Catalinbread’s new Callisto MKII is making a strong play for your modulation money

Catalinbread Callisto MKII
(Image credit: Catalinbread)

Unless you’ve been hiding under an effect-free rock, you’ll have noticed that modulation effects - not long ago confined to the ages of big hair and even bigger Spandex bills -  is not only back, but thriving.

The latest brand to help fuel the trend for watery, wavering guitar tones is Catalinbread, whose original Callisto chorus/vibrato pedal has just been overhauled for its second incarnation, the BBD-driven Callisto MKII.

Featuring an all-analogue design, the big news here is that the Callisto now features a feedback knob, which modulation fans will know allows for flanger-style regen. 

Catalinbread says the addition of the feedback control “Blurs the line between chorus and flanger, even if it never quite reaches the latter. You’ve heard guitar players argue for decades about whether Andy Summers played a chorus or a flanger, yeah? That sound and many others live inside the Callisto MKII within its intuitive set of controls”.

Catalinbread Callisto MKII

(Image credit: Catalinbread)

Those controls include the classic trio of Rate; which governs the speed of the internal LFO (how fast the pitch-change occurs) Mix; to blend between your dry and modulated signal levels, and Depth; which governs how wide the pitch varition will be.

The Catalinbread Callisto MKII is powered by a 9-volt power supply, and is available now priced $209. 

Stuart Williams
Drums

Stuart has been working for guitar publications since 2008, beginning his career as Reviews Editor for Total Guitar before becoming Editor for six years. During this time, he and the team brought the magazine into the modern age with digital editions, a Youtube channel and the Apple chart-bothering Total Guitar Podcast. Stuart has also served as a freelance writer for Guitar World, Guitarist and MusicRadar reviewing hundreds of products spanning everything from acoustic guitars to valve amps, modelers and plugins. When not spouting his opinions on the best new gear, Stuart has been reminded on many occasions that the 'never meet your heroes' rule is entirely wrong, clocking-up interviews with the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Foo Fighters, Green Day and many, many more.