The Celestial Effects Capricorn Rock Distortion is a Boost/Overdrive/Distortion pedal built around two gain stages: the first transistor-based, the second opamp-based. Pedal of the Day, reviewing it in February 2017, described it as the Virgo Rock Overdrive's "older, grown-up and more powerful brother," and placed it among the wider field of distortion pedals as a versatile pedal with a broad spectrum of tones1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Controls the Capricorn's overall output1 |
| Gain | Adjusts the second, opamp-based gain stage, producing higher gains as the intensity is increased1 |
| Edge | A range of attack tones, from smooth with lower gain up to biting, edgier and higher gain tones1 |
| Toggle switch | Selects from a couple of different clipping diode arrangements1 |
The Gain knob works the opamp stage specifically, so pushing it drives that second stage harder. The Edge control sits alongside it as an attack shaper rather than a straight gain control, letting you dial from smooth low-gain tones to edgier, higher-gain sounds1.
Clipping toggle
The three positions of the toggle switch change how the pedal clips:
- Left: two symmetrical silicon rectifier diodes, for a smoother and more compressed sound1
- Middle: all diodes removed, giving the loudest, openest and more vocal tone option of the three1
The middle, diode-less position is worth trying first if you want the pedal to act more like a boost or open overdrive, since removing the clipping diodes leaves the loudest and most open voicing1.
Signal path and build
The Capricorn runs true bypass, and the review notes it uses "no buffers or inline tone circuits in its design." Pedal of the Day found that with very little noise filtering in the circuit, "your instrument's entire signal is allowed to come through and shine."1
"the Capricorn Rock Distortion is built like a tank, using the best components available"
The pedal is hand built using CTS pots and Neutrik jacks1.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Celestial Effects Capricorn true bypass?
Yes. Pedal of the Day's review describes the Capricorn Rock Distortion as running true bypass, so when the pedal is off, your guitar's signal passes through without the circuit loading it. The review also notes the design uses no buffers or inline tone circuits, which keeps the signal path simple.
What does the Limit knob do on the Capricorn?
The controls the review describes are a Volume knob for overall output, a Gain knob that adjusts the opamp-based second gain stage, an Edge control for attack tones, and a toggle switch that selects the clipping diode arrangement. No Limit knob is among them.
What do the clipping diode positions on the toggle switch do?
The toggle switch selects from a couple of different clipping diode arrangements. Set left, you get two symmetrical silicon rectifier diodes for a smoother, more compressed sound. The middle position removes all the diodes, which the review calls the loudest, openest and more vocal of the three options.
How is the Capricorn related to the Virgo Rock Overdrive?
Pedal of the Day describes the Capricorn Rock Distortion as the Virgo Rock Overdrive's older, grown-up and more powerful brother. Both come from Celestial Effects, with the Capricorn positioned as the higher-gain distortion counterpart to the Virgo overdrive.
Does the Capricorn have any buffers in its signal path?
No. According to Pedal of the Day, the Capricorn uses no buffers or inline tone circuits in its design. The review says that with very little noise filtering in the circuit, your instrument's entire signal is allowed to come through.
Sources (1)
- Celestial Effects Capricorn Rock Distortion, Pedal of the Day, 2017-02-23
