The Catalinbread Clean Little Secret is a low-gain overdrive pedal, announced in May 2026, that takes its inspiration from the Bluesbreaker combo amp, the amplifier Delicious Audio credits with basically inventing the "edge of breakup" sound. It is the companion piece to the Dirty Little Secret: as Paolo De Gregorio put it, "the Clean Little Secret is that flip" side. Where a drive pedal pushes into crunch, this one is aimed at the territory just before it, adding chime and sparkle while keeping your core tone intact1.
What it does to your sound
Catalinbread positions the pedal as a clean-ish foundation overdrive. On the maker's page, the Pre-Amp knob delivers "varying degrees of low-gain sparkle" until you turn it past 1-2 o'clock, at which point the overdrive comes out and gets hairier, with the gain topping out at low to medium2. Delicious Audio's description of the character: "you get chime, sparkle, and a dynamic response that feels like a small tube amp working its hardest not to embarrass itself"1.
The two-band EQ is where this version differs from its sibling. "The two-band EQ (Treble and Bass, replacing the original's single tone knob) is the real upgrade," De Gregorio wrote1.
The controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pre-Amp | Low-gain sparkle until past 1-2 o'clock, then overdrive comes out and gets hairier; gain tops out at low to medium2 |
| Treble | Counter-clockwise: less. Clockwise: more2 |
| Bass | Turning it down gives you less, turning up gives you more2 |
| Master | Down is down, up is up2 |
The Treble and Bass knobs work together rather than independently. As Catalinbread puts it: "These controls are highly interactive: turning up both gives a mid scoop while turning both down gives a mids boost"2. That means the pair can shape the midrange as well as the extremes, which is worth knowing before you start dialing.
Power
The Clean Little Secret accepts a standard center-negative 9-18V DC power supply, and Catalinbread says the current draw is extremely low, so any supply meeting those specifications will work2. The maker warns against using any other type of power supply, such as AC, higher voltage or center-positive, or you run the risk of ruining the pedal2.
Stick to a center-negative DC supply between 9 and 18 volts. The maker specifically warns that AC, higher-voltage or center-positive supplies can damage the pedal2.
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Questions
How do the treble and bass knobs interact on the Clean Little Secret?
Catalinbread describes the Treble and Bass controls as highly interactive. Turning both up gives a mid scoop, while turning both down gives a mids boost. Between those extremes you can dial in anything from a scooped, glassy response to a forward, mid-focused voice, which is unusual for a pedal with only two EQ knobs.
Is the Catalinbread Clean Little Secret analog?
Yes. The pedal is built around an op-amp circuit. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio notes that the circuit stays whistle-clean until you push the Pre-Amp past 1 or 2 o'clock, after which it gets hairier but never out of control, with gain topping out at low to medium.
How much does the Clean Little Secret cost?
The Clean Little Secret carries a list price of $179.99, as reported by Delicious Audio when the pedal was announced in May 2026.
Where is the Clean Little Secret made?
The pedal is handmade in the USA, according to Delicious Audio's coverage of the launch.
Sources (2)
- New Pedal: Catalinbread Clean Little Secret, Delicious Audio, 2026-05-04
- Clean Little Secret, Catalinbread Effects
