The Electro-Harmonix Lizard Queen Octave Fuzz might as well have the most convoluted story of all devices belonging to the guitar pedal multiverse.
In 2022 Josh Scott of JHS Pedals shot a video for its YouTube channel showcasing a prototype of a pedal he designed by him and his staff “pretending” to be Electro-Harmonics, in the ’70s. Enter the Lizard Queen Octave Fuzz.
From the circuit to the passe’ large form case to the graphic design and knobs, that first version of the Lizard Queen (which was never commercialized) looked indeed like a vintage Electro-Harmonix stompbox. Wether it sounded like one as well, we’ll let you decide.
Fast-fordward to 2023, a year during which the two companies’s CEOs get involved in a bromance of engineering minds when the NYC company – under JHS’s advice – re-releases their Slapback Echo.
A few months after that release, Electro-Harmonics unveils a compact version of the Lizard Queen, re-engineered by their staff to sound like that original pedal by JHS.
For those who wonder how it sounds, here’s the demo directly from the builder, following by the video shot by JHS for the occasion – but under the gnarly tones of this octave-up fuzz we can clearly hear the sounds of a bunch of pedal nerds having fun.
Electro-Harmonix Lizard Queen, Builder’s Notes
Originally designed by Josh Scott of JHS Pedals and graphic designer, Daniel Danger as a homage to Electro-Harmonix in what Josh and Daniel consider the company’s design heyday of the 1970s, the EHX Lizard Queen Octave Fuzz is a nano-sized version of the pedal brought to life by the engineers at Electro-Harmonix that has all of the tones and vibes of the original circuit design by Josh. The tone is inspired by EHX’s fuzz pedigree with a unique analog octave up circuit that has all the vibe of the original design first featured on the JHS Show in 2022. This creates a completely new and unique EHX fuzz sound we’ve never heard before. To further tell the tale, the pedal is adorned with vintage EHX-inspired graphics designed by Daniel.
Housed in EHX’s Nano-sized chassis, the EHX Lizard Queen is a fixed gain fuzz pedal which features Volume, Octave, and Balance knobs. Volume controls the overall output volume level. The Octave control adjusts the level of the octave-up signal from zero to full octave chaos. Perfect for dialing in a crushing rhythm sound or a chimey, clanging lead sound. The Balance knob sets the tone balance between the smoother Shadow setting and the raspy, biting Sun setting. The effect of the Balance control is especially apparent with the octave set high.
- Unique transistor-based octave fuzz distortion circuit designed by Josh Scott
- Blendable Octave to dial in the analog octave chaos
- Balance control adjusts between smooth sustaining tones and raspy fuzz tones
- 1970s Electro-Harmonix graphic designed by Daniel Danger
- True Bypass
- 9V Battery included (9V adapter optional)
