The Happy Valley Analog Jurassic Fuzz Deluxe is a small, hand-built silicon fuzz pedal with just two controls, Fuzz and Output. It runs on a pair of high-gain BC109 transistors, comes in a hand-painted enclosure with point-to-point hand wiring, and was made in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Pedal of the Day's reviewer, Mike B., found it simple to dial in, covering everything from slight drive to really heavy fuzz with the two knobs, and described it as much smoother with longer sustain than the one-knob Jurassic Fuzz it grew from1.
Controls and how it plays
The Deluxe keeps things to two knobs:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fuzz | Sets the fuzz amount, from slight drive to really heavy fuzz1 |
| Output | Sets the pedal's output level1 |
Mike B. at Pedal of the Day summed up the dialing-in experience this way:
"Simple to dial in slight drive to really, really heavy fuzz, just mess with the 2 knobs for a minute or two and you've got a killer tone."
Because the fuzz range is wide, the pedal works well with the guitar's volume knob. As the reviewer put it, "You just use your volume knob to go from clean to full on fuzz"1. That makes it a set-and-forget pedal on the board: set the two knobs, then ride the guitar volume for cleanup.
It runs on a standard 9V adapter1. No battery option or current draw figure is given for it.
The reviewer wrote in March 2014, "Not sure if they're still gonna make these guys, glad I got one when I did"1. The Deluxe may be discontinued, so used listings are the likely route if you want one.
The one-knob Jurassic Fuzz and the Bias version
The Deluxe has a one-knob little brother, the Jurassic Fuzz. In its 2015 form, the Jurassic Fuzz with Bias Control took the earlier schematic and beefed it up, adding a Bias knob to the simple control set. Pedal of the Day called it "A super 60's & 70's-esque, vintage-style fuzz" and said the first incarnation "didn't lack the balls that you want a good fuzz to have"2.
The two versions side by side:
| Jurassic Fuzz Deluxe | Jurassic Fuzz (with Bias Control) | |
|---|---|---|
| Controls | Fuzz, Output1 | Fuzz, Bias2 |
| Transistors | Pair of high-gain BC1091 | Pair of high-gain BC1091 |
| Bypass | True bypass1 | True bypass2 |
| Character | Smoother, longer sustain1 | Vintage-style, Bias opens up modern-sounding fuzzes2 |
| Build | Hand-painted, point-to-point hand wiring1 | Hand-wired, hand-painted, sparkly blue enclosure2 |
On the Bias knob, the reviewer wrote: "The new Bias knob really gets things moving, and is a real sit-down-and-mess-around-with control knob, adding a new dimension and making it able to create some great modern-sounding fuzzes when maxed out"2. He added that "the addition of the Bias knob really opens up the sonic possibilities here, and is not a control that will go unnoticed"2. The Fuzz knob on that version "adds in or subtracts fuzz, oddly, and has a nice range of tonal properties to span a wide fuzz spectrum"2.
If you are comparing the two, the trade is simple: the Deluxe gives you an Output knob and, per the reviewer, a smoother, longer-sustaining fuzz, while the Bias version trades that second knob for the Bias control and a wider spread of fuzz textures. Both sit in the same family of fuzz pedals built from the same BC109 circuit12.
Questions
Is the Jurassic Fuzz Deluxe true bypass?
Yes. Pedal of the Day lists the Deluxe with true bypass switching, so the pedal takes itself out of the signal path completely when off. The later Jurassic Fuzz with Bias Control is also true bypass, so whichever version you come across, the bypass arrangement is the same.
What transistors are in the Happy Valley Jurassic Fuzz Deluxe?
The Deluxe uses a pair of high-gain BC109 silicon transistors. The later Jurassic Fuzz with Bias Control also uses a pair of high-gain BC109s, so the transistor complement carried over from the Deluxe to the updated one-knob version.
What is the difference between the Jurassic Fuzz and the Deluxe?
The Deluxe is the two-knob version, with Fuzz and Output controls, and Pedal of the Day described it as much smoother with longer sustain than the one-knob little brother. The later one-knob Jurassic Fuzz with Bias Control took the same basic circuit and added a Bias knob for a wider range of modern-sounding fuzz tones.
Where is Happy Valley Analog based?
The Jurassic Fuzz Deluxe was made in Chattanooga, Tennessee, according to Pedal of the Day's 2014 review. The pedals are hand built, with point-to-point hand wiring and hand-painted enclosures.
Is the Jurassic Fuzz Deluxe still made?
Possibly not. The Pedal of the Day reviewer wrote in March 2014 that he was not sure the pedal would continue to be made and was glad to have gotten one when he did. No newer information on its production status is available here.
Sources (2)
- Happy Valley Analog Jurassic Fuzz Deluxe, Pedal of the Day (www.pedal-of-the-day.com), 2014-03-22
- Happy Valley Analog Jurassic Fuzz (with Bias Control), Pedal of the Day, 2015-07-06
