Skreddy Pedals Ernie

The Skreddy Ernie is another one of Marc's brilliant big muff based designs. It is modeled after the 1970's Lamb's head version of the EH big muff. It uses 4 silicon transistors to produce it's massive amount of gain and sustain. It has controls for Volume, tone, and sustain (gain). It is housed in a small enclosure with a true bypass switching, 9 volt DC jack for use with standard power supplies, and has a battery snap under the bottom cover.

UTILIZATION

I think fuzz circuits should be left in their simple classic state and this pedal is true to the old style. The manual is less of an instruction sheet and more of a description of the circuit itself. If you have ever used any stomp boxes before you will have no problem setting this up.

SOUND QUALITY

I use this pedal in my guitar setup and usually into a slightly dirty channel. It can sound good running into a clean amp as well but I prefer the sound it makes when hitting a tube amp that is already cooking with volume. Skreddy is known for his ability to fine tune fuzz circuits to get the absolute best and most consistent sound from pedal to pedal. This one is no exception. All the notes bloom with this huge fuzz and endless sustain. It really does not matter where the controls are set as it seems he tunes these to where it is impossible to get a bad sound.

I own a few Skreddy fuzz pedals and they are all different beasts. I find the Ernie to be more refined sounding then some of the others and it can sometimes be a bit more like a distortion. Some massive fizz circuits are just too hairy for chords but the Ernie maintains a good amount of clarity I have not found in other fuzz pedals.

OVERALL OPINION

This is a great pedal and if you can get one it is a no-brainer to at least give it a shot. I have owned and still own many fuzz pedals and this one is a definite favorite.