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Hardwire (by Digitech): CM-2 Tube Overdrive
Nett: $211.40
The Hardwire pedals are new ( 2008 ) products by American effects giant Digitech. These are definitely not budget alternatives to the Digitech range as the prices would suggest but the manufacturer offers new features for the ardent effects fans, sufficient to differentiate the wares from the Digitech range.
Quality/ features
There’s no hiding the Digitech housing & footswitch design (battery access via footswitch cover removal, press hinge button to release) but the two fundamental revisions here are the true bypass circuitry and the lighter overall mass (even with battery inserted). All Hardwire pedals come with the following accessories:
• Stomplock rubber guard
• Velcro pedal base pad
• Luminous footswitch sticker
There is also an absence of plastic parts (hinting at the manufacturer’s concern for durability) & screws; all attachments are via Allen locks. The quartet of knobs in this pedal is responsible for the overall volume/ output, EQ as well as gain. Frequency autocrats would be critical to the absence of a midrange control but even without one, the presence of midrange is inherently sufficient & the Classic/ Modified modes included do add colour to the middle frequency.
The reviewer’s only gripe here is the minor detent-based knobs’ mechanics; they render them too stiff for quick adjustments.
Rating: 88%
Tone
1. Stand alone application
The green tint of this pedal alludes to the immortal Tubescreamer but the CM-2 has this voicing as fundamental. In Classic mode, the CM-2 is as TS808 as it gets; smooth, creamy overdrive, very appealing for those clean but slightly-driven-when-picked-hard moments. In Modified mode, the other extreme is achieved; for those of us who love the super-saturated drive voicing akin to what a Keeley Tubescreamer would offer, this is bliss. In this light, the Modified mode serves to appease the single coil pickup fan more than the humbucking fanatics as it adds succulent bottom end to a bright sounding default voicing. At its most extreme gain setting, the humbucker would suffer from a muck-laden tone but there as some of us here who would deem this as pseudo-fuzz & liking it.
2. Booster function
A drive pedal of this ilk should be made to slave for an already driven amp & the CM-2 does not disappoint in this aspect. The pedal injects some of the most transparent drive to supplement saturation & harmonics inducements. In the Modified mode, do exercise the gain level with taste as clipped notes are rather apparent at upper settings. This would definitely frustrate the solo mongers who ply his trade through the neck humbucker. The CM-2 is also a great mate for your primary distortion/ overdrive pedal; it functions superbly as a drive-type booster.
Tone test equipment:
1. Stand alone set-up: Sound Drive Tube 7/ Fender ST72/ Gibson Les Paul Std
2. Booster application:
• As an amp drive booster: Marshall JVM410H/ Sound Drive SG612R/ Ibanez SZR520/ Ibanez RG321/ Gibson Les Paul BFG
• As a drive-type booster: Ditto amps/ guitars in stand alone set-up/ Danelectro Black Coffee/ MI Audio Tube zone
Rating: 95%
Conclusion
Yes, the CM-2 is another variation of the Tubescreamer theme but with fine revisions in terms of tone & features. If you appreciate all things Tubescreamer, this pedal would more likely appeal rather than reject. Kudos to the manufacturer for the inclusion of the accessories as well as the true bypass circuitry. However, in this price bracket, the CM-2 loses out to the budget-friendly pedals out there which fulfill similar tonal delivery but would not pinch the buyer in terms of cost. However, there would be fans out there who would be attracted to the uniqueness of this product (if you can hear the difference, of course).
Final rating: 89%
Product availability: Swee Lee Co
Likes:
• True bypass
• 2 useful modes addressing drive intensity/ voicing
• Tank-grade exterior
• Bright LED
• Thoughtful accessories included
Dislikes:
• Price
• Stiff knobs
• No real midrange control
Worthy competitors:
• Keeley: TS-9 Baked Mod
• Biyang: OD-8
• Guyatone: OD-2+
• CMATmods: Tube Slammer
• Ibanez: Tube King ( ver 2008 )
• MI Audio: Tube Zone
• Visual Sound: Route 808
