Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

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pocaloc
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Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by pocaloc » Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:46 pm

I’m surprised that I find no mention of this pedal. I have one now and it’s absolutely amazing. I’ve never heard a delay that sounds as big and good as this pedal. The resonant filter setting is so cool with an expression pedal. The self oscillation button along with the expression pedal is so fun. So many sounds to be discovered in this thing. I can’t stop thinking about playing it actually. It does benefit from a high quality power source I will say. I started out with a one spot and now have a voodoo labs 2 plus. Big improvement. Anyone else have one of these yet?

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Tue Oct 24, 2017 12:32 am

I'm surprised we haven't heard more about it too. The original is such a well-loved pedal. I'd almost be tempted to get one for a bass rig...
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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by soggy mittens » Tue Oct 24, 2017 1:13 am

it sounds nice but I still have my eye on the DOD Rubberneck.
If OSG has tort me anything...

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by apreswho » Tue Oct 24, 2017 7:36 pm

soggy mittens wrote:
Tue Oct 24, 2017 1:13 am
it sounds nice but I still have my eye on the DOD Rubberneck.
Out of curiousity, and im not super familiar with either, but what makes you more interested in the DOD?

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by soggy mittens » Tue Oct 24, 2017 8:21 pm

modulation, gain control, tone control, tap ratio. It has everything I want in an analog delay. I don't care for it's namesake tho xD
If OSG has tort me anything...

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by DarnWeight » Wed Oct 25, 2017 2:54 am

pocaloc wrote:
Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:46 pm
I’m surprised that I find no mention of this pedal. I have one now and it’s absolutely amazing. I’ve never heard a delay that sounds as big and good as this pedal. The resonant filter setting is so cool with an expression pedal. The self oscillation button along with the expression pedal is so fun. So many sounds to be discovered in this thing. I can’t stop thinking about playing it actually. It does benefit from a high quality power source I will say. I started out with a one spot and now have a voodoo labs 2 plus. Big improvement. Anyone else have one of these yet?
Had mine for about 3 or 4 weeks now, and extremely happy with it. I traded a Source Audio Nemesis for it, as I generally ended up using it for the tape and analog sounds, and tap tempo is not such a biggie for me as it was (I'm not gigging or playing out much these days). Riding the expression pedal to dial in the delay time is actually not too difficult, plus the trick modes with the filter/rotary sounds are good fun (the filter especially). Love both the tape and dark analog modes....wonderful modulation on each, and the repeats sit perfectly. The DMM modes are great once you set the modulation conservatively...like the original, they get crazy quickly.

In short, I think it's superb. Haven't noticed any noise issues with the preamp either, and I've been running it in buffered mode from day one.

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by pocaloc » Wed Oct 25, 2017 10:21 am

Yeah, the preamp hasn't been an issue for me either. I've had it in buffered mode from the beginning as well. I have a bright amp so the preamp does nothing but help. I never had an issue with the preamp on the original Belle epoch when I played through different amps though. The inside of the pedal is a thing of beauty too. I think Howard from Catalinbread has amazing ears. This, and most of his pedals, are tuned perfectly IMO.

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by pj » Fri Nov 10, 2017 2:38 am

I think the price tag keeps many away. I love my Bicycle and Echorec. I am sure the Deluxe is wonderful, also.

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by somanytoys » Wed Nov 15, 2017 1:42 pm

I had started a thread about these, but it was long before they were available. I'll have to look into getting one of them, now that they're out - once I get over the anticipated sticker shock.

edit: ow, pricey, but I've done worse. It'll just have to wait a bit.
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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by pocaloc » Wed Nov 15, 2017 9:10 pm

I got mine at zzounds for 20% off, no tax, no shipping, and they’re letting me pay it off over 6 months. They have that play as you pay program. They don’t charge interest they just draw it out of my checking every month. I continue to love this pedal.

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by somanytoys » Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:00 pm

You are the devil, you and zzsounds, caressing that thing as you tempt me with their nice offers. It is appreciated.

I will have one, oh yes.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by my bloody television » Mon Nov 20, 2017 8:30 pm

I just picked one up and it arrived today. I've got to say, it sounds pretty awesome. I've had a DMB Lunar Echo for a while now and have not found a delay that rivals it (personally). It's my desert island pedal. The Catalinbread was a welcome surprise though...I was really struggling to decide which pedal I preferred when i AB'd them. The DMB is a little more soulful perhaps...it responds heavily to playing dynamics, giving it a very musical feel. The Catalinbread is just a bit more sterile i found but only slightly. The 22v power within the pedal adds a nice dimension to the sound when the pedal is engaged, even without any echo. It has a lot more options than i usually need in a delay but just after my initial fiddling I can tell that all the different sounds are very musical and useable. Excited to mess with it more and hear it in a full band context soon.

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by sumlin » Thu May 09, 2019 5:07 am

Bumping this...

I have an EP3 Echoplex but it's too risky to tour with (unless I could afford a tech to service it) so I bought a BED.

Comparing the 2 - the BED is really impressive, it captures the sense of space a real Echoplex gives. It's more than delay/echo, it feels very natural as though the effect was an artefact of something real happening in the room.
I can definitely tell the difference between the 2 though - the real Echoplex has a much broader "sweet spot" for me. If I'm using it to record I find almost any speed/depth/level setting has some workable element to it whereas the BED is less forgiving and I seem to notice it more somehow.
Other downsides - if you're anything like me you're going to have to stick a tape label across it and write the controls big. Under stage lights the blue text on grey box is invisible. Also - being very picky - the knobs are really close together. One of the joys of the original Echoplex is the physical and tactile element of the dials and slider and how it relates to the way you use it. I tend to set specific delay times on the Echoplex (usually triplet repeats and trails) and it's hard to do with the really small knob on the BED.

The main issue I've found though is that it needs a buffer after it if you're running it at the end of a pedal chain. I tried putting the buffer before and was going crazy working out what was knocking all my top end out and then I tried taking the BED out and it was fixed. I've tried switching between True Bypass and "trails" mode but it's still the same. That's a bit of a pain on a gigging pedalboard (why I bought it).

My 2p. Anyone else finding the buffer issue an issue?

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by fuzzjunkie » Fri May 10, 2019 8:52 am

Anyone else finding the buffer issue an issue?
Strange? I have no answer for you and I don’t have this pedal, but that’s not a problem I have ever heard of. I would have thought this pedal had a buffer of its own and wouldn’t need any help. A case of too many buffers spoiling the soup?

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Re: Catalinbread belle epoch deluxe

Post by 601210 » Mon May 27, 2019 4:41 am

It could be that the output impedance of the BED doesn't like the input impedance of your amp. Most of the time when a pedal has a true bypass on/off switch, it's really only to do with the buffer when bypassed and not the actual impedances of the pedal circuit when it's active.

There are pedals that have intentionally "bad" impedances on either side because that's the way the vintage stuff worked -- like Rangemasters and Fuzzfaces. I suspect that if you asked Catalinbread, they'd say it's an intentional decision to be as close as possible to vintage EP-3s... but if you don't experience that with your own EP-3 then it's very curious indeed.

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