Hello Gearheads! Today I’ve got a super cool pedal on the block. The folks at Electronic Audio Experiments are cranking out some very interesting circuit designs and I had the joy to experience and now share the Citadel with you all. EAE has a unique varietal of sonic pushers in their line up and I’m honestly blown away by how great the Citadel sounds… I cannot wait to check out more from them!
The Citadel is in part a few things. It’s a familiar boost and drive pedal in the British family of tones, capable of being a simple clean boost to a medium gain drive bordering on distortion. It’s also a versatile Preamp that you can run either into the front end of an amplifier or use as a direct solution via an IR (impulse response) along with your favorite amp-less tools. This pedal sounds fantastic and it’s DEAD SIMPLE to operate. For those who have followed my features or my general perspective, you’ll know I prefer great sounding gear but without the extra nonsense that often comes with too many controls or features.
The Citadel was modeled after EAE’s Model feT, a preamp pedal based on the venerable and popular in the DOOM musical genre, Sunn Model T amplifiers. Here’s a bit on the lineage of the Citadel from EAE:
“The Citadel began as a series of experiments on our Model feT pedal. Like any tube amp, there are ample opportunities for modifications. After all, the original Model T was itself a modified take on the Super Bass sound, delivering a distinct variety of the plexi flavor with fuzzy breakup and a huge low frequency punch. So, what if we flavored it our own way? Once Brad completed his “Marsha” prototype, it was on. In a way, you can almost think of the Citadel as a re-plexi-fied Model T sound, trading low end sludge for a sparkly midrange focus. In another way, you can think of it as what we’d do if the original Model T wasn’t too sacrosanct to modify.”
As I mentioned above, I found the Citadel to function quite easily and getting stellar preamp colored tones to crunchy Plexi tones is right in those controls. Specifically, the Bright Gain and Normal Gain controls work as core EQ and Gain standpoints. Just like the way a real 4 hole Marshall Plexi would work. You turn them both up and adjust each one to suit your end result. I LOVE the way this works on the real amps and I absolutely love how it works with the Citadel. It may seem odd at first for anyone who hasn’t had experienced vintage Plexi style amps before, but it’s truly instinctual once you get your head around it. Need more low end? Push the Normal Gain. You need more cutting top end? You know what to do…. it’s simply AWESOME.
EAE recommends running the Citadel in a specific manner at first, you can check that out below. I found my favorite setting by running the Bass and Treble at 0 and Midrange at 10. It’s considered their flattest EQ response, which makes complete sense why I prefer that! I’d then simply use the two Gain controls to add more or less of what I needed. The Citadel is somehow transparent while still being completely colored. An oxymoron and probably impossible in definition, but functionally and sonically - it’s exactly that.
“To dial in your Citadel for the first time, start with all EQ knobs at their mid-
point. Leaving the Bright Gain control off, turn up the Normal Gain and Master
volume until you reach your desired amount of drive and volume. Then, turn up
the Bright Gain control. You should hear extra gain and high end presence as the
Bright Gain is turned up. Try adjusting the relative mix of Normal and Bright gains
to achieve your desired sound and feel.
From there, adjust the EQ slowly, listening as you rotate each control. While
highly common, the FMV eq is relatively idiosyncratic”
I really loved… well rather LOVE the Citadel. I’m still digging into great tones and parts with this pedal. It’s wildly useful in the studio and I can only imagine it would kill in live environment. I even used the Citadel on all the electric Bass tracks!
Honestly, this pedal would serve anyone looking for a versatile EQ and boost pedal, British style drive or direct rig. No mud, nothing you don’t want, it’s a quick favorite that’s for sure!
Thanks for checking out this Gearheads Feature on the EAE Citadel. If you’d like to learn more about the Citadel or any of the other great releases I referenced, please do check out these sites for more information.
https://www.electronicaudioexperiments.com/
https://www.instagram.com/electronicaudioexperiments/
https://www.facebook.com/ElectronicAudioExperiments/
Until next time Gearheads, please take a moment to Like, Subscribe & Share this Feature and I’ll see you all very soon!