The Spruce Effects Volcanoes is a guitar effects pedal and the Californian company's second pedal in the Americana Series, a collection of new, premium pedals dedicated to the US National Parks1.
The controls: Volume, Gain, Depth, Fuzz and Bias
The Volcanoes carries five knobs, arranged in two rows, with the second row holding Depth, Bias and Fuzz1. What sets the pedal apart is how those knobs interact: Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio writes that "By working interactively with each other, these controls can produce fuzz tones from synthy to almost overdrive-like"1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Depth | Controls the frequency being fed into the first gain stage. Clockwise is beefy, counterclockwise is thin and treble-y1 |
| Bias | Sits in the second row of knobs alongside Depth and Fuzz1 |
| Fuzz | Does not control the amount of fuzz, but rather the character of the fuzz1 |
The Fuzz knob is the one that surprises players used to a single gain control: rather than setting how much fuzz there is, it sets what kind of fuzz it is, and the amount comes from working it against the other knobs1.
The Germanium input stage
At the front of the circuit sits a Germanium input gain stage. Spruce Effects describes the pedal as "nasty at heart," but says that "the Germanium input gain stage allows for a huge range of cleanup and dynamic low-" tones, meaning the Volcanoes can be rolled back toward dynamic low-gain sounds as well as full fuzz1. That puts its range closer to the edge of overdrive territory than many fuzzes, depending on how the controls are set1.
"Although Volcanoes is nasty at heart, the Germanium input gain stage allows for a huge range of cleanup and dynamic"
Where it sits in the Spruce Effects range
The Volcanoes arrived as the second Americana Series release from Spruce Effects, the Californian company behind the series1.
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Questions
What does the Fuzz knob do on the Spruce Effects Volcanoes?
According to Delicious Audio's write-up, the Fuzz knob does not control the amount of fuzz but rather the character of the fuzz. Working together with the pedal's other knobs, it helps produce fuzz tones ranging from synthy to almost overdrive-like.
What does the Depth knob do?
Depth controls the frequency being fed into the first gain stage. Turned clockwise the tone is beefy, and turned counterclockwise it is thin and treble-y, per the pedal's published description.
Is the Volcanoes a germanium fuzz?
The Volcanoes has a Germanium input gain stage. Spruce Effects says that although the pedal is nasty at heart, that stage allows for a huge range of cleanup and dynamic low-gain tones.
Where is the Spruce Effects Volcanoes made?
The Volcanoes is hand-wired and assembled in California, where Spruce Effects is based.
Is the Volcanoes loud?
The published description does not give a volume specification. It does say the pedal is nasty at heart, with a Germanium input gain stage that allows a huge range of cleanup and dynamic low-gain tones.
Sources (1)
- Spruce Effects Volcanoes, Delicious Audio, 2020-07-02
