dannybuoy Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) Thought I'd post this here as it will be useful information for anyone who's a fan of this pedal, or has tried one and didn't like it, or is thinking of getting one! I've just received delivery of a Catalinbread SFT, the latest model, from the classifieds. I already have the original and it's my favourite light overdrive, but heard the last two releases had small 'improvements' without any information as to what they were, so I thought I'd grab it to check out the differences. I wasn't expecting much, but it was like two comparing two different pedals! The reason I liked the original so much was that it had a big bump in the low mids, and when you dug in hard it seemed like it was this frequency range distorting, giving a big throaty roar. Kind of like a muscle car or fat Harley! Along with that the highs are rather muted like there's a blanket over your cab; you can boost the highs but the sheen is still missing. This didn't bother me, as it was accentuating just the right frequencies to make it really stand out in a mix when played fingerstyle. Onto the new one. It's like the blanket has been lifted; there's much more sparkle up top. Also dialling in more bass results in less mud than the old one. I used to set the old one with both eq knobs at noon, but with the new one I find myself reducing the treble and bumping up the bass. It doesn't have as much as a low-mid roar; it's still there but more subdued, this time there's a lot more grind going on in the upper mids, which sounds great playing with a pick or aggressive fingerstyle. It sounds a little more scooped too. I think I prefer the original; not that the new one is bad, just different. I may hang onto both for now! So, if you tried the original and thought it was too dark, check out the new version. And vice versa. [b][size=6]Old:[/size][/b] [b][size=6]New:[/size][/b] Edited April 23, 2013 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EskimoBassist Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Cheers for the post, definitely a pedal that's been on my radar for a while. Any chance of some comparative sound clips dialed with the same settings to show the difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 (edited) - Edited February 18, 2022 by Jus Lukin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 I will try to do a couple of clips in the next week or so if I can find the time. I can get reasonably close to the sound of the original with the new one, and the extra treble on tap makes it a lot more versatile... need to spend some more time playing with them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm261 Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Plus, the old one is much better looking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tayste_2000 Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 SFT the only pedal I use more than my tuner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.