Crazy Tube Circuits is a boutique pedal manufacturer based in Athens, Greece, known for its handcrafted effects pedals designed to deliver classic and modern tones with a unique twist. Founded by Christos Ntaifotis in 2009, Crazy Tube Circuits has gained recognition for its commitment to quality, innovation, and attention to detail.
One of Crazy Tube Circuits’ standout pedals is the Time Delay, a tape echo-inspired delay pedal that offers warm, vintage-style delay tones with modern features and flexibility. The Time Delay pedal includes controls for delay time, feedback, and modulation, allowing musicians to dial in a wide range of delay effects, from subtle ambiance to lush, modulated repeats.
In addition to the Time Delay, Crazy Tube Circuits offers a variety of other effects pedals, including overdrive, distortion, fuzz, modulation, and reverb pedals. Each pedal is handcrafted using high-quality components and features unique circuit designs, ensuring exceptional sound quality and reliability.
Crazy Tube Circuits pedals are highly regarded by musicians and enthusiasts for their versatility, tone quality, and distinctive aesthetic. With their dedication to craftsmanship and innovation, Crazy Tube Circuits continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in the world of guitar effects pedals, inspiring musicians to explore new sonic territories.
Just Pedal Ingredients.
Chorus — A “chorus” pedal is a type of modulation effect used in guitar and bass playing to create a rich, swirling sound that simulates the effect of multiple instruments playing the same part simultaneously. Chorus pedals are popular for adding depth, warmth, and movement to the guitar tone, and they are widely used across various music genres, from rock and pop to jazz and ambient.
Chorus pedals work by splitting the guitar signal into two identical paths. One path remains unaffected, while the other path is slightly delayed and modulated in pitch. The modulated signal is then mixed back with the original signal, creating the characteristic “shimmering” effect associated with chorus.
Key features of chorus pedals include:
1. **Rate**: This controls the speed at which the modulated signal’s pitch fluctuates, determining how quickly the chorus effect cycles.
2. **Depth**: Also known as intensity or mix, this adjusts the amount of modulation applied to the delayed signal. Higher depth settings produce a more pronounced and noticeable chorus effect.
3. **Delay Time**: Some chorus pedals allow you to adjust the delay time, which affects the perceived width and depth of the chorus effect. Longer delay times create a more spacious and immersive sound.
4. **Tone or EQ**: Many chorus pedals include tone or EQ controls to shape the frequency response of the chorus effect. These controls allow you to tailor the tone of the chorus to suit your preferences or match the characteristics of your guitar and amplifier.
Chorus pedals can be used in various ways to enhance your playing:
– **Thickening**: Adding a subtle chorus effect to your guitar tone can thicken it, making it sound fuller and more expansive. This is particularly useful for filling out the sound in a band mix or creating a lush, layered texture in ambient music.
– **Clean Tones**: Chorus pedals are often used with clean or lightly overdriven guitar tones to add sparkle and dimension. They can impart a sense of movement and depth to simple chord progressions or arpeggios, making them sound more dynamic and expressive.
– **Lead Tones**: When applied to lead guitar lines or solos, chorus pedals can add a touch of modulation that helps the notes stand out and sound more vibrant. This can be especially effective for achieving a “shimmering” quality in melodic passages.
Overall, chorus pedals are versatile tools that can add depth, warmth, and character to your guitar tone. Whether you’re aiming for subtle enhancement or bold modulation effects, a chorus pedal can be a valuable addition to your pedalboard.. Delay — A delay pedal is a type of guitar effects pedal used to create echoes or repetitions of the original guitar signal. It achieves this by capturing the input signal, delaying it by a specified amount of time, and then playing it back. Delay pedals are versatile tools that can add depth, dimension, and ambience to guitar tones, and they are widely used across various music genres, from rock and blues to ambient and experimental.
Here are the key features and functions of a delay pedal:
1. **Delay Time**: This control adjusts the amount of time between the original signal and the delayed signal. Longer delay times result in more pronounced echoes, while shorter delay times produce tighter, slapback-style effects.
2. **Feedback (or Regeneration)**: The feedback control determines the number of repeats or echoes produced by the delay pedal. Increasing the feedback setting results in multiple repeats, creating a cascading effect of echoes. Careful adjustment of the feedback control allows you to dial in the desired amount of repetition without overwhelming the original signal.
3. **Mix (or Blend)**: The mix control adjusts the balance between the original (dry) signal and the delayed (wet) signal. Higher mix settings emphasize the delayed signal, while lower mix settings maintain the clarity and integrity of the original signal. This control allows you to blend the delayed signal with the dry signal to achieve the desired balance and level of effect.
4. **Tap Tempo**: Some delay pedals feature a tap tempo function that allows you to set the delay time by tapping a button in rhythm with the music. This feature is particularly useful for synchronizing the delay effect with the tempo of a song or performance.
5. **Modulation**: Many delay pedals include modulation controls that add modulation effects, such as chorus or vibrato, to the delayed signal. Modulation can add warmth, depth, and movement to the delay effect, creating a more immersive and dynamic sound.
Delay pedals offer several creative uses and applications for guitarists:
– **Spatial Effects**: By adjusting the delay time, feedback, and mix controls, delay pedals can create spacious, atmospheric effects that simulate the sound of a room, hall, or cavern. These effects add depth and dimension to guitar tones, creating a sense of space and ambience.
– **Rhythmic Patterns**: By syncing the delay time with the tempo of a song using tap tempo or preset rhythmic subdivisions, delay pedals can produce rhythmic patterns and textures that enhance the groove and feel of a performance.
– **Texture and Movement**: By introducing modulation effects to the delayed signal, delay pedals can add texture, movement, and character to guitar tones. Modulated delays create swirling, shimmering effects that enrich the sound and captivate the listener’s ear.
Overall, delay pedals are versatile tools that offer a wide range of creative possibilities for guitarists. Whether used subtly to add depth and ambience or used more prominently to create rhythmic patterns and textures, delay pedals can enhance your guitar tone and inspire new musical ideas.. Flanger — A flanger is a type of guitar effects pedal used to create a swirling, whooshing sound by modulating the phase of an audio signal. It works by combining the original signal with a slightly delayed and modulated version of itself. As the two signals interact, they create peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum, resulting in the characteristic “jet plane” or “swooshing” sound associated with flanging.
Key features of a flanger pedal include:
1. **Rate**: Controls the speed at which the delayed signal is modulated. Higher rates produce faster modulation, while lower rates create slower, more subtle effects.
2. **Depth**: Adjusts the intensity of the modulation effect. Higher depth settings result in more pronounced sweeps, while lower settings produce a gentler effect.
3. **Manual (or Range)**: Sets the center frequency of the modulation. This control allows you to focus the effect on specific frequency ranges, altering the tonal character of the flanging.
4. **Feedback (or Regeneration)**: Determines the amount of modulated signal that is fed back into the effect. Increasing feedback can create more pronounced peaks and troughs, resulting in a more intense effect.
Flanger pedals are commonly used in various music genres, including rock, metal, and psychedelic music, to add movement, depth, and texture to guitar tones. They can be used subtly to add a touch of modulation and dimension to a guitar sound, or more prominently to create dramatic swirling effects. Overall, flanger pedals offer guitarists a versatile tool for shaping and enhancing their tone, adding a dynamic and expressive element to their playing.. New — Just New products for sale, unused, and in their original packaging. They come with a protected seller guarantee and include manufacturer warranties. Read more for additional details.. Reverb — Reverb, short for reverberation, is a fundamental audio effect that simulates the sound reflections and decay that occur in physical spaces, such as rooms, halls, or chambers. It adds depth, dimension, and ambiance to audio signals, creating a sense of space and realism. In the context of guitar effects, a reverb pedal is a device that generates and applies reverb effects to the guitar signal. Here’s how reverb pedals work and some common features:
1. **Reverb Types**: Reverb pedals typically offer different types of reverb effects, including spring reverb, plate reverb, hall reverb, room reverb, and ambient or modulated reverb. Each type emulates the characteristics of different physical spaces and has its own unique sound and character.
2. **Controls**: Reverb pedals feature various controls for adjusting parameters such as decay time, pre-delay, damping, tone, and mix. Decay time controls the length of the reverb tail or decay, while pre-delay adjusts the time between the original signal and the onset of the reverb. Damping controls the high-frequency content of the reverb, simulating absorption in the virtual space. Tone controls the overall tonal character of the reverb, and mix adjusts the balance between the dry (original) and wet (affected) signals.
3. **Modulation**: Some reverb pedals include modulation effects such as chorus or tremolo that modulate the reverb tail, adding movement and depth to the sound. Modulation can create lush, swirling textures and enhance the overall ambiance of the reverb effect.
4. **Trail Function**: Many reverb pedals offer a trail function, which allows the reverb tail to continue decaying naturally when the effect is bypassed. This prevents abrupt cutoffs and ensures smooth transitions between affected and unaffected signal states.
5. **Spring Tank vs. Digital Reverb**: Reverb pedals can use either spring tanks or digital processing to generate reverb effects. Spring reverb pedals emulate the sound of vintage spring reverb units found in amplifiers, while digital reverb pedals use algorithms to simulate a wide range of reverb types and settings.
6. **Size and Form Factor**: Reverb pedals come in various sizes and form factors, from compact mini pedals to larger, feature-rich units. Choose a pedal size and form factor that fits your pedalboard layout and offers the desired features and controls for your needs.
Reverb pedals are widely used in various music genres, including rock, blues, jazz, ambient, and experimental music. They can add depth, warmth, and atmosphere to guitar tones, enhance the spatial imaging of recordings, and create immersive soundscapes for performances. Whether used subtly to add a touch of room ambiance or dialed in for dramatic, expansive effects, reverb pedals are essential tools for shaping guitar tones and creating captivating sounds.. Tube — Tube-sounding guitar effect pedals are celebrated for their ability to replicate the warm, rich, and dynamic tones associated with classic vacuum tube amplifiers.
These pedals emulate the natural harmonic distortion and compression produced by tube circuitry, which adds depth and character to the guitar’s sound. This results in a more organic and engaging tone with a pleasingly smooth overdrive that many musicians find desirable.
The warmth and complexity of tube emulation can enhance both subtle nuances and powerful lead tones, making it ideal for genres that favour vintage or classic sounds.
Tube-sounding pedals often provide greater responsiveness to playing dynamics, allowing for expressive performance variations based on how hard or softly you play.
This dynamic sensitivity ensures that the pedal’s effect adjusts naturally with your playing style, preserving the nuances of your technique. The harmonic richness and clarity achieved through these pedals offer a more detailed and full-bodied sound, which helps in achieving a distinctive tone that stands out in both live performances and studio recordings.
Despite the higher cost and occasional maintenance needs, the unique tonal qualities of tube-sounding pedals make them a favoured choice for guitarists seeking an authentic and versatile sound..
