The Blakemore Effects Deus Ex Machina is an opamp fuzz with a clean blend, meaning it mixes a distorted fuzz voice with an unaffected copy of the guitar signal. Writing at Guitar Pedal X, Stefan Karlsson described the pedal as "a darling of the Shoegaze Scene", crediting that status to its clean blend1.
A rare pedal
The Deus Ex Machina was made in small numbers. Karlsson put production at fewer than 100 units, and suggested the real figure may have been about half that1. For players, that scarcity means the original turns up on the used market only occasionally, and it has become a pedal players know more by reputation than by availability.
"I believe less than 100 Deus Ex Machina's were made, perhaps only half that amount"
The original is scarce by any measure. Blakemore Effects' own account puts total production at fewer than 100 units, and possibly only about half that, so the Deus Ex Machina rarely turns up1.
What it does
The pedal's fuzz voice is built around an opamp, and its mid boost is fixed rather than adjustable. Karlsson noted that "the original was fixed at 1kHz", so the mid emphasis sits at a single frequency rather than being swept with a control1. Combined with the clean blend, that gives the pedal a voice that keeps mids present under the fuzz, which is where its reputation among shoegaze players comes from: the blended clean signal and the mid focus help the fuzz sit in a mix rather than bury it.
What the design is known for, in short:
- An opamp-based fuzz voice1
- A clean blend that mixes unaffected guitar back in with the fuzz1
- A mid boost fixed at 1kHz, with no sweep control1
- A reputation in the shoegaze scene, attributed by Karlsson to the clean blend1
The pedal it inspired
The Deus Ex Machina is a rare pedal by its maker's own count. Blakemore Effects has said that fewer than 100 were made, and perhaps only half that amount, which makes it an uncommon sight on players' boards1. What made it sought after among shoegaze players was the clean blend, which let the fuzz sit under rather than replace the clean signal, and the mid boost, fixed at 1kHz, that pushed the fuzz forward in a mix1.
Videos
Shoegaze Pedals
Brett Kingman
David Fisher (tibbon)
Sources (1)
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2026-06-18