Catalinbread Super Chile Picoso

Extremely easy to use as a boost. Just set the one knob for your desired boost volume. The knob is also big enough you can adjust it with your foot, if need be.

I use the SCP mainly as a boost and as an "enhancer" on clean/picking parts. It does what it is supposed to do - it boosts your volume without ANY change to original tone, though it adds a bit of a "sparkle". Not a tone coloration. Hard to describe. It is very subtle but oh so sweet.

Tank! No problems at all.

No need for any CS contact yet.

I bought the SCP about 7 months ago and have used it on every gig since (about 4-5 times a month). It has performed flawlessly and it is reliable and consistent every night. I play in a cover band (mostly classic rock with some country, funk, and metal thrown in) and use it to boost my solos and to sparkle up my clean stuff. I set the knob at about 10 o'clock and leave it there the whole night.

Guitar->Fulldrive 2->Diamond Fireburst->Diamond Memory Lane->Super Chile Picoso->50W VVT Earthquake Head->2x12 Avatar w/30W Celestions

I highly recommend the SCP even if you are already using another clean boost pedal (RC booster, etc). It is just an awesome little pedal.

Couldn't be any easier.

I use a '62 into SCP into a 60's vox ac30 that's it.
Without the SCP the combination sounded a bit dull and muffled.
The SCP really opened up the sound even at the 0 setting.
My setup has never sounded better.

Looks sturdy. I only use it in the studio. I only wish the battery was fastened somehow, but that's easily fixed with some foam.

Don't know.

I love it because it is so simple to use and still has a dramatic effect on my sound, I never turn it off.

One knob. Even a drummer could operate it :D

Strat > Barber Ltd > Emma ReezaFRATzitz > Fulltone OCD > Small Stone > SCP > Yamaha UD Stomp > Fender Dual Showman Reverb/Pro Reverb

The SCP remains on all the time : makes everything sound fatter and more clear. Especially the Small Stone could perform magical disappearing tricks when engaged, not anymore.

Looks sturdy.

Mailed Nicolas to congratulate him on a fine product, and he responded quickly and nicely. I'm sure dealing with him in case you need support will be the same.

I've tried a clean boost with a Barber Tone Press, but this suits me better. A vital part of my setup, I'll never part with it.

One knob and one switch! Easy! There are two different outputs to choose from. The standard output allows you to boost the level whereas the other output is buffered and only allows a unity gain buffer driver. This output is not true bypass so you could use this jack if you were planning on using the pedal to buffer long cable runs and reduce some of the tone loss. You would have to keep the pedal on all the time and the volume at zero. Personally, I use the standard boost output and if I choose to run it as a buffer, I drop the volume to 0. This allows me to still turn the pedal on or off if I wanted as well as boost the signal if desired. A really versatile boost to say the least. Oh yeah, it has a power jack as well!

Great all the way around. The SCP will give you subtle boosting, drive long cable runs quietly and cleanly, or drive the front end of your amp beyond tonal bliss. It does not change the character of your tone by emphasising certain frequencies like a treble booster would. It's a flat eq response with a lot of boosting power. I believe around 30 db to be exact. You could easily use this pedal to boost single note lines and put your Tube Screamer back in the closet. The SCP rocks straight up!

I've been able to totally depend on it. No operational issues whatsoever. I gig without a backup.

Nicholas is great to deal with. He did this pedal for me in a custom order along with a Teaser Stallion. Turnaround time was about one week. Both pedals showed up roaring out of the box. I've been pleased ever since!

Overall, the SCP is a great booster with a lot of flexibility. It has a bright yellow LED which can be seen from any angle or distance. You will retain your amp and guitar tone and not lose any of the nuances of your playing. I leave it on 100% of the time as a line driver/buffer with the volume at zero (unity gain).

one knob...doesnt get any easier!

Using this with a Les Paul Platinum fitted with Bareknuckle VHII pickups, through a Catalinbread Teaser Stallion, Keeley Compressor, Crybaby Classic (the Fasel ones), American Woman Overdrive, EHX 16 Second Delay, Super Chili Picoso. (my pedalboard is very much a work-in-progress).

This is quite possibly my favourite pedal. It doesnt sound too glamorous but it adds so much to your tone-as has been said, it just makes everything sound better, and no, i dont turn it off anymore either! It just adds a fat, tube-y kind of tone, very much a classic sound. Obviously as well, it acts a simple volume boost or line bufferer. I use this thing for its tonal qualities. Even into my Line 6 Spider 212 digital Amp, it improves the sound a lot. I was worried about how it would sound with a digital amp, but i shouldnt have bothered worrying - it even makes the digital amp sound more 'valvey' if that makes any sense!
Its not noisy, but of course, depending on where you place it, it boosts all the signals coming into it so you need to be aware that it will also boost noise if you have any noisy pedals going into it.

I cant give this a 10, however, because i havent compared it enough to other similar pedals. However, it is very cheap for a handbuilt pedal, especially when compared to its rivals, e.g. the MXR Microamp which is plain, boring, has nowhere near the same amount of boost and isnt bright red with pictures of vegetables all over it!

I havent gigged with this pedal yet, so i cant say too much. However, i opened it up and the circuit is pretty simple and very well made so i have no worries about using it without a backup. The only thing that worries me slightly is that the battery is not fixed down inside it, but really, does that matter?

Construction is solid and well built, the switch is fine and sturdy and the knob doesnt wiggle around, it just rotates on its axis as it should.

Bought it in the UK, not from Catalinbread directly, but i did email Nick and he replied very quickly and was friendly too. Gotta love the small companies for actually valuing their customers!

I play rock, hard rock, some metal and some jazz. I have been doing so for 11 years. This is a great pedal. It makes my guitar sound fat and adds a real dimension to it - its not simply a volume boost. Your guitar doesnt just get louder. It acquires character and-dare i say it-soul! I've been using it to fatten up my leads on Vai's 'Boston Rain Melody', but also on some Jane's Addiction and RHCP...basically, everything!
If it were stolen i'd be really angry and get another one without hesitation.
This pedal inspires me to play, and gives me a lovely creamy smooth sound that makes me want to play more and more. I've stopped using my other pedals and just been using this and the distortion off the amp because at the moment it feels like all i need to get a killer tone. Highly recommended!

One input. One normal output, one buffered. One knob. One input for DC adaptor. A CINCH!!!

Normal setup is running this first in my chain then to a Boss GT-8 then to a Fender Twin. My main guitar is a '94 Gibson Les Paul Special Doublecut with P90s and its a rocking guitar. I've always had a few issues with the output though - it just isn't as beefy as a humbucker, the front end of the amp is getting less gain.

Not any more. The SCP has solved that - retains the glassy smoothness of the single coil P90s while boosting the output for a much sweeter yet ballsier tone. I set the dial at noon and no, I don't turn it off. Well actually I do, occassionally, to laugh at how weedy my tone is without it.

Works great running direct to board as well, I recently recorded a demo using the LP Special into the SCP into a Boss GT-8 into my soundcard over a Led Zep style backing track. Those interested in hearing it should see http://www.onlinerock.com/musicians/gary/ which is my homepage.

Well, it looses marks here because using the DC adaptor induces stupid amounts of hum into my signal path - thats with a matched 9v regulated adaptor too. Luckily the pedal eats very little battery so it's not a huge issue.

The artwork on the pedal is coming off too, I have one of the older style Picosos where it's tolex not paint, so Nicholas has corrected this problem. Other than that the workmanship inside the pedal is excellent and the switch looks to be a reliable DPDT type. Not that I need the switch ;)

Emailed him a handful of times, what a star: prompt replies and always polite. Not only is he handmaking excellent pedals (expanding range all the time, he's added 2 or 3 since the first time I went to his website) he actually gives a shit about his customers! Try getting Mike Fuller or Gibson Corp. to do that... it simply won't happen.

I play everything but jazz, to be honest. I'd use it for anything from rock to funk to pop to contemporary R&B, whatever. I've been playing seven years and I've owned stupid amounts of gear considering I'm only in my twenties. I'm a guitar nut.

Stolen or lost... wha? I can't even imagine that, I'd have to get a new one and pray the circuit is identical to the stolen one.

Buy one now. Your guitar and bandmates will thank you for it. I can't believe I nearly sold mine.

This unit is the easiest thing on the planet. One knob to tweak, and an on/off button.

great stuff

I use this with a Gibson Les Paul Studio and a Marshall AVT275 amp.

The SCP is not noisy in the slightest. Totally what a boost should be, and more.

The boost is strong, powerful, and fat. With my amp, I was trying to get a sound similar to Slash's in the intro to Sweet Child O mine, yet it was missing something. This pedal gave it that extra oomph to make my guitar sound BETTER than Slashs. Even if you have the best tone in the world, this pedal will make your regular tone sound weak and puny, guaranteed.

The tolex covering doesn't seem to be immune to proof, but apparently Nic's started painting the pedals instead. Seems I got one of the last ones with tolex. Can you say "collectors items?"

when I turn it around in my palm, I hear something loose in there (dunno if it's sposed to be). Not shaking it, I'm not an idiot, just turning it over

I would use it without a backup, it seems solid and beautiful

Scott Hager, the guy who deals them in Canada, is a wonderful man who answers all my questions and is very friendly. I never feel like I'm getting on his nerves, and he's got a sense of humor about himself, like when I called him on trying to sell me the supercharged overdrive.

Answered all my questions within a few hours and got the pedal within a few days.

I play all types of music from hard rock to funk to jazz, and this pedal can totally bring it all together. Some people say they never turn it off, and while I can see why, I bought this pedal for one reason alone: to boost my leads. If I left it on all the time, I'd still have to figure out how to get my leads louder when I needed them.

The thing I love about this pedal is that it is relatively obscure, yet it sounds incredible. Any guitarist with this in his rig instantly looks like a geargod. And apparently, mine will increase in value pretty soon as one of the earlier ones. Shwee

I used harmony-central and the guitar forum I frequent to choose a proper bass pedal, and am ultra pleased with my decision.

I love everything about this pedal, from its name to its non-popularity to its sound to its simplicity to its visible handcrafted flaws (such as the imperfect way the tolex is wrapped around the pedal).

This pedal is a beaut, and if you want a boost, or something to overdrive your tubes for a nice bluesy distortion, wait no longer.

If it was lost, I'd sell my body on the street to get enough cash to buy a new one.

BUY IT

one knob, older version with just one output

Sounds... Great! A really nice boost. I can only compare it, as far as clean boosts go, to the clean boost of my old menatone red snapper (3 knob version). It's a better boost, the snapper added some extra low end oomph which i didn't really enjoy, this one i would guess is on the warmer end of the 'transparency' scale, defenitely not overly bright or anything.

It rocks my handmade Valvetech 22 watt. For loud practicing volumes it makes my amp break up and clean up and all that good stuff, and it sounds amazing, as if i could turn the volume up on my guitar to 20. For playing a gig, it seemed to make my amp break up into a good lead guitar sound if i wanted to stand out a bit in the mix. Very musical sounding.

I like using it at the end of my chain sometimes and setting the boost to 0. It doesn't really boost anything... just seems to add back the little bit of edge that i lose via having a few pedal and patch cords in my setup sometimes. I think however, that if you are have this problem, it would be better to get a signal buffer...er and put it as close to your guitar as possible. HOwever, i'm not sweating that right now.. my version is the older one with just the normal output, non-buffered, so get the new version for extra flexibility if u want that.

It seems to play well with my other effects, fuzzes and whas and whatnot. i like it

i got mine kinda broken, so it might not be all that dependable, the knob is sticky and one of the outputs keeps going lose and losing the grounding or something, who knows how the previous owner used it.

REally freindly person, incredibly cute website, got manuals and stuff, answered some questions, i recommend.

It's cool. i'd like to try out some other clean boosts, but i can't imagine that theere's much difference between all of them. Maybe i'd get a keeley java boost or something, because it has optional mid and treble boosts, but then i dunno if the quality is as good on it. the katana looks cool, and the zvex superhard on looks cool too. For the price, this pedal was worth it. I like just using it with my amp and letting it push the amp and get those tubes barking, makes me wanna play.

One knob, LED, buffer out, true bypass out, in, and 9V jack.
Couldn't get much easier, but DAMN this thing has the most in depth manual than any other boutique pedal I've purchased so far! (And there's been too many!)

At first glance, the Super Chili Picoso (catchy name, huh?) looks like a one dimensional pedal. Boy is that misleading! With the 35 decibles of boost available, you can find a wealth of sounds from within! I mostly use the true bypass out as the last effect going into my Bogner Shiva (I also use humbucking super-strats), and I NEVER turn it off. The Shiva doesn't sound bad without it by far, but with it on I just get a more "in-your-face" sound but the same true TONE coming through. If you crank the knob all the way it will nicely overdrive any tube amp. I've got about a dozen true bypass pedals on my board and adding the SCP let me keep the pure sound from the guitar and the amp when all effects are off, but keep a nice volume level that's difficult with a long line of true bypass effects.

Solid Phase 90 sized housing with a beautiful deep red "leather" jacket applied on top. The best parts are used (true bypas, MOSFET static protection). Don't need to worry about it going belly up on me. I get lots of inquiries about this pedal for both looks and sound!

Nic replies to every email I've sent him. A true gentleman. He promptly shipped my pedal the next day after purchase and emailed me tracking information. The pedal's manual came hand signed and numbered and made out to me!! NICE TOUCH!

Before purchasing the SCP, I'd used quite a few boost pedals (Fulltone, Keeley) and they were good, but the Super Chili Picoso is GREAT! It just "breathes" out your tone. So natural in sound! I've been playing guitar for over 15 years and using Harmony Central for many years to obtain my gear. With the sound I've always heard in my head now coming from my amp, I needed to post about the effects that got me here. The SCP is certainly one of them.
At twice the cost it would be worth it. As more and more people find out about Catalinbread, this pedal will become a mainstay.

Just an update to the one below (starts 'Like all the best stomps, it's dead simple...').

Easy, one knob, plenty of variety of tone.

Guitars: Gibson SG and Squier Affinity Strat. Amp: Marshall '78 JMP 2204 w/1960a cab. Chain: Guitar -> Boss GT-5 (w/Boss DD-6 in the loop and two FS-5U footswitches) -> Amp. Dead simple setup with plenty of tonal variety for me.

Just to say I don't need anything but this and the Natural OD setting on my Boss GT-5 for my driven tones! I haven't found a set use for this yet, just combining it with various gain stages on the amp/multi FX.

It's only noisy if your gear is noisy - the GT-5 with my preferred OD settings on gets a little hissy but this is partly cos the amp is so bright. It seems to sound fantastic wherever you put the knob - from minimum for a subtle colouration of the tone right up to past three o'clock where it begins to behave like an overdrive. I run mine at about noon.

I can certainly get into that coveted Page/Hendrix tone territory with this pedal and the two guitars. Not saying I can play as good as they can, but I can get a very close sound!

I'm going to give it a 9 cos it's handmade and the workmanship is top quality. Battery life is ridiculously good too - several times I've left this pedal plugged in for days without knowing, and the battery is still going strong.

Nicholas is a great bloke, both polite and helpful. Obviously gets a kick out of doing this for a living, and rightly so!

If you want to get away from the brilliant but overused classics like the Tubescreamer without paying well over the odds, consider one of these. Less expensive than the Super Hard On, more expressive than the MXR Micro Amp, this is a boost pedal with a character all of it's own. It's going to be on my board for a very long time.