Catlinbread Formula 5 Reissue Overdrive Pedal

Quick Pitch

The first device in the storied Tweed lineup at Catalinbread HQ, the Formula 5 was designed to emulate those reedy, touch-sensitive ‘50s tones of yore without too much fuss.

The first device in the storied Tweed lineup at Catalinbread HQ, the Formula 5 was designed to emulate those reedy, touch-sensitive ‘50s tones of yore without too much fuss. Topologically similar to the newer Formula 55 but with a much different gain structure, we decided that more people should experience the magic and simplicity of this old device. The Formula 5 is designed with circuits formulated to simulate real tubes, the Formula 5 serves up a healthy dose of gain right up front that interacts wonderfully with your guitar’s controls, harkening back to a time when other pedals just didn’t exist—one player, one guitar, one amp. And just like the old school tweed machines, all controls are interactive on this badboy, with Tone tied directly to Gain to emphasize certain frequencies depending on where both are set. This makes multiple “sweet spots” available across both knobs that are infinitely tailorable to any amp-and-guitar setup you can throw at it. With the gain maxed out, you can push the second “tube” into some light chewy sag or let the Tweediness shine with the gain control backed off.

Tweed amps are the sound of an entire generation of rock musicianship. From 1948 to 1960, Fender’s “Tweed” line, unofficially named for the fabric covering the amps, ushered in the first era of electric guitar. And just like any first wave of audio products, the sound of the Tweed amp is brash, unrefined and a little rough around the edges—just like early rock ‘n’ roll. Guitarists of that time found that turning the volume above recommended levels yielded a thick and reedy distortion that came to define the early sound of rock. Over the years, this sound and the youthful exuberance that defined this era of guitar music has been more and more revered, and we’ve managed to distill the magic of these amps into our Formula 5, our first foray into the Tweed sphere. Just like those amps—especially the smaller ones capable of low-volume distortion—have a great deal of interactivity between a minimalist set of controls, and the Formula 5 is no different. With just three simple interactive controls, you can dial in the ragged crunch of a full-tilt Champ or get all the dirty punch of someof the larger models with just a couple knob turns. If you never got a chance to experience the magic of this early build, now’s your chance!