Tone Creamer – Overdrive Booster by Tone Ink

The Tone Creamer is Tone Ink’s new booster overdrive pedal. It was designed to “warm up” your guitar signal and capture the most distinctive tonal elements from the iconic designs of this category — whether that’s a treble booster like the COT 50, a TS-style overdrive like the BB Preamp, or even a clean preamp like the RC Booster — and why not, a Plexi-style drive as well.
Following the same philosophy as the rest of Tone Ink’s lineup, it’s a multi-voice pedal featuring highly responsive and interactive controls — a great choice for players looking for a wide range of tones in a single unit.

HEAT SWITCH (MID PEAK)

Controls the mid peak frequency and the pedal’s overall saturation. Both the gain and emphasis on these frequencies increase as you raise the gain knob:

• CLEAR – Adds brightness, definition, and low saturation, emphasizing the upper-mids and highs typical of pedals in the Marshall Blues Breaker family, such as the King of Tone, Morning Glory, etc.
  TIP: When used at low gain and paired with the RC mode, it enhances pick attack and highlights single-coil character — perfect for funky rhythm parts, soul grooves, or when combined with compressor, chorus, and other modulation effects.

• GREEN – Produces the classic mid hump with moderate gain, typical of the Tube Screamer family, and can sound gently compressed, similar to TS9, TS808, FullDrive, Green Rhino, BB Preamp, etc.
  TIP: When combined with BB mode, it brings out the signature frequencies of blues icons like Stevie Ray Vaughan. When stacked with other drives, it delivers a tighter response and enhances overall saturation without losing definition.

• RED – Emphasizes low-mids with a bit more gain — adding extra body and saturation compared to the Green mode, yet still shy of full-on distortion.
  TIP: When used with COT mode, it yields a low-gain OCD-style drive. To smooth out harshness when using it as your main drive, set the Treble control around 9 o’clock.

CREAM SWITCH

Determines the dynamics and texture of saturation — whether more polished or crunchy. Technically, it changes clipping type and circuit position, shaping compression characteristics similar to how drive pedals behave in amp simulations.

• RC – No clipping, offering higher headroom, more output, and an “open,” less compressed tone.
  TIP: Start with little to no gain and raise the volume to get a clean, powerful tone, then dial in saturation to taste according to your instrument.

• BB – Soft clipping with six silicon diodes, similar to the TS9/808 or BB Preamp, but with more headroom. Produces a slightly compressed, smooth tone.
  TIP: When paired with GREEN mode, it delivers a TS-like voicing; with CLEAR mode, you’ll get a more transparent tone akin to Blues Breaker-style pedals. In RED mode, expect thicker lows and low-mids.

• COT – Hard clipping after the second gain stage, similar to the King of Tone. Produces a crunchy, amp-like character reminiscent of Marshall-style saturation.
  TIP: In CLEAR mode, it behaves like a COT-style treble booster. In GREEN, you’ll get more mids and gain; in RED, it leans toward Plexi territory.

BAXANDALL ACTIVE EQ

Placed after the gain stages, allowing you to boost or cut frequencies without muddying up the overdrive stages. The Bass and Treble controls are active, inspired by the RC Booster and BB Preamp tone circuits. Their effectiveness will vary depending on the HEAT switch position.

Specifications

• Power: 9–18V DC (center negative) – Boss standard

• Current draw: approx. 30mA

• Pedal dimensions: 6.7 x 6.1 x 12.7 cm (W x H x D)

• Box dimensions: 18.5 x 12.5 x 8.5 cm (W x H x D)

• Weight: approx. 490g

• Warranty: 90 days