The Emanating Fist Electronics Black Dust is a silicon fuzz pedal built on a Fuzz Face lineage. The maker's product page describes the conveyed fuzz tone as "heavy yet tight with a broad full ranging equalization offering excellent dynamic interaction with your guitar and amplifier", and says each unit is "passionately assembled, finely tuned and biased for optimum psychedelic Armageddon".1
Circuit and sound
The Black Dust is not a straight Fuzz Face clone. The maker describes it as the result of changes made to the Fuzz Face circuit and design circa 2004 to arrive at the Meathead, while maintaining the classic character of the original. The pedal uses a pair of genuine BC109C silicon transistors, the same general family of high-gain silicon devices used in many Fuzz Face style designs.1
Because there is no fuzz control on the outside, the pedal runs at one setting: the maker says it is "internally pre-set for maximum fuzz and drive", with the single knob serving as master volume.1 In practice that means the guitar's volume knob and the amplifier carry the playing dynamics, which is how Fuzz Face style circuits are traditionally played.
Versions: big box and small box
Guitar FX Layouts, a stripboard layout blog, published layouts for the Black Dust Tone Distorter in May 2017 and noted that there were two versions: "a big box version (older) and smaller (newer)".2 The two differ in one documented component: the layout author noted that the big box version did not have the 220pF cap between the base and collector of Q1, and removed it from that layout to match.2
| Big box version | Small box version | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Older | Newer |
| 220pF cap between B and C of Q1 | Not fitted | Fitted |
The blog's author reported building the small box version with a pair of BC108C transistors and verified the layout.2
What builders found
The Guitar FX Layouts page drew comments from builders who put the circuit together, and their accounts give a picture of how the pedal behaves through different amps2:
- Through the builder's AC10: "Sounds nice and heavy but a bit gated"2
- Through the builder's OR15: "The Orange had more sustain and a crazy sounding note decay. Very heavy."2
- On a modified build with a BC107 for Q1 and a 2N2222A for Q2: "The amount of gain on this thing is crazy."2
- On the same modified build: "The wide open gain actually cleans up fairly well when I take the guitar volume down about 1/3 of the way."2
The blog's own summary of the pedal's character was "Fuzz and drive, wide open."2
Adding a fuzz control
For builders who want an external fuzz knob, the layout author described a modification on the same page: replace the 1k resistor with a 1k pot wired just like a Fuzz Face, with lug 1 to ground, lug 2 to the positive leg of the 22uF cap.2 This is a circuit change rather than a factory option, so it applies to DIY builds of the layout rather than to an assembled pedal.
The Black Dust shares its PCB with the related Black Acid fuzz, according to the Guitar FX Layouts write-up, and the same maker also offers the Dope Priest fuzz.2
Construction
The maker describes the construction as simple and effective, with "a solid bulletproof design that offers excellent longevity and supreme performance".1 Builders discussing components on the layout page mention Arcol carbon composition resistors and BC/Vishay capacitors as parts used in builds of this circuit.2
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Questions
What transistors does the Black Dust use?
The maker's product page says the Black Dust features a duo of genuine BC109C silicon transistors. Builders who traced the circuit on Guitar FX Layouts note that the small box version has been built and verified with a pair of BC108C transistors, and one builder used a BC107 for Q1 and a 2N2222A for Q2 in a modified build. Silicon transistors are what give the pedal its heavy, tight character compared with germanium Fuzz Face designs.
Does the Black Dust have a fuzz knob?
No. The pedal is presented with only a single control for master volume, and the maker says it is internally pre-set for maximum fuzz and drive. There is no external fuzz or gain control, so the pedal is played at full distortion and cleaned up from the guitar's volume knob. Builders have described a way to add a fuzz control by modifying the circuit.
Is the Black Dust the same circuit as the Black Acid?
They are closely related. Guitar FX Layouts, which published stripboard layouts for both pedals, describes the Black Dust as fuelled with the same PCB as the Black Acid. The two pedals come from the same maker and share their circuit lineage, though the Black Dust's own lineage runs through the maker's Meathead design, itself a modified Fuzz Face.
How can you add a fuzz control to the Black Dust?
On the Guitar FX Layouts page for the pedal, the layout author described a modification for builders: replace the 1k resistor with a 1k pot wired just like a Fuzz Face, with lug 1 to ground, lug 2 to the positive leg of the 22uF cap. This turns the internally fixed fuzz setting into an external control, at the cost of opening up the pedal's circuit.
Sources (2)
- Black Dust, stompboxes.co.uk, 2025
- Guitar FX Layouts: Emanating Fist Electronics Black Dust, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2017-05-07
