Overview of Howard Gee's smart KittyCasterFX Pedal Trifecta
This exercise is long overdue of course, since it’s been a while since Howard moved on from Catalinbread and set up his own outfit - for which the latest release is the Mohair Fuzztortion Muff + Boost type.
Featured here is the KittyCasterFX Trifecta released to date - which consists of the aforementioned Mohair Fuzztortion Muff-Boost, a Groovy Wizard hybrid Ge/Si Dynamic Fuzz Driver, and a Tremdriver Harmonic Tremolo modulated Drive.
All really smart and dynamic takes on those formats with the same sort of 4 control topologies carried across all of them. Two of these pedals also have a second footswitch - one for Boost, and the other for engaging the LFO / Tremolo.
The enclosure here is a custom wedge shape of Howard’s own devising - on a birds-eye view it kind of sits between a 125B and 1590BB size on the width. It’s a format I really like - practical and distinct - obviously with top-mounted ports for maximum convenience!
I’m a huge fan of consistency of quality - and Howard carries through a strongly anchored theme across all 3 pedals. With really attractive and colourful somewhat psychedelic visuals - mostly in the typography department!
For the longest time Howard was the driving force at Catalinbread, and responsible for many of their most loved designs. He alas fell foul to some family politicking there - and was unceremoniously ousted by dark forces. Not exactly the same as Tom Cram vs DigiTech - but there are similarities to their overall journeys - and both those brilliant circuit designers now own their own imprints - with Tom’s Spiral Electric FX something of a sideline since he got hired by DigiTech again - this time under the governance of South Korea’s Cor-Tek Corporation.
In any case, if anyone deserves to do well - it is Howard Gee - who’s made a very strong start with his own brand - all of those 3 are worthy acquisition targets - priced between $299 and $399 on the KittyCasterFX Webstore. My good friends Joe Light at Joe’s Pedals in the UK (£249-£359), and Scott Hager in Canada are both key dealers for this brand - Scott via his Axe and You Shall Receive imprint.
No doubt some of these will be added to the reference collection in due time.
Mohair Fuzztortion (Muff + Boost) - $299
Controls - Volume, Sustain, Tone, Range, Bypass Footswitch, Boost Footswitch.
A great concept of an essentially Muff core with a RangeMaster style boost to further beef up the output. A really smart take for sure - making allowances and providing remedies for the Muff's weaknesses. I own over a hundred Muff types already, but I still like the look / sound of this one. Beautifully made all-round, and definitely a target for me.
Groovy Wizard hybrid Ge/Si Dynamic Fuzz Driver (loosely based on the Mayer Helios Preamp / Fuzz) - $299
Controls - Volume, Gain, Presence, Contour.
I also own more than 100 Fuzz Faces, and probably a good dozen or so Hybrid Fuzz Faces. This essentially extends the range and versatility of the Fuzz Face format, while maintaining all those great dynamics - like the superior under-the-fingers feel, and guitar volume gain cleanup. UPDATE! : Actually I was wrong about this 2-transistor fuzz driver being a Fuzz Face, Howard has corrected me that it's actually rather based on the Roger Mayer Helios Preamp - so my bad! When I see a 2-transistor device / design I almost automatically think it's somehow fuzz face derived - which in truth most of those devices are! I always want to know what transistors are deployed also, which is not revealed here (than you to Ben - below for the insights!). I don't really need another two-transistor fuzzy-drive - but this would be just the sort of thing I would go for if I were. I typically much prefer extended-range fuzz / faces with a minimum of 3 controls - typically an external bias is a must-have for me too!
Tremdriver Preamp / Harmonic Tremolo - $399
Controls - Drive, Speed, Output, LFO Bias, Bypass Footswitch, LFO (Tremolo).
I've obviously just recently picked up the Mattoverse TremStortion - which is very much along similar lines - albeit not with my favourite Harmonic Tremolo variety as is present on this model. Probably the most appealing one for me of this trio - while they're all really strong. This one's a whole 100 credits dearer than the others - which will require some mental gymnastics to rationalise. I could certainly see my way to owning one of these - especially if it can be acquired somewhat opportunistically!
