Drunk Beaver's Ivan Mazepa Fuzz superbly delivers the Rare 70's Soviet Poltava Fuzz-Wah with original NOS components

Drunk Beaver’s Vitalii Bobrov has done an extraordinary job of reviving the cult 70’s Soviet Poltava Fuzz-Wah pedal - now in significantly more pedalboard-friendly enhanced format, and made with the same original NOS Soviet Silicon and Germanium Transistors - or namely the Silicon KT315 and Germanium GT310B varieties. The circuit is actually two gain stages - with each consisting of a KT315 + GT310B pair.

You could describe it as being sort of Big Muff adjacent (4-transistors but hybrid) - but it has a tone and timbre all of its own - which I best describe as a cross between a cello and a tuba for my own core settings, possibly a touch of the foghorn as well! It has a really unique and semi-smooth character with grungy undertones - but still nicely cutting through the mix in Poltava Mode.

Controls - Greatness (Volume), Resistance (Gain), Diplomacy (Tone), Mode : BMP / Poltava, Liberty (Bias).

Vitalii experimented with several different transistor selections but did not get the desired magical output until he used the self same original NOS Soviet Transistors. The control topology is somewhat extended with access to an external Bias and Gain control too (versus the original’s Volume and Tone)  - which are both essential for tuning the Fuzz into all those interesting areas. There is also a more full-range Bias trimmer inside the pedal - which I don’t feel you need to touch really - the external one has plenty of range. Both Biases target the second Germanium Transistor - the inner one is just more full-range than the outer.

For the uninitiated - Ivan Mazepa was an early Ukrainian Military Leader and National Hero - a constant thorn in the side of the Russian Empire. And where Poltava was a battle which had significant impact on Ukraine’s independence.

The fuzz has two modes of playback - where you can switch the tone-stack between BMP and Poltava types. BMP is rather more bassy, while the Poltava Mode is more open, mid-range and slightly more cutting as such. Flipping the switch gives you a significant change in character - and while some prefer it in BMP Mode - Vitalii and I prefer it as the original Poltava. The unique transistors used here are high gain but with incredibly low noise floor - which is super rare!

When you have as many fuzzes as I do it’s always a joy when you get your hands on something genuinely different and distinct sounding. ’Mind the G.A.S.’ Marios’ below demo is pretty true to form really and does a great job of conveying the core tones and timbre of the pedal.

My own preferred settings are for the Poltava Mode - Greatness @ 4 o’c, Resistance @ 3 o’c, Diplomacy @ Max, and Liberty @ 11 o’c.

The Ivan Mazepa is available right now for $200 on the Drunk Beaver Reverb.com Store - and likely fairly soon at Boost Guitar Pedals too in the UK.

You probably didn’t think you needed another fuzz - but this one is wonderfully out of the ordinary and well worth your consideration!