The Dwarfcraft Baby Thunder is a compact fuzz pedal from Dwarfcraft Devices, announced in November 2016 as a slimmed down version of the company's flagship Eau Claire Thunder, their best selling distortion device. Dwarfcraft described it as suitable for anyone in need of a huge, full bodied fuzz tone in a smaller box, with loads of sustain and plenty of gain1. It shipped at an MSRP of $200 USD1.
The Baby Thunder carried an MSRP of $200 USD1. As a Dwarfcraft Devices release, it is a discontinued pedal, and units on the used market are the only way players encounter it now.
A big fuzz in a small box
The Baby Thunder came about when Dwarfcraft decided to put its most popular fuzz circuit into a smaller housing. gearnews.com's Jef noted that the pedal is based on the company's Eau Claire Thunder, one of their most popular fuzz pedals, and that the smaller enclosure alone might make the Baby Thunder pretty popular2. The Eau Claire is possibly Dwarfcraft's most regular fuzz pedal, yet still has some cool clipping options, making it a lot of the character of the circuit in a smaller footprint2.
The difference between the two is size and layout. The Eau Claire Thunder is a Muff-style fuzz box with three footswitches and some pretty unusual controls3, while the Baby Thunder is a straight ahead fuzz circuit with clipping options (the "Timewarp" feature)1. Dwarfcraft described the Baby Thunder as suitable for anyone in need of a huge, full bodied fuzz tone in a smaller box1, and later released the Gold Standard Eau Claire Thunder, a fuzz pedal that one reviewer described as a warm-sounding boutique dirt/fuzz box14.
The controls: Timewarp, Toneblast and Trim
The Baby Thunder carries three controls that shape the fuzz in different ways1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Timewarp | Clipping options: a toggle that switches the fuzz's clipping diodes1 |
| Toneblast | Tone bypass that provides a volume boost and a more even frequency response1 |
| Trim | Attenuates any incoming signal to avoid "blow out" from hot signals1 |
The Timewarp toggle comes from the Eau Claire Thunder circuit, where it switches out two different sets of clipping diodes, giving the player a choice of fuzz character5. On the later limited edition Eau Claire Thunder, Premier Guitar described the same idea: the Timewarp toggle controls a clipping diode6.
Toneblast is the control most players will reach for when they want to cut through: engaging the tone bypass lifts the volume and flattens the frequency response for a more even signal1. Trim works at the other end of the chain, before the fuzz: it attenuates the incoming signal so a hot guitar, active pickups or a loud preceding pedal do not blow out the circuit1.
Power and bypass
The Baby Thunder runs on the industry standard 9V center negative power supply1, so it will work with a standard pedalboard supply. Both it and the SheFuzz reissue announced at the same time are true bypass, meaning the fuzz circuit is removed from the signal path entirely when the pedal is off1.
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Questions
What power supply does the Dwarfcraft Baby Thunder need?
The Baby Thunder runs on the industry standard 9V center negative power supply, the same type used by most compact pedals. That means it will work with a typical pedalboard power supply.
Is the Dwarfcraft Baby Thunder true bypass?
Yes. Dwarfcraft announced the Baby Thunder as a true bypass pedal, so when it is switched off your guitar's signal passes through untouched, without any buffering or loading from the fuzz circuit.
What does the Toneblast control do on the Baby Thunder?
Toneblast is a tone bypass. Engaging it provides a volume boost and a more even frequency response, taking the fuzz's tone shaping out of the signal for a louder, flatter voice. It is one of the controls Dwarfcraft added when it slimmed the Eau Claire Thunder down into the Baby Thunder.
What does the Trim knob do on the Baby Thunder?
The Trim knob attenuates any incoming signal to avoid blow out from hot signals. If you feed the fuzz from an active pickup, a booster or a pedal with a hot output, Trim lets you turn that level down before it hits the fuzz circuit.
How big is the Baby Thunder enclosure?
The Baby Thunder uses a 125B size enclosure, measuring 4 5/8 by 2 1/2 by 1 1/2 inches, chosen by Dwarfcraft for a minimal footprint on a pedalboard.
How does the Baby Thunder differ from the Eau Claire Thunder?
The Baby Thunder is a slimmed down version of Dwarfcraft's flagship Eau Claire Thunder, their best selling distortion device. The Eau Claire Thunder is a Muff-style fuzz box with three footswitches and unusual controls, while the Baby Thunder puts a straight ahead fuzz circuit with clipping options into a much smaller 125B enclosure.
Sources (6)
- Dwarfcraft Reintroduces Baby Thunder & SheFuzz Pedals, Premier Guitar, 2016-11-16
- Dwarfcraft Devices revisit two fuzz pedals: Baby Thunder and SheFuzz, gearnews.com, 2016-11-21
- Dwarfcraft Devices Eau Claire Thunder Gold Standard, Delicious Audio, 2020-04-27
- Dwarfcraft Gold Standard Eau Claire Thunder: A limited run of only 73 units, gearnews.com, 2019-06-03
- Pedal Review: Dwarfcraft Devices Eau Claire Thunder, Delicious Audio, 2012-01-12
- Limited-Edition Eau Claire Thunder by Dwarfcraft, Premier Guitar, 2019-05-29
