Catalinbread Formula 55

£169.99

On the menu for January 2026 are the Catalinbread Guitar Pedals, freshly added and carefully selected. These New units are available to order online with fast, secure delivery from trusted UK retailers. Read on for full details, specifications, demos, videos, reviews, and the best places to buy the Catalinbread Guitar Pedals today.


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Description

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On the menu for January 2026 are the Catalinbread Guitar Pedals, freshly added and carefully selected. These New units are available to order online with fast, secure delivery from trusted UK retailers. Read on for full details, specifications, demos, videos, reviews, and the best places to buy the Catalinbread Guitar Pedals today.

Big and powerful, yet refined — the Catalinbread Formula 55 melts into your amp, transforming it into a wide-ranging “tweed” monster! It reproduces, in exact detail, the preamp section of the classic Fender 5E3 Deluxe using an all-discrete JFET-based signal path.

The Volume and Tone controls replicate, part for part, the circuitry of the 5E3 — giving you authentic “tweed” amp response. The output section is designed to give you punch and volume with a low output impedance to drive your amp perfectly. Set the Hi-Lo button to “Lo” for the cleaner response of a vintage tweed. “Hi” is like hot rodding your amp by swapping in higher gain tubes.

Controls

Master: This volume control has a heaping helping of output on tap, allowing you to dial in a huge, fat, woody clean tone or push your amplifier into overdrive all on its own.

Presence: Governs frequencies in the 5khz range, allowing you to tune the top-end response to your particular pickups and amplifier.

Tone: Sounds and behaves just like it does on the actual Deluxe amplifiers. You will notice that as you wind up the Volume control that the Tone control’s influence becomes more subtle when the volume is maxed out. At lower volume settings, you can set it at noon for the flattest response; to the left of noon for those smoky jazz cleans; or crank it up for more barking, greasy upper mid-range tones that slice through the mix.

Volume: This is essentially your gain control. It works in tandem with the Hi/Lo switch; enabling you to set your maximum desired level of dirt from squeaky clean to stanky! Want to clean it up? Simply roll back your guitar’s volume knob.

Hi (Red) Mode: The raging, hot-rodded 12AX7 mode with more gain and saturation. You’ll notice that your pick essentially turns into a “throttle” of sorts. Lay off the attack and it cleans up, but there’s always that potential there for “acceleration” when you lay into it!

Lo (Green) Mode: Produces lower gain overall, as if your amp were now sporting 12AY7 preamp tubes. Cleaner and more immediate in the pick attack with more “bounce” when you’re chord comping, but still has that fat and juicy harmonic response.

Specifications

  • Voltage: 9-18V DC
  • Dimensions: 4.33″ x 2.36″ x 1.93″
  • Weight: 0.4 lbs

Additional information

Weight 0.5 kg

Brand

Catalinbread

Catalinbread is a renowned boutique pedal company based in Portland, Oregon, USA. Founded in 2003 by Nicholas Harris and Howard Gee, Catalinbread has established itself as a leading manufacturer of high-quality and innovative guitar effects pedals.

Catalinbread pedals are crafted with a deep respect for vintage tone and a flair for innovation. Hand-built in Portland, Oregon, they capture the spirit of classic amps, echoes, and fuzz circuits while adding modern versatility and character. Each pedal feels like a piece of sonic art, from their shimmering reverbs to their amp-inspired drives and dynamic boosts. Catalinbread’s approach is all about musical feel and responsiveness, giving players inspiring tools that make every note come alive.

Category

Guitar Pedals

Tags

New

This is brand new, fresh in, and a UK warranty is included. New Gear always comes from trusted UK music retailers.

Overdrive

Like a golden layer of melted cheese — warm, gooey, and just put it all over. It adds just the right amount of richness and grit, turning a clean signal into something smooth and savoury. Designed to mimic the natural breakup of a tube amp pushed to its sweet spot, overdrive delivers the flavour of classic rock and blues in every bite. From creamy mid-gain warmth to crisp edge-of-breakup sparkle, it’s the comfort food of guitar tone — simple, satisfying, and endlessly versatile. Whether it’s a mild crunch or a full-bodied roar, overdrive is where good taste begins.

Preamp

A preamp pedal shapes and boosts your guitar’s signal before it reaches your amp or recording interface, giving you control over tone, gain, and headroom. It acts as the first stage of amplification, adding warmth, clarity, and character while preparing your signal for the next part of the chain. Some preamps emulate the response of classic valve circuits, while others offer clean, transparent tone shaping ideal for acoustic instruments or direct recording setups.

Used on its own, a preamp pedal can serve as the foundation of your tone, providing a consistent core sound wherever you play. When combined with other effects, it enhances dynamics and helps each pedal sound more defined and natural. Whether you’re looking to push your amp harder, bring life to a dull signal, or refine your sound for the studio, a good preamp pedal adds presence, punch, and musicality to any rig.

Volume

Volume pedals control the output level of a guitar signal using a foot-operated treadle. They allow smooth volume swells, dynamic control during playing, and easy muting between songs. Volume pedals can be placed at different points in the signal chain to either control overall loudness or adjust gain and drive behaviour when positioned before distortion or overdrive pedals.