Crazy Tube Circuits has unveiled the Heatseeker, an amp-in-a-box pedal that’s fit to burst with features, pairing a trio of drive circuits to a tone enhancer circuit to give lesser mortals – and grown-ups – the opportunity to dial in Angus Young’s electric guitar tones.
The clue is in the name. CTC doesn’t name the AC/DC man. It doesn’t mention the words Marshall. And nor does it mention Young’s wireless guitar system from Schaffer–Vega that was famously the secret sauce in his tone. But that’s very much the vibe here, and it does whole lot more than Whole Lotta Rosie.
This is a classic CTC-style design. The brand specialises in high-functioning twofers, such as its Unobtanium, which paired a Dumble-inspired preamp section with a Klon Centaur-inspired overdrive to excite discerning tonehounds.
Think of it as an all-in-one hard rock pedal. Young wasn’t the only player to apply the signal-flattering magic of the Schaffer–Vega Diversity System (SVDS) to his guitar amp. Kiss, the Stones, Eddie Van Halen, Nile Rodgers, Aerosmith have all been credited with using it.
But this is not just a clone of the SVDS. CTC has given us an oversized dial to work that enhancement magic.
“Setting it around 10 o ‘clock is a good starting point to add some extra sparkle,” reads the serving suggestions from CTC. “Max it out to bring back to life even the most dull and colourless sounds.”
The Heatseeker takes the signal from your guitar and processes it through an all-analogue JFET circuit. The pedal runs on 9V DC from a pedalboard power supply but internally boosts the voltage to 27V. There are three amp-style circuits and zero prizes for guessing the classic guitar amps that inspired them.
For all your sweet cleans and dynamic, crunch rhythms, turn the three-way mode switch to 45. SL is what you need for those “super iconic lead” sounds while the MV takes us into the '70s and the era of master volume controls. You’ll find more saturation there.
All of this is presented in a reassuringly amp-like fashion, with controls for bass, middle and treble, and an extended-range Presence control to help you integrate this with the rest of your rig.
Dial in your drive sound via the Master and Volume knobs, and there is a final toggle switch that could be CTC’s very own secret sauce, activating its Wall of Sound circuit, which boosts the Heatseeker’s output, “adding thundering lows and dense high mids” and, in effect, giving you the sound that might otherwise be achieved from plugging into a wall of high-volume amps.
“Imagine standing in front of a wall loaded with tube amp heads and 4x12 speaker cabinets, grabbing your guitar and hitting a chord,” says CTC. Oh, we do, often. “You will be blown away by the massive sound projection!” it promises.
Well, if that sounds like your type of thing, head over to Crazy Tube Circuits. These dirty tones are not done dirt cheap, however. This specialised twofer is priced $279/€279.
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