Catalinbread Chile Picoso

One gain knob, true bypass switch. Can't get any easier. Has a standard and inverted output.

Let's put it this way: My band was recording so all of my stuff was at the studio. THe only thing I had at my house when I got my Chile Picoso in the mail was a 25 watt Crate bass combo and my friend's lowest end ESP LTD guitar. I turned all the knobs on the amp up all the way except the master. I set the gain knob on the pedal at about 4:30 and with that shity setup, I got some of the best distortion I've ever gotten. The first time I tried it with my Deluxe Reverb I blew the fews... twice in ten minutes! It was exhilarating!!! But I love using both outputs to bridge the channels of my amp, unbelievable.

Simple mosfet boost; theres more circuitry just in the switch, LED and jacks than the boost. What could go wrong?

A great small company!

I have always had a complicated guitar setup, but as of right now I get my main tone from the chile picoso and a Deluxe Reverb reissue. This is the best pedal I have ever boughten!

One knob, should I say more?

Well, even if I'm a maniac of guitar effects I love the true and direct sound of a good class-A amp and a good guitar. I use a Gibson SG, a Fender Telecaster, a Fender Statocaster and a home made guitar which sounds like a Jazzmaster/Brian May Special Red with an Orange AD30 Twin Channel and some other effect/pedals.
Now I wonder how I could use all this stuff without my brand new Picoso. Your favourite tone and sound don't change but they become far bigger and richer. Your amp sound as you always wanted to. I use with the knob at 100% cause I need a gargatuan sound for soloes or whenever you need to be more present without forgetting the original attack and tone of your amp and without falling into those flat and overdriven mosquito sounds of the most common overdrive and distortion pedals.

If I had it stolen, I'd buy another one...

The pedal comes well packaged along with all the intructions and technical sheet.
Nicholas, who produces this pedals is very very reliable and helpful, it's really nice to deal with him. He's very responsive as well. It took 6 days to have this item delivered to the other side of the world.

I love my Picoso

This is, without a doubt, the simplest pedal in the world to operate. You need to, however, exercise caution when engaging it with the pedal dimed if you have a class A tube amp. My ears rang for a few hours after I did that. There was no manual with the pedal, but it needs none. The pedal is clean, inside and out, with a beautifully wired interior and a label that says "Hand Built For: Adam Wood" in Nic's handwriting.

My Rig: https://webspace.utexas.edu/woodas/adamon6thstreets_guitar_pics.htm

This pedal goes after my guitar (and volume pedal) and before my amp. There is a bit of hiss with this pedal, but using a battery instead of a wall wart will take care of most of this. There are two settings I use with this pedal: A: knob at 100% on my amp's gain channel as a boost for my leads. It drives the preamp and gets some nice saturation. B: Knob at about 33% always on...this just thickens my tone and makes everything more present. I wish I had two!

Not a single problem...ever. The thing is bullet proof, unless you took a knife to the red Tolex covering.

Nic is a top notch builder and businessman. I emailed him with questions about the SCP before I purchased and he always emailed me very promptly. He even suggested uses for the pedal and gave me a good deal on it. (Plus he wrote my name on the inside!!!)

This thing is great. I love the pedal and I always use it. If it was stolen, would I buy another? No, I would hunt down the person that stole it and get it back, after tearing him apart with my teeth.


...In other words, Im in love.

One Knob, one true bypass stomper....as easy as it gets

slightly hiss-y when turned up wide open....i dont expect i'll ever need it that loud.....interacts wonderfully with all my pedals... i have it at the END of the chain, it opens up my sound, almost makes it breathe like an Aphex or BBE

Yes, i'll gig without a backup, its on my board to stay

as good as it gets, had a problem with the 9v adaptor that nic added onto mine ( for free, i might add ), HE paid for return shipping and put a heavier duty plug on it...he's great to deal with, as he expands his line-up i'll buy more

Perfect for BOOSTING leads, adding depth to the overall sound, i play both soft and LOUD music, i use my picoso to make my leads stand out and add feedback to my Wyllie Overtron....plus, its the coolest looking pedal i have