The Catalinbread SuperCharged is a MOSFET overdrive pedal from the Portland builder Catalinbread, one of the company's earliest designs. It is voiced similarly to Marshall "Plexi" and Orange amps, and Aion FX notes that it fills a space not otherwise occupied by the rest of Catalinbread's amp-drive lineup1. The original pedal is discontinued, but Catalinbread brought it back in a significantly retooled Legacy Edition reissue, which Guitar Pedal X reported was out with most Catalinbread dealers in June 2024 at $1502.
A Plexi-voiced MOSFET overdrive
The SuperCharged Overdrive (often abbreviated SCOD) is an earlier design from Catalinbread's first few years as a company5. Sources disagree on exactly when it first appeared: Aion FX describes it as a hex-inverter drive circuit first released in 20041, while Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson believes the SuperCharged OD was first out in and around 2009, in a 3-knob edition with Volume, Gain and Contour4.
The pedal appeared in a few different editions over its life. It started as a horizontal layout similar to ZVEX pedals before moving to the more traditional vertical format1. Catalinbread also has a history of tweaking products after launch: Aion FX's trace of the most recent version found that C1 was changed from 22n to 47n compared with the original Freestompboxes.org trace, and it is possible that C11 was 22n in early units, though that could also be a tracing error5. The enclosure construction Aion FX examined was Catalinbread's typical method from around 2008 to 20145.
Guitar Pedal X describes the Legacy Edition as "a really full-throated, thick and juicy amp-like overdrive with an incredibly high degree of shaping"4.
The controls and the Tilt EQ
The original 3-knob edition carried Volume, Gain and Contour4. The Legacy Edition adds a fourth control and more range overall:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tilt EQ | New to the Legacy Edition; pivots around the 800Hz mark, tilting the spectrum brighter or darker4 |
| Contour | Mids plus Resonance on the Legacy Edition4; on the original, feeds a variable amount of the filtered output back into an earlier stage, sweetening the midrange and adding resonance, changing the pedal's character across the sweep5 |
| Volume | Output level4 |
| Gain | Drive amount4 |
Aion FX calls the original Contour control an interesting method of controlling tone, somewhat resembling the global feedback of a classic amp circuit5. The Legacy Edition is significantly re-tooled with numerous refinements to the circuit, including that entirely new Tilt EQ control4.
Inside the circuit: a CD4007 CMOS chip
The heart of the circuit is a CD4007 CMOS chip5, and the SCOD is unusual in its use of it1. The CD4007 is a CMOS chip with three complementary MOSFET inverter pairs. Unlike the six-inverter CD4049 and CD4069 chips more commonly seen in CMOS drive circuits, it provides separate access to the source and drain pins of both MOSFETs for two of the three inverters, which in theory makes it more flexible15.
In this application the three MOSFET pairs are wired as inverters, meaning they should perform basically the same as the inverters in those other CMOS chips1. Delicious Audio describes the original circuit as a rather peculiar one featuring eight MOSFET devices, all stacked into one another3.
The design has a recognizable lineage. Aion FX notes that the circuit goes back to Jack Orman's MOSFET Booster, and that it was no secret that Catalinbread's Nick was a fan of this circuit, since it is the basis of their Super Chili Picoso and related booster pedals5.
How it compares
- Mostortion: Guitar Pedal X says the SuperCharged is voiced somewhat differently from the sea of sound-alike pedals, "sort of adjacent to the Mostortion, but very much its own thing"2.
- Super Chili Picoso: shares the Jack Orman MOSFET Booster lineage5, and was reissued alongside the SuperCharged in Catalinbread's Legacy Collection of three MOSFET pedals, together with the WIIO Hiwatt-style overdrive65.
- Drunk Beaver Kharkiv Supercharged CMOS Overdrive: an outside pedal that takes ideas from Mad Professor's Stone Gray Distortion and the Catalinbread Supercharged without exactly matching either; Guitar Pedal X calls the Catalinbread the nearest sound reference, "but not quite"4.
What reviewers said
Guitar Pedal X's verdict on the Legacy Edition was that "The new SuperCharged Overdrive though seems very decent indeed!"4. Pedal of the Day, reviewing Catalinbread's output more broadly, wrote that "The crew at Catalinbread keeps topping themselves with each new release"7.
"In a sea of sound-alike pedals, this one is voiced somewhat differently - sort of adjacent to the Mostortion, but very much its own thing!"
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Questions
Is the Catalinbread SuperCharged discontinued?
The original SuperCharged Overdrive is discontinued; Aion FX traced the most recent version before it went out of production. However, Catalinbread reissued the pedal in a significantly retooled Legacy Edition, which Guitar Pedal X reported was available at most Catalinbread dealers as of June 2024.
What is the difference between the original SuperCharged and the Legacy reissue?
The original came out in a 3-knob edition with Volume, Gain and Contour. The Legacy Edition is significantly re-tooled with numerous circuit refinements, including an entirely new Tilt EQ control and more range overall, giving it four controls: Tilt EQ, Contour (Mids + Resonance), Volume and Gain.
How does the SuperCharged compare to the Catalinbread Mostortion?
Guitar Pedal X describes the SuperCharged as voiced somewhat differently from most pedals, sort of adjacent to the Mostortion but very much its own thing. Both are Catalinbread MOSFET designs, but the SuperCharged is voiced toward Marshall Plexi and Orange amps, a space the rest of Catalinbread's amp-drive lineup did not occupy.
Is the SuperCharged related to the Super Chili Picoso?
Yes, by circuit lineage. Aion FX notes that the SuperCharged's design traces back to Jack Orman's MOSFET Booster, which is also the basis of Catalinbread's Super Chili Picoso and related booster pedals. The Super Chili Picoso was also reissued alongside the SuperCharged in the Legacy Collection.
Sources (7)
- Calypso CMOS Drive / Catalinbread SCOD, Aion FX, 2021-11-12
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-06-21
- New Pedal: Catalinbread SuperCharged Overdrive (Legacy Edition), Delicious Audio, 2023-11-08
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2023-11-10
- Tracing Journal: Catalinbread® Supercharged Overdrive, Aion FX, 2021-11-12
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2025-08-07
- Catalinbread Many Worlds Phaser, Pedal of the Day, 2022-05-25
