The Cusack Music Project 34 is a Pre/Drive pedal, a single box that can sit on a board as a boost, a preamp, a touch of compression or a light overdrive. Cusack describes its uses plainly: "It can be used for a boost, pre-amp, a bit of a compression, or a light overdrive."1
What sets it apart from other drive pedals is the component at its core. "At the heart of this pedal is a selenium rectifier," the maker says, a part type almost never found in modern pedal design.12
What the selenium rectifier does
Most overdrive and distortion pedals clip the signal with silicon or germanium diodes or transistors. Cusack instead routes the circuit through a selenium rectifier, an early solid-state component from the era before those parts were common. The maker says the result is a breakup with a different flavor: "You may hear characteristics more akin to a small tube amp, rather than diode and transistor fizzle fade."1
The Project 34 came out of Cusack Music founder Jon Cusack's interest in the part: at the heart of the pedal is a selenium rectifier, which RockBoard's PedalPedia says gives it characteristics more akin to a small tube amp, rather than diode and transistor fizzle fade.1 The pedal was listed on the Cusack Music webstore at an MSRP of $240.00 USD, with B-stock units, which may have minor finishing blemishes but come in perfect working condition with the original box, goodies and warranty, priced at $195.00 USD.1
Because the pedal depends on scarce vintage selenium rectifiers, runs are limited. If the supply of usable parts runs out, production stops.
Buying one: standard and B-stock
Cusack Music sells the Project 34 directly, and as of 26 October 2026 lists it at an MSRP of $240.00 USD, with B-stock units at $195.00 USD.1 The B-stock option matters for a pedal made in limited numbers: these are units with cosmetic flaws only.
According to the maker, B-stock pedals:
- may have minor scratches, paint chips, overspray, misprint or other small finishing blemishes
- are in perfect working condition
- come with the original box, box goodies and warranty1
The finish itself is part of the pedal's identity: Cusack calls it "a unique pedal complete with a beautiful Malbec Red Metallic powder coat."1
Where it sits among Cusack's drives
The Project 34 is the odd one out in a catalog otherwise built around familiar drive circuits. The Cusack Screamer is the company's take on the Tube Screamer formula, and the Tap-A-Scream and Screamer Bass extend that family. Players weighing the Project 34 against those, or against the classics compared in Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, are comparing a conventional diode-clipping drive with a circuit whose character comes from a component most pedals left behind decades ago.12
Videos
Cusack Music
Mike Hermans
Demos In The Dark
Questions
What is a selenium rectifier and why does it matter in a pedal?
A selenium rectifier is an early solid-state component, common in equipment from the 1930s onward, that predates modern silicon diodes. Cusack Music puts one at the heart of the Project 34 and says it gives the pedal a character more like a small tube amp than the fizzle and fade associated with diode and transistor clipping. Because usable vintage rectifiers are scarce, runs of the pedal are limited.
Is the Project 34 still available?
Cusack Music lists the Project 34 on its webstore, including a B-stock option. B-stock units may have minor finishing blemishes such as scratches, paint chips, overspray or misprint, but the maker says they are in perfect working condition and come with the original box, box goodies and warranty.
Sources (2)
- Project 34 Pre/Drive, B-Stock Discount, Cusack Music
- Project 34, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
