EarthQuaker Devices teams up with Boris guitarist Wata for the Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainar
A painstaking recreation of the Japanese alt-rock icon's beloved Elk BM Sustainar, this pedal aims to bring grit, and a massive low end boost, to your tone
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.
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.
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.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
For more info on the pedal, head on over to EarthQuaker Devices.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
“A lot of my peers have turned to modelers. I’m not there yet. It still feels like an electronic toy to me”: Jerry Cantrell on his love of guitar duos, vibing off Jeff Beck on his solo album – and why he remains a digital tone skeptic
“I walk smack into him and he goes, ‘See you’re practicing, are you, mate?’ He takes the guitar – he’s lefty and I’m righty – and starts to play it”: Richie Sambora on how Paul McCartney helped him mix a Bon Jovi track