EarthQuaker Devices Dirt Transmitter Legacy Reissue

The EarthQuaker Devices Dirt Transmitter Legacy Reissue is a limited-edition fuzz driver pedal that brings back the original format of one of EarthQuaker Devices' earliest fuzzes. Released in September 2024, it recreates the larger V1 enclosure of the Dirt Transmitter, a pedal that first appeared in 2008 as the third in a long line of EarthQuaker fuzz pedals¹²³. The run was limited to 1,000 units worldwide².

At its heart is a roughly 22-component, two-transistor silicon fuzz circuit with a clipping diode for enhancement⁴. EarthQuaker credits the pedal's character to its rare silicon transistors, which the maker says offer a gritty top end response and more gain than typical germanium transistors, giving a biting edge with a rounder tone and a range that runs from overdrive to full fuzz². Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson described the circuit as very Fuzz Face adjacent, with extra components that make it more malleable and produce a more consistent output⁴.

A two-transistor silicon fuzz driver

The Dirt Transmitter circuit was designed by EarthQuaker founder Jamie Stillman, and the maker describes this early circuit as one of his best and most interesting fuzz creations². The original 2008 units were housed in a small enclosure with only three controls: Fuzz, Tone and Level⁶. Shortly after the release, Stillman added an external Bias control, which EarthQuaker says opened up the circuit⁶.

The Legacy Reissue carries the four-knob layout that resulted: Tone, Level, Bias and Fuzz⁴. Where a classic Fuzz Face gives you two knobs and a fixed bias point, the Dirt Transmitter's Bias and Tone controls let you reshape the character of the fuzz itself, which is what separates it from a straight vintage clone. Delicious Audio's reviewer, writing about the original, put the pedal in the versatile category specifically because of the interaction between the Bias control and the Tone knob³.

The controls: Fuzz, Tone, Bias and Level

The Bias knob is the one that needs explaining. It controls the amount of current going to the transistors³, and guitar.com's reviewer Richard Purvis, writing about the Rancho de la Luna edition of the same circuit, noted that it lets you lower the voltage to the two 2N1711 silicon transistors for sputtery, gating effects⁷. Set it low and the fuzz breaks up, sputters and gates like Velcro; set it high and the transistors get the voltage they want for a thicker, more conventional fuzz. EarthQuaker's own guidance is that the pedal is properly biased at 5 o'clock, so that is the sensible starting point before you start starving the transistors².

The Tone control works as a high-pass filter, which Delicious Audio's reviewer found keeps the tone from getting flabby at various stages of tweaking³, and the Level knob simply sets the overall volume of the effected signal³.

Power and connections

The Legacy Reissue takes a standard 9V DC power supply with a 2.1mm negative center barrel, with a current draw of 3 mA²⁴. There is no battery option; the maker's page directs you to the standard DC supply only². EarthQuaker's warning not to run the circuit at higher voltages applies to the Dirt Transmitter family⁵.

Connections are top-mounted 1/4-inch jacks for easy pedalboard mounting⁴, with an input impedance of 500 kΩ and an output impedance of 100 Ω⁴. Switching is by EarthQuaker's Flexi-Switch Technology: a relay-based, true bypass style that allows both momentary and latching switching, and which requires power to pass signal².

From the original Dirt Transmitter to the Legacy Reissue

The original Dirt Transmitter debuted in 2008³, and the Legacy Reissue arrived 16 years later, in September 2024, as a straight revival of the larger original V1 format⁴⁸. The run was limited to 1,000 units worldwide², priced at $150 in the USA⁴, and was sold mostly through a Reverb.com exclusive, with international dealers carrying it outside the USA⁴.

Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson called it a great sounding fuzz driver, while admitting a personal gripe:

The Rancho de la Luna edition

The circuit did not stay retired. In 2025 EarthQuaker brought the Dirt Transmitter back again as the Rancho de la Luna Dirt Transmitter, a collaboration with Dave Catching of the Rancho de la Luna studio in the California desert⁹. That edition is limited to 1,600 units worldwide¹⁰, housed in a standard-sized case rather than the larger V1 enclosure of the Legacy Reissue¹⁰, and adorned with the studio's logo and custom Rancho-themed artwork by Mike Egan⁶¹⁰.

Both editions share the same four controls, Level, Fuzz, Tone and Bias, plus the footswitch¹⁰. MusicRadar's reviewer Connor Flys called the circuit a fantastic take on a classic, with modern tweaks that make it more usable without compromising its snarling vintage voice¹⁰, and guitar.com's Richard Purvis wrote that the reissue might just leave you wondering why the Dirt Transmitter was discontinued in the first place⁷.

All EarthQuaker devices, including the Dirt Transmitter family, carry a limited lifetime warranty: if it breaks, the company will fix it².

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