TWA's Triskelion 3.0 Harmonic Energizer is a superb take on that mid-70's Zappa Favourite Band-Pass Frequency and Gain Shaper
So back in and around 1975 there was a large aluminium box with red and black graphics made by Systech, and which had an open 9V battery bay built right into the front facia. It had just 3 controls - Bandwidth, Center Frequency, and Gain - which were instrumental in delivering the classic Frank Zappa sound of that era! The Gain knob sweep was fairly expansive, but not too heavy on the breakup until later along the taper - rather an amplitude control for most of the sweep - although it did climb up rather rapidly on the gain breakup after the mid-way point.
It also kind of had a significant noise-floor - depending on how you deployed it, which for some was part of its charm, while for others more of a petty annoyance. Pristine examples of that pedal can still fetch up to $1,500, while most of those in current circulation are rather beaten up and worth less than half of that.
The original Systech Harmonic Energizer was essentially a Synthesizer Bandpass Filter, with an added gain / preamp circuit - which delivered Overdrive and Fuzz Tones as you swept across the Gain dial. It was best know as a Frank Zappa secret weapon, while it was also notably used by Adrian Belew and Reeves Gabrels.
The TWA Triskelion 3.0 delivers quite a bit more granularity, and has a few really smart additions to the format. It’s not the only current take on the Systech Harmonic Energizer, but is for sure one of the smartest and best loved - Frank’s son Dweezil has used various editions of the Triskelion. It retains the 3 control knobs of the Systech original - while those are labelled Energy, Variant Mass and Amplitude, in place of Bandwidth, Center Frequency and Gain.
Controls - Energy (Q-Bandwidth : Wide > Sharp), Variant Mass [VM] (Band Bass Filter / Center Frequency) : 150Hz > 2.1kHz, VM Shift : Octave / Root, Amplitude (Master Volume / Gain / Boost / Fuzz), Amplitude : On/Off, LC Low-Cut : -6dB/Octave / Off.
Ports : Mini Remote Switch Socket 1/8", Mini Expression Socket 1/8".
So you can choose to just use this as a Filter / EQ - by having the Amplitude (Volume) switched off. The VM Shift elevates the Centre Frequency by an Octave.
Where Amplitude in the first half is mostly volume, in the second half it gains up relatively quickly - so you get a a wide variety of overdrive and fuzzy-drive tones, with proper Fuzz tones with the Amplitude fully CW.
My Low-Cut side-switch was default applied - so I switched it off / down for a little more low-end. The pedal really works how you would expect it to. The only tiny niggle here - which both I and my good friend Trevor are in agreement about is that the default level with Amplitude off (i.e. EQ Mode) could do with being a little higher, as it renders below unity - that's the only thing that is even marginally wrong here. The Noise Floor is pretty much non-existent, and you can choose exactly how you wish to deploy this Filter / EQ / Gain shaper - with or without the VM Octave Shift, and with or without Amplitude or Low-Cut for that matter - so a proper all-rounder chameleon!
As I mentioned - this is a pretty decent mid-range overdrive / fuzzy-drive / fuzz on its own - but also an excellent Frequency Shaper EQ - where I still tend to have the Amplitude applied - because of the Unity situation.
As with all Totally Wycked Pedals this is a beautifully conceived and executed pedal - with cool gleaming gold knobs and matching Gold Triskelion Decal / Ident.
I've seen some call this a Parametric EQ - which it is not really as it doesn't have the Cut/Boost element of that - it does though have the Resonant Q-Bandwidth - so I guess you could call it semi-parametric at a push - it's really rather much more of 70's synthesiser band-pass filter with extra gain!
I started deploying the Triskelion mostly as an auxiliary combination pedal - as an EQ to bring out the best in other pedals - sharpen their output and open them up a touch. While latterly I've been deploying it much more as a stand-alone fuzz - where my favouring settings are with Energy fully CCW, Variant Mass @ 10 o'c, and Amplitude around 3 o'c. I use the VM Octave Shift fairly liberally too, while I tend to have the Low-Cut switch Off / Down.
It's a really handy pedal for all kinds of applications - and works superbly as an EQ, Overdrive and Fuzz. It's a truly stunning pedal to look at - with its deep red sparkle paint job along with those gold accents.
The Triskelion 3.0 is available for orders from both the Totally Wycked Audio and Godlyke Webstores - where it goes for $229. Also available at select leading international dealers.
Demos
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
