There’s nothing like kicking on “ol’ reliable” and watching the faces in the crowd light up as you nail your finest riff. The Sidearm is that device. Featuring a fresh take on the classic ‘79 “green overdrive,” the Sidearm lets you tailor your drive sound to accompany the rest of your rig, rather than the other way around. The typical “green” overdrive features a combination of filters at different stages to give its characteristic sound. These have all been carefully adjusted to get a little more out of the circuit, accentuating the new Mids control and the overhauled Tone knob. The Sidearm’s “hump frequency” sits at 1KHz, but the mids control sits at the typical “green” frequency of 720Hz, letting you boost or cut this band at will for a more customizable tone. The Tone control boosts lows and cuts highs when turned down, and has the opposite effect when cranked. This control sits centered at 1KHz, the same as the hump, letting you fine-tune the entire frequency response and giving you back some lost treble, or thickening up the tone if you’re plugged into your amp’s bright channel.

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Demo by Demos in the Dark

Review by GEAR GODS

Review by delicious audio

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SideArm Overdrive ('70s Collection)

All the way back in the ‘40s, Fender introduced the Champ amplifier, then known as the Champion 800. After a lengthy series of part swaps and circuit revisions, Fender arrived at the 5F1, otherwise known as the “Tweed Champ,” named so because of its unmistakable wrapping. It featured just one knob—volume—that went to 12 (in your face, Nigel), and if you’ve ever played one, that’s about all it needs. Just that one knob can coax a myriad of tones from the humble circuit, from gently gritty cleans to honking, mid-heavy blown out distortion.

 Unlike most amp-in-a-box devices, the Formula 51 features a preamp, a discrete power amp simulator and an output transformer to deliver the full touch-sensitive Tweed experience, with a grip of extremely interactive controls. The Sag control loads down the transformer to your taste, giving you some real-deal blown-out leads with the twist of a knob. The Tone control is straight out of the vintage amplifier playbook, incorporating the mid scoop control of the Framus Cobra amp. This time-tested mod essentially turns the mid-leaning Tweed profile into the mid-scooped “blackface” sound of later Champs. Run it at 18V for more headroom or stack it with other pedals to really dig into that transformer!

Review by Guitar.com

Demo by Sweetwater

Demo by JayLeonardJ

Review by The Gear Page

Review by bonedo

Manual

Formula 51

Das Catalinbread Reverb-Pedal hat das gleichnamige Programm des Yamaha FX500 Multieffektgeräts aus den 90er-Jahren zum Vorbild. Maßgeblichen Anteil hatte dieser Ambient-Reverb am Sound der britischen Band Slowdive auf ihrem Album Souvlaki, das heute unter Fans des sogenannten Shoegaze-Stils als absoluter Klassiker gilt. Und das, obwohl die Signalqualität des FX500 laut diverser Aussagen im Netz mit heutigen Maßstäben nicht mithalten kann.

With its roots in that patch, the Catalinbread Soft Focus is intended to be an instant shoegaze button, while addressing the most glaring issues of the original unit: no mix control, a sub-par preamp, and a ghastly tone-sucking bypass signal. At its heart, the Soft Focus is a heavily modified plate reverb with adjustable time, which is subsequently split into three paths. One path contains a multi-voiced chorus modulator, another features a well-appointed octave-up mixed in with the reverb, and the third path leaves the reverb untouched.

Note - The Soft Focus runs from 9 to 18 volts using a standard DC center-negative power supply for pedals. Make sure you’re using a supply that provides at least 100mA. Running the Soft Focus at 9V will sound great, but if you want a bit more output, a dry signal boost and increased headroom, try any voltage you like up to 18V! The Soft Focus does not run on batteries.

Review by Premier Guitar

Review by Bonedo 

Demo by Mark Johnston

Demo by Demos In The Dark 

Demo by SweetWater

Soft Focus Reverb

Like the classic Dirty Little Secret, the Red Edition has two distinct tonal profiles that you can experiment with. Inside the housing of the pedal, you’ll find its first secret — the SL (Super Lead) /SB (Super Bass) mode switch. The pedal ships from Catalinbread in Super Lead mode, and we recommend that you experiment with it before you put it onto your pedalboard. Once you’ve got a handle on the blistering high-gain tones of SL mode, unplug the pedal and open up the back to slide over to SB mode. Super Bass mode reconfigures the EQ and provides in-between gain levels. The SL/SB switch is like having two gain pedals in one!

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