The Cusack Music Screamer Fuzz Germanium Original Limited Edition is a limited production overdrive/fuzz pedal that combines two classic circuits in one enclosure: a Tube Screamer-style overdrive and a Fuzz Face-style fuzz, blended together. Cusack Music describes it as "a new take on our classic Screamer Fuzz," featuring Germanium overdrive clipping and the company's original LED fuzz circuit design1. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson called the concept "essentially a Tube Screamer and Fuzz Face in the same box - where you blend those voicings together to your own preference"2, and elsewhere described it as "a superb confection of Fuzz Face into Tube Screamer - all in the same box"3.
Controls
The pedal carries five controls, set out here as the buying guide lists them2:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level | Output level |
| Drive | Overdrive drive amount |
| Tone | Tone circuit |
| Fuzz | "Fuzz adjusts the amount of fuzz."1 |
| Clip | Three-way toggle: Silicon / LED / Germanium2 |
The Clip switch is the feature that sets the earliest version of the pedal apart. Guitar Pedal X notes that "the earliest version of this pedal has a 3-way clipping diode switch - Silicon / LED / Germanium - which is absent on the very latest version," a change that came with a $20 reduction in price2. The maker's current Germanium page lists an MSRP of $195.004.
Cusack also equipped the pedal with proprietary milled aluminum knobs, made it compatible with higher voltage power supplies, and added a tone circuit1.
The Screamer Fuzz family
The Germanium Original Limited Edition sits within a wider family of Screamer Fuzz pedals from Cusack Music512:
- Screamer Fuzz V2: discontinued, according to the maker's product page6.
The Selenium Screamer Fuzz is discontinued and sold out according to Cusack Music's own page7, and the Screamer Fuzz V2 is likewise discontinued6. The Germanium Original Limited Edition was a limited production run, so availability of any of these versions is a matter of the used market rather than current production.
Germanium versus Silicon
The two enclosure colors mark the two clipping flavors of the Screamer Fuzz. Guitar Pedal X: "the Germanium edition comes in a grey box, and the Silicon variety in a Gold one"3. The Germanium edition is the limited production model, built around Germanium overdrive clipping paired with the LED fuzz circuit1, and the earliest units carry the three-way clipping toggle that later versions dropped2.
For players interested in Cusack's other overdrive-and-fuzz work, the company also collaborated with Haunted Labs on the Cusack Music Carolina Reaper, a dual overdrive/fuzz pedal. Related pages on this site cover the Cusack Music Screamer Fuzz, the Screamer Fuzz Germanium, the Screamer Fuzz V3 Fuzzdrive, the Selenium Screamer Fuzz, the Sub Fuzz, and the Scruzz Bass, along with the broader Fuzz Pedals and Overdrive Pedals type pages.
Questions
What does the Clip switch do on the Cusack Screamer Fuzz?
On the earliest version of the Screamer Fuzz, the Clip switch is a three-way toggle that selects the clipping device shaping the overdrive side: Silicon, LED, or Germanium. The Germanium Original Limited Edition features Germanium overdrive clipping together with Cusack's original LED fuzz circuit design, so the switch lets the player move between those clipping voices.
How much did the Germanium Limited Edition cost?
Guitar Pedal X's 2021 buying guide listed the Cusack Music Screamer Fuzz Germanium Original Limited Edition at $205. The maker's later Germanium Screamer Fuzz page shows an MSRP of $195.00, and Guitar Pedal X notes that the very latest version, which drops the three-way clipping switch, came with a $20 reduction in price.
Is the Cusack Screamer Fuzz Selenium still available?
No. Cusack Music's own product page marks the Screamer Fuzz Selenium as discontinued and sold out. It was a limited run: 20 of the 26 sourced vintage Selenium Rectifiers were made available to the public in 2022, priced at $375 across individual colourway editions.
What color is the Germanium Screamer Fuzz enclosure?
According to Guitar Pedal X, the Germanium edition of the Screamer Fuzz comes in a grey box, while the Silicon variety comes in a gold one.
What is the difference between the Germanium and Silicon Screamer Fuzz?
Both are versions of the same Screamer Fuzz concept, a Tube Screamer and Fuzz Face blended in one box. The Germanium edition is a limited production model with Germanium overdrive clipping and Cusack's original LED fuzz circuit design, and it comes in a gray enclosure, while the Silicon version comes in gold. The earliest Germanium version also has a three-way Silicon, LED, Germanium clipping switch that the very latest version drops.
Sources (7)
- Screamer Fuzz Germanium Overdrive and Fuzz, Cusack Music
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2021-08-23
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-06-24
- Screamer Fuzz V3 Overdrive and Fuzz Pedal, Cusack Music
- Guitar Pedal X - GPX Blog - Hamstead Soundworks Launch Limited Edition Subspace Intergalactic Driver with Rare Mullard GEX35 Germanium Clipping Diode, Guitar Pedal X
- Screamer Fuzz V2 Overdrive and Fuzz Pedal, Cusack Music
- Screamer Fuzz Selenium, Limited Run of 20, Cusack Music (cusackmusic.com)
