The Dwarfcraft Devices Reese Lightning is an analog fuzz pedal built for heavy, aggressive tones. Dwarfcraft announced it on June 26, 2018, alongside the Witch Shifter pitch pedal, with shipping from July 2018 and a retail price of $2091. It was unveiled at Summer NAMM 20182.
The pedal is a development of Dwarfcraft's Eau Claire Thunder rather than an all-new circuit. Premier Guitar's announcement described it as picking up "where the Eau Claire Thunder left off," and as "brighter and dirtier than its Thunder brother"1. Dwarfcraft's own product page calls it "small, powerful, and ruthless. With more brightness and dirt than the Thunder"3.
What it does: a brighter, dirtier Thunder
The Reese Lightning sits in the Muff family, but at a distance. Delicious Audio's 2024 roundup of unusual fuzz pedals describes the design as "Using their supercharged Muff, the Eau Claire Thunder, as a blueprint," with the Reese Lightning adding a clean blend4. So the family tree runs: Big Muff-style circuit, reworked into the Eau Claire Thunder, then pushed further in the Reese Lightning.
What "further" means here, according to the press coverage:
- More brightness and dirt than the Eau Claire Thunder, per both the announcement and Dwarfcraft's product page13.
- Octave-up tones, Velcro-esque scratches and saggy sputters, "all with a healthy dose of sonic artifacts," in Guitar.com's description of what the pedal can produce2.
- On-demand squeal, through a feedback footswitch that Delicious Audio says "allows for access to squealing madness on demand"4.
For context on how the Thunder side of the family sounds, Delicious Audio's 2012 review of the Eau Claire Thunder found it produced "a distortion that is much less tubby and bouncy than a Muff derivative," built around a standard volume, tone, gain arrangement5. The Reese Lightning keeps that control set and adds a Mix knob for the clean blend24.
The form factor is also smaller than its predecessor. Delicious Audio notes "top-mounted jacks and a more compact size than the Eau Claire Thunder"4, which makes it easier to fit on a crowded pedalboard than the original's die-cast box.
Controls and switching
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Output level1 |
| Tone | Shapes the frequency balance1 |
| Gain | Sets the amount of fuzz1 |
| Mix | Blends clean signal with the fuzz, per Guitar.com's walkthrough of the "fairly self-explanatory" knobs2 |
| Timewarp toggle | Omits the clipping diode to bring out octave-up artifacts1; Dwarfcraft's page describes it as engaging octave-up clipping diodes3 |
| Feedback footswitch | Momentary access to feedback squeal on demand4 |
The Timewarp toggle is the personality switch. With it off, the pedal behaves like a heavy Muff-family fuzz; with it on, the diode drops out of the clipping stage and octave-up artifacts come forward13. Combined with the feedback footswitch, it gives the pedal two ways to leave ordinary fuzz territory without touching the knobs.
Bypass is true bypass with soft switching, so the signal passes through untouched when the pedal is off, and the footswitch action is the quiet, low-force type13.
Power
The Reese Lightning runs on a standard 9V DC, center negative supply and draws 35mA3. The current draw is modest, but it is worth checking that a daisy chain or small isolated supply has headroom for it alongside the rest of a board.
History: built from the Eau Claire Thunder
The Reese Lightning's parent pedal goes back years further. Delicious Audio's 2012 review called the Eau Claire Thunder "the big one" from Dwarfcraft Devices, housed in a die-cast enclosure with heavy duty foot switches5. That pedal established the recipe the Reese Lightning extends: a Muff-derived circuit with a firmer low end than a typical derivative5.
The Thunder line continued after the Reese Lightning arrived. In 2019 Dwarfcraft released a limited-edition Eau Claire Thunder in a smaller, streamlined enclosure, using NOS transistors that decreased the gain and made that version "warmer, a little more 'wooly,' and somewhat more versatile than the balls-out OG Thunder"67. Against that warmer reissue, the Reese Lightning is the branch of the family that went the other way: brighter, dirtier, and with the extra controls to push it into artifacts and feedback13.
Dwarfcraft announced the Reese Lightning on June 26, 2018, with shipping from July 2018 at $2091; Guitar.com confirmed the $209 retail price at Summer NAMM 20182.
Videos
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Eirik Stordrange
Questions
What does the Timewarp switch do on the Reese Lightning?
The Timewarp toggle omits the clipping diode, which brings out octave-up artifacts in the fuzz. Dwarfcraft's product page describes it as engaging octave-up clipping diodes, so flipping it pushes the pedal toward those upper-octave sounds and the associated sonic artifacts.
Is the Reese Lightning a Big Muff clone?
Not a straight clone. The circuit uses Dwarfcraft's Eau Claire Thunder as its blueprint, and that pedal is itself a supercharged take on the Muff design. Delicious Audio describes the Thunder as a Muff derivative with a firmer low end, so the Reese Lightning is a modified Muff-family fuzz rather than a copy.
Is the Reese Lightning true bypass?
Yes. Both the announcement and Dwarfcraft's product page list true bypass with soft switching, so the pedal passes your clean signal unchanged when disengaged and the footswitch itself is the quiet, soft-click type.
How much current does the Reese Lightning draw?
Dwarfcraft's product page lists a current draw of 35mA at 9V DC, center negative. That is modest by digital-pedal standards but more than a typical simple analog fuzz, so plan a power supply output accordingly.
Sources (7)
- Dwarfcraft Launches Reese Lightning & Witch Shifter, Premier Guitar, 2018-06-28
- Dwarfcraft launches Witch Shifter and Reese Lightning, Guitar.com, 2018-07-04
- Reese Lightning Fuzz by Dwarfcraft Devices, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- The Best Crazy, Weird, And Unusual Fuzz Pedals In 2024, Delicious Audio, 2024-10-24
- Pedal Review: Dwarfcraft Devices Eau Claire Thunder, Delicious Audio, 2012-01-12
- Limited-Edition Eau Claire Thunder by Dwarfcraft, Premier Guitar, 2019-05-29
- Dwarfcraft Unveils New Eau Claire Thunder Gold Standard Distortion, Guitar World, 2019-05-30
