The CTO-2 Transparent
Overdrive lets more of
your guitar’s voice shine through, even at high gain settings. Very
useful for everything from modern Country, to American and British
Rock. If you can have only one pedal, the Transparent Overdrive is
tough to beat.
CONTROLS:
GAIN: Sets the amount of overdrive applied to the signal. At
minimum gain (fully counter-clockwise), the CTO-2 is essentially a
clean boost. Depending on the setting of internal DIP switch #4
(internal gain boost), you will get either 6 or 12 dB of boost with
the Gain set at minimum and the Output set at maximum. Turn
Gain clockwise to increase overdrive. DIP switch #4 (Internal Gain
Boost) will also affect the amount of overdrive.
TREB E / BASS: Adjusts the frequency extremes of the
overdrive sound. The two controls are stacked; the inner control is
for Treble, the outer for Bass. These controls cut and boost – they
are flat (no effect) at @ 12 o’clock. Tuning the Treble control
counter- clockwise from 12:00 cuts the treble, advancing the
Treble control beyond 12:00 boosts the Treble. The Bass control
operates in the same fashion. Turning the Bass knob can be tricky,
here’s how to do it: turn both knobs at the same time until the Bass
is where you want it, then adjust the Treble control. Don’t be
surprised if you leave these controls set nearly flat.
VO UME: This control adjusts overall volume when the
Transparent Overdrive is turned on. Usually, the Volume control is set
to be a little louder than the bypassed signal, or loud enough to
serve as a solo setting. There is lots of volume boost available, so you
can get even low gain settings loud enough to cut through. Once
again, DIP switch #4 will affect the overall volume of the pedal.
BYPASS: The true bypass footswitch engages and disengages
the pedal. HINT: Don’t forget to try setting your guitar’s volume
and tone controls lower than their maximum: the CTO-2
Transparent Overdrive won’t “collapse” on you like other pedals.
“UNDER THE HOOD” CONTRO S: (accessible in the battery
compartment)
These 4 DIP switches allow further tone shaping. DIP switch #1
activates a set of Blue clamping ED’s, DIP switch #2 activates a
set of Red clamping ED’s, DIP switch #3 activates a J-Fet, and
DIP switch #4 is an Input Gain Switch that adds 6dB of gain at
the front of the pedal.
To understand the clamping ED’s and the J-Fet, all you need to
know is that they restrict the headroom of the pedal by grabbing
transients, giving a more compressed sound. The Blue ED’s are the
most subtle, grabbing only the most extreme transients. The Red
ED’s take effect much sooner and restrict headroom further. The J-
Fet’s are the most restrictive of all. As headroom is restricted, overall
output will drop; simply turn up the Volume control to compensate.
You can view the action of the Blue and Red ED’s by looking
inside the battery compartment as you play. Also, since the Red
ED’s are more restrictive than the Blue ED’s, it won’t matter if
the Blue ED’s are on or off once the Red ED’s are on – before
the Blue ED’s can do anything, the Red ED’s have already
clamped the signal. The same thing applies to the J-Fet. Once the
J-Fet is on, the Red and Blue ED’s will have no effect.
Turning the Input Gain Switch “on” adds 6 dB of gain at the
front of the pedal. This will allow you to get as much as 12 dB of
TRANSPARENT
OVERDRIVE
CTO-2
Features
