w-d-xo.html
If you fancy another round of listening ;) Let me know which one you end up going for!
@@RichWordsMusic Sadly I'm in a place where getting gear in general is more complicated, not only because of inflation but because of the few stores that import equipment.I'll try to get one of those pedals, thanks
Love the demo. Excellent Timmy sounds.
There's a lot to think about with the "clones are bad/good" argument. I think Sony Betamax would have probably won the tech war over the VHS format if they hadn't tried so hard to protect their "intellectual property". I think this is why guys like Josh Scott from JHS likes and discusses some of the "knock offs". They cannot copyright or trademark a circuit and know anything popular will be copied. He even states all pedals are based on the same original designs. He goes thru pedals' genealogy on several episodes.
Long ago in the dark times before Bill Gates' Micro XXXbox fought Sony Playstation, Sony once had the superior product, better quality ...and lost. This is due to VHS tech having licenced legal clone players (like the MXR Timmy). But Sony Betamax wouldn't license their tech to other manufactures like say LG, Sanyo, Samsung and Toshiba. They said they wanted to protect their assets. While this might have kept the initial profits high but it came at a huge market share future cost when the VHS "cheap players" came to promience.
So when the Blu-ray players (Stone age to Bronze age to my kids) came out Sony changed their minds. They licenced other companies make Blu-ray players. It still didn't stop the inevitable obsolescing of tech but hey at least they didn't get smoked by an inferior product. Am.i.rite?
In the USA, this circuit cloning needs to be separated from manufacturer trademark. If the clone is copying the graphics, logo and could REASONABLY be mistaken for the real McCoy (looking at you DemonFx) that's often a trademark infringement on a product in the US. Usually then it takes 100 lawyers 100 billable hrs each to send out the "Stop that"- John Cleese. Monty Python. Letter.
And the clonester quit or mod the circuit/graphics to comply. Usually. Lawsuits happen. Ibanez and Gibson are infamous for this. If its green and says TS...expect a letter. And then a phanalax of lawyers if you dont. But they have the resources other small companies do not.
Some companies test others' "holding of a copyright/trademark" then when it's not challenged... they seize it. Behringer comes to mind. So is this "Legal thievery" an oxymoron or just how business is done?
It's a Grey/Gray area mate/dude....
Lots of vids on yt if you wanna know more and better in their explanation.
If the pedal maker send the letters to unknown people in China ripping them off nothing will happen in most cases. Its a problem because there is an issue with respecting of international trademark, patents and copyright.
Unless you're connected...
Nahmean playa?
Detroit rock city. Where my grandparents bootlegged liquor across the frozen river.
B
Q: What do you call 100 000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?
A: A good start.
The original v1 breadboard Timmy is a cut above the other Timmy’s (the v2, v3 and MXR), it sounds like a whole different pedal…those versions should be going for Klon type prices, they’re that good.
Yeah, I would love to find an original V1, but I imagine there's not many to be had in Europe. One day they will be going for Klon prices, which is pure madness really, but internet hype can do crazy things for pedal values!
@@RichWordsMusic Right, the Klon prices are nuts (I was never able to bond with that circuit incidentally). The Timmy is as iconic as the Klon really, but the original breadboard versions aren’t worth anywhere close to what the original Klons are. Kind of my point being, if you can get an original breadboard Timmy while prices are still reasonable, your ears will thank you and I gather that it’s still a very sound investment…10 years from now who knows what they could be worth. Good demo btw, your chord sequences are refreshing to hear, not the typical bluesy stuff (not that that’s always a bad thing) :)
@@sixbladeknife44 Oh, I didn't know the original ones were breadboard versions! But yes, I would love to find one of those too... before the price hike! All that needs to happen is for John Mayer to be spotted with a Timmy on his board for the prices to spike instantly. Glad you enjoyed the video too, my indie roots coming to the fore there... (I can't play blues either, which helps!)
you use a transparent drive as a 'set and go' - you don't keep tweaking so the Dano isn't a problem
Yep, that is a good point indeed, and how most people use them (including me!). That said, you might want to tweak for a specific venue/room, or if you use more than one guitar for a show, or something like that.
Good lord, all four pedals on sounded huge and amazing
Yep, I think I need to do that more often! And for much longer than I did here ;)
Useful video, thanks! Just bought the Pure Sky over the MXR and you've confirmed I made the right choice.
Regarding cheap clones v premium build pedals I don't think we need to feel any guilt. The circuit is identical and the blind, practical utility is identical... but the fancy artwork, nice box, extra design, advertising and social status you get with premium pedals are very much part of the product. Even if you can make them sound identical.
Amazing insight, thanks.
Long live Caline!!!
A pensioner like me (I'm 70) can get great sounds on a pension.. I've got the pure sky it's excellent...
Thanks George :) Yes, the Caline should be the choice of the pensioner for sure! For the price it's very hard to beat... thanks and keep on rocking!
Hey - thanks for this.
Curious how the Caline Pure Sky stacks up to the Greer Lightspeed.
No worries! Yeah, I should probably do a video with those two at some point :) They are both great pedals.
@@RichWordsMusic - I’d definitely watch that one.
Curious if the Blue Sky can pull of the ‘value’ upset for us up and comers with limited budgets :).
@@m.malina6797 I'll get around to it sometime soon then! The Blue Sky is definitely worth a look, though, I can tell you that already.
@@RichWordsMusic - about to find out as it’s in the mail and on the way :).
Have an MXR micro amp I was constantly dialing up to get the same light grit overdrive. Obviously got tired of doing that :).
@@m.malina6797 Cool, let me know what you think of it! I have the Micro Amp too. I love it (I bought it because I'm a massive fan of the early Strokes records and it helps nail those tones), but obviously the Pure Sky has way more flexibility - and it does the Micro Amp thing too!
Well, Timmy schematic is very basic and TS like. Apart from the switch to double soft clipping and the bass filter, it's the same but surprisingly it sounds pretty different and colors far less the sound. So in terms of copyright... Nothing that did not exist 40 years ago already ! Just a question of filters and choice of components
You're right. It's funny, all these pedals come from a handful of 'originals' that started it all. And it's interesting how some subtle changes can make pedals that we love or hate. For example, I loved the Timmy as soon as I tried it, but I've had so many Tubescreamers over the years, and never managed to make one sound good! This is my problem I guess, not the Tubescreamer ;) But I would love to get a great sound from one sometime!
@@RichWordsMusic You're so right ! Timmy style is very open sounding and pleasant. Ts are good midboosts for solos and sd1 is a classic 2 dimensions only od great for some riffs, despite all same-ish circuit.
@@christopherebeyrol4553 The Timmy is like my Greer Lightspeed... I put it on and it just seems to make me sound a little better! I need to look at the other suggestions more - you can never have too many overdrive pedals to play around with!
I have to say... nice playing. Sounds alternative and fresh
Thanks a lot, I'm glad you liked my style!
The Pure Sky sounded the closest. The MXR was dark and muddy in comparison, and the Dan wasn't even close, colored the tone.
Yes, there's some magic in the Pure Sky for sure (and for the price it's an absolute no-brainer). I think I could get the Dano closer if it was easier to control... I might need to get it rehoused!
I have the cool cat V1 and just shot it out with the Pure Sky. The CCV1 has a bit of a low mid boost where the Pure Sky is more transparent. A bit shocked, as the CCV1 has so much praise, but it doesn’t do the transparent thing as well as the Pure Sky.
Yep, I agree with you - the Dano really does have massive amounts of low-end in it. That does make for a great sound, for sure, but it does also mean that the Pure Sky is a bit more transparent. They're both great pedals, but for slightly different things!
Great video!I have a Timmy V3 a I really love it!!!How do you use yours regularly?I heard How you set the Timmy but:Do you prefer the Timmy on a clan amp like Fenders or with an already dirty amp.I use mine as a main low medium drive into a clean channel of the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe V3…lovely tones!!!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I use mine on the settings we saw here, and my favorite is to run it into a clean amp... it just give that lovely sparkly edge of breakup sound that I love. But I also do occasionally like to run those same Timmy settings into a lightly overdriven amp, just to boost it a bit. It's a great tone thickener! I bet it sounds amazing into your Fender :)
I absolutely have no problems with "clones". I think $200/plus for a pedal is highway robbery ! If Dan Electro and Caline can build these pedals for those prices then so could everybody else. Those BOO TEEK pedal builders should be ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of blue collar musicians.
when they were all stacked 🤩🤩🤩
Yeah, I did that by mistake but now realized it needs to be done more often. Sounds massive!
Sold my new Gold Timmy V2 for too little as I didn't need it (bought new in 2018). Just bought a new Timmy V3 for far too much money (lol) but wanted another. I have too many overdrives but I love them all. Regarding the Pure Sky: is it a clone or is it just a good sounding budget pedal? Sounds good as does the MXR offering. I just don't like the look of Danelectro's so I'd never have one...
Ah, the old selling and re-buying pedal affliction: I've suffered from that too! But I do think the Timmy is worth it, and I'm a huge lover of overdrives too. Someone in the comments told me the Pure Sky is a clone of the Vemuram Jan Ray, which itself is an almost dead-on Timmy clone sold for four times the price of a Timmy! I'd also like to try that one day, but it's well outside my price range. Either way, the Caline sounds very good and it's solidly built - it does the Timmy thing very well. And yes, the Dano is just so impractical for tweaking, and for attaching on a tidy pedalboard. If you find one sound you love though, and leave it there, it's as good as the others!
Pure sky doesn't have the mini toggle, more or less a Timmy V1.
I had two V1 Timmy pedals.. Wound up selling them along with my Zen Drive.
One needs to know that speakers can do so much with the sound of pedals.
Yep, I've not tried the Timmy V1 but I actually know a few others who've sold them. Someone here told me the Pure Sky is actually a clone of the Vemuram Jan Ray, which is apparently a very lightly-tweaked clone of the Timmy (and much more expensive!). At the end of the day though, they're just one part of the rig, as you say. And most guitarists really underestimate the effect speakers can have on their tone!
OK....did this guy make you crazy twisting knobs? Geez.
What can I say, I like twisting knobs. Also, that was the entire point of the video 😉
Nice shootout! Thanks for doing. I was wondering about the tone controls. From my research I was lead me to believe the Timmy is subtractive EQ and flat when fully COUNTER CLOCKWISE and the MXR Timmy is also subtractive EQ but flat at fully CLOCKWISE. Pure Sky is flat at noon like all other pedals. Is that what you found as well?
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! And yes, I think you're right. The Pure Sky definitely seems flat at noon, and I find that more intuitive than the other two. The MXR Timmy manual suggests you start with bass and treble fully clockwise and turn counter clockwise to taste - you get 'less' bass and treble as you turn counter clockwise. It's the opposite with the Timmy - you get more as you seem to turn down! That does confuse me a bit sometimes ;) I've heard that this is no longer the case with the newest (V3) Timmy pedals though.
Hmm
I liked the MXR best. The original didn't seem to have the low end clarity.
The clear sky was good but sounded very thin.
Didn't like the last one much
I bought the Caline as much out of curiosity than anything else, being I expensive enough to qualify as a bit of an impulse buy, Sitting alongside pedals I really like, such as a Wampler Tumnus (klon) and a JHS Morning Glory (bluesbreaker), the Pure Sky is getting lots of playtime and owes nothing to its pedal board neighbors. Will I eventually buy an original Timmy? Maybe? But I'm enjoying the Sky plenty well enough to keep me distracted for now. It's a great pedal at 2x-3x the price, in terms of tone.
Very impressive to hear the Pure Sky keeps up with your Tumnus and Morning Glory so well! But it actually does the same with my more expensive pedals too... it's a great buy indeed.
Caline Pure Sky is the best for my taste. Also the cheapest!!!
Yeah, it's simply a great pedal for the price! Sounds fantastic.
It's the traditional V2 for me.
Such a great pedal!
Thank you for not leading off with typical, run-of-the-mill blues riffs. It’s hard to believe, but there are guitarists who play genres other than blues.
Ha ha, I know - I feel that way when I watch so many guitar videos on here! I couldn't play blues even if I tried, though. Cheers!
A clone being an identical copy... no they aren't a rip off. The Pure Sky corrects the counter intuitive control layout and wierd EQ controls. As you mention the Volume and Gain are both different than a Timmy . Seems everybody tries to make the Pure Sky a Timmy clone, but it's not , by your own description.
I made note on my Pure Sky , 'Vemuran Jay Ray ' go look . More similarity than a Timmy . And side by side sounding more similar too.
Yes, I own a Pure Sky . A great BUDGET overdrive.
I agree. It's a funny world, the world of the pedal clone. People refer to clones even if people change designs, components, or even circuits if pedals are 'close' to the original. Of course, there's only a few genuine originals the rest all took influence from. I have to say the Caline way of having the controls is a big improvement for me - it's so much more intuitive! And yes, someone else told me about the Jan Ray, and now that's also on my list to try... although for the best part of €400 I shan't be buying! I'm more than happy with my budget overdrives too :)
Pure sky is within my budget and feels more road worthy than the dano. 🎵Lords of the underworld darkness fill our hearts with gain TIMMY 🎶
Protect your intellectual property!!!
Know your right and limitations
@@PooNinja The Dano is metal (not G3 metal, made of metal!), but yeah, it's also the one I feel least confident stamping on ;) If I was in the Paul Cochrane's position, I would want to protect my IP too... apparently this is not easy with pedals though!
@@RichWordsMusic I’ve tried several Dano pedals and they just seem to be missing that “something “ that makes me feel like “YES I need this!” Whilst the g3 is hard to make sound bad. I’d like to try one of them Iridium amp 1’s but ( stores stores are open again🤗) nobody has one in stock to demo. I’m also looking at just sayin enough and getting the helix but then the katana or G series REVV also look good, it’s a conundrum of consumerism and I’ve... probably got too much gear for a basement blues metal bafoon already.
P. S. don’t tell my wife I said I may have too much gear !!!
@@PooNinja Ha ha, my lips are sealed! (And there is no such thing as too much gear!) I dig this Dano, but the other pedals all do that Timmy thing too. The one which apparently is the best in its class is the Back Talk reverse delay, but I've not tried one. Can't say I've ever really used too much reverse delay, except in novelty or Beatles settings.
Not sure there are many BluGuitar dealers on the moon, but there's a few on earth that should be opening soon, yes. We do need much better distribution though. I believe you would love the iridium, based on your feelings for the G3. I'm also looking at the Revv D20 and G20 right now, but want to play in person first :)
@@RichWordsMusic here’s to shops being open 🍻,and how they strangely make everything sound better in store! 🤣 guitar store simulator pedals are what we need , at least till Thomann gets that Stompenburg up and running
I have the Caline, best value ever, it works well with my Vox, Marshall and Katana amps. Doesnt sound like a copy of the Timmy. Caline also works well with Joyo American, as a quick plug into the PA.
Great tip, as I just got the American Sound! Will need to test the two out together soon. The Pure Sky is an awesome pedal, pure and simple.
@@RichWordsMusic tbh I stopped using pedals live years ago, just switched channels on my Marshall, but, during lockdown I bought a Katana 100 2x12 combo, don't have the stupidly expensive footswitch, with the Blue Sky, it is an ideal boost in songs that change dynamics. Like many singers, my PA is setup in the Living room as a stereo, Joyo American plugged in, does the Job, without lugging an Amp out, the combo of the Joyo and Caline does everything tone wise I do.
@@LOFIGSD Yes, sounds like the Pure Sky is a great solution there. And you could buy a couple more for less than the Katana switch if you needed extra flavors of boost/gain! I like the sound of that setup and it’s something I might try in future. Thanks for the info!
@@RichWordsMusic I bought the Katana on ebay, so paying full price for the footswitch isn't ideal, it has some great OD pedals built in, but mainly I play bordering on breakup, and the Blue Sky makes it very easy to add a drive sound when songs change, can do that with the volume on the guitar of course, but that increases volume, and I mainly play rythym guitar and sing, so that isn't ideal, great pedal and a bargain. The American Sound keeps selling out in the UK, clearly people are on to that as a solution.
@@LOFIGSD The American Sound definitely seems to have some kind of magic to it, and a wealth of different edge of breakup tones. It's really good so far! Will be trying it with the Pure Sky soon. I also prefer to change drive levels using pedals and switches rather than with the volume knob... just makes things easier! I will be visiting a friend who has a Katana soon, so I'll try that out and see how it works for me. Thanks again for the advice and help!
The Cool Cat V2 is not a Timmy clone. V1 was.
I have the Cool Cat V1, Timmy V2 and a Pure Sky. The Cool Cat is not sturdy enough to gig with. The Timmy and the Pure Sky are different enough ( to me) that I would keep both.
Yes, exactly - the V1 was removed from the market pretty quick, as I mentioned in the vid. I love the sounds of the V2, but I agree with you that it's not really a good gigging solution - either in terms of sturdiness, or as something you might need to tweak on occasion. Someone else suggested reboxing the V2, but I'm not sure that's worth the hassle. The Pure Sky is a great pedal, and I also agree, different enough to warrant keeping!
I've been putting my V1 on and off my board for 10 years. You can gig with it. You can gig with anything, man. You sound like someone who doesn't play live shows, but rather regurgitates what you have heard the great community say about things.
I have absolutely no problem with clones. If it were not for clones, you would likely have hundreds of thousands of guitarists around the world not using pedals because they couldn't afford pedals and their amp are likely between $200-$400. So spending as much for one pedal as you do an amp would leave the options of pedal used completely off the board for many guitarists.
If you had the Danelectro TOD v1 instead of the v2 it would beat them all
I've heard it's even better, but never found one to try! One day...
@@RichWordsMusic I had a timmy and the tod v1 at the same time to compare them. I still have the ToD v1 if that tells you anything.I wouldn’t mind having the mxr mini version just for the space though
@@timmyv694 Wow, so you preferred it to the Timmy? I really need to track one of these down to try! The MXR is really decent, especially if you don't mind the mini knobs being a little fiddly. It's worth it for the size for me.
@@RichWordsMusic I sold my timmy and kept tod v1 . It’s got the timmy thing going on but it’s got this upper mid range and compression while still retaining its transparency that won me over. It’s all subjective but if you ever get to play through one I think you’ll like it:)
@@timmyv694 Well, I hope I get the chance soon! They do occasionally appear for sale here, so I'll just need to be quick and grab one when it does.
Pure Sky is the true winner at about $30 .
Yeah, purely on budget it smashes the others, and on performance it's up there too. It's a great pedal!
shame there's no electro-harmonix Crayon overdrive pedal, I mean if you're gonna waste money on 3 copies of a pedal you already own, you might as well buy one more.
Yes, yes, I have a problem, I know ;) The sad thing is I actually have the EHX Crayon too. But it's not a Timmy clone, to my ears anyway. I will do a giant test featuring all of them at some point.
0:04 Put Cochrane on the line!:-7
I would love to get Paul Cochrane on here to tell his story!
TIMMMEHHHHHH!!!! \m/
\m/ \m/ \m/ I deliberately made no references in the video!
@@RichWordsMusic I saw! ;o)
TCHEMEEEEEEEH!
@@Alfredo78666 Umm it doesn't go LIKE that!
@@DMSProduktions How does it go?
👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you sir, have a great weekend!
the cool cat just sounds worse because of that box :D
Ha ha, yep, sounds better if you play it with your eyes closed ;)
I have to say: the C Pure Sky sounds better than the MXR Timmy (I own both)
That's a big call - but the Caline is an exceptional pedal for sure! From what I have read online, the Pure Sky is actually a clone of the Vemuram Jan Ray (which is apparently a slightly tweaked Timmy) so it is a little different... I use the Pure Sky more than the MXR too, by the way. Cheers and rock on!
Why would it be wrong for Caline to sell a pedal with a similar circuit to the Timmy, when the Timmy itself took it's circuit from the JRC4558 circuit? It's like saying that one generic version of the Cheerios cereal at your grocery store is ok because it costs more, but the cheaper generic is wrong for some reason. Makes no sense.
I see what you're saying, and in this context it makes sense. But, that said, many people have an issue with the whole 'clone' thing. And many people regard the Timmy as an original and much-copied design (regardless of its origins!). It's part of a wider debate and I would really like to hear some builders speak out on it a bit more. Sense and logic doesn't always come into such discussions ;)
They all sound like pedals to me, sorry.
Well at least they're doing their job there! If you mean that they don't sound amp-like, though, that's another thing. I think the Timmy does that really well, but I also think it's something you really hear when you play it in person hooked up to a cooking speaker and push some air!
They all sound horrible. Very useful video.
Ha ha, well if it's helped you realize that you don't need a Timmy pedal, then it's done its job in that way too! I love the Timmy sounds, but they're not for everyone.
Put the Dano in another box.
I actually don't know why I never thought of that! That's going to be a really fun project and will result in a much more usable pedal. Thanks!
Why would you ? It's a sturdy metal enclosure, not plastic. Besides, rehousing sets the resale value to zero.
@@alexanderm6049 ::: So you can relocate the controls to the top with a forth for bass. As far as value they don't really fetch that much. under$75.00.
@@bigstick5278 I see. You could also try to make the internal dipswitches of the v2 accesible from the outside. Interesting project. Have you tried it ?
@@alexanderm6049 Yeah, they're not really collectible or anything, and fairly cheap, so it really could be worth a try. Would like to hear some feedback from anyone who's done it too...
Those tone control's make me not want it.
I find them confusing too... apparently the newest version of the Timmy has them the right way round though! I need to find one to try.
It is a very good comparison.... But, I've heard some of those pedals in other reviews and your sounds quality does no justice to either of these pedals imho.
Well, what you hear in my videos is 100% as I hear it, with no post-production. Sometimes that makes my videos sound worse than others (who do tweak their sounds after recordings), but I like to think that the sounds in my videos will be quite realistic compared to what you'd hear if you bought one of these for yourself, if you know what I mean. So in that way it could be helpful. But, like you say, there is always room for improvement, and I am always looking to increase the quality of my vids, so thanks for the feedback.
@@RichWordsMusic ok thx. The ear, what can we say about it that is true for everyone? Haha.
I listened on yt amongst others to an ox direct out which was the biggest difference. I don't own one , but the sound was very different from your youtube feed with same highest bitrate.
I listen on Bose quietcomfort 45(35 is better imho) headphones or Warfendale speakers from the 70' with an old pioneer sa-500a. For what it's worth.
Cheers!
looking forward to more pedals compared. They re a guilty pleasure for many of us.
Thx for your effort
@@camielkotteWhat a goddam cork sorker.
First! Yeah!
I'll give you that this week. I even tried releasing a day later this week to fool you, but it didn't work ;) Happy Fronleichnam mate!
The early 90s just called, they want their goatee beard back.
They can't have it, it's hiding my double chin!
Why can't you make the same settings when you comparing each pedals ? Makes me mad...
I do - I start with them all at 12 o'clock on all knobs and also regularly make the settings the same when tweaking... But this video is also about getting these pedals to sound as close as possible - and the knobs also need to be in different positions to achieve that.
what is 30 Euros on British pounds? I don't spend Euros or "Bucks"
30 EUR as of today is 25.62 GBP exactly, according to Google. It goes up or down a bit every day, of course, but either way you look at it - affordable ;)
wtf r u doing dude. u making me dizzy
Ha, just close your eyes and listen then ;)
most famous...
That’s the Timmy alright!