Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Based on the EFE Black Acid - Humanoid's Goblin Tone Distorter is a Gloriously Punchy 2-Transistor Full Fat Fuzz
Key Points
The Humanoid Goblin Tone Distorter is a 2‑transistor, Fuzz Face–style silicon fuzz derived from the rare Black Acid Tone Distorter (Emanating Fist Electronics, c.2012), itself tied to DAM’s Meathead and the 70s Colorsound One‑Knob Fuzz Box.
Controls and sound: Volume, Drive and Fuzz; uses BC109C Silicon transistors. Drive and Fuzz interact to change character and dynamics, yielding a gutsy, punchy tone with unusual note clarity versus most Meathead variants; similar space to the Os Mutantes Regulus VIII.
Use and availability: Best textures cited at Volume max, Drive ~3 o’clock, Fuzz ~11 o’clock; higher gain causes compression. The discontinued Black Acid was a BB‑enclosure; the Goblin matches its circuit and parts. Available from the Humanoid Pedals webstore for $99; a pricier all‑black Limited edition is also offered.
Most are familiar with D*A*M’s Meathead variants of 2-Transistor Fuzz - available in both Original single-knob and Deluxe 3-knob editions - where the topology of the latter is Volume, Filter and Attack. The Meathead is of course a derivation of the celebrated 70’s Colorsound One-Knob Fuzz Box.
And so in turn this Goblin Tone Distorter is based on a really rare and unique variant of the same sort of circuit - the Black Acid Tone Distorter - made this time by D*A*M’s sister brand - Emanating Fist Electronics around 2012 or so.
Controls - Volume, Drive, Fuzz.
The Goblin Tone Distorter has two sort of gain controls - Drive and Fuzz - which have a wonderful interplay in terms of changing the character and dynamics of the output. These kinds of 2-transistor fuzzes are essentially high gain Fuzz Faces with extended low-end frequency response - which space is also occupied by the superb Os Mutantes Regulus VIII variant.
The combination of BC109C Silicon Transistors and the two gain knobs - where Fuzz is essentially equivalent to the Deluxe Meathead’s ’Attack’ control - yields superior visceral fuzz textures.
Most Meathead variants have a slightly ’muddier’ low end to them, while the Goblin is gutsy - but really punchy too with somewhat unusual note clarity for this genre.
There is plenty of range on each of those knobs - including ample Volume. While I get the best texture and harmonics - with the Volume @ Max, Drive @ c3 o’c, and Fuzz @ around 11 o’c. You need to dial the last bit in by ear / feel / touch - kind of in safe-cracker mode - until you hear those superior harmonics snap in.
If you crank the gain controls stoo much - you get some odd kind of compression, and the signal chokes out a fraction - so around 3 o’c is really the maximum usable gain range for my preferences. It really sounds wonderfully calibrated and particularly well balanced.
If you already have a Meathead - this is actually a somewhat different and more articulate fuzz than that - still with tonnes of satisfying texture and gain on tap.
I had thought about changing up the knobs - possibly to something a little more metallic - while I really quite like the look of the pedal as is.
It’s really easy to dial in - and there’s plenty of variation available in particular from the interplay of the Drive and Fuzz controls.
This is another distinct fuzz variant which deserves a place in your collection. The currently discontinued Black Acid original is obviously a larger (BB-enclosure) and pricier proposition. The Humanoid Goblin is exactly the same circuit with the same high quality parts - including those really great sounding BC109C metal can transistors - so a much more pedalboard-friendly proposition all-round. This comes highly recommended.
Available for order from the Humanoid Pedals Webstore - for just $99. There’s also a slightly pricier all-black Limited edition available - while I like the idiosyncrasy and colour-matching to the ’Green’ Goblin moniker!
Demos
