EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas is a fuzz and sustainer pedal designed for Wata of the legendary Japanese band Boris. It is a faithful sonic recreation of Wata’s go-to fuzz, the Elk BM Sustainar, a Japanese variant of the well-known Triangle BMP.
Hizumitas combines heavy saturation with a gritty edge and massive low end while retaining a clear, dynamic tone with enough mids and top end to cut through a dense mix. It delivers loads of heavy distortion, smooth sustain and an underlying grit that suggests speakers on the verge of tearing apart, while maintaining unexpected clarity for such an aggressive-sounding pedal.
The Sustain control offers a wide range of saturation, so even small adjustments can significantly affect the overall tone. Hizumitas responds well to different pickup types and playing dynamics. Power chords sound huge and heavy, open chords remain dynamic with excellent note separation, and single-note leads come across smooth and powerful, especially with the neck pickup.
The Tone control is unusual for this type of distortion and can drastically change its character in conjunction with the Sustain setting. Bass frequencies are boosted clockwise, while treble frequencies are boosted counterclockwise. Turned counterclockwise, the control can take the sound from an aggressive midrange grind to piercing highs. Turned clockwise, the mids become less prominent, the highs are tamed and a huge, thundering low end comes forward. The Volume control provides plenty of output, with unity around 9–10 o’clock.
- Fuzz / sustainer effects pedal
- Designed for Wata from Boris
- Faithful sonic recreation of the Elk BM Sustainar
- All-analog signal path
- True bypass with silent relay-based switching
- Volume, Sustain and Tone controls
- Bypass footswitch
- Status LED
- Metal housing
- 6.3 mm mono input and output jacks
- Power via optional 9V DC adapter with a 2.1 x 5.5 mm barrel plug, center negative
- Battery operation not supported
- Current draw: 10 mA
- Dimensions (L x W x H): 120.65 x 63.50 x 57.15 mm / 4.75 x 2.50 x 2.25 in
- Weight: approx. 263 g / 0.58 lbs
- Made in the USA