The GUP Tech MOKA Pot Douche Edition is a fuzz pedal from GUP Tech, a small builder based in Saguenay, Québec, Canada, where all of its pedals are made by hand1. It is GUP Tech's take on the Harmonic Percolator, a 1970s fuzz circuit with a devoted following, and it follows the maker's usual formula: "tons of Fuzz, not a lot of controls, only two knobs"1.
A reliable Harmonic Percolator
The MOKA Pot Douche Edition is a Harmonic Percolator-style circuit from GUP Tech, with a design note from Emilie describing it as "a huge monster of gain"1. GUP Tech notes that with so many components, it can easily go into squealing mode when the knobs are maxed out on trebly guitars unless a buffer is used1. The pedal runs on 9 Vdc center negative power, was listed at £88.00 GBP, and is currently sold out1.
GUP Tech's designer explains the approach on the product page:
"After hearing about the Harmonic Percolator for such a long time, I guess it was time to try to make a reliable one here"
The Douche Edition is "based on the classic schematic, built with modern and available stuff"1, so players get the Percolator topology without hunting for obsolete components. The original circuit, in the maker's words, "is a weird fuzzy one"1.
Controls and clipping modes
The pedal keeps things simple: two knobs and a three-position toggle that selects the clipping character1.
| Switch position | Mode |
|---|---|
| Upper | Classic germanium clipping1 |
| Center | Bypass/boost mode1 |
| Lower | Classic symmetrical silicon clipping1 |
The center position is a GUP Tech addition: a clipping bypass, "to use it with more volume, and less clipping"1. That gives the pedal a third face beyond the two classic clipping flavors, useful as a loud clean-ish boost or for pushing an amp.
Gain, squealing and power
GUP Tech does not undersell it: "This pedal is a huge monster of gain, and with so many components, it will easily go into Squealing mode when you max out" the knobs on trebly guitars without a buffer1. Players with bright single-coil guitars and no buffer pedal earlier in the chain should treat maxed settings as a known territory rather than a fault.
The Douche Edition was listed as sold out on the maker's page. GUP Tech's standard MOKA Pot shares the same circuit and specifications, and the maker has pointed to the MOKA P.O.T. (Percolator Original Tribute) as its original production Percolator model2.
Power is straightforward: 9 Vdc center negative at 2mA1. That current draw is light enough for any standard pedalboard supply.
Questions
What is the Harmonic Percolator circuit?
The Harmonic Percolator is a fuzz circuit from a small Milwaukee company in the 1970s, built around one silicon and one germanium transistor. Unlike most germanium fuzzes it uses clipping diodes, and its design is aimed at even-order harmonics, the kind of sweet, musical distortion usually associated with a cranked tube amplifier.
What does the three-position switch do on the MOKA Pot?
The upper position gives classic germanium clipping, the lower position gives classic symmetrical silicon clipping, and the center position is a bypass/boost mode that GUP Tech added so the pedal can be used with more volume and less clipping.
Can the MOKA Pot squeal?
Yes. GUP Tech describes the pedal as a huge monster of gain and warns that with so many components it will easily go into squealing mode when the knobs are maxed out on trebly guitars, especially without a buffer in the chain.
How much current does the MOKA Pot draw?
GUP Tech lists power consumption at 2mA at 9Vdc center negative, which is very light by pedal standards.
Where is the GUP Tech MOKA Pot made?
GUP Tech makes all of its pedals in Saguenay, Québec, Canada, and the MOKA Pot Douche Edition is no exception.
Sources (2)
- MOKA Pot Douche Edition, guptech.ca
- MOKA Pot (Percolator Original Tribute), GUP Tech (guptech.ca)
