Seance

Based on the mid 60’s Baldwin-Burns BuzzAround, the Seance takes the Germanium BuzzAround fuzz and simplifies the layout while maintaining all the original sound, sitting comfortably between the texture and timbre of a Bender and the sustain and gain of a Muff.
Seance retains the three knob layout, but gone are some of the oddities of the original controls, (Sustain-Timbre-Balance) where all three controls interact with the output of the circuit. Seance is designed to work more like a typical pedal with Gain (Sustain), Tone (Timbre) and Volume controls while retaining 100% of the circuit and sound of the original BuzzAround.
The Sustain control starts low instead of OFF, after 12 o’clock it starts to bring out the endless sustain and feedback BuzzArounds are famous for. The Balance control has been modified and fixed at the maximum setting where this circuit really sounds best. The Tone control is straight from the BuzzAround, low settings cut low end, emphasizing treble and midrange, turned up the fuzz will get louder and thicker in low mid and lows. This is the only quirk in Seance I didn’t remove from the original BuzzAround circuit, anything else would compromise what is special about the sweep and tones available from adjusting the Timbre control. Lastly, a master volume is added so you can play it at any volume.
Two tunings of Seance are available, Standard and High Gain. Standard is a little more open and sustained, with the gain slightly reduced to offer some guitar volume cleanup. Super versatile from fuzzy drive to full on feedback sustain, with high Sustain settings adding some compression and even more texture. Three NOS Soviet MP42 Germanium transistors are used for Seance Standard. High Gain tuning adds some mild gating that adds a very fun texture and character to the attack and decay, as well as more gain and sizzle. It won’t cleanup the same in this configuration, but the added character and vintage vibe makes up for it! High Gain Seance uses NOS AC125 and NOS GE 2N1303 Germanium transistors.
Both versions feature NOS capacitors and Koa Speer carbon film resistors, clean layout and a unique “Spirit Gray” (Matte-Texture-Metallic Gray) powder coated enclosure with spooky white pointer knobs.