HipKitty The Glaze Boost / Overdrive Pedal Adds Warmth, Clarity
Emerging from the posh side of the dumpster is HipKitty, the manufacturer of handcrafted and handpainted hardware pedals. The company's latest notch on the scratch post is the Glaze ($180 MSRP, $135 Street), a boost / overdrive pedal designed to add warmth and clarity to each note and chord played. The Glaze is said to expand and add to the source signal's upper register while maintaining the clarity of the lower range at the same time.
This simple pedal has controls for gain and volume. According to the manufacturer, the Gain control can allow for the most minimal boost level up to an overdriven tube sound at higher Gain settings. HipKitty describes the Gain control as the Glaze's "magic." The pedal's Volume control circuit, on the other hand, lacks the magic but has enough volume boost to push the amp's preamp section into overdrive.
Its metal casing looks strong and sturdy, though the artwork appears to be hand-drawn in Sharpie. In any case, you may look beyond the surface and hear audio demos of the Glaze or other pedals at HipKitty's Web site.
Hip Kitty Glaze
I found this blog and was very surprised to read the derogatory "Sharpie" comment. Obviously, this blogger doesn't have any experience with this company's stuff. Even more so, hand painted artwork.
I own several of their pedals and love hand painted artwork. No it's not some decal created of computer and printed on hobby model decal sheets, so it's not going to attract "that" crowd that wants Charlie Brown, an alligator eating a football or some crazed looking animal and the like.
I guess that this blogger didn't look into what Hip Kitty is all about. It's easy to get a true idea by reading what they have on their website. Having one in hand certainly tells a lot more. Of all of the pedals that I own, there are a very few that actually have hand etched pcb's. All of Hip Kitty's are hand etched. All of their pedals are hand painted. If you look close, you can see the brush marks. They say that no two pedals look exactly alike. I believe them and this makes them unique.
Above all, their stuff that I own sounds great. Maybe that should be mentioned here.
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