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

I'm a freelance member of the MusicRadar team, specialising in drum news, interviews and reviews. I formerly edited Rhythm and Total Guitar here in the UK and have been playing drums for more than 25 years (my arms are very tired). When I'm not working on the site, I can be found on my electronic kit at home, or gigging and depping in function bands and the odd original project.