Catalinbread Airstrip: Console Magic in a Stompbox
Catalinbread Airstrip inspired by the legendary Trident A-Range
4,7 / 5,0 | 
Catalinbread has announced the release of the Airstrip, a new stompbox that captures the essence of classic British Trident mixing consoles.
Catalinbread Airstrip
Inspired by the legendary Trident A-Range, the Airstrip faithfully recreates the warm, characterful sound of those iconic consoles, known for their ability to transform guitars from subtle cleans to raging fuzz.
At the heart of the Airstrip lies a discrete germanium-and-transformer-equipped preamp covering a lot of ground. Catalinbread mentions that the circuit is meticulously designed to deliver a range of tones that span from the refined elegance of Lou Reed to the chaotic brilliance of Frank Zappa.
Four Controls
Push is a dedicated control that unleashes a ferocious, fuzz-driven overdrive courtesy of a discrete op-amp based on a vintage UREI design. The Volume knob provides ample clean boost, ensuring your signal cuts through the mix with clarity and impact.
Next is the Filter, a subtle treble filter that allows players to fine-tune the high-end response, tailoring the sound to their preferences and rig.
Finally, the Trim (the red knob) controls the preamp gain, offering precise control over the overall level and character of the signal.
18V Operation
The internal circuit will have more headroom if you run the pedal at 18V instead of the regular 9V operation. With this ‘console in a pedal,’ it makes sense to do this, a bit like the Hudson Broadcast, which has a similar feature set and is also based on a console preamp.
It will do “mastered”-style clean and it gets dirty if you need it to, all the way through to some lovely warm fuzz-like tones, so it is a versatile stompbox.
Verdict
I enjoy these console-style pedal circuits. This new one from Catalinbread sounds good in the demos I have seen, so it could be a great purchase for players who want a versatile drive pedal that can add character to their tone.
If you are heading to NAMM, this would be one to check out.
MSRP – GBP 149.60
More Information
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One response to “Catalinbread Airstrip: Console Magic in a Stompbox”
During the early Eighties I had the good fortune to record in a Trident-equipped studio. If Catalinbread’s pedal can deliver anything like an o’driven Trident console channel, my search is over.