the Eyemaster is basically ALMOST a clone of the good (or awful, depending of whom you ask) old Boss HM-2.
universally despised as a "proper" distortion pedal, yet a cult object among the fans of classic swedish death metal, the HM-2 with all controls to max is the (well known) "secret" for the patented "buzzsaw" guitar tone of early Entombed, Dismember and various bands of the glorious years between the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s...
since noone uses the HM-2 nowadays, except to get THAT tone, and the original HM-2 is becoming growingly difficult to get hold of, TC electronic solved the problem in the most brutally efficient way: no EQ controls (you've got to dime them anyway, so...), just a couple of big, round knobs for gain and volume. and a weird silent switch that engages the effect when released, rather than when pushed.
my votes, explained:
features 3/5. it does ONE thing, actually. i couldn't give it more, in all honesty.
handling: 3/5. it's flatter than a Boss pedal, but a bit larger. i'm not really sure about the internal circuitry, but i bet it could have been built as large as a TC mini pedal
sound: 4/5. it sounds more or less like an HM-2, and it's easier and friendlier to use than the original to shape an already distorted amp (that's not the way it's OFFICIALLY supposed to work, but i suspect it's how many guitarists got their "Stockholm" tone in later, more refined productions), BUT the HM-2 is badder. period.
if you can't find a proper HM-2 (or if you want a pedal that's easier to control to get a hybrid distortion) the Eyemaster is fun, cheap and effective. and has true bypass.
if you want THAT buzzsaw tone and not something that just comes close, the HM-2 is the only real way to get it.
