“Boutique tones for guitarists on a fast food budget” is the catch phrase for Tone Bakery’s new line of pedals.
With a Klon Centaur going for nearly $3,000 these days, I can understand what Tone Bakery is going for by releasing the Creme Brulee — its take on the iconic Centaur boost/overdrive pedal — for less than $100.
Besides, with its similar knob setup of Gain, Treble and Level, I can add my own man/horse centaur graphic!
The Creme Brulee pedal offers a buffered bypass, meaning it will work great anywhere in your effects chain without robbing any of your signal.
I’m not one to complain to the chef, but if I had to, I’d have asked for the input and output jacks to be labeled. Power options are either 9-volt battery or external power supply. The supplied rubber feet on the bottom kept it from sliding around on my pedalboard.
Clip 1: I dialed everything to about 12 o’clock with a Tele on the bridge pickup for a fat Black Crowes type of overdrive.
Clip 2: Treble and Gain cranked up with a Les Paul for an instant classic rock tone.
Clip 3: With the Gain rolled all the way back, you can use the Creme Brulee as a clean boost. Here’s a before and after clip with a Strat. The Creme Brulee adds a nice little bump in the mids, too.
Web: tonebakery.com
Street Price: $99.99
You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but Billy Voight is a gear reviewer, bassist and guitarist from Pennsylvania. He has Hartke bass amps and Walden acoustic guitars to thank for supplying some of the finest gear on his musical journey. Need Billy's help in creating noise for your next project? Drop him a line at thisguyonbass@gmail.com.
