EHX Percolator: Based on ’70s Harmonic Percolator
A modern recreation of the Harmonic Percolator
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The Percolator is Electro-Harmonix’s take on the ’70s Interfax circuit and offers a very unique fuzz circuit with some interesting characteristics.
Interfax Harmonic Percolator
The original HP-1 Harmonic Percolator was designed by electrical engineer Ed Giese at his Milwaukee audio repair shop, Interfax. He built a unique circuit using a rare mix of silicon and germanium transistors. This specific design was engineered to create even-order harmonics, delivering the sweet, musical distortion typically found in cranked tube amplifiers.
Steve Albini
They had tan-and-brown cases with a dual-slider layout and looked very unique as well. The pedal is often associated with the late producer/musician Steve Albini and has a bit of a cult status.
Originals are collectable and rare, so the boutique pedal market is often the place they are recreated. Now, EHX has announced a new $99 version in their lineup, with a few tweaks and a completely different user interface.
EHX Percolator
With just three knobs and one switch, the EHX Percolator is described as having a massive range of tones, from gentle overdrive to fierce fuzz.
The Harmonics knob controls the input gain, pushing the pedal from a mild drive into total fuzz destruction. The Bias knob adjusts the circuit’s voltage, unlocking smooth drive, pseudo-octave fuzz, or sputtering, Velcro-like gated tones. Finally, the Balance knob manages the overall volume output.
Drive/Fuzz
The Drive/Fuzz toggle switch controls the pedal’s clipping diodes.
In Fuzz mode, the diodes are engaged for heavy, compressed fuzz. In Drive mode, the diodes are bypassed, turning the pedal into a raw, organic transistor overdrive with a crunchy, responsive character. For players who want even more distortion, an internal trim pot can be adjusted to boost the gain and add a heavy sub-octave rumble.
Dual-Action Footswitch
This latest EHX pedal also uses their Dual-Action Footswitch tech, so it has standard latching bypass with momentary functionality: hold the switch down for temporary bursts of high-gain feedback, and release it to instantly return to clean.
A nice touch which makes it useful for quick bursts of the effect when desired.
Price & Availability
The new EXH Percolator is available to order now at Thomann (currently 2/3 month wait), priced at $96/£86/€99
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