Earthquaker Devices Park Fuzz Sound

The
Park Amplification company, originally started by Jim Marshall himself,
has almost as much history as the actual Marshall name. As the story
goes, Jim Marshall entered a distribution deal for his amp line in 1965,
but the terms of the deal were vague enough such that Marshall could
build amps on the side, just not under his own name. Thus, Park was
born, and the amps produced under that name were slight variations on
Marshall circuits until the company dissolved in 1982.

Among
the line of amps, a few pedals were also produced. Most of them were
wahs or variations thereof, but one pedal stuck out: The Park Fuzz
Sound.

The
original pedal (we had one) featured unlabelled TO-1 package
transistors, so one would think that the circuit left us with Jim
Marshall. However, the good folks at Earthquaker Devices, in
collaboration with the newly-resurrected Park Amplification, have
faithfully recreated the Park Fuzz Sound so that a new generation may
enjoy it.

While
the original deployed the aforementioned mystery cans, the new Park
Fuzz Sound uses a different set of NOS germanium transistors,
hand-selected for a tonal match. Indeed, when A/B’d with the original
unit, the sounds were strikingly similar. In fact, the staff at PGS was
split right down the middle as to which was which. What’s more, when
doing the test, we had to set the new Park Fuzz Sound’s Fuzz control at
about half, whereas the original was dimmed. The reissue has way more
range in the Fuzz dial than the original.

Another
bugaboo of original fuzz pedals is the powering situation; in the case
of the original Park, it’s powered by a battery only but changing it out
required using a lever to pry open the lid. While that’s a hassle,
using batteries is kind of a hassle in and of itself. However, this and
many older fuzz pedals are positive-ground; the common workaround is
reversing the lugs on the power jack internally, but this configuration
means that the pedal cannot be daisy-chained. The new Park Fuzz Sound
doesn’t phone it in, offering a chip inside that corrects the voltage
problem for complete rig integration.

The
new Park Fuzz Sound is hand-made, one at a time in exotic Akron, Ohio.
The pedal is wire for true bypass and accepts a standard 9v
centre-negative Boss-style power adapter. The current draw is low, so
it’s ready for your isolated power supplies.​

Measures
4 5/8″ x 2 1/2″ x 2.25″ with knobs

Power
This device can be powered
by a standard 9 volt DC power supply intended for musical instruments
with a negative centre 2.1mm barrel or a 9v battery. Even though this
pedal is a germanium fuzz, it will play nice on a daisy chain due to
it’s internal voltage regulation.

Controls
Volume: This is the level control, louder to the right, quieter to the left.
Treble/Bass: This is the tone control, thicker tones to the right, brighter to the left.
Fuzz: This is the gain control, more fuzz to the right, less to the left.

Switching
This device is true bypass and uses electronic relay-based switching. Audio will not pass without power.

Power
This device can be powered by a standard 9 volt DC power supply intended for musical instruments with a negative centre 2.1mm barrel. Even though this pedal is a germanium fuzz, it will play nice on a daisy chain due to its internal voltage regulation. DO NOT RUN AT HIGHER VOLTAGES!

Dimensions: 4.75 x 2.50 x 2.25 in. (121 x 64 x 57 mm) with knobs
Current Draw: 3 mA
Input Impedance: 100 kΩ
Output Impedance: <1 kΩ

This product is covered by a limited lifetime manufacturer warranty.

Although we are not authorised to determine if any repair is covered under warranty, if the item was purchased through World of Music, then we are often the best people to facilitate the claim for you and will do so as timely as possible. Warranty does not apply to cosmetic damage or faults that are a result of user neglect. Although your mate is really handy with a soldering iron, any product modification or home repair will also result in a void warranty.

Quite often, something perceived as a fault is as simple as a faulty cable or power issue so we always suggest checking over Frequently Asked Questions on the manufacturer website first. It can be a helpful approach to getting to the bottom of a problem and save you a lot of time in getting your gear back up and running!

This item ships via courier; fully insured for your peace of mind. Orders require a signature on delivery and we suggest using an address where someone will be present for the speediest delivery time. For delivery attempts with no one present to sign, your order will be taken to the courier depot and a card will be left for you to organise redelivery.