12 of the Best Compact Enclosure Zonk Machine Style Fuzz Pedals

This was one of the two pedals I was originally discussing with my pal Bruno. Bruno indicated that the price has gone up recently - possibly in line with what's happening with the DanDrive varieties. Provenance here is solid with these coming as 1 x 2G374 / 2N1379 + 2 x OC75 / OC71 varieties. So pretty spot on in the parts department. The 3-way Tone switch gives you Mids boost to the left, default Zonk in the middle, and full-frequency to the right - i.e. closer to a MKI. This is a really decent pedal for sure, and now at near enough the same price as the DanDrive Secret Weapon/Machine. I personally prefer the look and extended range of my Secret Weapon, or the newer Secret Machine. But obviously there are plenty of fans of this Zoink too as its batches sell out pretty quickly! So most definitely a contender.

This seems to have been a sort of one-off to a degree and is not referenced in the current core Arcane Analog range - but I'm pretty sure you can put in a request to this Canadian builder. Great sounding 3 x OC75 variety with Level and Attack controls. I would of course like to see a Bias control here also - but there's no doubt that this is a great sounding example of the genre. Swipe the above Instagram reference forwards for the demo video!

As noted, a Zonk II variety, yet seemingly with a trio of silicon transistors - possibly utilising John Lyons' favourite BC549B transistors - from a gutshot I can see two TO-92 plastic casing transistors but not their designation, while a third 2N3439 TO-18 style metal can is clearly visible! This is definitely a pedal I will be getting eventually, and is one of a series of Basic Audio varieties still on my ongoing acquisitions wishlist. I just really love John Lyons' take on most fuzz circuits, and the 3rd Tone control here is essential for dialling in some extended range. A very well behaved and well-calibrated silicon variety of Zonk Machine - possible not for the purists, but a pretty sterling example nonetheless.

UK builder Christopher Harding - whom I've only comes across peripherally before - has a cool range of great sounding vintage UK fuzzes in modern enclosures - including this compact format Baby Zonk. He also makes a larger BB-enclosure Zonk Machine variety, but I'm all about the compact pedalboard-friendly enclosures. The Baby Zonk has a 3-way tone switch not dissimilar to the above Zoink Machine, it also relies on an internal gain trimpot for germanium transistor fine-tuning. This is another all-germanium affair - from the gutshot looks like a mix of different designation and origination transitors, including distinct Russian MP13B (МП13Б) flying-saucer style metal-cans - and I can certainly pick out a CV7354 in one of the example gutshots, while the builder states that a variety of germanium transistors are utilised - and it's the parts values that are key. Most of Christopher's pedals come in the rawer grey style of enclosures with simple stamped brand logo. I really like his slightly rarer silver-blue variants as pictured above - which is likely from a more custom batch. All of Christopher's pedals are currently listed as sold out on his website - but I'm pretty sure he takes in regular orders and commissions.

This Portland, Oregon builder has a significant Reverb.com shop presence and features both MKI germanium and MKII silicon Zonk Machine varieties - which here are named 'Zonch Machine' - with a $20 premium on the all-germanium version. This is a very reasonably priced variety and batches seem to sell out pretty quickly. Transistors utilised tend to be 3 x 2SD352 types, and the pedal features tropical fish caps too. The silicon variety has a 2-way Vintage/Modern switch, while the germanium variety has a 3-way Fat/Stock/Fatter toggle-switch - with the Fat/Fatter varieties moving you more toward a MKI Tone Bender direction. Tone-wise these aren't necessarily as zingy and wiry as some of the others here - which is the more classic Zonk tonality - but these still sound pretty great in their own way - and are good value overall.

Most are familiar with the British Pedal Company by now - which has both Vintage big-box takes on the originals, as well as the more modern and practical Compact Series - from which the above is taken. A common criticism of the British Pedal Co. is its somewhat lack of transparency - where it seems rather loathe to share the actual parts specifications of its pedals. I can understand that numerous varieties of germanium transistors are hard to come by and limited to batches - but surely you can provide a range of possibilities or previous examples. Here they give you nothing beyond the '3 transistors' general description - oddly they don't even specify '3 germanium transistors' while they do say 'detailed replicas'. As a Brand Strategist and Marketing Specialist I have something of an issue with the very loosely defined language used here - it really does not inspire confidence. Pedals look and sound decent enough in that straight-laced clone / replica vein - but I would be concerned that I didn't really know what I was getting into here!

This might just be an interesting foot note to this selection as Indonesian brand Calangary Pedals, run by one Deris Khariza, seems to have passed into history back in 2017. For a couple of years or so they made these really cool 1 x OC75 + 2 x OC44 Zonk Machines - pretty close clones really circuit-wise - and at a pretty stellar price. Possibly not as wiry and aggressive as some would want - the fuzz's output rather has quite a lot of warmth to it - it is nonetheless a great sounding fuzz made from great components. And super cheap if you can get your hands on one. Time to hit up your Indonesian friends if you have any - possibly I should check in with Jesse at GFI System to see if he can spot one for me! No traction so far on either Reverb.com or Ebay!

Patrick Brown of Collector Effectors seems to be relatively newly minted as such with an Instagram and Facebook presence just going back to May this year! In that short time though he's really laid down his credentials as a boutique builder and has established a pretty distinctive signature look with a graduated dots design and colour-matched knobs. I actually really like his aesthetic - it's always tricky to come up with something sufficiently distinct and different and I feel Patrick has produced something that really works. These seem to be mostly private commissions thus far arranged via Instagram - with scant details of pricing or component use - apart from this being an all-germanium variety. Certainly something with appealing looks - albeit I would want to see some sort of bias or tone control here too ideally.

As I mentioned in the intro - my own Secret Weapon variant is a wonderful example of the genre - featuring 3 x dsi AC127 transistors and including that 3rd bias knob and Mids boost switch. The latest Secret Machine edition has brighter articulation and more aggression but besides a variety of different cloth wraps - it's overall looks and function are identical to the Secret Weapon. In most ways I think this is still the one to beat as such - and understandably there is a long waiting list on this. Prices seem to be all over the place too - with core RRP still seemingly €339, priced £337 in the UK, and as much as €399 in USA / Canada and even €467 equivalent courtesy of Sweden's 'These Go To 11' - they obviously include the price in that metaphor too!

This is my latest acquisition here - and Joe Doc has these on a 3-week turnaround currently - so mine should be in before the end of this month in theory! The germanium transistors are not specified as Joe works specifically by parts values and for germanium transistor supply can be highly variable. This is actually both an MKI and Zonk as afforded by those two extra dials - Tone and Gate but also a Tight/Fat switch - with those you can easily switch between MKI and Zonk sound signatures - and both Tone and Gate yield a very wide range of tones and textures. A really smart pedal all-round - and just the sort of thing I seek out. I've had my eye on Joe Doc's Union Fuzz too - and included his Little Steamer in my Harmonic Percolator roundup - all really decent fuzzes - and no doubt I will have a couple more of his in the collection at some stage.

Rogue Sound was an offshoot of D*A*M - featuring pedals made by one of David Main's circuit engineers Linzi. Only three varieties were produced - including this Hatchet Harry Zonk II version. Excellent D*A*M quality and made as usual with the finest components - which here are silicon variety transistors. These occasionally appear on Reverb.com and are a decent proposition for that silicon Zonk II sound. I personally prefer the slight advantage of Basic Audio's 3rd Tone knob - but there is no doubt that the Hatchet Harry is a great sounding pedal too. The kind of pedal I would snap up if one appeared at a reasonable price on Reverb.com - and of course at the right time!

I'm delighted that I can at last include one of Ireland's Jimmy Behan's pedals. I've been aware of him for a while, and have had quite a few requests to include some of his output in my roundups - and here we find a perfect pick. Jimmy has a very active shop on Reverb.com with quite an extensive range of fuzz and drive pedals - all handmade with the finest components and priced very reasonably. Right at this minute there is no Super Electric Zonk up for sale on the shop - but you can always contact Jimmy direct via his website and make a request/ commission. Another pretty faithful compact circuit replica - all-germanium, while as always I would prefer to see a third Tone or Bias knob here for added versatility. I was unable to find a demo/video of the Zonk variety - so have elected to show a demo of Jimmy's MKI - which is obviously in the same sort of ballpark!