Catalinbread Many Worlds 8 Stage Phaser

The Catalinbread Many Worlds is an analog eight-stage phaser pedal with eight selectable phase control parameters: six LFO waveforms and two envelope-dependent phase shift modes¹². Where a classic compact phaser gives you one or two sweep shapes, the Many Worlds puts a whole modulation palette on one box, from familiar Phase 90-style sweeps to a "Battle" mode in which two sine waves modulate each other³.

Catalinbread announced the pedal in March 2022, and it was available immediately³⁴.

An eight-stage phaser with six LFOs and two envelope modes

A phaser splits your signal and shifts the phase of one path through a series of stages, then recombines the two. More stages mean more notches in the frequency response and a deeper, more vocal sweep. The Many Worlds runs eight stages, which puts it in the same territory as deep-sweep designs rather than the four-stage classics¹⁷.

What sets it apart is the modulation side. Instead of a single fixed oscillator, you get six LFOs: sine and square sharing one control, a reverse sawtooth, and two independently controlled, inter-modulating sine waves³. Delicious Audio notes that the circuit features the modulation of one LFO by another LFO, with the eight selectable parameters including five LFO waves, the two envelope modes, and one special mode called Battle⁸.

The range runs from familiar to far out. Gearnews put it this way:

The two envelope-dependent modes, envelope up and envelope down, make the phase sweep follow your picking dynamics rather than a clock, so the effect opens and closes with how hard you play³⁴.

The controls

The face of the pedal centers on an eight-way LFO rotary dial that selects from the six LFO waveforms and the envelope up and down modes⁴. Around it sit the other controls:

The dual-labeled Depth/Freq2/Sens knob is the one to read twice: its function changes with the mode, so the same knob sets sweep depth on an LFO setting, the second oscillator's speed in Battle mode, and envelope sensitivity in the envelope modes³.

Battle Mode and the envelope modes

Battle Mode is the Many Worlds' special eighth setting. It multiplies two controllable sine waves against each other, so the sweep is itself being swept, which produces movement no single LFO can manage³⁸. In this mode the FREQ2 side of the shared knob sets the frequency of that second LFO³.

The envelope up and envelope down modes are the closest the pedal comes to an envelope filter: the phase shift tracks your attack, with the Sens control setting how much input gain feeds the envelope detection³. For players who want that dynamic, touch-responsive quality without adding a separate filter pedal, these modes are where the Many Worlds earns its keep.

What reviewers said

The Mix control is the control Catalinbread's own documentation highlights for blending the wet and dry signals. As the maker describes it: "Finally, the Mix control allows you to blend the wet/dry mix too taste"³.

On price, published figures differ: Gearnews and Guitar.com both reported $199.99 at launch³, MusicRadar listed $199³⁹¹⁰, and Premier Guitar's September 2022 review gave the price as $169.99³⁹¹⁰. 99 as the launch figure and $169.99 as the later listed price.

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