Spaceman Effects

The story: a Portland builder's first pedal and 15th anniversary

Spaceman Effects began in 2009 with the Rumblefuzz, a fuzz the maker issued as a limited run of 50 numbered pedals⁷¹. Fifteen years later, the company celebrated its anniversary by revisiting that very first pedal with the Rumblefuzz II¹. The anniversary also brought a reissue of the Spacerocket, the company's silicon octave fuzz, in updated Spacerocket II form with circuit upgrades⁸.

The Spacerocket itself carries a transferable three year warranty plus a lifetime discount repair plan, while the Spacerocket II carries the Limited Lifetime Warranty⁹. The maker describes the Spacerocket as handmade in Portland, Oregon, with an all-discrete tone path and military-spec wiring⁹.

What Spaceman Effects is known for: original circuits with vintage character

Spaceman states that its circuits and tones are unique, not clones or copies⁴. The company describes its fuzz series as an homage to the golden era of electronics¹⁰, and its pedals are built around original, discrete analog circuits, such as the Mercury IV's unique, discrete analog circuit, an update of the Mercury III introduced eight years earlier¹¹.

The company's range spans more than fuzz. The Voyager I, released in 2014, was described by the maker as the first dynamic tremolo pedal on the planet¹². The Artemis is a modulated filter pedal¹³, and the Explorer is an optical six-stage analog phaser¹⁴. Spaceman also made the Wow! Signal fuzz as a collaboration with The Dandy Warhols¹⁵.

Limited runs, sold-out pedals and the Standard Edition

Most Spaceman pedals are made in limited, numbered editions, and many of the maker's product pages simply list the pedal as sold out. Current examples include the Ixion, Mission Control, Artemis, Sputnik II and Sputnik III¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸.

The Apollo VIIb Gray Edition adds a vintage dimmable aerospace indicator light and custom knobs on a gray powder-coated enclosure¹⁹. The company now offers its pedals in two lines: the PDX Custom Series and the Cadet Series⁴.

The people: Zak Martin and the Spaceman team

Spaceman was founded by Zak Martin². The Apollo VIIb was the last pedal he was involved with before leaving the brand in 2019¹⁹. Today the company describes itself as a team of musicians, artists and creators with backgrounds in audio engineering, production and performance⁴. Within Portland's local pedal maker community, Spaceman is described as a mighty presence¹⁵.

Support: limited lifetime warranty

Spaceman offers a Limited Lifetime Warranty on all of its pedals⁴. The warranty is stated on individual product pages for the Voyager II, Sputnik I, Spacerocket II, Rumblefuzz II and Apollo VIIb^12202419.

The Sputnik fuzz family

The Sputnik series is the maker's flagship fuzz line. The original Sputnik and the Sputnik II are all-germanium fuzzes featuring vintage Soviet transistors¹⁰¹⁸. The Sputnik I is a silicon-transistor variant²⁰, and the Sputnik IIb is a deluxe germanium version²¹. The Sputnik III incorporates the best features of both the Sputnik and the Sputnik II¹⁶. A Filter switch on the Sputnik enables a second tone-circuit variation, effectively doubling the variety of tonal options compared to traditional fuzz pedals¹⁰.

The Explorer phaser

The Explorer was the first phaser launched by Spaceman¹⁴. It is an optical six-stage analog phaser, later reissued in a small form factor with all the deluxe features of the original²². Its CV/expression input is a 0-5V DC TRS jack, over and reverse voltage protected, that controls LFO speed in LFO modes and sweeps the phaser directly in manual mode¹⁴.

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