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Starcrash 70: The Alternate History of ’70s-style Fuzz





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With the Starcrash 70 Fuzz pedal, Catalinbread’s pedal builders take a critical look at 1970s ? back when circuit knowledge was still fuzzy around the edges. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the Catalinbread team imagined what could be done differently and made those changes a reality with the Starcrash 70. It started with a famous germanium-equipped circuit from 1966 that quickly swapped germanium for silicon at the start of the 1970s. The diode swap was arguably a hasty change. Silicon certainly remedied germanium’s temperature-sensitive pitfalls; however, during the switch, other components and specs were not fully re-calibrated for silicon’s distinct traits. The Starcrash 70 makes those tweaks and makes them well, with versatile EQ for shaping tones and a Bias control that can evoke vintage presence or generate voltage sputters that simulate a dying battery. Moreover, the Starcrash 70 Fuzz helps players achieve useful tones in record time with plenty of ways to tame overpowering lows or saturate signals with crushed harmonic power. The Starcrash 70 Fuzz pedal is the silicon fuzz you wish they would have made from the beginning!





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Fuzz fan-fiction? No, it’s reality!





Fuzz fanatics at Sweetwater can’t deny that the Starcrash 70 Fuzz is a passionately built circuit. Check out the control knob details below as you prepare for gooey saturation, gargantuan sustain, and face-melting fuzz.





This fuzz pedal’s three-knob control scheme keeps things simple. The “fuzz” knob is no longer present ? you were going to set it at max and leave it there anyways. In its place, the Volume knob range exceeds that of vintage units to ensure you can always push your amp, no matter what other settings you choose.


The Starcrash 70 Fuzz pedal’s Bias knob provides a constant stream of fresh textures to suit your mood and preferences on any given day. Essentially a dying battery simulator, the Bias control can unlock sputtering scratchy extremes while offering smoother vintage-voiced fuzz with the knob set at noon.


Strike the right blend of articulation, low-end thrust, and harmonic density with the Starcrash 70’s Low-Cut control. The minimum cut falls at 30Hz, with a maximum cut at 500Hz. Users can explore prickly treble-forward stabs, supernatural sustain, and countless in-betweens. If you love fuzz but not mud, then the wide-ranging Low-Cut control is sure to please!


Catalinbread Starcrash 70 Fuzz Pedal Features:


A ’70s-style fuzz circuit that’s passionately tweaked and revised


Tuned for maximum sustain and vast tonal variations with an extended volume range compared to vintage designs


Convenient low-cut filter preserves articulation and high frequencies for a more focused sound


Bias knob adds character, from smoother vintage-style clipping to scratchy sputtering fuzz