Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal

Dirty Little Secret.I was having tone issues since I bought my new amp... An Orange TH30. Every drive pedal I tried just sounded wooly, or thin, or muddy... just not right... strange, as the clean sound on these amps is awesome (dirty channel too fizzy for me). I realized that I never had this problem with my old Marshall, so started looking for a Plexi-in-a-box pedal to be my core dirt sound, kind of like a pre-amp. 100 Youtube videos later, and I settled on the DLS over the Wampler Plexi-tone 2 (which also looks great). The DLS has been a revelation. I use it on a low gain setting in Super Bass mode, and run a Tube Screamer and a Germanium Fuzz Face into it. On it's own, it really does sound Plexi like, and it takes other pedals really well. Tone issues solved! Thanks Catalinbread!

I've got mixed emotions with this pedal. Sometimes I love it, other times it's just too abrasive. If using a solid state amp you will get a great tone, however the sound is a bit harsh when putting through a valve amp. If you're after that Sabbath tone this pedal does deliver, but only if you can control it. One noisy pedal that's not shy on feeding back

A thoroughly average pedal for the money - buy a cheap overdrive instead! And what IDIOT designed the battery compartment such that you have to remove four screws to get at the battery? Garbage.

Doesn't give you the 'sabbath' tone as intended, its ok pedal well built, light, but its more of a treble booster. My 30 pound Joyo Extreme gets me closer to a Sabbath tone than this...

Es que, es verdad.

Amazing pedal. Still playing with various setting but takes my fender amp and gives me real Marshall toneHave yet to try the SB but the super lead with humbuckers is a blast. Have found the Zep soundThe various knobs are very responsive and really offers a number of distinct soundsBecause of Covid purchase was made without an in store test but has exceeded my expectations

Sorprendente

Very impressed with the sound. Does exactly what it promises.

I got this pedal for a unique application - as a front end preamp for my iOS/Bias Amp practice rig. Bias is great software, but I find the low to mid gain Marshall tones to be a little clangy, harsh, and scooped - in a word, it sounds "digital". I noticed that when I deactivated the preamp and tone stack modules (leaving only the sound of the power tube, transformer, and speaker/mic modules), the harsh digital tone went away. In fact, the power tube distortion in Bias is very warm and analog sounding.So I went looking for an analog front end pedal that would replicate the preamp and tone stack of a Marshall - and here was the DLSIII, seemingly custom tailored for my needs! You can certainly use it as a conventional dirt pedal in front of a clean amp, and that's what it was designed for. But I'd strongly advise that you read the (well written) manual, as it explains in great detail how the EQ controls work (highly interactive exactly like a Marshall tone stack; they are not generic active B/M/T controls like on most dirt pedals).I looked at quite a few other MIAB pedals, with the Carl Martin Plexiton Lo Gain, Xotic SL, and Ramble Marvel Drive being other top contenders. But the DLS' true Marshall tone stack is what made it my first choice - for my practice rig, I can tweak tones easily with real analog knobs as if it were an amp, and not have to fiddle much with virtual controls inside Bias. The DLS absolutely bests Bias' internal preamp sim for warmth and dynamics. I set mine for Super Bass and run it at 18v, and the amp-like warmth and response is fantastic. In this mode, it's very Cream and Kossoff-ish, but still open and dynamic (none of that dark, blanket-y, congested midrange typical of a dirt pedal). It won't really do the JTM45 glassy thing, nor does Catalinbread claim it will. It's a Super Lead/Super Bass clone, different animal than a JTM45. So if you're a Hendrix fan, think live recordings, not quite as clean and glassy as the studio records.If I had to pick a gripe, I'd say Super Lead mode is very trebly and lacks warmth. Hard to dial that out with the tone knobs. But then again, the same could be said of many Super Leads!Overall, the Ramble Marvel drive may have just a *tad* more realism with its dual input/Normal & Treble, but it lacks the B/M/T tonestack, so the DLS was the clear winner for me. Boatloads of fun playing with this pedal! Absolutely addictive.