Berserker Electronics Velcrow Gated Fuzz

The Berserker Electronics Velcrow Gated Fuzz is a gated fuzz: a fuzz that stops abruptly between notes instead of ringing out, giving a tight, choppy, aggressive sound. Pedal of the Day's review describes it as "the down-n-dirty Velcrow Gated Fuzz" and notes that "It's not a polite [fuzz]"¹. Berserker Electronics is based in Seattle¹.

Where it comes from

The Velcrow is built on a reimagined Tonebender MkIII foundation, according to Pedal of the Day's review¹. Its EQ section is Big Muff-inspired: the reviewer writes that "The original [Big Muff]-inspired EQ had the right sweep but felt a little boxed in. Velcrow keeps the same core design" but revoices it for more range and clarity¹.

The pedal is also positioned as a response to the Way Huge Conquistador Fuzzstortion, a gated fuzz that Way Huge describes as conquering "sonic frontiers with ease and simplicity"². Premier Guitar's 2021 review of the Conquistador noted that "Conquistador's gating is a feature throughout the pedal's range"³.

How it differs from the Conquistador

Pedal of the Day's reviewer frames the Velcrow as "Berserker Electronics' answer to that" pedal, and says it keeps the Conquistador's character while pushing it further¹:

On the sound, the same review describes "A gated fuzz with that same ripping, crackling spirit, but tighter, louder, and way more usable" than the Conquistador¹. On the EQ specifically, the reviewer found "Less congestion, more mids when you want them, and a low end that punches without smothering"¹.

The built-in gate

The gate is the feature the review singles out. The reviewer wrote:

For a player, that matters because gated fuzzes live or die on how cleanly they cut off: a weak gate leaves noise hanging after each note, while a strong one gives the sharp stop that defines the effect. If you want a dedicated unit for that job on its own, see Noise Gate Pedals.

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