The Catalinbread Wiio is a Catalinbread distortion pedal. Close alternatives include the Catalinbread Formula 55 and the Catalinbread Formula 5F6. It pairs well with the Blackstar Artisan 15H Handwired 15W Tube and the Orange Matamp.

Catalinbread Wiio

Catalinbread · pedal

The Catalinbread WIIO is a Marshall JTM45-inspired overdrive from Portland, Oregon, replicating the warm, harmonically rich character of the first Marshall amplifier design. The name WIIO references the historical observation that the JTM45 was essentially a replication of the Fender 5F6-A Tweed Bassman, combining the warmth of the Fender-inspired circuit with the additional edge and presence of the British Marshall voicing. The WIIO captures the specific character of the earliest Marshall amplifiers -- warm, Fender-derived, but with a British harmonic edge. Made in Portland by Catalinbread.

What stands out

  • “The WIIO captures the specific character of the earliest Marshall amplifiers -- warm, Fender-derived, but with a British harmonic edge”

    — from the listing

  • “Used for early British rock, blues-rock, and vintage amplifier-tone applications where the specific JTM45 character -- warmer and more Fender-derived than later Marshalls -- is the sonic goal”

    — from the community notes

  • “Marshall JTM45-inspired overdrive capturing the warm, harmonically rich character of the first Marshall amplifier -- a design bridging the Fender Bassman warmth and the British harmonic edge”

    — from the community notes

  • “The British harmonic edge adds complexity and the characteristic Marshall presence to what would otherwise be a Bassman-voiced pedal”

    — from the reviews

  • “The Catalinbread WIIO is a Marshall JTM45-inspired overdrive from Portland, Oregon, replicating the warm, harmonically rich character of the first Marshall amplifier design”

    — from the listing

Trade-offs

  • “the warmth and low-mid body of the bassman-derived circuit gives the overdrive more fullness than later bright-biased marshall designs”

    — from the reviews

  • british
  • warmth
  • specific character
  • presence
  • overdrive
  • rock
  • harmonically rich
  • specific jtm45 character

Genres the Catalinbread Wiio is commonly used in

Amps that pair well with the Catalinbread Wiio

Blackstar Artisan 15H Handwired 15W Tube

Blackstar

33% match
$1513.56via Reverb

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)

What Blackstar Artisan 15H Handwired 15W Tube brings here leans toward dynamic — that's worth building a pairing around

Comes later in the signal chain

Orange Matamp

Orange

30% match

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)

Run Orange Matamp after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm

Comes later in the signal chain

Hiwatt Park P18LH 'Little 45' Handwired18W

Hiwatt

tonal match
$4300via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Where this leans bright, Hiwatt Park P18LH 'Little 45' Handwired18W answers back warm

Orange BT1000H Terror Bass 1000-Watt Bass Amp

Orange

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Orange BT1000H Terror Bass 1000-Watt Bass Amp's warm balances out the bright tone

Orange Terror Bass

Orange

tonal match
$754.36via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Run Orange Terror Bass after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm

Orange Little Bass Thing

Orange

tonal match
$683.03via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Where this leans bright, Orange Little Bass Thing answers back warm

Gibson GA-50

Gibson

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Gibson GA-50's warm balances out the bright tone

Victory Amplifiers V50 The Earl

amplifier

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Where this leans bright, Victory Amplifiers V50 The Earl answers back warm

Pedals that stack with the Catalinbread Wiio

Electronic Audio Experiments Surveyor V2.5

Electronic Audio Experiments

13% match

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)

Run Electronic Audio Experiments Surveyor V2.5 after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Xotic BB Preamp

Xotic

13% match
$99via Reverb

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)

Xotic BB Preamp leans smooth right where the bright tone needs it

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Ashdown Velvet Compressor

Ashdown

12% match
$243.31via Reverb

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)

Ashdown Velvet Compressor's own compressed character is the real reason this is worth trying

Comes earlier in the signal chain

TC Electronic SCF Gold Stereo Chorus

TC Electronic

11% 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.

Keep Catalinbread Wiio's warm voice out front: TC Electronic SCF Gold Stereo Chorus goes after Catalinbread Wiio in the signal chain so its analog warmth voice doesn't muddy it

Comes later in the signal chain

Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte

Caroline Guitar Company

9% match
$199via 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.

Run Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte after Catalinbread Wiio in the signal chain, clear of Catalinbread Wiio's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

JAM Pedals Delay-Llama

Jam Pedals

9% 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.

Keep JAM Pedals Delay-Llama after Catalinbread Wiio in the signal chain, clear of Catalinbread Wiio's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

SolidGoldFX Commodore Breaker Overdrive

Solidgoldfx

tonal match
$152.15via Reverb

Comes earlier in the signal chain

SolidGoldFX Commodore Breaker Overdrive's smooth balances out the bright tone

Dunlop Blue Hippo Optical Tremolo

Dunlop

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Dunlop Blue Hippo Optical Tremolo leans warm right where the bright tone needs it

Alternativessee all similar tone character →

Catalinbread Formula 55

Catalinbread

61% similarity
$179.99via Reverb

Shared character: warm, bright, overdrive

Catalinbread Formula 5F6

Catalinbread

57% similarity
$179.99via Reverb

Shared character: warm, middle

Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium Raw

Crazy Tube Circuits

51% similarity
$276.19via Reverb

Shared character: overdrive

Electro-Harmonix Soul Food

Electro-Harmonix

51% similarity
$70.36via Reverb

Shared character: presence, overdrive

Crazy Tube Circuits Stardust V3

Crazy Tube Circuits

47% similarity
$191.26via Reverb

Shared character: warm, overdrive

Greer Mizuki blue

Greer

47% similarity
$199via Reverb

Shared character: warm, middle, overdrive

JHS Charlie Brown

JHS Pedals

47% similarity

Shared character: middle, overdrive

Dunlop Used MXR Sugar Drive

Dunlop

46% similarity

Shared character: bright, overdrive

Mad Professor Big Tweedy Drive

Mad Professor

46% similarity
$119.99via Reverb

Shared character: warm, overdrive

Cusack Music Meta Plexi

Cusack Music

46% similarity
$195via Reverb

Shared character: warm, overdrive

Jackson Audio Broken Arrow Overdrive

Jackson Audio

45% similarity

Shared character: presence, overdrive

Cusack Music Metaplexi

Cusack Music

45% similarity
$195via Reverb

Shared character: overdrive

See all alternatives to the Catalinbread Wiio (cheaper + boutique) →

Questions people ask

What are good alternatives to the Catalinbread Wiio?+

The closest matches in character are the Catalinbread Formula 55, the Catalinbread Formula 5F6, the Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium Raw.

What pairs well with the Catalinbread Wiio?+

Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Blackstar Artisan 15H Handwired 15W Tube, Orange Matamp, Hiwatt Park P18LH 'Little 45' Handwired18W — What Blackstar Artisan 15H Handwired 15W Tube brings here leans toward dynamic — that's worth building a pairing around.

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