The Vox Cooltron Big Ben Overdrive is an overdrive pedal from Vox's Cooltron line, a series the maker built around low-voltage tube technology. Vintage Guitar's review of the line describes the Big Ben as offering "the low/mid-level of distortion prized by roots rockers and blues guys," placing it at the gentler end of the gain spectrum rather than in high-gain territory1. Players looking for heavier Voxy drives can compare it with the later Vox Straight 6 Overdrive or the Vox Ice 9 Overdrive, while the broader field is covered on the Overdrive Pedals page.
Where it sits in the Cooltron line
The Big Ben is the overdrive of the Cooltron line, and Vox describes it as offering the simplest layout in the series, with knobs for Volume, Tone, and Gain1. Vox later expanded the Cooltron range with pedals such as the Vox Cooltron Over The Top Boost.
Controls
The Big Ben keeps things minimal. As Dragich put it, "The Big Ben offers the simplest layout, with knobs for Volume, Tone, and Gain"1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets the pedal's output level1 |
| Tone | Shapes the treble character of the drive1 |
| Gain | Sets the amount of overdrive1 |
What reviewers said
Vintage Guitar's review is the published verdict on the pedal. Dragich's description of the pedal's distortion character, "the low/mid-level of distortion prized by roots rockers and blues guys," frames it as a pedal for players who want their amp to break up gently rather than a pedal that supplies heavy distortion on its own1. That places it in the same broad territory as other low-gain drives such as those compared in Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer.
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Sources (1)
- Vox Cooltron Pedals, Vintage Guitar magazine, 2007-08-28
