The Hizumitas is a fuzz sustainar pedal from EarthQuaker Devices, designed for Wata, guitarist of the Japanese band Boris. It is a recreation of her go-to distortion, the vintage Elk BM Sustainar, a rare Japanese fuzz. EarthQuaker describes the sound as heavy saturation with a gritty edge and a massive bottom, while still maintaining a clear and dynamic tone with enough mids and top end to cut through the sludge1.
The pedal launched in November 2021, with general sale beginning Friday, November 192. It carries three controls, Volume, Sustain and Tone, an all-analog signal path, and silent relay-based switching3.
The controls: Volume, Sustain and Tone
The Hizumitas keeps to the classic three-knob fuzz layout, with the knobs marked Volume, Tone and Sustain4.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets the overall output level. Unity is around 9 to 10 o'clock, and the control offers massive output gain beyond that13. |
| Sustain | Sets the amount of fuzz and drive. The range of saturation is wide, so even small changes significantly affect the overall tone36. |
| Tone | Shapes the frequency balance. Bass frequencies are boosted clockwise and treble frequencies counterclockwise3. |
The Tone control is the one that most changes the pedal's character. Counterclockwise it goes from aggressive midrange grind to piercing highs; clockwise it reduces mids, tames highs and brings a thundering low end3. Delicious Audio's writeup notes the Tone knob can heavily affect the quality of the distortion7. Guitar.com described the Volume control as giving unity gain at around 20 to 30 percent of its operation, with the rest of the sweep dedicated to a volume boost8.
Power and connections
The Hizumitas takes a standard 9 volt DC power supply with a 2.1mm negative center barrel and draws 10 mA1. Input impedance is approximately 150 kΩ and output impedance is under 10 kΩ1.
Battery power is not an option with this pedal, and no adapter is included9. The relay-based true bypass switching also means the pedal requires power to pass signal1, so a dead power supply silences your signal path rather than just bypassing the effect.
A recreation of the Elk BM Sustainar
The circuit is based on the Elk BM Sustainar, a Japanese variant of the Triangle Big Muff Pi14. EarthQuaker Devices built the pedal for Wata of Boris, whom the company's history article calls a connoisseur of Big Muff-based fuzz circuits10. According to Pedal of the Day, the EarthQuaker crew was able to get their hands on Wata's actual pedal to capture the sound she had used for years4.
"the EQD crew was able to get their hands on Wata's actual pedal, to truly capture the magic sound she's had for years"
Getting that replica to sound the same as the original unit took EarthQuaker's Jamie Stillman over a year, MusicRadar reported11. Gearnews described the result, per the company's website, as a pretty faithful copy of Wata's go-to distortion6. An independent technical analysis of the circuit layout came to a more measured conclusion:
"Despite the claims it's not a 1:1 clone of the original, as there are some changes"
Wata herself has adopted the pedal: EarthQuaker's history article reports she replaced her ELK Big Muff on her board with the Hizumitas, and that she plays it on Boris's album "W"10.
The standard Hizumitas features purple print on a silver enclosure3; GuitarPlayer's review model was a silvery metal enclosure emblazoned with purple jackalopes and lightning bolts9. At launch, EarthQuaker also teamed up with Reverb to offer an exclusive Hizumitas Special Edition Bundle, which included a uniquely finished version of the pedal2.
What reviewers said
Reviews were positive across the board, particularly for heavy styles.
- GuitarPlayer (Art Thompson): the pedal "churned out gritty distortion tones, with gobs of singing sustain available via the knob marked 'S'." He found small control adjustments let you home in on slim single-coils or meaty humbuckers, and setting the Tone knob around two o'clock produced a killer tone with rich midrange color and a clear, articulate top end. His verdict: "The Hizumitas is a Godzilla for heavy styles, although it can be deployed for pretty much anything where beefy, dynamic" crunch is wanted. His listed con was the lack of any provision for battery power9.
- Premier Guitar: "The bass is huge but doesn't get overly woofy or dark," with the reviewer's favorite sounds coming from sustain and tone cranked for the low end13.
- Pedal of the Day: found "smooth sustain and a gorgeous underlying grit"4.
GuitarPlayer's Art Thompson also described the original Elk circuit's character as it came through in the Hizumitas: heavy saturation with a gritty edge and massive bottom, yet a clear and dynamic presentation with plenty of mids and top-end bite9.
Videos
Sweetwater
EarthQuakerDevices
EarthQuakerDevices
Questions
Does the EarthQuaker Hizumitas take a battery?
No. Battery power is not an option with this pedal, and no adapter is included in the box. It runs on a standard 9V DC power supply with a 2.1mm negative center barrel, drawing about 10 mA, so a typical pedalboard power supply handles it easily.
Is the Hizumitas a Big Muff?
It is Big Muff-based, but not a copy of an Electro-Harmonix unit. The circuit recreates the Elk BM Sustainar, a Japanese variant of the Triangle Big Muff Pi, and EarthQuaker describes Wata, its intended player, as a connoisseur of Big Muff-based fuzz circuits. An independent circuit analysis found it is not a 1:1 clone of the original Elk.
Does the Hizumitas pass signal without power?
No. The pedal uses relay-based true bypass switching, and EarthQuaker Devices states that it requires power to pass signal. If your power supply drops out, the pedal will not pass your guitar signal, which is worth knowing when planning a board.
Is the Hizumitas an exact clone of the Elk Sustainar?
Not exactly. EarthQuaker calls it a faithful sonic recreation of Wata's go-to distortion, and the company was able to work from her actual vintage pedal. But an independent technical analysis of the circuit found some changes from the original, so it is not a 1:1 clone.
Where is the Hizumitas made?
It is built in the USA. EarthQuaker Devices builds its guitar effects by hand in Akron, Ohio, and the pedal carries a limited lifetime warranty: if it breaks, the company will fix it.
Sources (13)
- Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainar, EarthQuaker Devices
- EarthQuaker Devices teams up with Boris guitarist Wata for the Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainar, Guitar World, 2021-11-04
- EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Fuzz, Delicious Audio, 2022-05-16
- EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainer, Pedal of the Day, 2022-12-02
- The 7 Best Fuzz Pedals: Perfect For Stoner Rock, Psychedelic, or Shoegaze!, gearnews.com, 2025-05-05
- EarthQuaker Devices and Wata team up for new Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainar, gearnews.com, 2021-11-04
- Best Big Muff Pedals In 2025: Reissues, Clones & Evolutions, Delicious Audio, 2025-04-07
- Earthquaker Devices and Boris launch the Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainar, Guitar.com, 2021-11-04
- EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainer Review, GuitarPlayer, 2022-01-28
- About Wata's ELK Big Muff Sustainar and Hizumitas, EarthQuaker Devices, 2022-01-24
- Watch Wata from Boris reveal her signal chain secrets in EarthQuaker Devices' video tour of her pedalboard, MusicRadar, 2022-03-25
- Guitar FX Layouts: Earthquaker Hizumitas, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2022-01-03
- EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Review, Premier Guitar, 2021-11-29
