The Whimsy Machines Sweet Tooth is a distortion pedal with an unusual second stage built in: after the drive circuit comes a tone shaping section inspired by the Pultec EQP-1A, a vintage studio rack EQ1. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes the pedal as "a distortion pedal as peculiar as the name of its maker," and calls its core circuit "a LED-induced distortion that can do all sorts of things from subtle to radical (including wavefolding!)"2.
What it does
The Sweet Tooth covers a wide range in one box. Pedal of the Day describes its span as "From awesome boost to crunchy drive to spitty, wild fuzz," which places it in territory shared with overdrive pedals and fuzz pedals as well as straight distortion1.
A toggle switch on the left of the pedal picks between the two voices21:
| Position | Voice | What the reviewers heard |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle down | Overdrive | "a more refined and responsive overdrive voice"2 |
| Toggle up | Wavefolding | "perfect for guitarists who enjoy pushing sonic boundaries and embracing chaotic, noise-driven textures"2 |
Pedal of the Day puts the same choice more briefly: "offering warm overdrive or waveshaping fuzz at the flip of a switch"1.
The two lamps
The lamps on the front panel are part of the design, not decoration12:
- Left lamp (red): the element that distorts the signal. It follows the input signal and the Drive control, getting brighter the more distorted things get2. Pedal of the Day agrees, noting that the left lamp "not only informs the player of effect bypass status, but it is the distortion itself," glowing harder the harder it is driven1.
- Right lamp (identical): simply tells you when the pedal is on2.
The Pultec-style EQ
Behind the drive stage sits the feature that gives the Sweet Tooth its name and character: a user-customizable tone shaping circuit inspired by the Pultec EQP-1A1. De Gregorio calls the EQP-1A "an evergreen studio rack unit"2.
The trick it borrows is the famous Pultec move:
- The EQ can simultaneously boost and cut low and high frequencies, a counterintuitive feature found in the original unit2.
- Pedal of the Day describes it as independent boost and cut of low and high frequencies, "the Pultec trick!!"1.
For a player, that means the tone controls after the distortion can shape the drive in ways a conventional bass-and-treble stack cannot12.
Where it came from
The Sweet Tooth appeared as a prototype at the 2024 Brooklyn Stompbox Exhibit, according to Delicious Audio2. Both published accounts of the pedal date from March 202512.
Coverage so far describes a prototype seen at a trade show. Availability, pricing and full specifications have not been covered by the published reviews.
Videos
Demos In The Dark
Pedal of the Day
Derryl Vi
Questions
What is the difference between the overdrive and wavefold modes on the Sweet Tooth?
A toggle switch on the left of the pedal selects between the two voices. In the down position you get what Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio calls a more refined and responsive overdrive voice; flipped the other way, the pedal shifts into wavefolding, a wilder mode he describes as suited to chaotic, noise-driven textures. Pedal of the Day sums up the same switch as offering warm overdrive or waveshaping fuzz at the flip of a switch.
Why does the left lamp on the Sweet Tooth get brighter?
The red lamp on the left is not just an indicator: it is the part of the circuit that distorts the signal. It follows the input signal and the Drive control, so the more the pedal is driven, the brighter it glows and the harder the distortion. The identical lamp on the right simply shows when the pedal is on.
What is the Pultec EQP-1A trick?
The Pultec EQP-1A is a vintage studio rack EQ. Its well-known trick, which the Sweet Tooth borrows, is the ability to boost and cut the same frequency band at the same time, giving independent control over low and high frequencies. Delicious Audio notes this counterintuitive feature is found in the original unit, and the Sweet Tooth's EQ section reproduces it.
Can the Sweet Tooth boost and cut bass and treble at the same time?
Yes. According to Delicious Audio, the EQ section can at once boost and cut low and high frequencies, the counterintuitive feature borrowed from the Pultec EQP-1A. Pedal of the Day describes it as independent boost and cut of low and high frequencies, known as the Pultec trick.
Sources (2)
- Whimsy Machines Sweet Tooth Waveshaping Fuzz Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2025-03-16
- Whimsy Machines Sweet Tooth Distortion + EQ, Delicious Audio, 2025-03-17