The Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze is a Catalinbread distortion pedal. Close alternatives include the Fulltone OCD V2 and the Friedman BE-OD. It pairs well with the Laney DBC410 Digbeth 4x10 Cabinet and the Peavey VTM-120.

Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze

Catalinbread · pedal

The Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze is a limited color edition of the Portland boutique builder's Carbide high-gain distortion pedal. The Carbide delivers a tight, amp-like distortion character modeled on a cranked high-gain amplifier front end with natural feel and dynamic response. Controls include gain, tone, and volume, with the circuit emphasizing midrange character and pick sensitivity throughout the gain range. The Purple Gaze edition shares the identical circuit with the standard Carbide, differing only in finish. Suited for hard rock, classic metal, and high-gain blues players seeking amp-like distortion with feel.

What stands out

  • “Suited for hard rock, classic metal, and seeking amp-like distortion with feel”

    — from the listing

  • “Appreciated as a high-gain distortion with more amp-like feel and dynamic range than typical , positioning it between boutique overdrive and dedicated metal distortion”

    — from the community notes

  • “Controls include gain, tone, and volume, with the circuit emphasizing midrange character and pick sensitivity throughout the gain range”

    — from the listing

  • “The Carbide delivers a tight, amp-like distortion character modeled on front end with natural feel and dynamic response”

    — from the listing

  • “Dynamic response is preserved at high gain settings to a degree unusual in the category”

    — from the reviews

Trade-offs

  • “Tight, amp-like distortion character with natural feel distinguishes the Carbide from typical hard-clipping distortion designs”

    — from the reviews

  • “Modern metal applications requiring extremely tight, compressed response may find the Carbide insufficiently rigid compared to dedicated metal-focused designs”

    — from the reviews

  • distortion
  • amp like
  • high gain
  • metal
  • midrange
  • hard rock
  • natural
  • dynamic response

Genres the Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze is commonly used in

  • Hard Rock
  • Djent
  • Blues
  • Metal
  • Alternative
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Rock
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.

Amps that pair well with the Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze

Laney DBC410 Digbeth 4x10 Cabinet

Laney

21% match

pushes an already-dirty tonePushes an already-dirty tone harder and tightens it up. (high gain → tight)

Laney DBC410 Digbeth 4x10 Cabinet pushes a high gain tone toward tight

Comes later in the signal chain

Peavey VTM-120

Peavey

21% match

pushes an already-dirty tonePushes an already-dirty tone harder and tightens it up. (high gain → tight)

Peavey VTM-120 pushes a high gain tone toward tight

Comes later in the signal chain

Fender Dual Showman

amplifier

tonal match
$1100via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Stack Fender Dual Showman on top and a high gain tone tightens toward tight

Gallien-Krueger Legacy 410

Gallien Krueger

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Feed a high gain signal into Gallien-Krueger Legacy 410 and it comes out closer to tight

Gallien-Krueger MB108

Gallien Krueger

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Stack Gallien-Krueger MB108 on top and a high gain tone tightens toward tight

Gallien-Krueger Legacy 210 Bass Combo

Gallien Krueger

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Stack Gallien-Krueger Legacy 210 Bass Combo on top and a high gain tone tightens toward tight

Revv Dynamis D25 25W 1x12 Combo

Revv

tonal match
$1824via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Feed a high gain signal into Revv Dynamis D25 25W 1x12 Combo and it comes out closer to tight

Revv Dynamis D20 MkII 20W Head

Revv

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Revv Dynamis D20 MkII 20W Head takes that high gain character and pushes it toward tight

Pedals that stack with the Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze

MXR Micro Amp

MXR

20% match
$76.56via Reverb

pushes an already-dirty tonePushes an already-dirty tone harder and tightens it up. (high gain → clean boost)

Stack MXR Micro Amp on top and a high gain tone tightens toward clean boost

Comes earlier in the signal chain

DryBell Unit67 Compressor

Drybell

19% match
$289via Reverb

shapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.

DryBell Unit67 Compressor leans toward compressed, and that's a real, usable character to pair with

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Z.Vex Super Hard On

Zvex

19% match
$189via Reverb

pushes an already-dirty tonePushes an already-dirty tone harder and tightens it up. (high gain → clean boost)

Z.Vex Super Hard On takes that high gain character and pushes it toward clean boost

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Boss CE-2W Chorus Waza Craft

Boss

16% match
$219.99via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (high gain → modulated)

Boss CE-2W Chorus Waza Craft's modulated voice goes after Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze's own high gain character

Comes later in the signal chain

TC Electronic Triple Flashback Delay

TC Electronic

14% match

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Run TC Electronic Triple Flashback Delay after Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze in the signal chain, clear of Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

Hungry Robot The Borderland

Hungry Robot

14% match

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (high gain → modulated)

Keep Hungry Robot The Borderland after Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze in the signal chain, clear of Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

NuX Masamune Booster & Kompressor

Nux

tonal match
$115.31via Reverb

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Put NuX Masamune Booster & Kompressor in front of Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze

Beetronics Wannabee

Beetronics

tonal match
$296.99via Reverb

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Beetronics Wannabee pushes a high gain tone toward tight

Alternativessee all similar tone character →

Fulltone OCD V2

Fulltone

60% similarity

Shared character: high gain settings, circuit, distortion

Friedman BE-OD

Friedman

59% similarity
$169.99via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, higher gain, volume

Tone City TC Model M V2

Tone City

58% similarity
$83.80via Reverb

Shared character: higher gain, distortion, high gain settings

Black Country Customs Monolith

Black Country Customs

56% similarity
$119via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, volume, metal

Donner Morpher Distortion

Donner

56% similarity

Shared character: higher gain, gain, distortion

REVV G4 Distortion

Revv

55% similarity
$215via Reverb

Shared character: distortion, high gain settings

REVV G4 V2 Distortion

Revv

54% similarity
$195.39via Reverb

Shared character: distortion, high gain settings

Blackstar DEPT10DDS Dept.10 Dual Distortion

Blackstar

54% similarity
$299.99via Reverb

Shared character: high gain settings, hard rock, distortion

Suhr Riot

Suhr

54% similarity

Shared character: high gain settings, volume, metal

Revv Chat Breaker

Revv

52% similarity
$188.65via Reverb

Shared character: distortion, high gain settings

Subdecay Blackstar Distortion

Subdecay

52% similarity

Shared character: gain, distortion

Digitech DOD Boneshaker

Digitech

52% similarity
$119.23via Reverb

Shared character: metal, hard rock, gain

See all alternatives to the Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze (cheaper + boutique) →

Questions people ask

What are good alternatives to the Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze?+

The closest matches in character are the Fulltone OCD V2, the Friedman BE-OD, the Tone City TC Model M V2.

What pairs well with the Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze?+

Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Laney DBC410 Digbeth 4x10 Cabinet, Peavey VTM-120, Fender Dual Showman — Laney DBC410 Digbeth 4x10 Cabinet pushes a high gain tone toward tight.

Compare

Related searches