Great Eastern FX releases OC201 Preamp, first Obsolete Devices pedal
February 6, 2025 · 2 sources
Great Eastern FX Co. has released the OC201 Preamp, the first pedal in a new limited series the company calls Obsolete Devices12. The British maker is limiting the run to 50 units12.
The pedal is a two-transistor fuzz circuit built around a pair of new-old-stock Mullard OC201 transistors2. Guitar Pedal X describes the OC201 as Mullard's earliest silicon transistor variety1. Premier Guitar quotes company founder David Greeves on the part: "It was actually the first silicon transistor made by Mullard, using the same method as their germanium devices. It's pretty crude by modern standards, with very low gain and limited bandwidth, but that's exactly what makes it so great in a fuzz pedal"2.
The controls are Fuzz and Level1. Great Eastern FX say the sound ranges from dirty boost and garage rock drive up to a raw and richly textured fuzz, with the volume-knob clean-up characteristic of this style of fuzz, and that the circuit has been tweaked to deliver a healthy kick of volume to the amp2. Alongside the vintage transistors, the pedal uses high-tolerance Dale metal film resistors and WIMA capacitors2.
The OC201 Preamp costs $299 in the US2. It is available direct from Great Eastern FX and from Andertons in the UK, Pedaltown.nl in Europe, Sound Shoppe NYC in the USA and Electric Mojo Guitars in Canada2. Guitar Pedal X also lists Palf among the dealers1.
Greeves told Premier Guitar that the series will feature the company's take on classic circuits built from a mixture of vintage and modern components, and that the limited transistor supply is the reason for the 50-unit run2. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson wrote of the pedal: "What we have here is the most exquisitely textured fuzzy-drive / fuzz preamp unit - with a fantastic palette of sounds in a really neat and simple package"1.
"It was actually the first silicon transistor made by Mullard, using the same method as their germanium devices. It's pretty crude by modern standards, with very low gain and limited bandwidth, but that's exactly what makes it so great in a fuzz pedal."