The Soniashnyk is a limited-edition fuzz pedal from Dusky Electronics, built on the company's Augustus octave fuzz with one deliberate change: the octave effect is severely deemphasized. Where the Augustus puts its octave up front, the Soniashnyk is essentially an Augustus with the octave turned down, leaving a fuzz with a hint of that upper-octave character rather than the full ring-modulated leap players associate with octave fuzz. It was announced in April 2022 as a charity pedal created to raise money for emergency aid in Ukraine, and it was sold exclusively on Reverb.com1.
Where it came from
Designer Chris Rossi has told the story of the pedal's origin directly. Early in the production run of the Augustus, one unit came off the bench that had not passed quality control1:
"Early in the days of making Augustus there was one pedal that didn't pass quality control. It wasn't working right, the octave effect was severely deemphasized, but it sounded cool. So I saved it for a rainy day."1
That "broken" pedal became the template for the Soniashnyk. The name is the Ukrainian word for "sunflower", and the enclosure carries sunflower artwork by Chris Williams of Plastic Flame Press, tying the pedal's look to its fundraising purpose1.
Controls and features
The Soniashnyk trades the Augustus's four-knob layout for what Premier Guitar calls a radically streamlined two-knob user interface. One of those knobs is a dedicated "brokenness" control that adjusts the amount of the octave effect, letting the player dial in how much of the Augustus's octave character survives1.
- Two-knob interface, radically streamlined compared with the Augustus1
- Dedicated "brokenness" control that adjusts the amount of octave effect1
- High impedance input, allowing flexible placement in the signal chain1
- Battery power option1
- 100% discrete analog circuitry based on the Augustus1
- Sunflower artwork by Chris Williams of Plastic Flame Press1
How it compares with the Augustus
The Augustus, the pedal the Soniashnyk is based on, is Dusky's octave fuzz and, per Premier Guitar, the company's best selling pedal to date1. Guitar Pedal X described the Augustus's control set as four smart controls: Heat (Gain + Octave Level), Meat (Bass), Light (High), and More (Output Level)2. Premier Guitar's review of the Augustus called it "a very flexible, user-friendly octave fuzz with plenty of aggression" that handles both single-note runs and chords, with high-quality build overall3.
The Soniashnyk sits against that as a narrower, single-purpose take: same analog circuit family, but with the octave pulled back and the interface cut to two knobs. For a player who likes the Augustus's fuzz voice but not the full octave effect, it is that pedal in a limited run. It is not a general replacement for the Augustus, and as a limited edition sold through a single channel with a preorder window, it is no longer a standard catalog item1.
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Questions
What does Soniashnyk mean?
Soniashnyk is the Ukrainian word for "sunflower". Dusky Electronics chose the name for this limited-edition pedal, which carried sunflower artwork by Chris Williams of Plastic Flame Press and was created to raise money for emergency aid in Ukraine. It was sold exclusively through Reverb.com.
Who designed the Dusky Soniashnyk?
The Soniashnyk was designed by Chris Rossi of Dusky Electronics. According to Rossi, the pedal grew out of an early Augustus unit that failed quality control because its octave effect was severely deemphasized, but that sounded cool, so he set it aside and later built the Soniashnyk around that character.
Is the Soniashnyk an analog pedal?
Yes. Dusky describes the Soniashnyk as having 100% discrete analog circuitry, based on the company's Augustus octave fuzz. There is no digital processing in the signal path.
Can the Soniashnyk run on a battery?
Yes. The Soniashnyk includes a battery power option among its power choices, alongside its standard power input. That makes it usable on a pedalboard or straight into a guitar amp without a power supply.
How much did the Soniashnyk cost?
The Soniashnyk was priced at $200 when it was announced in April 2022, and it could be purchased online at Reverb.com, which was its exclusive sales channel.
How is the Soniashnyk different from the Augustus?
The Soniashnyk is based on the Augustus octave fuzz, but its octave effect is severely deemphasized, leaving a fuzz with only a trace of the octave character. It also trades the Augustus's four-knob layout for a radically streamlined two-knob interface, including a dedicated "brokenness" control that adjusts the amount of octave effect.
Sources (3)
- Dusky Electronics Releases the Soniashnyk Fuzz, Premier Guitar, 2022-04-19
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2020-12-18
- Vintage Octave Fuzz ... Without the Fear, Premier Guitar, 2021-01-14
