Catalinbread releases Dirty Little Secret Deluxe Plexi pedal

September 22, 2023 · 3 sources

The Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret Deluxe was covered by Delicious Audio on September 22, 2023, and by Gearnews on September 7, 2023. It is an expanded version of the company's Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret MK III, which Gearnews describes as the standard model¹.

Catalinbread says the pedal is an all-discrete circuit with a preamp, phase inverter, power amp sim and output transformer². The maker states the original DLS circuit was tweaked and upgraded throughout, and that the Deluxe began as a fourth version of the flagship pedal before becoming the Deluxe². Gearnews reports the Preamp control has a wider gain range, with more cleans and more dirt¹.

Controls are Master, Preamp, Presence, Treble, Middle and Bass, plus a Boost Volume mini-dial and an SB/SL mini-toggle¹. The Presence knob, formerly an internal trimmer, is now external²¹. Catalinbread says it is a low-pass filter that attenuates frequencies by 3dB above 1.59KHz when turned all the way down². The toggle selects between Super Lead and Super Bass modes, which Catalinbread describes as a cutting, upper-midrange-heavy tone and a smoother, smokier tone with lower midrange emphasis². Gearnews reports the three-band EQ is passive and highly interactive¹.

A built-in footswitchable boost, modeled after a clean Marshall preamp, can run before or after the DLS circuit via an internal switch². Catalinbread ships the pedal with the boost before the DLS². A Tightness control is an internal high-pass filter that cuts up to about 230Hz at maximum²; Gearnews also describes it as internal¹. A rear-panel Line Out gives a dedicated +10dB output for a mixer or DAW, and both outputs can be used at once². The pedal has top-mounted jacks¹ and buffered bypass². It runs on a center-negative 9-volt supply drawing at least 7mA².

Premier Guitar lists the price at $299.99³; Gearnews gives an MSRP of USD 299¹.