Buying Guides
Paul Cochrane has been very well respected in the pedal business for many years, and his most sought after creation, the Tim, can claim to be one of the OG boutique guitar pedals.
The Tim was a large-box overdrive with a switchable boost, which later had the boost removed and was shrunk down to create the Timmy.
The Timmy first appeared on the market in 2004 as the refined successor to its bigger brother, the Tim. The Tim was a larger pedal with a switchable boost option. Over time, the need for the boost diminished so Paul made the decision to remove this and house the circuit in a smaller pedal.
All the initial Timmy models were sold by Paul Cochrane directly through his Myspace page (remember Myspace...?) with no website or national distribution behind him. The only thing that propelled his work was the satisfaction of the customers that bought one.
The Tim/Timmy is widely considered by many to be one of the first, if not the first, "transparent" overdrive. Paul Cochrane designed the pedal to solve a problem he had: he couldn't get his non-master volume Marshall amp to hit a satisfactory level of overdrive at lower volumes, and other pedals he tried didn't give him the organic breakup he wanted.
He designed the circuit to push the amp to the max, adding an extra gain stage and delivering the tone and feel of a cranked amp but without imparting its own tonal imprint on the amp's sound.
The pedal has three different clipping options available:
These three different clipping types adjust the gain and feel of the pedal, allowing players to select the best option for their particular amp.
The Timmy typically uses the JRC4559 chip for the gain, although for the early V2 units Paul switched this out for an LM1458 chip, which he felt gave a smoother tone.
By 2012, he had moved back to the JRC4559 chip, so all Timmy V2 pedals from 2012 to 2019 - and the V3 that followed - were back to the original chip.
It's worth noting that the EQ controls of the Timmy work differently to more conventional EQ controls, acting as high and low pass filters. When the EQ controls on the Timmy are set fully clockwise, they aren't affecting your sound. This allows you to remove frequencies which are added by varying levels of saturation and the different clipping modes, rather than adding things that aren't already there.
The Timmy was launched in 2004 as a refined version of the Tim, in a smaller enclosure without the boost circuit. The original V1 Timmy had 4 controls: Gain, Volume, Bass and Treble. Changing the clipping modes was achieved via an internal dipswitch.
In 2010, the Timmy V2 hit the market. The circuit inside was identical to the previous version, but the clipping selector was now relocated to the outside of the pedal, making it far easier to change the clipping type.
In 2019, to mark its15th anniversary, Paul released the V3 version of the Timmy, which changed the external clipping switch into a boost switch, bringing back a hint of the original Tim. The clipping selectors were moved back inside the pedal as dipswitches.
Over the years the Tim and Timmy have appeared on the boards of numerous guitar players across a range of styles. Here are some notable users of the pedals:
Although the original Tim and Timmy pedals can still be found, they are starting to creep up the pricing ladder, much like other sought after boutique pedals. However, there are some great alternatives to the Timmy to consider.
The MXR Timmy is a relatively new, small form-factor variation of the Timmy made in collaboration with MXR. Robust and affordable, it sounds just like the real deal - and why wouldn't it? MXR worked closely with Paul Cochrane on the R&D of this pedal. This isn't considered a clone: this is an affordable version of the real deal.
Although the original Tim pedal is out of production, Paul still produces a modern variant under his own company, Paul C Audio. He is still using the Tim name for the pedal but this is a modernised version of his classic boutique design, with all the knobs laid out along the top and the boost switch present.
At the very affordable end you'll find the Caline Pure Sky. This is a great way into 'the Timmy sound' without breaking the bank. It doesn't have the clipping options of its more expensive competitors, but if you want a Timmy on a budget, this will get you close.
KINK GUITAR PEDALS PC Boost
This pedalboard-friendly boost will sweeten your tone at lower settings. But crank the solitary knob and it will smash the front end of your amp for gloriously rich overdrive. Such a great little pedal!
FREDRIC EFFECTS Accomplished Badger MkII Preamp
The Accomplished Badger MkII is a dual-stage preamp/boost which features an op-amp running into a germanium transistor, and incorporates 3 internal dip-switches for more gain, soft clipping and hard clipping for overdrive and distortion tones. It has a weighty feel to the clean boost and a raucous, spitty granularity to the germanium boost. When combined, you can achieve some seriously heavyweight yet tonally transparent sounds.
FREDRIC EFFECTS Golden Eagle
Another entry from Fredric Effects, the Golden Eagle is a high-precision recreation of the Klon Centaur, with completely accurate electronics, an internal charge pump which converts 9V to 18V for maximum headroom, and the exact same internal buffer as the Klon. Use the Golden Eagle to subtly condition your tone by running it at low gain and unity volume, or turn the gain up to drive your amp into beautifully organic break up.
DRUNK BEAVER Big Grunge
Built exclusively for Boost Guitar Pedals, the Big Grunge is based around the rare Boss PW-2. All the dirt is generated by overdriving the op-amp in the pedal, which gives a really nice amp-like response. The EQ section features a combination of stock and custom frequency bands which have been perfectly tuned – it's safe to say this is a unique and great sounding overdrive!
LICHTLAERM AUDIO The King in Yellow Parallel Blending Overdrive
A supreme take on the TS-type overdrive, featuring a parallel loop (which also operates as a clean blend), 3 clipping modes, a powerful 4-band active EQ and an internal charge pump which raises the voltage to a staggering 36V. The icing on the cake? The King in Yellow triples the output volume of a traditional Tubescreamer!
SIGNAL CHEYNE Nitro Drive Mk2
The Signal Cheyne Nitro Drive Mk2 is an all-in-one boost/overdrive/distortion pedal which operates up to 18V for extended headroom. The Sat control adjusts the first gain stage. Use it to drive and saturate the second gain stage, giving you really precise control over how clean or raunchy you want your tone to be. The Tone control works in conjunction with an internal voice trimmer, allowing you to dial in your perfect sound. Really versatile yet with a beautifully simple design, this could easily become your always-on pedal!
Picture the scene... you've just spent some time dialling in your dream high gain tone. You've got the amp cooking, stacked the overdrive pedals and achieved that perfect balance between saturation and clarity... but now there is an overwhelming hiss coming from the amp that threatens to derail your tone. What do you do?
Fresh from a successful NAMM ‘25, Daniel was gracious enough to answer some of our questions to help shed a little light on what Lichtlaerm Audio is all about and why we should all be excited to get our hands on the gear!
We are absolutely thrilled to welcome our newest brand onboard, Lichtlaerm Audio. And if you don't know these guys already, you're in for a treat...
