EarthQuaker Devices releases Barrows Fuzz Attacker germanium fuzz

September 1, 2025 · 3 sources

EarthQuaker Devices released the Barrows Fuzz Attacker in September 2025, the company said in a February 2026 blog post describing "the Barrows Fuzz Attacker that we released back in September 2025"¹. The Akron, Ohio maker calls it "our loving homage to the iconic MKII Tone Bender circuit"¹.

The pedal uses three germanium transistors: "The beating heart of Barrows is its trio of germanium transistors"¹. EarthQuaker describes the range as "producing everything from light, singing distortion to crushing fuzz tones with nearly infinite harmonic-rich sustain"¹. The company says the pedal has two controls, and that its output is "phase-corrected and buffered," so "the signal leaving the Barrows is in phase with the signal entering it"¹. EarthQuaker says the buffer is meant to keep the pedal from losing high end and dynamics when placed after buffered pedals, a problem it attributes to impedance mismatches with vintage-style fuzz circuits¹.

The original Tone Bender MKII was released in 1966, according to the same post¹. EarthQuaker's product manager, Matt Clouston, writes in it that three-transistor fuzz circuits produce "more aggressive and saturated fuzz tones than achieved with two-transistor designs," and that the extra stage allows a tone control to exist in the design¹.

EarthQuaker did not give a price or a list of dealers in the post¹. The post also quotes players Kaycie Satterfield and Laura Pleasants on the pedal's response to playing dynamics and its stacking with other effects¹.

The Barrows arrives in a market that already includes several three-transistor fuzz designs. Electro-Harmonix released its own Tone Bender MKIII-style pedal, the Bender Royale, in September 2025, with Fat and Clip switches, Bias, Treble and Blend controls, and a US price of $149²³. More on fuzz pedals.