Crazy Tube Circuits Venus Pedal

Venus is an innovative tube overdrive pedal designed with versatility and tone shaping at its core, drawing inspiration from one of the most iconic pedals in the music world. Crazy Tube Circuits aimed to recreate a classic tube tone with modern enhancements, allowing for a wide range of sounds—from smooth, light overdrive to intense, high-gain distortion and fuzz.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Crazy Tube Circuits for review purposes.

Check out my review video and demonstration of the Crazy Tube Circuits Venus Pedal

Buy it here on Thomann (Affiliate Link)

Compact Size

One of the standout features of Venus is its compact size, measuring just 12.6 x 6.6 x 5.7 cm (L x W x H). Despite this small footprint, Crazy Tube Circuits did not compromise on tone. Instead of using an internal step-down power transformer, Venus operates on a standard 9V DC power supply, which reduces background noise and hum. You can power the pedal with the included power supply or any isolated 9V DC, center-negative source with a current capability of 500mA. An internal voltage booster/inverter circuit creates the necessary voltage conditions (+/- 15V DC).

Crazy Tube Circuits Venue Internal Tube

While the original masterpiece that inspired Venus featured an ECC83 (12AX7) dual triode tube, CTC carefully selected a unique ECC832 tube as the stock option for this pedal. This distinct tube combines the characteristics of an ECC83 and an ECC82, resulting in clarity, enhanced string separation, and a broader soundstage while maintaining the essence of the original design. Users can also experiment with various dual triode tube types, including ECC83/12AX7, 5751, ECC81/12AT7, 12AY7, and ECC82/12AU7 for different sonic textures.

Bias Control

Venus includes a bias knob to control the tube bias and adjust the current through the tube cathodes. Turning this knob provides a range of tones, from gritty and gated (counter-clockwise) to smooth and creamy (clockwise), with the fully clockwise setting delivering the cleanest sound for most tube types.  I prefer the Bias control to the right for a full and round sound. If you want more gated fuzz sound, pan it hard left.

A 3-Band EQ that Works!

A complete 3-band EQ gives you extensive control over frequency response to further shape your tone. The mid-control allows you to explore the tonal qualities of the original unit, making it especially useful for mid-scooped clean amplifiers. Additionally, a push switch adjusts the boost of low and low-mid frequencies hitting the tube gain stages, offering a choice between a fat or tight sound.

Line Driver Button

Finally, the pedal features a switchable low-output-impedance line driver (buffer/volume booster), ensuring your signal is effectively transmitted to the next pedal or amp while preserving audio frequencies. Regardless of the push button switch settings, Venus always maintains true bypass in its bypass state, and the selectable line driver is engaged at the output only when the effect is active.

Final Thoughts

Thanks to Crazy Tube Circuits for sending this to my YouTube channel for review.  This pedal is fun to use.  Thanks to the Bias control and real internal tube, it gives you such great sag under your fingers.  Switching out the tube for a different option also allows for more creative freedom over the result.  The Crazy Tube Circuits Venus is a great fuzz, overdrive, and distortion that sounds and feels different to almost everything I have tried.

Whether you’re in a studio or playing on stage, the Venus is a great point of difference that can cover a lot of ground tonally.  If you plan on using this as an always-on pedal, it won’t have a problem being hit by a Klon or other boost pedal.

Buy it here on Thomann (Affiliate Link)