Catalinbread Merkin Fuzz Pedal (Reissue)
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UPC: 853710005977
Model Number: Merkin Fuzz (Reissue)
Brand: Catalinbread
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Product Description
One of Catalinbread’s first fuzz boxes, the Merkin was created with a focused intent: to build upon the legacy created by American fuzzboxes and their place in the pantheon of fuzz-adjacent classic rock music. What evolved from that was a circuit that shared DNA with the Mosrite Fuzzrite and the Jordan Bosstone but was markedly different from both. The Merkin borrowed the gain-stage mixing element from the Fuzzrite and the raw fuzz power of the Bosstone’s plug-in unit to create something new with a distinct classic flavor.
Many fuzzes that employ a blendable gain approach employ two identical stages and normally take the output from the mixer. The Merkin actually employs two different stages before the mixer, and so the Texture control has a staggering array of sounds on tap, dependent upon your guitar, pickups and wiring, with a subtle phase cancellation when set dead center. The result is a highly expressive control that lets you dial in the exact sound you want. There’s a lot to discover across just two knobs!
VOLUME: More turn makes more loud.
TEXTURE: The Merkin is composed of three gain stages, and only the first two are governed by the Texture knob. This knob essentially functions as a mixer control between the first stage and the first and second stages combined. The output is then sent to the final stage, which is saturated by the chosen configuration. When this knob is set halfway, some mild phase cancellation can be heard (or not heard, as the case may be), delivering some extra vintage character.
The Merkin Fuzz accepts anything between 9V and 18V with a center-negative DC power supply. Plugging in anything other than this (center-positive, AC, higher voltage, etc.) there’s a good chance that you can kiss your Merkin goodbye. Save yourself some time and headache and plug the correct adapter into the pedal the first time, otherwise you run the risk of voiding your warranty, and there’s no romance in failure.
Many fuzzes that employ a blendable gain approach employ two identical stages and normally take the output from the mixer. The Merkin actually employs two different stages before the mixer, and so the Texture control has a staggering array of sounds on tap, dependent upon your guitar, pickups and wiring, with a subtle phase cancellation when set dead center. The result is a highly expressive control that lets you dial in the exact sound you want. There’s a lot to discover across just two knobs!
VOLUME: More turn makes more loud.
TEXTURE: The Merkin is composed of three gain stages, and only the first two are governed by the Texture knob. This knob essentially functions as a mixer control between the first stage and the first and second stages combined. The output is then sent to the final stage, which is saturated by the chosen configuration. When this knob is set halfway, some mild phase cancellation can be heard (or not heard, as the case may be), delivering some extra vintage character.
The Merkin Fuzz accepts anything between 9V and 18V with a center-negative DC power supply. Plugging in anything other than this (center-positive, AC, higher voltage, etc.) there’s a good chance that you can kiss your Merkin goodbye. Save yourself some time and headache and plug the correct adapter into the pedal the first time, otherwise you run the risk of voiding your warranty, and there’s no romance in failure.