Acorn Amplifiers' TMA-1 fuzz pedal lets you toggle between germanium and silicone clipping

Acorn Amplifiers TMA-1
(Image credit: Acorn Amplifiers)

Acorn Amplifiers have revealed a new transistor-based, four-stage fuzz pedal, the TMA-1.

The new pedal has two toggle switches, which engage a choice of clipping diodes in different stages of the circuit. This means you can toggle between germanium and silicone clipping diodes, or no clipping on both stage two and three, making for a lot of tonal tweakability.

Elsewhere, there are knobs for Volume, Tone and Gain, but the eye is immediately drawn to the giant LED indicator, which alongside the rest of the design – from the grill pattern to the TMA-1 logo – is clearly inspired by Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Let’s hope this unit is a bit more user-friendly.

Acorn Amplifiers says the TMA-1 also offers true-bypass switching, high quality components (including Switchcraft jacks) and is hand-built and hand-wired in the firm’s Atlanta, GA workshop.

Demos In The Dark have put together a run-through, which you can check out above, and offers a nice showcase for a few of the many warm fuzzy feelings offered by the TMA-1.

The TMA-1 has an MSRP of $199 and is available now at AcornAmps.com.

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Matt Parker

Matt is a staff writer for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.