Catalinbread Soft Focus Shoegaze Reverb Pedal
An instant shoegaze experience based on the Soft Focus patch of the Yamaha FX500!
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Want to Click and Collect or try items at our Guildford Store?
The store is open 10am - 6pm Monday to Saturday and 11am - 5pm Sunday and bank holidays.
The stock information shows the quantity of units that are available to purchase at the Guildford store and the quantity of units that are available at our off-site Guildford warehouse. These stock levels are updated in real time.
Our Click and Collect service is available at our Guildford store from 10am - 6pm Monday to Saturday, and 11am - 5pm on Sunday. You can either choose click and collect as your delivery option online or, during store opening hours, call our sales team at 01483 456777 to place a 10% deposit.
If you have placed your order online, you will receive a confirmation email of your order and a separate follow-up text or email to confirm when your item is ready for collection.
Please do not come to the store before you have received the follow-up message, as your order may not yet be ready at the store.
If the only available stock is in our off-site warehouse it can be brought to the store location for you to try - you just need to contact the store within opening hours. Please note any requests received after 3.30pm will not arrive at the store until the following morning.
Please be aware that, unless you have paid a deposit to reserve the item, it will continue to be free, both online and in-store, for another customer to buy. Therefore we would advise you to place a 10% deposit by either using the on-line click and collect service or calling us 01483 456777.
SKU: SOFTFOCUS
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Product Description
The Soft Focus patch on the Yamaha FX500 was widely used in the ‘90s by early shoegaze bands, most notably Slowdive on Souvlaki. With its roots in that patch, the Catalinbread Soft Focus is intended to be an instant shoegaze button, while addressing the most glaring issues of the original unit: no mix control, a sub-par preamp, and a ghastly tone-sucking bypass signal.
Plate Reverb
At its heart, the Soft Focus is a heavily modified plate reverb with adjustable time, which is subsequently split into three paths. One path contains a multi-voiced chorus modulator, another features a well-appointed octave-up mixed in with the reverb, and the third path leaves the reverb untouched.
Chorus
The Mod knob controls the rate of the chorus on path one, and the Symphony knob controls the level of the octave on path two. All controls are "coupled" to the tone of the reverb to give users an expansive playing field of sounds to discover and fine tune.
Power Requirements
The Soft Focus runs from 9 to 18 volts using a standard DC centre-negative power supply for pedals. Make sure you’re using a supply that provides at least 100mA. Running the Soft Focus at 9V will sound great, but if you want a bit more output, a dry signal boost and increased headroom, try any voltage you like up to 18V! The Soft Focus does not run on batteries.
Controls
- SYMPH (SYMPHONY): This knob mixes in a slight octave effect on the wet reverb signal. While subtle, this shifts the mood and character quite a bit. This is also tied to some frequencies in the reverb for more harmonic content.
- MIX: This a wet/dry blend. Turn all the up for 100% wet and all the way down for 100% dry.
- MOD: This parameter controls the rate of the multi-voiced chorus and changes some of the frequencies in the reverb oscillation.
- VERB: This controls the decay time for the reverb.
- VOL: Adds a bit of gain to the dry signal pre effect; can be used when bypassed in buffer/trails mode as a clean boost.
* For full quintessential shoegaze sounds, max all the knobs and adjust the mix to taste. However, every knob is musically interactive with one another for a truly versatile palette usable in a wide variety of styles.