Limited to only 1,500 units worldwide, Black Ash is a fuzz/overdrive taking cues from the legendary “three-knob” Tone Bender. It uses a highly curated selection of premium components including paper-in-oil capacitors and half-watt carbon composition resistors from EarthQuaker Devices president Jamie Stillman’s personal collection to light a fire under a classic fuzz/drive circuit that delivers an explosive-yet-detailed treble response, a sturdy and articulate midrange, and subterranean bass extension.

The Black Ash’s unique Top control adjusts key frequencies between 2kHz and 10kHz to select how “forward” the guitar sits in a full-band mix and helps to pair this dynamic fuzz Device with different pickup types. At low Top settings, the Black Ash takes on a woody, organic character with a mellow, pleasantly subdued upper harmonic presence. As the Top control is increased, Black Ash gives a stiffer response with a sharper attack that can make humbuckers chime and makes single coils glisten. Other controls include Volume, which offers plenty of output gain above unity, and Fuzz, which adjusts the amount of gain from cooled-off amp-like breakup to scorching fuzz tones.