The Wonderful Audio Nivicola is a fuzz pedal voiced after the Black Russian Big Muff. Wonderful Audio describes it as a recreation of designer Ralf Gottschalk's own personal Black Russian Big Muff, and the sound he was chasing is a "gnarly, woolly, and thick fuzz sound, with a nice top end, deep lows, and a pronounced low mid snarl"1.
Controls
The Nivicola carries two tone-shaping controls beyond the usual fuzz volume and gain arrangement, both aimed at the frequencies players most often miss on a Muff-style circuit1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tone | Controls bass and high frequencies, tilt-style1 |
| Voice | Controls the midrange frequencies, providing scooped and boosted mids1 |
A tilt-style Tone works as a single knob that shifts the balance between bass and treble as you turn it, rather than cutting both together. The Voice control addresses the midrange directly, which matters on a Big Muff-style fuzz because the classic circuit is known for scooped mids; being able to boost them back in is what the designer points to when he describes the pedal's pronounced low mid snarl1.
Other hardware features include true bypass switching, a DC power jack, and an LED with adjustable brightness, built with what the maker calls high quality components1.
The Black Russian connection
The Black Russian is the Soviet-built version of the Big Muff Pi, and it carries a reputation among players for a heavier low end. The maker history at Ana Sounds describes the Black Russian as "more massive and has more bass" than the Green Russian, adding that "some would say that this is the ideal version for bass" and formidable on very low tuned guitars2. Kit Rae's independent Big Muff history notes that the large-box Sovtek Black Russian shares its tone with the last V7C Bubble Font Green Russian Big Muffs, differing mainly in box color and graphics3.
"Nivicola is a recreation of my own personal Black Russian Big Muff."
Release and Ukraine aid
The Nivicola was scheduled for a March release, but Gottschalk delayed it because of the Russian assault on Ukraine. Faced with a longer than expected war, he decided to release it anyway, diverting 50% of the profits to humanitarian aid. The pedal was sold as a limited edition, with 50% of sales going to the World Central Kitchen1.
Videos
Harsh Tones, Inc.
Questions
Is the Wonderful Audio Nivicola true bypass?
Yes. According to the product coverage on Delicious Audio, the Nivicola features true bypass switching, along with a DC power jack and an LED with adjustable brightness. True bypass means the pedal's circuit is removed from your signal chain entirely when the effect is off, so it will not load down your guitar's signal when switched out.
Who designed the Nivicola?
The Nivicola was designed by Ralf Gottschalk, the owner of Wonderful Audio. Gottschalk built the pedal as a recreation of his own personal Black Russian Big Muff, and he delayed the pedal's scheduled March release because of the Russian assault on Ukraine before deciding to release it anyway with half the profits going to humanitarian aid.
What transistors and diodes does the Nivicola use?
The Nivicola uses Russian KT3102IM transistors and KD521A diodes, according to the product coverage on Delicious Audio. Both are Russian-sourced parts, which fits the pedal's aim of recreating the character of a Black Russian Big Muff, a version of the circuit built in Russia with Soviet-era components.
Was the Nivicola a limited edition?
Yes, the Nivicola was released as a limited pedal. Wonderful Audio diverted 50% of the profits from the sale of the pedal to the World Central Kitchen, a humanitarian organization providing meals in Ukraine. The release came after a delayed March schedule, with the decision made to release it anyway given the longer than expected war.
What is the Nivicola based on?
The Nivicola is a recreation of designer Ralf Gottschalk's own personal Black Russian Big Muff. The Black Russian is the Soviet-built version of the Big Muff Pi fuzz circuit, generally described as more massive with more bass than the Green Russian version, which is one reason it is often favored for bass and low-tuned guitars.
Sources (3)
- Wonderful Audio Nivicola Fuzz (Muff-style), Delicious Audio, 2022-09-14
- The history of the big muff over time, anasounds.com, 2022-06-08
- The Big Muff History of All Versions, Kit Rae (kitrae.net), 2022-03
