Catalinbread Starcrash 70 Series Katzenkonig Rat Bender Pedal

Introducing the StarCrash '70s Collection, where we invite you to bring your vintage tonal dreams into the present from the time when the majority of rock ‘n’ roll’s most iconic and sought-after tones were forged, the 1970s. Several of our most iconic ‘70s inspired boxes have been given a paint job that wouldn’t look out of place on the side of a snazzy panel van. We’ve also introduced two new pedals to round out this line! The Starcrash is a ‘70s style fuzz circuit that’s been carefully tuned for maximum sustain with a handful of extras, while the Sidearm is our spin on the classic “green” overdrive of yore with some powerful and intuitive EQ options. Whichever type of rock you associate with the ‘70s, the StarCrash '70s Collection has you covered no matter what.

Overview

Katzenkönig loves humbuckers and single coils, your cranked amp, and your super-clean amp. The front half of the circuit is based on the Tone Bender MKII, widely considered the most desirable of the Tone Benders. In the original, a germanium transistor makes the signal loud; a second transistor makes it very loud, and a third one makes it ridiculously loud. The filter control works wonders, enabling shades you'd never obtain from a Tone Bender MKII.

A simple, four-knob control scheme allows you to dial in your sound quickly and without much fuss:

Input 

Controls the input sensitivity. Turn it down when using higher output pickups and humbuckers or to dial in your wah sound (more on that later). Turn it up for lower output pickups or for when you want to go over-the-top!

Gain

Controls the gain of the second gain stage. It is not a conventional gain control, rather, it controls the amount of negative feedback in that stage. What does that mean for you? It means you get a wide ranging gain control that sounds great throughout it’s entire rotation!

Filter

Allows you to dial in your final tone from smooth and creamy all the way to bright and cutting. You can quickly find the sweet spot for your rig with this control. If you are familiar with the Filter control on a Rat then what you’ll find is that this is an even better version of that idea!

Volume

Standard volume control. You’ll find that Katzenkönig sounds great turned down quiet or cranked up and loud!

Power Supply

The Katzenkönig runs anywhere from 9 to 18 volts DC, using a standard center-negative power supply or a 9-volt battery. Running on a battery provides a softer response with a slightly different picking feel, while using a DC power supply above 9 volts delivers a louder sound with a slightly different feel. The best bet is to try all the powering options to hone in on your ultimate Katzenkönig tone!