EarthQuaker Devices teams up with Boris guitarist Wata for the Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainar

EarthQuaker Devices has joined forces with Wata, the resident electric guitar wizard for Japanese alt/experimental-rock titans Boris, for a new fuzz pedal, the Hizumitas.

A painstaking recreation of Wata's all-time favorite distortion pedal, the Elk BM Sustainar (itself a Japanese remake of the "Triangle" BMP), the Hizumitas features true bypass switching, and aims for a heavily saturated sound punctuated with grittiness and a massive bottom end, while still maintaining clear, dynamic mids and top end elsewhere.

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The Hizumitas is controlled by a trio of knobs – Volume, Sustain and Tone. The Sustain knob is said to be quite sensitive to even slight adjustments, with a wide range of saturation on tap.

According to EarthQuaker, the sensitivity of the Hizumitas extends to its response to both pickups and playing dynamics, giving the all-analog fuzz pedal a wide range of responses, depending on how and with what gear the user approaches it. 

Turning the Tone knob clockwise boosts the low end, while shifting it counter-clockwise turns up the treble frequencies. The Volume knob, meanwhile, offers the potential for big-time output gain, with unity at around 9-10 o'clock. 

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To commemorate the release of the pedal, EarthQuaker has also teamed up with Reverb to offer an exclusive Hizumitas Special Edition Bundle, which includes a uniquely-finished version of the pedal (black print on a silver enclosure, rather than the standard purple print on a silver enclosure), a silk pedal bag, an autographed Boris poster, and a copy of the band's new single, Reincarnation Rose, on 12" blood-red vinyl.

500 of the bundles will be made available. The Hizumitas will go on general sale beginning Friday, November 19.

For more info on the pedal, head on over to EarthQuaker Devices.

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