MXR TIMMY £139

Meet the accessible version of a cult classic

- Stuart Williams

We guitarists love yarn, especially when it comes to tone. Tales of golden-eared wizards crafting away at their breadboards in an attempt to create the Holy Grail of guitar sounds, the virtues of which are spread word-of-mouth by players in the know. If you’re destined for it, it’ll find its way to you. But only once you’re ready.

Except for the story of Paul Cochrane and the Timmy isn’t a tale. His original late-90s Tim overdrive was well received but took up too much ’board space. So Paul produced the smaller, four-control version as the Timmy in 2004, helping kickstart the trend for boutique transparent overdrives.