The Catalinbread Cloak is a reverb pedal from Portland-based Catalinbread, first shown in November 2021. At its core it is a room-style reverb, and Catalinbread says it sounds good on its own, but turning the Shimmer knob brings in rich, harmonically laden overtones that emphasize three different orders of harmonics within the reverb trails12. MusicRadar described the result as "haunting and harmonically rich ambience for your [electric guitar] tone"3.
The circuit has an unusual origin for a guitar pedal. Catalinbread says the inspiration came from the acoustics department at Stanford, where a treatise on the optimal shimmer effect, along with old DSP papers on harmonic reverb, pointed the way, and the designer wrote his own harmonic reverb algorithms from there145.
A room reverb with shimmer overtones
The Cloak's reverb algorithm is built around a room, and Delicious Audio notes it can extend to hall size at higher settings5. Catalinbread puts the range more vividly: the room size can be dialed from "a cramped broom closet to as close to infinity as we can possibly get in a pedal"1. Reverb time runs from a shortest of 250ms to a longest of greater than 3 seconds, with the maximum depending on how hard the signal hits the pedal, which Catalinbread tested by smacking the strings of a guitar4.
The shimmer side is what separates the Cloak from a plain room reverb. With the Shimmer knob up, overtones creep into the trails emphasizing three different orders of harmonics12. Guitar World framed the pedal as a room-style reverb "that can be imbued with additional depth and harmonics with a twist of the pedal's Shimmer knob"6.
Pedal of the Day's reviewer found the room core holds up on its own7:
"A 'room' style reverb at its core, the Cloak sounds excellent at just that, but adding in the Shimmer aspect is where th..."
The controls: Room Size, Mix, High Cut and Shimmer
The Cloak is a four-knob pedal, with knobs for Room Size, High Cut, Mix, and Shimmer5. Catalinbread describes what each one does:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Room Size | Simultaneously adjusts reverb decay length and a slight gain enhancement for a more natural decay1 |
| Mix | Adjusts the amount of dry signal in the output, from 100 percent dry to 100 percent wet1 |
| High Cut | Cuts higher-order harmonics from the signal to soften the edges at higher Shimmer settings1 |
| Shimmer | Mixes the amount of shimmer present in the room reverb; fully counterclockwise gives a rich room reverb, fully clockwise a harmonically rich shimmer1 |
The High Cut knob matters most once the shimmer is up. Delicious Audio found it "allows to make the shimmer voice sound warmer and more pleasant"5, and Guitar World noted it can smooth the harmonics out at high Shimmer settings, before they begin to upset the signal path too much6. Premier Guitar described it as a specially designed low-pass filter that steps in and smooths the harmonics before they get too out of hand2.
Power and bypass: 9V to 18V, trails or true bypass
The Cloak runs from 9 to 18 volts using a standard DC center-negative power supply for pedals, and it does not run on batteries14. Catalinbread advises using a supply that provides at least 100mA; the pedal's measured draw is around 60mA4.
Bypass is user selectable, and the choice affects how the pedal behaves when you switch it off142:
- Trails mode (as shipped): buffered bypass, with the preamp active even in bypass and the reverb signal continuing to decay after switching off4
- True bypass mode: removing the back panel converts the pedal, and turning it off immediately cuts off the reverb signal14
Because the Cloak ships in Trails mode, its preamp stays in your signal chain even when the pedal is bypassed. Players who want the pedal fully out of the path when disengaged need to open it up and switch it to true bypass mode, at the cost of losing the decaying trails.
What reviewers said
Coverage at launch was largely descriptive, with a few published opinions. Pedal of the Day found the room reverb "sounds excellent at just that" before the shimmer is added7. Gearnews took a different angle, criticizing the control graphics: the reviewer felt the tiny labeling against the black background "does not work" and called it "a bit of an 'own goal'", saying it would put the reviewer off using it live8.
"I don't think the tiny labelling against the black background really works. It seems a bit of an 'own goal'."
Versions: Mountain Edition and Alt Mountain Edition
The Cloak has been sold in two editions. The Cloak Reverb and Shimmer (Mountain Edition) carries the four controls above1. The Cloak Reverb (Alt Mountain Edition) is a limited run, with Catalinbread stating only 40 were available, shipping late August4.
The Alt Mountain Edition shares the same room-with-shimmer circuit and the Room Size, Mix, and Shimmer controls, but its tone control is a FILTER knob rather than High Cut: a low-pass filter with a cutoff at 5kHz, where the knob sets how much reduction happens past 5k, from fully open down to fully cutting everything above 5k4. Catalinbread's designer says the attenuation code keeps a little crispiness for players using darker amps but can also cut the high end completely for "dark shimmer" effects, tested on a Fender Princeton4.
The Cloak sits in a Catalinbread reverb line that has since grown to include the Talisman Ghost plate reverb, the Soft Focus Deluxe, and the CB Paint.
Videos
Sweetwater
60 Cycle Hum
AndyDemos
Questions
Does the Catalinbread Cloak run on batteries?
No. Catalinbread states plainly that the Cloak does not run on batteries. It needs a standard DC center-negative pedal power supply running at 9 to 18 volts, and the maker recommends a supply rated for at least 100mA, since the pedal's measured draw is around 60mA.
Is the Catalinbread Cloak true bypass?
It can be either. The Cloak ships in Trails mode, a buffered bypass in which the preamp stays active and the reverb keeps decaying after you switch off. Removing the back panel converts it to true bypass, which cuts the reverb signal immediately when the pedal is disengaged.
How long can the Cloak's reverb decay get?
Catalinbread gives the shortest reverb time as 250ms and the longest as greater than 3 seconds, noting that the maximum depends on how hard the signal hits the pedal, tested by smacking the strings of a guitar. The Room Size knob sets decay length along with a slight gain enhancement for a more natural decay.
Can the Cloak be used as a plain room reverb without shimmer?
Yes. With the Shimmer knob fully counterclockwise you get a rich room reverb on its own, and Guitar.com notes the room-style core is what you hear when the shimmer control is at zero. Pedal of the Day's reviewer found it sounds excellent at just that, before any shimmer is added.
What is the Cloak Alt Mountain Edition?
A limited version of the Cloak from Catalinbread, restricted to 40 units and shipping late August. It carries the same room reverb with shimmer circuit and control set, but its tone-shaping knob is a low-pass filter with a 5kHz cutoff rather than the Mountain Edition's High Cut control.
Sources (8)
- Cloak Reverb and Shimmer (Mountain Edition) B-Stock, Catalinbread Effects
- Catalinbread Releases the Cloak, Premier Guitar, 2021-11-10
- Catalinbread promises “rich, harmonically laden overtones” with the Cloak Reverb and Shimmer pedal, MusicRadar, 2021-11-12
- Cloak Reverb (Alt Mountain Edition), Catalinbread Effects
- Catalinbread Cloak Reverb + Shimmer, Delicious Audio, 2022-02-03
- Catalinbread hopes to Cloak your guitar tone in added shimmer with its new reverb pedal, Guitar World, 2021-11-10
- Catalinbread Cloak Reverb & Shimmer, Pedal of the Day, 2021-12-18
- The new Catalinbread Cloak Reverb/Shimmer offers rich overtones, gearnews.com, 2021-11-10
