Catalinbread has been teasing a new pedal for the past month on their Facebook page. Today we finally get to take a look at what they have to offer with the Tony Iommi inspired Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra!
Catalibread Sabbra Cadabra: The Newest From The Limited Gallery
Catalibread has been making some really interesting pedals for a while now. Along the way they have picked up some of the biggest artists, like ChVrches, Trivium, and even The Smashing Pumpkins. The company has made some great modulation effects, but they are more known for Fuzz, Overdrive, and Distortion. Their slogan for these pedals sums it up:
“Clean boosting, dirty grit, octave freak-outs, classic garage sounds & screaming space dolphins – we’ve got your dirt needs covered.”
Screaming dolphins? Count me in!
I don’t think it is any secret that we love Black sabbath here at Electrikjam. Sabbath is often called the pioneers of Metal and Doom. There is absolutely no argument in that from me, as I believe Tony Iommi is a living legend amongst every guitarist that plays heavy music. The most impressive thing about Tony is his sound.
We know how easy it is to get an evil, distorted tone these days. There are multitudes of pedals and amplifiers that will give you just about any sound you could want. But in 1970, it was a little more difficult.
Tony got his sound for the famous first three Black sabbath albums using unconventional methods for the time. Because there were no Peavey 5150 amps back then, he had to improvise and think on his feet. There are many components that make up the unique sound of Sabbath, but the guitar tone is just as center stage as Ozzy’s voice in my opinion.
Tony got his now classic tone using cranked up Laney amps that had a few mods. The Laney amps had a treble booster circuit built in. This kept his tone clean even though it was heavily distorted. Later, he would run an overdrive along with the cranked amps to achieve his tone. The rest is history, as they say.
People still chase that tone today. The Black Sabbath sound is iconic. The Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra aims to assist you in that quest.
Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra Limited Edition: Specs and Features
Catalinbread likes to make limited editions of most of the pedal lineup they offer. The Calatinbread Sabbra Cadabra has existed before this release. The limited edition artwork makes this special, and a worthy buy for 2020.
The Sabbra Cadabra goes to great lengths to emulate that gorgeous Black Sabbath distortion. The pedal was designed to have the same effect on your amp as Tony’s original amp mods. That is, you can get this tone without turning your amp up to 11.
The Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra’s specs allow you to achieve this tone without cranking your amp to such a high volume that it kills birds. It is a modern way to get the sounds of Sabbath.
The pedal’s meant to be used in the front of your amp on the distortion channel. It acts a lot like the original Laney Amp treble booster mods that Tony had done in 1970. The controls of the pedal have a “Presence” and “Range” specification that allows you to not only boost the treble, but contort your distortion signal to have clarity and boost. From Catalinbread:
“Tony Iommi arguably had the most influential tone in the history of electric guitar. Really, when you think Black Sabbath you immediately think “Electric Guitar”. His early signature sound was the result of an always on treble-booster plugged into cranked Laney Supergroup amps.
This approach to guitar is extremely rewarding and fun, but lost in this day and age because honestly who can really get away with the stage volume anymore? Far and few between! We designed the Sabbra Cadabra to give players that sonic experience, re-contextualized for today’s approach where players tend to use amps solely within their clean range at more mortal volume levels.”
Amen to that!
Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra: Wrapping Up…
If you have ever chased the Sabbath tone, then this is your chance to get a limited edition pedal, with killer artwork, for the same price as the normal version of the gain machine.
Even better, for the remainder of 2020, Catalinbread will donate 10% of their proceeds from pre-orders of the pedal to the local Oregon Food Bank.
You can get the pedal, with a shirt and poster for less than $200 bucks right now, which is a steal. And it goes to a good cause, during these incredibly rough times. You can get your preorder set at Catalinbread Official!
Is the New Catalinbread sabbra Cadabra Limited Edition?
Yes. While it carries the same wiring as the original, it has limited artwork. These editions will only be made in small quantities.
How Much is the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra?
The newest version is under $200 and comes with a t-shirt and poster set.
When does the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra Ship?
The End of November 2020.
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