Dr. No Evil MotherFuzzer

The Dr. No Evil MotherFuzzer is a hand-built germanium fuzz pedal from Dr. No effects, developed together with Dutch guitar player Pablo van de Poel. The maker describes it as an old school classic reinvented fuzz, built around two rare NOS high gain AC128 germanium transistors selected as a matched pair¹. MusicRadar described it at launch as an analog fuzz².

The pedal came out of a collaboration that Dr. No says started almost three years before the pedal resulted, after many prototypes, with the stated goal of creating the ultimate vintage fuzz¹. It was released as van de Poel's signature pedal³. Like all Dr. No pedals, it is 100% handmade using what the maker calls the best components available, with a hand-silkscreened graphic design on the enclosure⁴.

A germanium fuzz on a matched pair of AC128s

The heart of the Evil MotherFuzzer is its pair of AC128 germanium transistors. Dr. No says it found a limited stock of NOS (new old stock) high gain, matched AC128 germanium transistors, and calls these the secret of the pedal³. Some parts and components were collected from all over the world, including, according to the maker, some coming out of museums³.

Germanium transistors are the old-school route to fuzz: they clip the signal differently than silicon, and the AC128 in particular is the transistor type associated with vintage European fuzz circuits. Because NOS parts are finite, the supply of AC128s directly limits how many pedals can exist. Dr. No states plainly that the number of builds can run up only if these rare germanium AC128s can be found to build more Evil MotherFuzzers¹.

The pedal sits in the Dr. No lineup alongside the Bad MotherFuzzer, which followed it. Where the Evil MotherFuzzer carries two germanium transistors inside, the maker's page for the Bad MotherFuzzer contrasts its own design against "two inside the Evil MotherFuzzer"⁶.

The controls: Volume, Fuzz, Shape and Bias

The Evil MotherFuzzer has four knobs. The maker's descriptions, echoed by Guitar Interactive Magazine's coverage at launch, run as follows¹⁴:

The Bias control is the one that matters for placement in a chain. Because it can thin out the low end, Dr. No says it allows wah wah and other effects to run without being lost in the signal¹. Many fuzzes turn to mud when a wah sits in front of them; the Bias knob gives this pedal a way around that.

The pedal also cleans up from the guitar. The maker's own instruction, repeated in Guitar Interactive's coverage, is to leave the Fuzz dial fully open and lower the volume on your guitar or volume pedal for what Dr. No calls a cool "clean up sound"¹⁴. This volume-knob cleanup is a behavior players associate with germanium circuits, and it is a documented feature of this one.

Power and grounding: positive-ground circuit, negative-ground operation

Classic PNP germanium fuzz circuits run on a positive ground, which is why vintage-style germanium pedals often cannot share a power supply with ordinary negative-ground effects. The Evil MotherFuzzer keeps the PNP positive ground on its main hand-built circuit board, but the circuit is converted internally to negative ground¹.

Guitar Interactive Magazine confirmed the same arrangement in its launch coverage: PNP positive ground on the main hand-built circuit board, converted internally, so you don't have to worry about daisy chaining your germanium fuzz with other effects⁴. No voltage, current draw or battery information is given by the maker.

History and limited runs

The Evil MotherFuzzer was first announced in mid-2014, with Dr. No stating the first release would be around August 2014³. The original edition was produced as a limited stock of 74 pedals only, numbered and signed by both Pablo and Dr. No³. Guitar Interactive reported the same figure at launch: "Only 74 copies can be build……worldwide."⁴

By November 2014 the maker was already referring to the original edition as sold out⁷. The pedal returned later in further small runs:

• 2014: Limited edition of 74 numbered, signed copies³⁴
• 2016: MusicRadar reported it available for $278²
• 2023: A new limited run of 12 copies only¹
• To date: 174 copies built in total, per the maker's page¹

The Evil MotherFuzzer was built as a limited edition, with only 74 copies built worldwide¹.

Who designed it, and the signed builds

The Evil MotherFuzzer was developed by Dr. No together with Pablo van de Poel, whom the maker describes as a fellow fuzz addict. Their collaboration started almost three years before the pedal resulted, after many prototypes¹. Van de Poel is named by the maker as a user of the pedal, as his signature pedal³.

The signing of the builds changed over the production history. The first 132 builds of the Evil MotherFuzzer are hand-signed by Pablo van de Poel; the series built after that is not signed¹. So a player looking at a used unit can tell from its number whether it carries van de Poel's signature.

What the press said

Coverage at launch was straightforwardly descriptive. Premier Guitar listed the pedal with a street price of $316.50⁵. MusicRadar, reporting in 2016, noted it as an analog fuzz available for $278². Guitar Interactive Magazine's Jonathan Graham covered the launch in detail, repeating the maker's control descriptions and the 74-copy limit⁴.

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