Catalinbread’s Proto Club series is back for its second installment, and this one’s a sonic shapeshifter that’s been percolating behind the scenes for years. Meet the Filter Verb, a reverb-chorus-resonant filter hybrid that merges swirling textures with deep performance control – and it’s only available from July 29 to August 12.
While the Soft Focus came together in a flash, the Filter Verb had a much longer journey. Originally born from an attempt to squeeze rich, shoegaze-style ambient tones out of a discontinued, performance-focused platform, the Filter Verb has spent years in a state of quiet evolution. A few lucky Catalinbread insiders have been using it all along. Now, for the first time, it’s available to the public in limited quantities as part of the Proto Club – Catalinbread’s experimental launchpad for boundary-pushing circuits that may never see full production.
At its core, the Filter Verb is a lush, modulated reverb paired with a thick, resonant low-pass filter and chorus. The Filter knob (or your expression pedal, if you plug one in) controls the cutoff point of that filter, letting you sculpt the bottom end of your reverb-drenched signal. Want to sweep the filter in real time? Set the F/C toggle to Filter and you’re good to go.
But that’s just one layer. The Chorus control governs both rate and depth in a single knob, creating everything from subtle movement to woozy, warbling seasick drift. Flip the toggle and use your expression pedal here instead for dynamic pitchy pulses and ambient swooshes.
The Reverb Momentary Switch is where things get really interactive. Press it and a roomy, expansive reverb kicks in for as long as your foot’s on the switch, making it perfect for swelling into massive ambient hits or dramatic transitions. The Pre knob lets you set the gain of the onboard preamp – push it high enough and you’ll hit warm, blooming overdrive before your signal even touches the reverb filter network.
Whether you want to drown your signal in smeared ambiance or carve precise low-end sculpting into a modulated wash, the Filter Verb is a pedal that rewards both experimentation and expression. It’s moody, strange, highly playable– and it might never return.
These units are up for grabs only from July 29 through August 12 (here for $174.99), and once they’re gone, they’re gone. No second run, no restock. It’s all part of what makes the Proto Club so compelling: it’s a chance to get your hands on the pedals that almost never were, and maybe shape their future.
