Catalinbread Crooner Preamp Pedal: Vintage RCA BA-31 Console Tone for Your Pedalboard
Add vintage RCA BA-31 console tone to your pedalboard with the Catalinbread Crooner. Experience studio-grade clean boosts, rich overdrive, and dynamic fuzz.
Catalinbread has officially unveiled the Crooner, a discrete console preamp pedal designed to inject vintage, studio-grade tone shaping directly into your guitar or bass rig. Drawing heavy inspiration from the legendary RCA BA-31 microphone preamp, the Crooner promises everything from pristine clean boosts to thick, transformer-driven fuzz.
Priced at $179.99 / £179.99, this compact unit is engineered to be a foundational "always-on" tone sweetener or a highly stackable drive stage.
Studio Console Character Underfoot
The core appeal of the Catalinbread Crooner lies in its analogue gain architecture. By capturing the feel of a high-end vintage console, the pedal imparts depth, presence, and harmonic richness to help instruments sit confidently in a live mix or studio recording.
It follows on from last year's Airstrip preamp pedal based on the British Trident A-Range console.
UREI-inspired
The circuit features a UREI-inspired discrete op-amp front end that feeds into germanium circuitry and a transformer-equipped output stage. This combination yields a highly organic, amp-like response that reacts dynamically to your playing volume and pick attack.
From Clean Boost to Fuzz: Interactive Tone Shaping
Rather than a standard gain knob, the Crooner relies on highly interactive controls to dictate its overdrive character:
- Push and Trim: These two controls work in tandem to set the overall gain and saturation. Lower settings yield a gentle, mix-ready polish, while cranking them unlocks rich overdrive, distortion, and even fuzz-like textures.
- Filter: As you increase the gain, the Filter control allows you to gently smooth out high frequencies. This tames any unwanted fizz or harshness without sacrificing the core clarity of your tone.
High Headroom and Pedal Stacking
While it operates perfectly on a standard 9V DC supply, the Crooner is optimized for 18V operation. Running the pedal at 18V significantly increases its headroom and dynamic range, preserving the nuances of your picking even under heavy saturation.
This high-headroom design makes the Crooner an exceptional stacking tool, capable of pushing your favorite drive pedals into three-dimensional territory or cleaning up a muddy fuzz placed downstream.
The Verdict
Score: 9/10
The Catalinbread Crooner is a masterclass in discrete analogue tone shaping. By bringing the elusive, three-dimensional character of a vintage RCA BA-31 console to a pedalboard-friendly format, it solves the modern guitarist's problem of digital sterility or flat-sounding rigs.
Potentially, perfect if you need a simple level lift, a tone-thickening always-on pedal, or a dynamic foundation for your drive section, the Crooner delivers.
The lack of battery operation is standard for modern pedals, but the 18V compatibility more than makes up for it in sonic benefits.
Where To Buy
Available at Andertons Available at Guitar Center Available at Sweetwater Available at Thomann
#Catalinbread #Crooner
- +Vintage RCA BA-31 console character in compact pedal format
- +Interactive Push and Trim controls for precise tone shaping
- +18V operation significantly increases headroom and dynamic range
- +Excellent for stacking with other drive pedals
- +Works with both guitar and bass
- −No battery power option
What is the Catalinbread Crooner based on?
The circuit is heavily inspired by the vintage RCA BA-31 studio microphone preamp, combining a UREI-style discrete op-amp front end with germanium circuitry and a transformer output stage.
Can I use the Crooner for bass guitar?
Yes. The pedal is designed to add depth, character, and mix-ready polish to both electric guitars and basses.
Does the Catalinbread Crooner take a battery?
No, the Crooner does not support battery power. It requires a standard 9V to 18V DC center-negative power supply.
Why should I run the Crooner at 18V instead of 9V?
While it functions perfectly at 9V, running the pedal at 18V increases its internal headroom and dynamic range. This results in a punchier, clearer tone that preserves your picking dynamics even when the pedal's gain is pushed to its limits.
How do the Push and Trim controls work?
They are highly interactive. The "Push" control dictates how hard the front end is driven, while the "Trim" dictates the saturation level. Balancing the two allows you to find exact sweet spots ranging from clean volume boosts to heavy, vintage-flavored grind.
