In this era dense with pedal collaborations, videographers have joined celebrity guitarists in working with builders on new, exciting stompboxes. The first example of this kind was, of course, the Chase Bliss Audio / Knobs collaboration on the recently finalized Blooper. This week we got news of a second item born from this unusual marriage of talents: Michigan’s DIY builder Mask Audio Electronics and Brooklyn based pedal videographer Collector//Emitter have just unveiled the Part Garden, a pedal born…
…from the idea of stacking fuzz pedals. It’s essentially two fuzzes within one pedal, with both tuned to bring out the best of the other.
The approach here wasn’t just radically noisy as one may expect: the Part Garden is a very dynamic pedal that interacts with your guitar volume and has the…
…ability to work as a smooth overdrive, a wild fuzz, and anything in between.
The two fuzzes have different characteristics that complement each other:
The first fuzz is fairly warm and the second is harmonically rich, though this will change as you adjust the controls.
Interestingly, the two fuzzes don’t have separate gain or volume knobs, but you can adjust the balance of gain fed into each fuzz circuit using the II knob, while I and III are simply the volume in and master out.
The Texture knob interacts with the YUH toggle switch to change the gain structure of the input gain, increasing the input and therefore the amount of compression you get when the fuzz is applied:
When set fully clockwise the signal is so compressed that nothing will pass through unless boosted by another pedal. Because of what the control is adjusting, some crackling may occur while turning the knob.
The Yuh up position will give you an optimal range for adjustment, while the down position will allow finer tuning of more extreme sounds.
In the summer of 2023 the two collaborators released a Germanium version of this pedal, producing a softer, more vintage-sounding tone.
Here are some videos of this pedal.
Part Garden Germanium
Part Garden Silicon
Part Garden grew from the idea of stacking fuzz pedals. It’s essentially two fuzzes within one pedal, with both tuned to bring out the best of the other. We spent a long time trying to find the perfect, versatile combination, with the ability to work as a smooth overdrive, a wild fuzz, and anything in between. The first fuzz is fairly warm and the second is harmonically rich, though this will change as you adjust the controls. This is a very dynamic pedal, so be sure to use your volume control to get even more range out of it.
I, II, and III are all volume controls in different stages of the pedal. As you change each, you’ll notice that each of them changes the volume, tone, and gain of the pedal. There is no tone control on Part Garden because it’s so easy to adjust the shape of the signal with the gain controls. Set I higher for clangy high end, or II higher for thicker low end.
I – How much signal is entering Part Garden, sets the general gain level
II – The gain between the two circuits. This will also subtly attenuate bass frequencies as the gain is turned down
III – Master volume, turn right for more
Texture – Changes the gain structure in the first stage. This will increase the gain and the amount of compression from the fuzz. When set fully clockwise the signal is so compressed that nothing will pass through unless boosted by another pedal. Because of what the control is adjusting, some crackling may occur while turning the knob.
YUH- Changes the range of the Texture control. The up position will give you optimal range for adjustment, while the down position will allow finer tuning of more extreme sounds
