The Automat Audio Devices Rara Avis is a distortion-leaning fuzz pedal, one of two extended range fuzzes the new brand released alongside the Triplegänger. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson described it as "a somewhat thicker raunchier distortion style of fuzz", and it sits in the territory where distortion pedals and fuzz pedals overlap. It carries a list price of $300, sold direct from the maker1.
Controls and circuit
The pedal is built around what Karlsson read as a sort of three-band EQ, with Treble and Bass controls that are obvious in function and a Filter control he took to be a band-pass. Around those sit Output, Bias and Gain controls, plus a two-position Mode switch: Lean for a tighter voice, Big for what he called "loose, organic full-on fuzz"1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Treble | Treble EQ |
| Filter | Likely a band-pass filter, per Guitar Pedal X's reading |
| Bass | Bass EQ |
| Output | Output level |
| Bias | Bias |
| Gain | Gain |
| Mode | Lean (tighter) or Big (loose, organic full-on fuzz) |
On the circuit itself, Karlsson wrote that it "sounds like it's more likely OpAmp - and possibly a touch Big Muff adjacent or thereabouts", so the topology is an op-amp-based design rather than a classic transistor fuzz1.
Build and price
The Rara Avis uses a custom enclosure with custom milled aluminum knobs, which is where much of its cost sits. Karlsson judged that the "prices are slightly on the higher side of things, but not necessarily unreasonable - there's a lot of custom tooling" behind the pedals1.
"prices are slightly on the higher side of things, but not necessarily unreasonable - there's a lot of custom tooling"
Videos
EytschPi42
Sources (1)
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2025-06-13
