Manx Loaghtan
Catalinbread Manx Loaghtan. The Manx Loaghtan appears to have been available from Catalinbread from 2011 to 2014. It is still not that difficult to find used examples for sale online. After the pedal had been released for a time, Catalinbread changed their pedal graphics from a label to a hard surfaced paint-and-ink coating. As a result, markings on used Manx pedals that you find online today could look distinctly different. The newer pedal markings can also be seen in the Owner's Manual, linked below.
It's pretty clear that Catalinbread took the liberty of naming the pedal "Manx Loaghtan" so as to be able to put the image of a ram's head on it. If the connection still isn't clear, please read on...
Controls
- Knob 1 - "Treble": Adjusts the Treble frequencies of the fuzz with fully clockwise being maximum treble.
- Knob 2 - "Bass": Adjusts the Bass frequencies of the fuzz with fully clockwise being maximum bass.
- Knob 3 - "Level": Adjusts the Volume level (output) of the pedal, with fully clockwise being maximum volume.
- Knob 4 - "Sustain": Adjusts the Distortion/Fuzz of the pedal with fully clockwise being maximum distortion/fuzz.
- Footswitch 1 - "On/Off":
The Manx Loaghtan Fuzz employs what is known as a Baxandall tone stack. You can get a hump in the mids, or scooped mids based on your settings. The Owner's Manual also goes into some detail as to the function of a Baxandall tone stack.
General Information
A "Manx Loaghtan" is a breed of sheep native to the Isle of Man in Great Britain. Given the "Rams Head" motif of the pedal, it would not be incorrect to conclude that the The Manx Loaghtan is an attempt at a variation of the "Rams Head" Big Muff Pi pedal from Electro Harmonix.
The tone controls are an attempt to enable greater tone variation than is otherwise usually possible with a Big Muff. A variety of YouTube videos can be found online extolling the virtues of the reworked tonestack that was made available on the Manx Loaghtan.
Scraped from the Catalinbread Manx Loaghtan product page:
"We wanted HUGE lowend that wouldn't wolf out with the neck pickup. We wanted a flute like sing with nice upper harmonics ringing through. We wanted violin like sustain. We wanted to be able to use this into a hot amp if you wish to, so when you lower the bass nice mid range content can cut through without getting lost in the mix. We wanted it to not be a compromise between too bright and too bassy, but also be capable of doing either or both with a nice mid range scoop in order to sound HEAVY for chunky chords. We also wanted the SUSTAIN range to be usable all the way throughout the dial. Some of the tones we referenced range from Gilmour to Black Keys to J. Mascis to Dead Meadow to Thurston Moore to Adrian Belew."
Pedal Manual
Phase Inversion: No
From our examination of the schematic below, the Manx Loaghtan does not appear to invert phase on the output as compared with the signal that goes into the pedal.
| Schematic ID | Electronic Part | Action | Phase State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 2N5088 | Inverts | Inverted |
| Q2 | 2N5088 | Inverts | Reverted |
| Q3 | 2N2222 | Inverts | Inverted |
| Q4 | 2N5457 | Does not invert | Inverted |
| Q5 | 2N2222 | Inverts | Reverted |
This will need to be borne out by testing and observation.
Schematic
From:
Artists
We are currently unaware of any artists that actively use this pedal now, or who have in the past.
- Additional Sources
