The Rage Of The Tsar is a germanium fuzz pedal from the British boutique maker Gone Fishing Effects, released in May 2021 as a strictly limited run of 36 units. It is a fuzz pedal in the classic mold: rare Russian germanium transistors doing the clipping, a simple two-knob control setup, and a handmade, hand-drilled enclosure. Every one of the 36 pedals is sold out1.
What it does
Gone Fishing Effects describes the pedal in two modes. Backed off, it gives what the maker calls thick, creamy classic tones, and it cleans up humbuckers when the guitar's volume control is rolled down, opening into glassy trebles. On full, the maker describes it as an all-out square wave doom machine: angry, aggressive, loud and brutal1.
"This strictly limited-edition fuzz gives you those thick creamy classic tones, cleans up your humbuckers if backed off."
That behavior is typical of germanium fuzz circuits, where rolling the guitar volume back tames the clipping and reveals a cleaner voice underneath. The two-knob layout, which Guitar World read as volume and fuzz, keeps the signal path short and the operation simple1.
The artwork
Each of the 36 pedals carries its own unique design by artist Chris Dorning. The designs are not independent: when the pedals are pieced together, they form one giant canvas, so each owner holds a single piece of a larger artwork1. MusicRadar likewise described the series as 36 units that, assembled, form a custom art piece by Dorning2.
Related Gone Fishing Effects pedals
The Rage Of The Tsar sits in a small family of limited Gone Fishing Effects builds21:
- Booooom/Blast, the Simon Neil signature fuzz and overdrive
- Grim, a one-off germanium fuzz built from transistors left over from the Rage of the Tsar build2
- Sergery, the Sergio Pizzorno signature fuzz with built-in reverb
The Rage Of The Tsar was a strictly limited edition of 36 units and has sold out. It is no longer available new from the maker.
Videos
Gone Fishing Effects
Dean Lalor
Questions
How many Rage Of The Tsar pedals were made?
Gone Fishing Effects built 36 units of The Rage Of The Tsar. Each pedal carries its own unique design by artist Chris Dorning, and when all 36 are pieced together they form one giant canvas. The limited run has sold out, so the pedal only turns up secondhand.
What transistors are in The Rage Of The Tsar?
The pedal uses rare Russian germanium transistors, the component that gives it its fuzz character. Guitar World described the tones as thick and creamy, cleaning up humbuckers when the guitar's volume is backed off, and turning into an all-out square wave doom machine with the controls full up.
Sources (2)
- Gone Fishing Effects launches super-limited-edition fuzz pedal, The Rage Of The Tsar, Guitar World, 2021-05-19
- Gone Fishing Effects' special edition Grim germanium fuzz pedal is a “square wave doom machine” and one of a kind, MusicRadar, 2022-04-29
