The Catalinbread Airstrip is a preamp pedal that puts a Trident A-Range console channel strip on your pedalboard. The original A-Range was a discrete, germanium-and-transformer-equipped preamp that formed a huge part of the UK recording scene between the 1960s and 1980s, and Catalinbread's circuit recreates it in a stompbox using a discrete germanium transistor circuit and a specially selected transformer1. A second stage, a discrete op-amp based on a vintage UREI design, can push the front end of that preamp into gain if you want it2.
Announced ahead of NAMM in January 2025, the Airstrip is part of Catalinbread's CB-Range of analog preamps3. It is hand-built in Portland, Oregon3, and it covers a wide span of gain: Premier Guitar describes it as "capable of every gain sound imaginable from warm, 'mastered'-style cleans to gnarly collapsing fuzz"2.
What the Airstrip does to your sound
The Airstrip is built around a recreation of the Trident A-Range console preamp, with a discrete op-amp based on a vintage UREI design that pushes the front end of the console into gain. That arrangement is what gives the pedal its range: with Trim, Push and Filter at their lowest settings the circuit functions as a clean boost, enhanced by the Volume knob, while the combinations of the Trim, Push, and Filter knobs open up tone possibilities running from clean boost and subtle breakup to collapsing fuzz textures123.
Catalinbread describes the extreme setting in concrete terms: with Push and Trim both at maximum, "the sound becomes molten fuzz that ducks in between notes for a swell effect"4. At the other end of the range, the maker says a Volume-heavy, low-gain setup produces "a superb and very loud clean boost with a tailored tonal profile that makes your guitar sound pre-mastered right out of the box"5.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Output level. With Trim and Push at minimum it works as a loud clean boost, and it also pushes the front end of the circuit further35. |
| Trim | Gain from the preamp itself. The knob adjusts a variable resistance within the circuit, from clean to breakup4. |
| Push | Gain of the discrete UREI-based op-amp that slams the front end of the console preamp. At minimum the op-amp is at unity gain and does not affect the preamp; at maximum it produces collapsing fuzz4. |
| Filter | Works primarily on high frequencies. It can soften overly bright tones, which Delicious Audio notes is particularly useful on fuzzy settings, or add shimmering highs when pushed3. |
The three gain-shaping knobs interact. Delicious Audio found that "the combinations allowed by the Trim, Push, and Filter knobs open up a range of tone possibilities, from clean boost and subtle breakup to collapsing fuzz textures"3.
Power must be a center-negative DC supply between 9 and 24 volts. Catalinbread warns that an adapter outside that range, including AC or center-positive supplies, can permanently damage the pedal and will void the warranty4. Delicious Audio described the pedal's operating range as 9 to 18 volts at launch3; the maker's current specification is 9 to 24 volts5.
How it compares
The Airstrip is not a dedicated fuzz or overdrive. It is a console preamp, which means the gain character comes from a recording-desk circuit rather than an amp or a fuzz box, and the germanium-and-transformer topology is what ties its fuzz end to '60s-era sounds. Players comparing it against Catalinbread's other preamps will find the family approach similar but the source material different: the Epoch Bias is derived from the Maestro Echoplex EP-3's preamp, and the Crooner, announced in July 2026, is based on the RCA BA-31 microphone preamp6. For players thinking in effect-type terms, the Airstrip overlaps with boost, overdrive and fuzz territory depending on where the knobs sit.
What reviewers said
Premier Guitar reviewed the Airstrip in April 2025, chasing the sound of a Trident A-Range channel strip, and the review's verdict centered on dynamics72:
"Even at extremes, the Airstrip is sensitive to touch, volume, and tone dynamics, enabling pivots from light (if very focused) overdrive to '60s germanium-fuzz-like sounds with changes in guitar volume and tone."7
Premier Guitar review, April 20257
That responsiveness to guitar volume and tone is the practical payoff of the two-stage design: you can set the pedal near its fuzz extreme and clean it up from the guitar, the way players do with vintage germanium circuits7.
Videos
AndyDemos
JayLeonardJ
Demos In The Dark
Questions
How do you set the Catalinbread Airstrip as a clean boost?
Set Trim, Push and Filter to their lowest positions and turn up the Volume knob. With Trim and Push at minimum the preamp and the op-amp stage are effectively out of the way, and Volume alone delivers a loud clean boost with a tailored tonal profile that Catalinbread describes as making the guitar sound pre-mastered.
Is the Catalinbread Airstrip a germanium fuzz?
Not exactly. It is a console preamp pedal based on the Trident A-Range desk, built around a discrete germanium transistor circuit and a selected transformer. Pushed hard with the Push knob it reaches gnarly, collapsing fuzz textures that reviewers compared to '60s germanium fuzz, but at low settings it is a clean preamp and boost.
What does the Push knob do on the Airstrip?
Push governs the gain of a discrete op-amp, based on an old UREI design, that slams the front end of the console preamp. At minimum the op-amp sits at unity gain and leaves the preamp alone; at maximum, with Trim also maxed, the sound becomes a molten fuzz that ducks between notes for a swell effect.
Is the Airstrip analog or digital?
It is fully analog. The Airstrip is part of Catalinbread's CB-Range of analog preamps, and its circuit uses discrete germanium transistors and a specially selected transformer to recreate the character of the Trident A-Range console preamp.
What voltage does the Catalinbread Airstrip take?
Catalinbread specifies a center-negative DC power supply at anything between 9 and 24 volts. Delicious Audio described the pedal's operation as 9 to 18 volts when it launched. Anything outside the maker's range, including AC or center-positive supplies, can damage the pedal and void the warranty.
Where is the Catalinbread Airstrip made?
It is hand-built in Portland, Oregon, by Catalinbread. The company also builds its other preamp pedals there, including the Epoch Bias Echoplex-style preamp and the Crooner, which is based on the RCA BA-31 microphone preamp.
Sources (7)
- JHS Pedals 424 Gain Stage review, Guitar World, 2025-10-02
- Trident A-Range Console Preamp: Amp-Melting Fuzz, Premier Guitar, 2025-01-15
- New Pedal: Catalinbread Airstrip Preamp, Delicious Audio, 2025-01-15
- Airstrip Console Pre, Catalinbread Effects
- Airstrip Console Pre (Red), Catalinbread Effects
- Catalinbread Crooner Preamp: Classic RCA BA-31 tones, gearnews.com, 2026-07-17
- The Trident-Board Mimicking Catalinbread Airstrip, Premier Guitar, 2025-04-09
