Catalinbread Formula No. 5 vs. 5f6 Tweed type tones from a pedal?

**sunvalleylaw** · February 7th, 2016, 02:15 PM

I like the tweed tones of old Fenders. I like that Marshall sound too, but somehow the Fender Tweed sound seems a bit more ragged or something. Looking at a Catalinbread Formula No. 5 (made to model a 5E3 circuit) or the 5F6, made to model the older earlier 50's tweeds.

Here is a pretty fun video comparing them, along with a couple others. I tend to like the Formula No. 5 in this video, though I also like that SFT.

Recall that I also have @duhvoodooman 's Rabid Rodent. But I think it tends to get more of a late '70s/80's rock tone rather than a tweed tone.

Thoughts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoBNANbhEfo

And this one focusing more on the Formula No. 5 and using the guitar volume knob to control it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGhoZHGm7KQ

**tjcurtin1** · February 7th, 2016, 04:37 PM

Wow - they all sound really good! In the first demo, for the first lick I liked the karma suture most by a bit, but also the sft and the #5, and the sft and the 5f6 for the second. In the second, a nice demo of getting both clean and crunch by presetting the volume - I would have liked to hear a bit of playing with in-between guitar volume settings.

Robert**** · February 7th, 2016, 04:57 PM

I think no pedal can sound like a real tweed amp. At least I've never tried such a pedal.

**sunvalleylaw** · February 7th, 2016, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by Robert

I think no pedal can sound like a real tweed amp. At least I've never tried such a pedal.

Yes, of course. But these look pretty interesting. If I keep my Concert, I would like to get some breakup earlier on the volume knob, rather than the current breakup point at about 7 on the dial. if it has some tweed flavor, all the better. Was thinking one of these might help load up the amp with some break up and tweed warmth at lower volumes. Not thinking it would turn my amp into a tweed though.

Robert**** · February 7th, 2016, 11:29 PM

Yeah bring your Concert amp to a well equipped store and try a bunch of pedals maybe?

**sunvalleylaw** · February 8th, 2016, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by Robert

Yeah bring your Concert amp to a well equipped store and try a bunch of pedals maybe?

Some have also suggested an attenuator.

piebaldpython*** · February 8th, 2016, 12:53 PM

I don't think an attenuator will do the trick. Given the current state of pedals today, you are probably better off keeping the Concert a bit lower and then getting your drive/sound off the pedal and regulating the rest of the guitar's volume control?

**sunvalleylaw** · February 9th, 2016, 02:34 PM

Well, I made an offer last night on a used Catalinbread (the formula No. 5) on Reverb for a bit lower than the recent sales, and it went through. So, we will try it out! So far, I have heard mixed reviews of attenuators, and I just don't want to mess with that now.

anyone want to buy my Marshall Guv'nor? I never bonded with that pedal.

**sunvalleylaw** · February 11th, 2016, 10:02 PM

Welp. Oops! In a moment of weakness and consumerism the other night, I put an offer in on a Catalinbread No. 5 for $20 less than asking (and quite a bit less than new) and the guy took it. It got here tonight. It is unscratched and shows very little signs of wear, other than some velcro on the bottom. It sounds really F-ing awesome at the first try. It seems to work with the Concert way better than the Marshall Guv'nor, and is more of a classic sound than my Rat clone (which is going nowhere. I really like that pedal, but this one seems to do what I want better. I can run the amp at 3 or so and make it work similarly to that clean and dirty vid I linked above (except I can't do the cool comping that guy does. Will have to work on that). It works as advertised. And I really like the sound with the pedal set up about how Howard in the vid did, and the amp and guitar set up more or less the same way. I have only the strat at home tonight for single coils. will bring the tele with the P90 in the neck home tomorrow. I bet that is a good sound too.

I will get around to an attenuator. Kinda hoping to find one to try before buying. But for now, I like this impulse buy pedal.

piebaldpython*** · February 12th, 2016, 07:29 AM

Congrats on your pedal buy. I might look into Catalinbread Dirty Little Secrets pedal.

**sunvalleylaw** · February 12th, 2016, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by piebaldpython

Congrats on your pedal buy. I might look into Catalinbread Dirty Little Secrets pedal.

Based on the vids I watched, that one looks good too. It is one of their "foundation" pedals that are designed to be on and creating a base tone that can be controlled with the volume knob, and stacked with other pedals.

**sunvalleylaw** · February 13th, 2016, 09:29 PM

So I am really grooving on this pedal. Very versatile and works as advertised with the volume knob in terms of cleaning up and getting dirty. Lots of versatility and lots of fun. It really seems to draw me in. Haven't felt this drawn into guitar in a while. That is a GOOD thing and well worth what I paid.

piebaldpython*** · February 14th, 2016, 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by sunvalleylaw

Based on the vids I watched, that one looks good too. It is one of their "foundation" pedals that are designed to be on and creating a base tone that can be controlled with the volume knob, and stacked with other pedals.

SVL.......do you feel the Formula No 5 is a "foundation" pedal too.......and that you would add boost/drive/distortion on top of it?

**tjcurtin1** · February 14th, 2016, 06:15 PM

Yeah, it's well worth it when a purchase like that is more than just 'something else that I bought' and turns out to be inspiration for more/better playing.

**sunvalleylaw** · February 14th, 2016, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by piebaldpython

SVL.......do you feel the Formula No 5 is a "foundation" pedal too.......and that you would add boost/drive/distortion on top of it?

Yes, it is one of their foundation pedals. Based more on the 1x12 Tweed Deluxe. So a little more direct than the other one. Which seems to work well to bring what I want out of my 4x10 in combination. I have not stacked more drive on top of it yet, but have played with some chorus on top. The other one (5f6) is based on the bassman. The bassman is a sound I really like. And the pedal also seems very versatile. Maybe more so with additional controls. But this one that I happened to get by throwing an offer out on Reverb.com which was accepted, seems to work well with my amph to get what I want. It is a little hotter and more direct I think.

piebaldpython*** · February 15th, 2016, 10:45 PM

Well SVL, I went and got myself a Formula #5 pedal on Reverb.com today too. Got in $10 less than what the guy wanted.

**sunvalleylaw** · February 15th, 2016, 11:06 PM

I hope you like it! Seems to work well with my rig!

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