I play rock/blues so this kind of pedal is a must. It is much better than many boost pedals as it focuses on the high end frequencies (hence the name!) You find that alot of standard boosters tend to muddy the sound up a little, especially with humbuckers when pushed as they boos the bass & mids aswell. You can have this all the way up with your guitar and amp screaming and still hear every note.
This pedal captures the Clapton bluesbreaker sound in every way. However, when you push it all the way up you get singing sustain, defined note definition and great harmonics.
The good thing about this is the on off switch, which is next to the level knob. Whilst it disables the circuit, it also makes the pedal true bypass so you can carry on with no loss of tone, quite impressive for a vintage pedal. The switch is easy enough to flick back on with your foot to bring it back into the chain in a live situation.
Reliability/Durability:
Simple circuit, outer casing is very robust. Newer EH pedals seem alot more flimsier than the older ones which have alot more quality and sturdiness about them.
That's why this pedal is older than me and still going strong!
Ease of Use:
One knob - no instruction manual needed.
Plug it in and away you go.
Needs to be out front of the amp to push your tubes into overdrive.
Getting a good sound out of it is a doddle (provided you have a good amp).
I tried it on a transistor practice amp before trying it with my tube amp and it sounded really nice. This simple pedal could compliment any size setup. I like these kind of pedals with big knobs on them that you can adjust to suit while playing. You can turn the level up/down to suit the sound required.
Customer Support:
Not had to deal with them. This pedal is no longer made by EH. Shame. However, I don't think they could recreate the magic in a reissue. There would always be something missing.
Overall Rating:
Overall a very nice addition for rock/blues artist.
You can really hear yourself above the mix when soloing or it can add great cut for a rhythm part.
There are loads of re-issue pedals that try to recreate the essence of these groundbreaking pedals. However, they tend to add all sorts of extras and phat mods etc, that whilst are good and responding to todays needs are a million miles away from the original designs. Open one of these original pedals up and you will see simplicity in action. Simple circuit, one knob, great sound.
