Soft Focus

Name: Soft Focus
Brand: Catalinbread
Availability: OnlineOnly

Reverb

Modulation

Shoegaze reverb emulating Yamaha FX500's Soft Focus patch with chorus and octave.

Catalinbread Effects, based in Portland, Oregon, creates pedals that capture classic tones in modern formats. The Soft Focus recreates the legendary Yamaha FX500 patch that defined early shoegaze, most notably used by Slowdive on Souvlaki.

The Soft Focus is a heavily modified plate reverb split into three paths: chorused modulation, octave-up shimmer, and clean reverb. The Symphony, Modulation, Verb, Mix, and Volume controls interact to create everything from subtle ambience to walls of sound.

Designed as an 'instant shoegaze button,' the Soft Focus addresses issues with the original FX500: no mix control, poor preamp, and tone-sucking bypass. Runs from 9-18V for variable headroom. Add your favorite delay for authentic 90s textures.