The Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze is a Catalinbread distortion pedal. Close alternatives include the Suhr Riot and the Friedman BE-OD. It pairs well with the Peavey VTM-120 and the Vox MV50-CE Rock.
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.
- distortion
- metal
- midrange
- hard rock
- natural
- high gain
- tight
- sensitivity
Genres the Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze is commonly used in
- Hard Rock
- Djent
- Blues
- Metal
- Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Heavy Metal
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Amps that pair well with the Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze
Peavey VTM-120
Peavey
22% matchPeavey VTM-120 pushes a high gain tone toward tight
Vox MV50-CE Rock
Vox
21% matchVox MV50-CE Rock takes that high gain character and pushes it toward tight
Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210
Gallien Krueger
tonal matchGallien-Krueger Fusion 210 takes that high gain character and pushes it toward mid-forward
Traynor BB115
Traynor
tonal matchStack Traynor BB115 on top and a high gain tone tightens toward tight
Gallien-Krueger Legacy 410
Gallien Krueger
tonal matchFeed a high gain signal into Gallien-Krueger Legacy 410 and it comes out closer to tight
Egnater Renegade 65 4x10 Combo
Egnater
tonal matchFeed a high gain signal into Egnater Renegade 65 4x10 Combo and it comes out closer to tight
Gallien-Krueger Legacy 210 Bass Combo
Gallien Krueger
tonal matchStack Gallien-Krueger Legacy 210 Bass Combo on top and a high gain tone tightens toward tight
Gallien-Krueger MB210-II
Gallien Krueger
tonal matchGallien-Krueger MB210-II pushes a high gain tone toward tight
Pedals that stack with the Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze
Soldano SLO
Soldano
19% matchStack Soldano SLO on top and a high gain tone tightens toward tight
Shin's Music Dumbloid
Shins Music
18% matchShin's Music Dumbloid takes that high gain character and pushes it toward tight
Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress
Electro-Harmonix
16% matchKeep Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze's mid-forward voice out front: Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress goes after Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze in the signal chain so its lush voice doesn't muddy it
Crazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio
Crazy Tube Circuits
16% matchCrazy Tube Circuits Golden Ratio leans toward tight, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Walrus Audio Fathom
Walrus Audio
13% matchKeep Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze's mid-forward voice out front: Walrus Audio Fathom goes after Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze in the signal chain so its ambient voice doesn't muddy it — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Hungry Robot Moby Dick V2
Hungry Robot
13% matchHungry Robot Moby Dick V2's ambient voice goes after Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze's own mid-forward character — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Suhr Eclipse
Suhr
tonal matchCatalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze leans into a clean amp's front end, precisely the platform Suhr Eclipse wants
Laney TI-Boost
Laney
tonal matchInto Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze, Laney TI-Boost is right at home: it's built around a clean amp's front end
Alternativessee all similar tone character →
Suhr Riot
Suhr
73% similarityShared character: high_gain_settings, volume, hard_rock
Friedman BE-OD
Friedman
73% similarityShared character: higher_gain, volume, presence
Suhr Riot Mini Black Edition
Suhr
73% similarityShared character: high_gain_settings, hard_rock, mix
Black Country Customs Monolith
Black Country Customs
72% similarityShared character: high_gain_settings, volume, presence
Klon KTR
Klon
72% similarityShared character: high_gain_settings, distortion, gain
Dunlop MXR Timmy Overdrive, sold as Dunlop CSP027
Dunlop
71% similarityShared character: high_gain_settings, gain, natural
Caroline Guitar Company Wave Cannon Zero
Caroline Guitar Company
71% similarityShared character: high_gain_settings, higher_gain, sensitivity
Catalinbread Carbide
Catalinbread
70% similarity“The Purple Gaze edition has no circuit differences from the standard Carbide, making it a purely cosmetic variant.”
Donner Extreme Driver
Donner
66% similarityShared character: hard_rock, high_gain_settings, distortion
Lovepedal MK12 Super High Gain Dirt Box
Lovepedal
66% similarityShared character: hard_rock, high_gain_settings, distortion
ENO EX-Inferno
Eno
66% similarityShared character: hard_rock, high_gain_settings, distortion
J. Rockett 10 Ton Hammer Overdrive
J Rockett
97% similaritysimilar tone character
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 Suhr Riot, the Friedman BE-OD, the Suhr Riot Mini Black Edition.
What pairs well with the Catalinbread Carbide Purple Gaze?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Peavey VTM-120, Vox MV50-CE Rock, Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210 — Peavey VTM-120 pushes a high gain tone toward tight.