Quick Hit: Crazy Tube Circuits Planet B Review

What do you say to a bassist requesting a pedal that could deliver the essence of his beloved 1970s Orange OR120 through a smaller combo or class-D amp? Crazy Tube Circuits designer Christos Ntaifotis said “yes,” and then got to work creating the all-analog Planet B overdrive. The sun-colored stompbox is dressed with a ’70s-esque graphic of a space shuttle and houses a fairly standard control quartet of tone, volume, gain, and blend. Positioned above the tip of the rocket is the secret-mids-weapon toggle labeled “supersonic.”

I went straight for the upper ranges of the gain and tone knobs by pushing both to about 3 o’clock, and the Planet B provided a satisfying drenching of distorted bliss while still maintaining an impressive amount of smooth low end. I liked how the tone was roundish and relatively sophisticated even with these higher-dial settings. Taming things down, I found a good resting spot with the tone a touch above noon, the gain at 1 o’clock, and my clean signal dialed in about halfway. The tone was warm, tube-esque, and lucid, and made for a set-and-forget sound for churning out straight-ahead rock with a wet kiss of creamy vintage overdrive.

The supersonic switch is the onboard ace for those times when an on-the-fly mid boost is needed for a bit more aggression and articulation in order to get heard. Its punchy impact was apparent when it kicked in, but it didn’t tarnish the underlying flavor. If you’re a bassist on the prowl for a new/old flavor of OD grit, this space shuttle is a smooth and warm place to dock.

Test gear: Fender Precision, Gallien-Krueger 800RB head, Orange OBC212 cab, Focusrite Scarlett 2i4