Crazy Tube Circuits Starlight review

Pocket rocket to fuzz pedal heaven

  • £199
  • $225
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The Starlight fuzz may be made for soloing, but it sounds great on chords, too

MusicRadar Verdict

Responsive distortion with loads of sustain - just lovely!

Pros

  • +

    Bucketloads of gain. Sustain. Rocket ship graphics.

Cons

  • -

    Four-screw battery access.

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CCT says that, with a combination of cascaded JFET and MOSFET gain stages to create its sound, the Starlight is made for soloing.

Sounds

"There's all the top-end presence you need without harshness or fizz"

Advancing the gain knob starts off with an edgy overdrive that morphs into a thick and liquid-smooth fuzzy distortion. Flick the toggle switch for more gain and to boost the upper-mid frequencies.

Soloing? Sure, but it's great on chords, too (dirty but with definition), and cleans up nicely with guitar volume. There's all the top-end presence you need without harshness or fizz; roll off the tone knob for languid notes.

Trevor Curwen

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.