Following their recent streak of effects distilling classic 1980s and ’90s studio rack gear into pedalboard-friendly boxes—like the Yamaha FX500-inspired Soft Focus and the Alesis Microverb-style CB Paint—Catalinbread is going right back to the shoegaze well with the Catalinbread FX90 Early Verb. Originally launched as a Sweetwater exclusive before hitting wider shops, this compact reverb pedal pulls the famous Early Reflections patch out of the vintage Yamaha SPX90 rack unit, turning every note you play into a dense, blooming wash of tight echoes and reverse-style swells.
What’s Special About It
The Early Reflections patch on old Yamaha rack units was a secret weapon for early-’90s shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine, creating a rush of fast, uneven repeats that swell upward before settling into a light reverb. Catalinbread took that classic studio algorithm and added an internal feedback path, letting those tight reflections build into a swirling, cavernous cloud. Unlike clunky 19-inch rack units that require menu diving, the FX90 lays everything out on five hands-on knobs and even lets you drive the preamp section into musical grit when you push the volume.
Controls:
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DLY (Pre-Delay): Holds the reverb wash back by up to 400ms, letting your dry pick attack cut through clearly before the swelling echoes rush in.
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Time: Scales the natural spacing between the initial reflections all at once, moving from a single tight echo at minimum to wide, scattered repeats at maximum.
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Room: Acts as a dual control for both echo volume and feedback, stretching the sound from a quick slapback to a massive, endlessly blooming room.
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Mix: Blends your dry guitar with the wet signal—cranking it toward 100% wet hides your pick attack for a smooth, volume-pedal-style fade-in.
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Vol: Sets the overall output level and doubles as a preamp gain stage that adds gritty clipping when turned up high.
The Word on the Street
Early reactions from shoegaze and dream-pop players highlight how effortlessly the FX90 nails that classic “reverse-gated” studio wall of sound without needing a vintage rack unit or an external volume pedal. Guitarists particularly appreciate the 100% wet capability and the grit from the Vol knob, though some note that—much like the Soft Focus—it is dedicated to doing one specific rack patch really well rather than acting as a multi-mode reverb.
If you love the swirling, disorienting textures of 1990s shoegaze and want that authentic Yamaha SPX90 early-reflections swell sitting right on your pedalboard, the FX90 Early Verb delivers instant studio nostalgia in a dead-simple stompbox.
