The Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtainium RAW is an analog overdrive/distortion pedal built around a RAW AMP section that RockBoard's PedalPedia describes as an all-analog circuit capturing "the powerful side of two legendary tube amplifiers"1. It belongs to the wider Unobtainium family, which RockBoard's PedalPedia says was "inspired by 3 of the most mythical and sought-after pieces of music gear"1.
Circuit and sound
The RAW edition's distinguishing feature is its clipping stage. according to RockBoard's PedalPedia, it is "the first pedal of its kind to feature germanium transistors in the clipping section of a K-style circuit"1. A K-style circuit is a recognized overdrive design, and fitting germanium transistors into its clipping section is what sets the RAW apart from other pedals in that family.
The maker describes the pedal's character this way:
"A magical tone overdrive meets two legendary amps. We have accurately recreated the circuit of the high headroom OVERDRIVE with the mystical blend of clean and overdriven tones."
In practice, that points to a pedal intended to sit somewhere between an overdrive and a distortion, with a clean-and-overdriven blend rather than a single flat gain stage1.
Power
The Unobtainium RAW runs on a 9V DC, center negative supply and draws 83mA1. That draw is well above what a small classic overdrive needs, so it is worth checking that your power supply has an outlet with enough current available, and avoiding a daisy chain shared with several other pedals.
At 83mA, the Unobtainium RAW needs a dedicated outlet on most pedalboard power supplies. A battery is not part of the maker's stated power specification1.
Where it sits in the range
Crazy Tube Circuits builds a broad line of gain and time-based pedals, including the Motherload, the Triptychøn, the Starlight and the Black Magic MKII. The Unobtainium RAW is the germanium-clipped, K-style entry in that range1.
Sources (1)
- Unobtainium RAW by Crazy Tube Circuits, RockBoard (www.rockboard.de), 2026
