The Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red is a Catalinbread distortion pedal, currently around $145. Close alternatives include the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra Blackout and the Dean Markley Overlord. It pairs well with the Orange Matamp and the Marshall Bluesbreaker.
Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red
Catalinbread · pedal
The Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra is an overdrive pedal from Portland, Oregon, designed to replicate the specific guitar tone of Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath -- the combination of a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster driving a 1965 Marshall 1959 Super Lead amplifier that produced the original heavy metal guitar sound. The Sabbra Cadabra combines the treble boost function with the Marshall Superlead overdrive in a single unit, delivering the dark, massive, harmonically complex tone that defined the earliest heavy metal recordings. Made in Portland by Catalinbread.
What stands out
“The Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra is an overdrive pedal from Portland, Oregon, designed to replicate the specific guitar tone of Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath -- the combination of a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster driving a 1965 Marshall 195…”
— from the listing
“The combination of treble boost and Marshall Superlead overdrive in a single unit produces a synergistic result where the interaction between the two circuits generates harmonic content that neither element produces alone”
— from the reviews
“The Sabbra Cadabra combines the treble boost function with the Marshall Superlead overdrive in a single unit, delivering the dark, massive, harmonically complex tone that defined the earliest heavy metal recordings”
— from the listing
“used for doom”
— from the community notes
“The specific Tony Iommi / Black Sabbath dark, massive, harmonically complex tone that defined heavy metal guitar is the standout character”
— from the community notes
- overdrive
- treble
- dark
- harmonically complex
- massive
- doom
- specific guitar tone
- boost
Price updated Oct 23, 2026
Genres the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red is commonly used in
- Rock
- Metal
- Doom Metal
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Amps that pair well with the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red
Orange Matamp
Orange
42% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
The Sabbra Cadabra's dark, metal-voiced overdrive pushes hard against the Matamp's sweet, singing blues-rock breakup.
Comes later in the signal chain
Marshall Bluesbreaker
Marshall
41% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → glassy)
Into the Bluesbreaker's round, natural tube breakup, the Sabbra Cadabra's massive, dark overdrive has a genuinely heavier amp voice to push into.
Comes later in the signal chain
Blackstar Artisan 15H Handwired 15W Tube
Blackstar
38% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)
Push the Artisan 15H's round, dynamic breakup with the Sabbra Cadabra's massive, dark treble boost and it turns into serious weight.
Comes later in the signal chain
Marshall Superlead Guitar Amplifier Head
Marshall
35% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain. (dynamic → compressed)
What Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red brings here leans toward bright — that's worth building a pairing around
Comes later in the signal chain
Marshall Super Lead 100-Watt Head
amplifier
34% matchCatalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red leans toward bright, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
Marshall JMP 2203 Mk II Master Lead 100w
Marshall
33% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain. (dynamic → compressed)
Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red leans toward bright, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
Hiwatt HB410HN
Hiwatt
33% matchHiwatt HB410HN leans into Marshall-style amps, precisely the platform Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red wants
Comes later in the signal chain
Marshall AVT 20 Valvestate 2000
Marshall
31% matchCatalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red leans toward bright, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
See all 28 amps that pair with the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red →
Pedals that stack with the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red
MXR Phase 90
MXR
20% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Put MXR Phase 90 after Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red in the signal chain, clear of Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red's own gain stage
Comes later in the signal chain
Klon Centaur
Klon
18% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
Klon Centaur leans toward mid-forward, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes earlier in the signal chain
ZVEX Fuzz Factory
Zvex
17% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)
Where this leans bright, ZVEX Fuzz Factory answers back smooth
Comes later in the signal chain
Orange Sustain
Orange
15% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → glassy)
Run the Orange Sustain's warm optical compression ahead of the Sabbra Cadabra so its doom-voiced gain kicks in from an already-sustained note.
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Walrus Audio Fable
Walrus Audio
13% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Feed the Fable's glitchy granular reverb with the Sabbra Cadabra's massive, dark overdrive and the wash gets real weight to decay into. — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte
Caroline Guitar Company
12% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Put Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte after Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red in the signal chain, clear of Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Strymon Iridium
Strymon
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Run Strymon Iridium after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm
SolidGoldFX Commodore Breaker Overdrive
Solidgoldfx
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
SolidGoldFX Commodore Breaker Overdrive's smooth balances out the bright tone
Cheaper alternatives
Boutique & premium upgrades
Shin's Music Dumbloid B
Shins Music
53% similarityShared character: lead, overdrive
Abasi Pathos Distortion
Abasi
51% similarityShared character: dark, middle, boost
Friedman BE-OD Deluxe
Friedman
51% similarityShared character: treble, middle, lead
Origin Effects DCX Boost
Origin Effects
49% similarityShared character: dark, treble, boost
Way Huge Pork Loin
Way Huge
45% similarityShared character: dark, boost, overdrive
Death By Audio Thee Treble
Death By Audio
45% similarityShared character: treble, boost
Similar charactersee all similar tone character →
Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra Blackout
Catalinbread
60% similarity“The Blackout edition shares the identical circuit with the standard Sabbra Cadabra, differing only in its all-black cosmetic finish.”
Dean Markley Overlord
Dean Markley
54% similarityShared character: treble, middle, boost
Catalinbread Sabbra Traditional Ink
Catalinbread
52% similarityShared character: dark
MXR M104 Distortion+
MXR
50% similarityShared character: middle, lead, overdrive
Mad Professor Mad-Rbo
Mad Professor
48% similarityShared character: treble, boost, lead
Carl Martin PlexiRanger
Carl Martin
47% similarityShared character: combination, treble, lead
See all alternatives to the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red?+
The closest matches in character are the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra Blackout, the Dean Markley Overlord, the Catalinbread Sabbra Traditional Ink. Budget picks: MXR Eric Gales Raw Dawg, Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal, Bogner Ecstasy Blue Mini Overdrive. Boutique upgrades: Shin's Music Dumbloid B, Abasi Pathos Distortion, Friedman BE-OD Deluxe.
What pairs well with the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Orange Matamp, Marshall Bluesbreaker, Blackstar Artisan 15H Handwired 15W Tube — The Sabbra Cadabra's dark, metal-voiced overdrive pushes hard against the Matamp's sweet, singing blues-rock breakup..
How much does the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra 10 Red cost?+
Around $145 (live listing price, updated Oct 23, 2026).