EarthQuaker Devices has resurrected a lost classic from the EQD archive, bringing back the Dirt Transmitter fuzz pedal for a special edition release in partnership with Dave Catching of Rancho de la Luna studios in Joshua Tree, California.
The idea for the Dirt Transmitter came originally from the Fuzz Face. The idea for its return came in 2023 from an invitation extended to EQD’s founder Jamie Stillman to play on a record celebrating the 30th anniversary of the studio.
It was at Rancho de la Luna where Josh Homme convened The Desert Sessions in 1997, welcoming the likes of Mark Lanegan, Josh Freese, Dean Ween, his Queens of the Stone Age bandmates, and many more for a series of recordings. Catching, an alumnus of earthlings? and former touring member of QOTSA and Eagles of Death Metal, also appeared on the sessions.
Stillman rocked up to the Rancho de la Luna anniversary recording sessions with an old Dirt Transmitter on his pedalboard, and suitably impressed by its sound, they decided to bring it back and launch it to coincide with the album, and commission some new enclosure artwork honouring the studio.
Mark Egan, who lives not far from EQD’s HQ in Ohio, did the honours with the art. Stillman got to work on the pedal.
Long-time EQD fans will recognise this new Dirt Transmitter as a second generation model. The original, which debuted in January 2008, was a three-knob fuzz, with controls for Fuzz, Tone and Level.
Stillman later added a Bias control not long after, which was very much au courant for the time. Who didn’t want some sputtering gated sounds from their fuzz?
It made the Dirt Transmitter more versatile. Yes, it could do the vintage Fuzz Face silicon fuzz thing. But players could also dial in that gnarly, battery dying fuzz sound – a little anarchy for your electric guitar tone. Also, the transistors that Stillman used for the design put a neat spin on the classic silicon fuzz recipe.
“These transistors are lower gain and have a warmth similar to germanium transistors when overdriven,” explains EarthQuaker Devices. “But they also have the top-end grind typical of silicon-based fuzz pedals, which adds to the mids and helps cut through.”
This pedal is very simple to use. If you want your fuzz to sound full and open, keep the Bias control fully dimed at 5 o’clock. As you back it off, you choke the voltage entering the fuzz circuit. Velcro weirdness happens, and it might sound like the speaker is ripping but it’s just the sound of the circuit struggling.
As with all EQD guitar effects pedals, the Rancho de la Luna Dirt Transmitter is designed and made in the USA, and is outfitted with Flexi-Switch technology that allows you to use the pedal in momentary or latching modes. Feed it 9V (and no more) from a pedalboard power supply and it’ll be happy.
The Rancho de la Luna Dirt Transmitter is out now, priced £189/$179. See EarthQuaker Devices for more details.
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