
Vox Bulldog Cooltron Distortion Pedal
Tube Distortion in a pedal.
Overall User Ratings (based on 16 ratings)
Submitted November 16, 2005 by a customer from yahoo.com
"Out of Control Bulldog Bites HARD!"
I have to say that the Bulldaog was a great purchase. I tried many Distortions and found this one to be most to my liking. I use it alot and am happy....I was really worried before I tried it because it was powered by batteries!! I didn't believe that it copuld sound anygood. But for cutting metal with a bit of shred its great. The only thing I would want is a bass boost so that it would chug a bit more ... but my Marshall handles that!
How long will it last? ...How long is a piece of string?
Sound
This pedal sounds great. When I was in the shop checking it out I had a whole queue of distorion pedals laid out to try. The Bull dog was about half way down the line. I had previously tried most of the BOSS distortion/metal line up and had now come to the Bulldog. As soon as it warmed up I was blown away by the edge that this pedal has. The presence is huge. In some reviews people say that it was too much but it hit me right in the chest. I play in a Hard Rock/ Metal band and this was the sound for me.
Gain 1 was great it takes you all the way from crunchy overdrive right through to classic rock. The tone is great and although there is a bass and treble eq, Im glad that it's not so responsive. Don't get me wrong the eq works it's just not that overpowering. In Gain 1 the sound of the guitar and amp really come through. Thats what I like about this pedal. I play a custom 1989 PRS through a marshall amp. Hold on to ya seats guys cause here comes Gain 2.
Gain 2 is a monster! With Volume and Gain controls on both channels you can get almost any hard rock sound you need. But Vox went one better and put in a Gain 2 voice. This is incredible..with one turn you can go from Nirvana to Rammstein. If you go full on everything it does start to go slightly "white noise" but then again what doesn't.
I run this in the middle of my pedal board. I go from Guitar to Tuner, Cry Baby, Blues Driver, Big Muff Pi, Bulldog, Ibanez analog delay, Boss Flanger to Amp. It fits right in. I love the Big Muff but I found it sometimes was to fuzzy(it's a fuzz pedal) for my rythym playing. The Bulldog has got the presence to give the part plenty of tone and definition!
Features
The Bulldog gives you alot of control in a pedal. The Gain 2 voice knob is great!! It gives so much versitility. The pedal also comes with a bass and treble eq which eq's the master output. The eq doesn't really make too much difference and I guess if they were gonna do it I would have like to have seen it 3 band.
The blue light inside the tube is a bit childish but...I got to admit I like it. Lets face it us musicians and studio engineers love anything that lights up!
Battery power. Ipower my pedal off my pedal board power supply but I have used it on occassion on batteries and it's true....It works! A valve pedal on battery power! Also it has a direct by pass which ...well....all pedals should have in my mind!
Quality
I must say that valves full stop worry me. Thay are delicate! This product is made pretty well. It isn't a BOSS pedal! But it seems safe. Most of it is made of metal with some plastic sides. The finish is great and very appealing. I was drawn too it!! All you guys that like sexy pedals will probably like this one!
The worst thing about it's build are the gain and volume knobs. Remember when they used to make them out of ....what...Bakerlite (Hard plastic that doesnt melt)
Well these are a bit weak but they havent broken yet. I gig every week at least twice and it sits in my pedal board well. It hasnt chipped or bruised yet....
I would like to add that I don't want to drop it.....from any height!!
The stomp buttons are standard for many pedals and work well with on problems.
Value
Just the sound is worth the price! But I live in Japan where it seems to be much cheaper....
Manufacturer Support
Not used so 5 by default.
The Wow Factor
VERY SEXY. Great Design work but "MAKE SURE YOU HEAR IT!"
Musical Background:
Active Musician and Recording engineer.
Musical Style:
Hard Rock, Metal, sometimes jam blues and am learning Jazz at the moment.
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Submitted February 11, 2006
Vox Bulldog Cooltron Customer Review
check it out!
Sound
very flexible... channel 1 is more like marshallsound, from soft crunch to jcm800 lead without boost... lots of mids and very punchy. channel 2 is more like hmm lets say a peavey 5150, very aggressive and very brutal BUT there is absofuckinglutely no hiss or humm from that unit, even with the gain crankend!
Features
i give it a nine, would be a ten if the two channels would have separated eqs... one shared eq is not a problem but 2 eqs would be just better *g*
Quality
seems to be perfectly crafted
Value
not quite cheap but what tube equipment is?
Manufacturer Support
never dealt with them so 5 by random
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