MusicRadar Verdict
Whether you see the Valveslapper's labelling as playful or a tad cringe-inducing is a matter of taste - but there's no denying its unique innards.
Pros
- +
Different, but still useable.
Cons
- -
T&A not for everyone!
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Coopersonic might not be a name you're familiar with, but that won't last for long. So far Arctic Monkeys, Ronnie Wood and producer John Leckie (Stone Roses, Radiohead, The Verve) have all used this pedal, which is hand-built in Nottingham.
The pedal is loaded with 6N2PEV valves (a Russian military spec version of the more common 12AX7).
Instead of sticking with conventional control names like Gain or Level, the bods at Coopersonic have opted for the far more amusing Thrust (volume), Balls (bass), Tits (treble) and Ass (gain), and they reckon the pedal can go from blues to metal.
They're not wrong. In part, this is due to an EQ section that offers 15dB of boost or cut for each band, meaning you can make extreme changes to your sound. Setting the gain low with Thrust and Balls at 12 o'clock and Tits at one-ish gets a good classic rock tone.
From here, it's a case of rolling back your guitar's volume to clean up the sound. There's no shortage of gain either; rolling it past the three-quarters mark takes the Valveslapper into a fuzzed-out doom machine.
Let's be honest: the Valveslapper's quirks won't be for everyone. But it's this quirkiness that draws your attention to the sheer amount of gain and EQ options on offer, proving that the Valveslapper will be suitable for many playing situations.
