FEATURE
Crowther Audio
In the relatively young business of boutique
pedals, Paul Crowther could be fairly
regarded as a grizzled veteran. He built
the first version of his signature pedal,
the Hot Cake, in 1976 while laying drum
tracks with legendary New Zealand prog/
punk/new wave unit Split Enz. Perhaps
it was the unique perspective of watching guitarists struggle with tone from the
drum riser that ultimately drove Crowther
to build the now legendary and revered
Hot Cake. But his investigations were
founded on a fascination with the circuitry
of sound that predated his days as a professional musician.
“After hearing the Rolling Stones’ ‘Satisfaction’ on
the radio, I just had to make a fuzz box. I built the first
one from a magazine project, using four germanium
transistors.” —Crowther Audio founder Paul Crowther
had a volume control but no gain control.
That was the first time I ever made a cir-
cuit with solid-state parts. It had quite a
long sustain, but cut off abruptly, because
it used a ‘Schmitt trigger’ circuit—defi-
nitely a one-note-at-a-time unit!”
frequencies, and it used a big radio-choke
inductor. It also had a control for adding
the low frequencies back in. It distorted
just a little bit, too, and our lead guitarist
used it for all sorts of things. I called it a
Herbert Box for some obscure reason.”
“After hearing the Rolling Stones’
‘Satisfaction’ on the radio, I just had to
make a fuzz box,” Crowther recalls. “I
built the first one from a magazine proj-
ect, using four germanium transistors. It
But even then, Crowther was looking for
ways to address musical needs beyond
what a fuzz or wah could do. “I was play-
ing drums in a covers band, and we were
learning the Hollies’ ‘On a Carousel.’ I
made a box to give a guitar that resonant,
banjo-like sound in the intro. It had a
six-position switch for different resonant
When Crowther finally got around to
building the Hot Cake, he’d worked on
tone circuits for everything from wah ped-
als to organs. But Crowther ultimately
relied on his ears to perceive the needs
that the Hot Cake addressed—essen-
tially how to make a guitar signal hotter
and more distorted without sacrificing
www.premierguitar.com
Peace, love, and
Alnico Magnets.
The specially tuned Alnico II magnet
replicated from the best sounding
original late 50’s magnets in the
A2 Black Belt ensures that your
tone will stay smooth and sweet.
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