The Maya 8Tr Fuzz Wah is a fuzz wah pedal made in Japan by Shin-ei, combining a fuzz circuit and a wah in one foot-controlled unit. TONEHOME, the reference site for Shin-ei products, calls the Fuzz-Wah pedal 8Tr "one of the most popular pedals of Shin-ei"1. The example documented there is the Maya-branded version, which it describes as "uber-rare"1.
What it does
The 8Tr puts two effects, fuzz and wah, in a single pedal, so a player can rock the treadle for wah sweeps while the fuzz supplies the distortion. Shin-ei built the circuit in Japan in 1975 or early 1976, a dating based on the components used1.
A schematic for the 8Tr Fuzz Wah is available as a PDF download from TONEHOME, which is unusual documentation for a pedal of this age and rarity1.
The Maya version and its many brand names
Shin-ei sold this same fuzz wah circuit under roughly a dozen brand names. TONEHOME lists Avora, Companion, Jax, Maya and National among them1. The Maya version shown on that page is the one described as "uber-rare"1, so most players who encounter the circuit today will see it under one of the other names.
The Maya-branded 8Tr is described as uber-rare, so finding one on the used market is unlikely. The same circuit appeared under other brand names, which can be a more realistic route to the sound.
Where it sits among Shin-ei's fuzzes
Shin-ei made a range of fuzz pedals through the 1970s, and the 8Tr is the company's fuzz wah entry in that line. Related Shin-ei pedals covered elsewhere on this site include the Shin Ei 6TR Fuzz Wah, a sibling fuzz wah design, the Shin-Ei Companion WF-8 Fuzz Wah, another fuzz and wah combination, and the Shin-ei Companion Super Fuzz, the company's best known fuzz design. For more on the maker's fuzzes generally, see the Fuzz Pedals page1.
Videos
Brett Kingman
Marcus Serck
Eric Merrow
Sources (1)
- TONEHOME, TONEHOME
