Crazy Tube Circuits Stardust V3 3-Voice Pedal - Sound of Blackface

The Crazy Tube Circuits Stardust pedal captures the character of three of Fender's most iconic amplifiers into a single compact pedal format. This all-analog pedal is a low-to-mid gain device meant give true amp feel through the arc of the volume control from sparkly cleans to maxed-out breakup. The three amp styles are as follows:

BSM - This is the Bassman style voicing,  and as you might expect has the most bottom end and overall the greatest amount of breakup. Like the real thing the breakup does not get significant until the gain control is past noon. You can get some really great crunch in the BSM mode, but in true Fender style it stays articulate and not overly compressed. This is the most "rock" setting

VLX - The Vibrolux mode is the cleanest and brightest setting, and with our Eastman LP Junior with low-wind Lollar P-90 we really cranked the gain before we got any significant breakup. But that's not the point of the VLX position: It's a great "all the time" sound that adds some crunch, air, and zest that is easily modulated with the guitar's volume control. After you've gotten used to a little VLX, pure clean tones sound pretty sterile.

DLX - This is the iconic Deluxe Reverb setting. It's a little darker than the Vibrolux and breaks up sooner. As you crank up the gain you even get that slightly flubby low end that Deluxe Reverbs are known for. While we say darker, the tone control is very powerful, and in any mode there is a lot of control over the tonal character. This position is great for roots, indie, country, and stood up well against our own real Deluxe Reverb.

In any setting the midrange is typical Fender-lean, and there is great note separation and clarity even at higher gain settings. The Stardust won't replace a true distortion pedal, but it makes a great "base tone" to build your sound. It also stacks well with other gain and distortion pedals. The Stardust is a taste of Fullerton's most famous recipes in a little black box.

In the words of Crazy Tube Circuits:

Stardust V3 was designed to capture the sound and response of 3 distinct maxed out and ready to sing blackface amplifier models. An all-analog signal path with discrete gain stages featuring MOSFET transistors, provides juicy overdrive tones with great note separation that clean up to that sparkly sound that we all love and heard in recordings of the past. Set gain and tone and control everything from your guitar. Sparkly clean to crunchy mean are all there.

You can select the blackface amplifier voicing via the onboard toggle switch
BSM: Voiced after a blackface amp head that was primarily targeted for bass guitar players but got famous for electric guitar classic rock tones.
VLX: Voiced after a chimey 2x10” combo offering the perfect amount of controllable crunch
DLX: Voiced after one of the most popular low wattage 1×12″ combo amps that have found their way in countless recording studios and clubs around the world.

Stardust V3 comes with top mounted jacks and soft click true bypass via a high-quality relay. The pedal has loads of output volume and enhanced headroom provided by 18V DC (boosted internally from external 9V DC power supply) so that it can also be used as a preamp / booster.