The ELK Super Fuzz Sustainar is a Japanese fuzz pedal made by ELK Gakki Co., released around 1973. It was modeled after the early Triangle Big Muff Pi and became known for its thick, growling, saturated fuzz with endless sustain. Later, the name was changed to Big Muff Sustainar.1
What it does
Like the Big Muff it copies, the Sustainar is a fuzz pedal: a clipping stage that turns the guitar's signal into a thick, compressed wall of sustain. Stomp Under Foot describes the original as known for "thick, growling, saturated fuzz with endless sustain."1 Wren and Cuff, a maker that has studied and re-created these pedals, describes the Elks as "very cheap Big Muff 'Triangle' copies made by Elk Inc." in the 1970s.2
The copies were built to a price. According to Wren and Cuff:
"The Elks were made with very unreliable components, cheap circuit boards, thin metal enclosures, were not true-bypass, a..."2
Wren and Cuff notes that some components in these pedals "would drift as much as 50% of their stated values," which is worth knowing when comparing one vintage unit to another: two ELK Sustainars can sound noticeably different.2
JHS Pedals, writing about pedals that copy the Big Muff, notes that the ELK keeps "the same exact enclosure shape, and it copies the original in almost every other aspect."3
The Sustainar's afterlife: Wata and the Hizumitas
The pedal is best known today through Boris guitarist Wata. Gearnews calls the Elk BM Sustainar "Wata's favorite fuzz,"4 and in an EarthQuaker Devices history of the pedal, Boris's Yuichiro Hosokawa said of her vintage unit, "the thing that makes that comfortable distortion sound is a vintage ELK Big Muff Sustainar."5
Hosokawa described the character of Wata's early-1970s pedal as a fuzz-to-distortion ratio of "Fuzz 2.5: Distortion 7.5," with full bottom, an aggressive top end, a strong Big Muff feel, and a fat fuzz bottom that cuts through a mix with palm muting.5
That pedal became the basis for the EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainar. Pedal of the Day describes the Hizumitas as a re-creation of the ELK Sustainar, a Japanese variant of the "Triangle" Big Muff Pi, built after the EQD crew got hold of Wata's actual pedal to capture her sound; their reviewer found "smooth sustain and a gorgeous underlying grit."6
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Questions
What is the ELK Super Fuzz Sustainar?
It is a Japanese fuzz pedal released around 1973 by ELK Gakki Co., modeled after the early Triangle Big Muff Pi. It became known for its thick, growling, saturated fuzz with endless sustain, and was later renamed the Big Muff Sustainar.
Why do players talk about the ELK Sustainar today?
The Elk BM Sustainar was Boris guitarist Wata's favorite fuzz, and EarthQuaker Devices re-created her actual vintage pedal as the Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainar, bringing renewed attention to the original Japanese pedals.
Were ELK fuzz pedals well built?
No. According to Wren and Cuff, the Elks were made with very unreliable components, cheap circuit boards and thin metal enclosures, were not true-bypass, and some components could drift as much as 50% of their stated values.
Sources (6)
- ELK SUPER FUZZ VINTAGE MINI / LIMITED EDITION, Stomp Under Foot
- White Elk Small Foot, Wren and Cuff, 1970
- SHAMELESS CLONES, JHS Pedals
- The 7 Best Fuzz Pedals: Perfect For Stoner Rock, Psychedelic, or Shoegaze!, gearnews.com, 2025-05-05
- About Wata's ELK Big Muff Sustainar and Hizumitas, EarthQuaker Devices, 2022-01-24
- EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Fuzz Sustainer, Pedal of the Day, 2022-12-02
