Introduction to rising Brazilian Pedal Brand - Cachalote Audio

When I did my recent ’9 Notable Brazilian Guitar Pedal Brands’ overview - a reader noted that I should have included Cachalote Audio also (Sperm Whale in Portuguese!) - which at the time was wholly unknown to me. They do have worldwide ambitions though - having an English language Website also, and a presence on Reverb.com - which I noted previously is fairly rare for Brazilian brands - who mostly seem to keep themselves to their native MercadoLivre Marketplace.

In any case - having been made aware of their existence - I checked them out - and indeed very much liked what I saw! Readers will know that I favour extended range compact enclosure pedals - and that is in the main what Cachalote Audio makes - in a number of highly elegant formats.

The first to catch my attention was of course the 214 Fuzz MKII - evolved originally from a Sam Ash Fuzz-Stainer, and using a mix of 2N2222A and BC549B Silicon Transistors. It handily has 7 controls - 5 knobs and 2 toggle-switches, and of course includes an External Bias Knob - which is pretty much essential for me. The 214 is a fantastic sounding extended range silicon fuzz.

214 Controls - Gain, Volume, Bias, Pulse Width : Narrow / Wide, 800Hz Freq EQ, Filter / EG Switch, 5kHz Resonant Filter.

I love the technical aspect of many of these pedals too - where they often display Filter Frequency Values in Hz, and Gain Values in dB decibels - marked up in the key increments against those key dials, sliders and switches.

These are well considered and neatly arranged - with a smattering of Neve / Marconi knobs in the mix - which adds a cool dash of colour to an otherwise elegant minimalist monochromatic aesthetic - there is much to like here!

I’ve featured the 6 compacts here obviously per my preferences, while I will also touch the other pedals in the range, the focus will be in the main thought on those cool 6 compact pedals.

Compact Pedals

• 214 Fuzzz MKII : Extended-range 2-Transistor Silicon Fuzz evolved from Sam Ash Fuzz-Stainer - R$1418 / $235
• Console Preamp : Streamlined Console Preamp with +40dB of Gain, and Impedance and EQ controls - R$1198 /  $205 
• Formiga Drive Special Edition : Parallel Clean / Gain Overdrive with Germanium / 1N914 / MOSFET Clipping - N.A.
• Formiga Bass / Low-End Drive : Parallel Clean / Gain Bass Overdrive with Silicon / OpAmp / LED Clipping - N/A
• Lilo 600ms PT2399 Delay : Stripped down version of the Lisa Tap Delay with a character all of its own - R$1214 / $213
• Ushuaia Drive : Hybrid MOSFET + Transistor Proprietary Dual Stage Overdrive - R$1088 / $185

Larger Pedals

• 127 Sint. : CMOS Square Wave Generator with Wave Multiplier - R$1192
• Lisa 1000ms Tap Delay : Individual Levels for Clean and Effected Signal, Dual Preamplification, Modulation, and 4-Division PT2399 Tap Tempo - N/A
• Origami Filter Special Edition : 4-Mode Lowpass / Highness / Band Bass / Notch Filter. 4 x Multipliers, LFO Modulation Waveform : Triangle / Sine / Square Random / Ramp Up / Ramp Down / Random Square / Random Triangle - NA

I really like what I’ve seen and heard of the 214 Fuzz, and Formiga and Ushuaia Overdrives. While it seems the 2 Formiga ones were limited editions which have already sold out.

If I could ideally get any 2 from this range it would be the 214 Fuzz and Special Edition Formiga Overdrive. We’ll see what happens next! Currently the brand seems to be on a mini hiatus and the Reverb.com store is currently empty of devices! While I’m sure they will be back soon.

I would love to collaboration with this brand at some stage - so we’ll see what happens!