GEAR SPOTLIGHT
GUITARTECH
MAD CAT
REVIEW BY SAM HILL
STREET PRICE $174.32
Overdrive pedals run
amok like a breed of
immortal rabbits. There
are so many to choose
from, which makes it
a great time to be a
guitarist in search of
dirt. Every once in
a while, something
comes along that really
gets my attention.
When I plugged into
Guitartech’s Mad Cat,
it knocked me in the
face with the force and
finesse of a Brazilian jiu-
jitsu kick.
The Mad Cat is built like
a freaking tank. That’s
a phrase that gets used
a lot, but seriously, this
50
GEAR SPOTLIGHT //
thing is overbuilt to the
point where you should
tread very carefully if
you’re walking near it
when barefoot; if you
have young children,
they may hear you
scream obscenities
when you stub your toe.
The Mad Cat has three
knobs: meow, volume,
and tone. Meow sets the
amount of overdrive or
distortion, and it has an
extremely wide range.
With low meow levels,
the Mad Cat acts as a
beautiful boost, from
sparkling clean to the
slightest hint of grit.
Moving up the dial,
Guitartech Mad Cat
you start to get thick,
meaty overdrive, and
towards the end of the
gain range, you start to
hear a mean distortion
bordering on fuzz. A lot
of pedals claim to have
a wide gain range, but
rest assured, the Mad
Cat can go anywhere
and do just about
anything you want. It
sounds fantastic going
into a clean or dirty
amp, and accentuates
the beauty of whatever
kind of pickups you’re
using. If you have to use
an unknown backline
rig at your next gig, the
Mad Cat is the perfect
tone tool to have on