Catalinbread EG1

An EG1 Designed as a Lo-Fi "Receiver" in the Catalinbread Range

The second Catalinbread release based on their platform with tap tempo, the EG1 doesn't just "imitate vintage": it focuses on what defines the signature of the transmission media themselves. Radio, Digital Television, and Magnetic Tape are not just labels here, but three ways to degrade, filter, texture, and bring repeats to life. The result: a pedal that can behave as a very musical delay... or as a creative processor capable of transforming your signal into sonic material.

For Whom and For What: From Roots Slapback to Shoegaze Pads

The EG1 is aimed as much at the guitarist who wants a clean but characterful country slapback as at the musician seeking unstable backgrounds, dirty echoes, and grainy tails for indie, post-rock, ambient, or shoegaze. Thanks to the tap tempo, it fits comfortably on a stage pedalboard, and its "controlled lo-fi" approach also makes it a formidable studio tool to place a guitar in a setting, thicken a riff, or give organic movement to a clean line.
Its behavior encourages playing: pushing the feedback multiplies artifacts and the pedal can reach self-oscillation, perfect for transitions, build-ups, and experimental textures.

Controls and Modes: A Simple Interface, Deep Results

The Catalinbread EG1 remains intentionally straightforward: Feedback adjusts the amount of signal fed back into the delay line, bringing imperfections to the forefront (up to self-oscillation at extreme settings). Mix sweeps the entire spectrum between dry and wet signals, convenient for subtle echoes behind playing or fully detached pads.
The core concept relies on a MOD selector with three positions and two associated controls: MOD (which changes function depending on the mode) and Transmission (which adjusts the depth or amount of the mode's effect). In Radio mode, MOD acts as a hi-pass and lo-fi filter, with a simulation of upstream radio artifacts, while Transmission blends the "filtered" and "unfiltered" parts of the repeats. In Tape mode, the EG1 explores wow and flutter: MOD controls modulation speed, and Transmission adjusts its depth. In Digital Television mode, you enter digital degradation: MOD adjusts the Nyquist error ratio, and Transmission doses this treatment in the repeats, with a slight downsampling/bitcrushing-type grain.
Finally, Delay Time sets the delay time up to about 900 ms. A practical feature: if you turn Delay Time while in tap tempo mode, the pedal returns to the time set by the potentiometer, allowing you to instantly regain control without fighting the tapped tempo.

Sound Character

The EG1's personality depends on the mode, but the philosophy remains the same: repeats that "live" and embrace their flaws as a musical color. In Radio, expect narrower, filtered echoes, sometimes almost "distant," perfect for pushing a part back in the mix or giving a retro, edgy aesthetic. In Tape, modulation brings organic movement: repeats undulate, warp, and dirty themselves in an inspiring way, with a more mechanical and nostalgic feel.
The Digital Television mode is the sharpest: it adds a more "computerized" granulation, errors, and a chopped texture that can recall modern degraded delays, ideal for electro-rock, textured intros, or cold, glitchy atmospheres. And thanks to the mix going up to 100% wet, the EG1 can also transform into a true parallel layer: you keep your playing intact... or let the repeats take over to create a full environment.

Technical specifications

Effects	Delay	Use	electric guitar
Format	Pedal	Color	Multicolor
Type	Mains or battery

Three modes	Radio, Digital Television, Tape	Red LED	Classic mode (delay time set via Delay Time)
Delay time	up to approximately 900 ms	Green LED	Tap input mode (footswitch tap to set time)
Feedback	amount of repeats, artifact accumulation, possible self-oscillation at extremes	Blue LED	Tap bypass mode (bypass with time memorized from Tap input)
Mix	from 100% dry to 100% wet	Mode access	turn Delay Time to return to Classic mode, hold footswitch to enter Tap input, then hold again to switch to Tap bypass
MOD (potentiometer)	mode-dependent control (Radio filtering, Tape modulation speed, Digital Television Nyquist error ratio)	Power supply	not included (provide suitable power supply)
Transmission	depth or amount of MOD processing depending on mode	Required power	9V DC center negative
MOD switch (3 positions)	selects Radio / Tape / Digital Television	Minimum current required	200 mA