The Catalinbread Heliotrope is a harmonic pixelator pedal: a single box that combines bit crusher, octave, fuzz, ring modulator and dirty drive sounds in one circuit1. "The Heliotrope is a pedal that is awfully difficult to describe," as Pedal of the Day put it in its 2016 review, and the "harmonic pixelator" name is Catalinbread's own way of saying the pedal is made up of those effects at once1. It sits among the company's more experimental fuzz-adjacent designs, alongside pedals like the Antichthon and Giygas.
Controls
The Heliotrope keeps its front panel to four knobs and one toggle, each shaping the pedal's carrier frequency in a different way1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Hi/Lo switch | Changes the frequency range of the carrier frequency |
| Sample Rate | Further adjusts the carrier frequency within the given range |
| Resolution | Sets the duty cycle, the ratio of on to off time of the carrier frequency |
| Gain | Adds compression and distortion, for fuzz-like and synth-like sounds |
| Volume | Adjusts the overall output of the effect |
Catalinbread compares the Resolution control to focusing the lens of a camera, making the sound as sharp or as blurry as the player wants1.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's reviewer came away enthusiastic about the pedal's experimental character1:
"it is a must-have box for all musical experimenters, and one that we had an absolute blast trying to decipher"
That verdict frames the Heliotrope as a pedal for players who enjoy coaxing unusual textures out of a circuit rather than one looking for a conventional fuzz or drive voice1.
Videos
Catalinbread Effects
Brett Kingman
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Questions
What is the Catalinbread Heliotrope?
The Heliotrope is a harmonic pixelator pedal from Catalinbread. The name describes a circuit built from several effects at once: bit crusher, octave, fuzz, ring modulator and dirty drive sounds. Its controls shape a carrier frequency, with a Hi/Lo switch for the frequency range, a Sample Rate knob, a Resolution knob, a Gain knob and a Volume knob.
What do the Heliotrope's controls do?
The Hi/Lo switch changes the frequency range of the carrier frequency. Sample Rate further adjusts the carrier frequency within that range. Resolution sets the duty cycle, the ratio of on to off time, which Catalinbread compares to focusing a camera lens. Gain adds compression and distortion for fuzz-like and synth-like sounds, and Volume sets the overall output.
Sources (1)
- Catalinbread Heliotrope Harmonic Pixelator, Pedal of the Day, 2016-12-09
