The Catalinbread Gygas is a fuzz/EQ pedal. It combines fuzz and EQ in one enclosure: the fuzz feeds a gyrator-based mids boost, then a tilt EQ circuit, and the whole thing is wrapped in a clean blend1. Catalinbread describes the fuzz core as "brawny and fierce, yet with plenty of violin-like sustain and articulation on tap"1. With the blend rolled all the way back, the pedal can be used as a high-headroom EQ for clean tone1.
What it does
The signal path runs in stages: the fuzz is "catapulted into a gyrator-based mids boost, and then into a tilt EQ circuit"1. A tilt EQ sweeps the balance of the whole spectrum around a pivot point, while the mids section boosts the middle of the range where a fuzz can otherwise get lost in a mix.
MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley described the fuzz core this way:
"The core of the fuzz circuit is brawny and fierce, yet with plenty of violin-like sustain and articulation on tap, and the entire thing is wrapped in a clean blend circuit."
The blend control sets how much clean signal sits under the fuzz, with the entire fuzz circuit wrapped in a clean blend circuit that offers articulation on tap1.
Controls
The enclosure carries five controls1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fuzz | Sets the fuzz drive |
| Mids | Gyrator-based mids boost |
| EQ | Tilt EQ circuit |
| Blend | Clean blend amount |
| Loud | Overall level |
With the blend rolled all the way back, the fuzz drops out and the pedal works as a "powerful high-headroom EQ" for sculpting a clean tone1. That makes it usable as a standalone tone-shaping tool as well as a fuzz, in the territory of dedicated equalization pedals.
Availability and price
At announcement, prices were listed as "Prices TBC"1. Catalinbread has since released other EQ-focused designs, including the Tribute Parametric Overdrive, an overdrive built around a parametric EQ section.
Questions
What is the Catalinbread Gygas?
It is a fuzz and EQ pedal from Catalinbread, announced at Winter NAMM 2020. The signal runs through a fuzz circuit, then a gyrator-based mids boost, then a tilt EQ circuit, all wrapped in a clean blend. MusicRadar described the fuzz core as brawny and fierce, with violin-like sustain and articulation.
Can the Gygas be used as just an EQ?
Yes. With the blend control rolled all the way back, the fuzz is removed from the path and the pedal works as a powerful high-headroom EQ for sculpting a clean tone, according to MusicRadar's NAMM 2020 report.
Sources (1)
- NAMM 2020: Catalinbread unveils the Giygas fuzz/EQ and Epoch Boost, MusicRadar, 2020-01-17
