Crazy Tube Circuits Crossfire Overdrive Pedal - Blackface and enhanced TS combo

The Crazy Tube Circuits Crossfire dual pedal takes two circuits that have "already been done" and somehow makes them better. The all-analog Crossfire melds a TS circuit with a either a low or high headroom Blackface circuit. The Crossfire is a very habit forming pedal, and each side could easily justify itself on its own. 

On the TS side CTS modded the traditional circuit with  a clipping mode switch and a "More" toggle for higher gain settings. In standard mode it serves well as a mid-focused boost that is mostly clean until you really goose it. Moving it to asymmetrical clipping makes it sound more dimensional with a little more presence. Flipping the "More" toggle adds tons of luscious distortion that is crunchy, tactile and not too compressed. That's where we would keep it, and it has the side benefit of cleaning up nicely when you turn the guitar down.

Jumping over the to BF side, there is gain, volume and a traditional 3-band EQ circuit. With that they add the traditional bright switch, along with a high/low switch that emulates either a low-power tube rectified amp or a higher power solid state rectified amp. The low gain side does a masterful job of replicating the slightly spongy feel of a lower powered deluxe. The tactile nature is spot on, and the gain control adds increasing level of easy to modulate breakup that like a real deluxe is more prominent on the lower strings. Very cool. The high power switch stiffens up the low end and cleans up the breakup a bit, but there is still plenty of BF character. And the best part is that you can get the higher volume BF sounds at more reasonable volumes. We own a Deluxe Reverb, and as much as we love it the magical breakup range is at a volume level that club owners and band mates will not tolerate for long.

The Crossfire also include a send/return jack so that you can insert your effects loop or use both sides independently. The loop is passive and all switching is true bypass. 

The Crossfire is more than the sum of its parts, and while we definitely dig the TS side, we are totally smitten by the BF side. It's touch sensitive nature and easy to modulate feel uncannily creates the vibe of a classic Blackface amp, at whatever volume you choose. It's the type of circuit that we would just leave on and modulate the breakup via the guitar's volume control. When you take in all the Crossfire pedal has to offer, it's not only an excellent pedal but also a great value. 

In the words of Crazy Tube Circuits: 

Crossfire is inspired by one of the most iconic pedal - amp combinations in guitar history.

The left side is voiced after the blackface amps that defined clean electric guitar sounds. All-analog and following the circuit path to the exact detail we managed to include all the essential sonic ingredients. From the big bold lows, sparkly highs and slightly scooped mids, to the powerful sound of a solid state rectified 4x 6L6GC power amp or the sponginess of a tube rectified 2x 6L6GC power amp selectable through the headroom switch.

Match that to the green mid-hump overdrive we’ve all grown to love, upon its inception in the late 70s, found on the right side. We chose to accurately recreate the circuit of this classic overdrive but with the addition of some of the most common modifications the pedal has seen throughout the years of its mass production or boutique variations. A clipping toggle switch selects between symmetrical (original) or asymmetrical clipping for enhanced touch-sensitive drive characteristics while a gain toggle adds more gain and alters the low frequency response making it reminiscent of placing two of the same overdrive pedals in series. An internal switch offers additional headroom by providing 18V DC to the overdrive circuit.

A passive effects loop gives you the option to connect your beloved pedals in the signal chain building your ideal rig or use the two sides independently (send is the output of the overdrive side, return is the input of the amp side). When both sides are in bypass mode the loop is true bypass as well, so your signal won’t be affected at all.