The new Catalinbread STS-88 Flanger and Reverb combine two classic effects into one monochromatic pedal. It might be black and white, but it offers plenty of colourful tones.
Catalinbread STS-88
Catalinbread’s new STS-88 was inspired by effects like the Boss HF-2 and the EHX Electric Mistress. Along with more exotic models, like the Effectron ADM256 and the MXR Flanger/Doubler.
Controls
The pedal combines a flanger effect with three dedicated controls and a cavernous reverb with its own control knob.
Depth controls the LFO amplitude and how intense the flanger is, Rate controls the LFO speed from 0.077Hz to about 6Hz and finally, the Mix knob sets the overall dry/wet balance.
The single dedicated Reverb knob then allows users to dial in as much of that cavernous reverb as they like.
Noise Gate
Catalinbread has then added what they describe as a gentle noise gate to stifle inherent guitar hiss and LFO clock noise. Removing any that potential noise. There aren’t any controls for this part of the circuit, it is just there to keep everything running smoothly.
Inside the pedal, there is an Adjustable Gain Trimmer: Which adds more overall gain to the signal.
Plus, a Buffer Switch selects true or buffered bypass. Buffered bypass drives long cable lengths. Turn the buffer on if running to or from your FX loop, if all of the pedals are true bypass, or if the STS-88 is the only pedal. The STS-88 ships with the buffer switched
Overall, it could be a fun effect to use and combing two well-known effects gives musicians a lot of options to play with and experiment with.
MSRP – EUR 249 *
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