EarthQuaker Devices Barrows Fuzz Attacker

Step into the fuzz-laden caverns of rock history with the EarthQuaker Devices Barrows, a fuzz pedal built to honor the revered three-transistor Tone Bender MkII circuit while leveling it up for today’s demanding players. Whether you’re summoning scorched-earth doom tones or layering shimmering shoegaze textures, the Barrows isn’t just another fuzz—it’s a relic reborn, with the power to obliterate amps and melt faces.

At the heart of the Barrows are three hand-matched germanium transistors, lovingly biased for optimal response. These transistors conjure a tone that’s saturated, mid-focused, and brimming with rich harmonics. But unlike its vintage forebears, the Barrows doesn’t demand blood sacrifices to the pedalboard gods—no more battery-only voodoo or positive-ground rituals. This one’s plug-and-play, powered by standard 9V DC and designed to actually get along with your signal chain.

A Classic Reimagined

Where classic Tone Benders were fickle and fragile, the Barrows is rugged and refined. A phase-corrected buffered output ensures it plays nice after other pedals, and its true bypass switching keeps your clean tone pristine. It’s compact, roadworthy, and tuned by EarthQuaker’s finest in Akron, Ohio, by actual humans (and one very polite robot).

Whether you’re chasing the raw bark of Jimmy Page’s Yardbirds-era tone or the saturated swirl of Kevin Shields’ wall-of-sound fuzzscapes, the Barrows gives you the tools—and the transistors—to forge your own fuzz mythology.

Specs:

• Circuit: Classic TB MkII topology with modern refinements
• Transistors: 3x matched germanium transistors
• Controls:
  • Attack – Adjusts gain and compression; light overdrive to heavy fuzz
  • Level – Sets output volume (unity ~noon, plenty of boost available)
• Output: Phase-corrected buffered output (plays well after other pedals)
• Power: Standard 9V DC center-negative (2.1mm barrel)
  • Current draw: 10mA
  • DO NOT run at higher voltages
• Bypass: True bypass switching
• Enclosure Size: Compact footprint for pedalboard efficiency
• Made in: Akron, OH, USA by EarthQuaker Devices (and one obedient robot)
• Best Use Tip: Place first in signal chain; avoid buffers before the pedal