Catalinbread announces Fuzzrite Germanium fuzz pedal
August 11, 2022 · 2 sources
Catalinbread announced the Fuzzrite Germanium on August 11, 2022, an alternative to its existing silicon-based Fuzzrite pedal1. The pedal recreates the germanium version of the Mosrite Fuzzrite, which Mosrite built alongside a silicon version between 1966 and 196821.
According to Guitar World, Mosrite's original designer Ed Sanner estimated that only about 250 germanium units were made, and Catalinbread describes that version as by far the most rare1. Gearnews reports that Mosrite shifted exclusively to silicon parts in its final year of production1. The new pedal uses two NOS PNP germanium semiconductors, as the original germanium Fuzzrite did21.
The controls are a Volume knob, which sets the overall output, and a Depth knob, which mixes a second transistor gain stage with the first21. Catalinbread calls the Depth control the "heart of the pedal"21. Set hard left, the pedal uses only the first transistor, for what the maker describes as a clean and fat tone; turning it right blends in the second transistor for voltage-starved, gated tones with hints of what Catalinbread calls "pseudo ring mod-style upper octave harmonics"21. A toggle switch selects between a Vintage setting and a Modern setting, the latter with a beefed-up low end21.
"We at Catalinbread happen to have a germanium version at our disposal, and we've used it as a benchmark to create an extremely faithful version with a modern twist"
The Fuzzrite Germanium is available now for $179.991. Gearnews lists a manufacturer's suggested retail price of USD 179.992. It joins Catalinbread's fuzz pedals lineup alongside the silicon Fuzzrite21.