catalinbread sft pedal SFT – 30th Street Guitars

catalinbread sft pedal SFT – 30th Street GuitarsThe Catalinbread SFT is an AMPEG inspired foundation overdrive that bridges the 'Get Yer Ya Ya's Out' (Stones) and Desert Sound (Stoner) eras. Weve always been smitten by AMPEG. Early on, the company was a jazz purist, completely overlooking (and possibly looking down on) more popular genres like Country & Western and Rock, which FENDER and MARSHALL openly embraced. From a design standpoint, they took more cues from the hi fi world than from

The Catalinbread SFT is an AMPEG®-inspired foundation overdrive that bridges the 'Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out' (Stones) and Desert Sound (Stoner) eras.

We’ve always been smitten by AMPEG®. Early on, the company was a jazz purist, completely overlooking (and possibly looking down on) more popular genres like Country & Western and Rock, which FENDER® and MARSHALL® openly embraced. From a design standpoint, they took more cues from the hi-fi world than from guitarists, as evidenced by their tube complements, gain stages without cathode capacitors, and the implementation of Baxandall tone controls. They weren’t slouches when it came to innovation either—'Flip-top' combos are a great example. Not to mention, there is at least one model of amplifier that had a torsion bar to adjust the tightness of the speaker baffle!

TREBLE: Controls the amount of high frequencies in the signal. Set below noon for a darker tone, and above noon for a brighter tone. At higher settings, it boosts upper mids as well.

VOLUME: Controls the overall output volume of the pedal. Even at low Gain settings, provides plenty of output to boost clean sounds loudly. May not need much adjustment with higher gain settings, especially in Stoner mode

STONES/STONER TOGGLE: Stones Mode emulates the authentic response of a big Ampeg tube amp and delivers classic, refined tones with a slight emphasis on lower mids, akin to the iconic Ampeg sound. Ideal for achieving clean to slightly overdriven tones. Stoner Mode transforms the pedal into ahigh-gain distortion powerhouse. Designed for players seeking ripping distortion tones and the ability to produce huge fuzz sounds. 

BASS: Adjusts the amount of low frequencies in the signal. Turned down from noon for a tighter response, and up from noon for a bass-heavy sound. At maximum, it provides a huge boost in low-end frequencies, suitable for fuzz settings in Stoner mode.

GAIN: Determines the amount of overdrive or distortion in the signal. At lower settings, produces a clean and bright response. From 10:00 to noon, yields an edge-of-breakup tone sensitive to pick attack. Between noon and 2:00, hits the overdrive sweet spot akin to most tube amps. Beyond 2:00, increases crunch and saturation, adding more distortion to the signal.

You can power your SFT with any quality power supply designed for use with effects pedals. The output should be a negative tip DC from 9 to 18 volts. If you want more volume, headroom, and percussive attack, try running an 18 volt power supply. A 9 volt power supply will have a slightly softer sound that saturates more easily.