Blackhawk Amplifiers' Mithrandir and Valhalla are two Superior Extended-Range Takes on Super-Fuzz and 2-Transistor Style Fuzzes
The above two beauties are my first in Brooks’s Copper Hammertone Enclosures - which I feel are eminently fitting for these 2 particular fuzz pedals. I of course typically go for the ’Black’ enclosures for the more Metal / High Gain Pedals - while the textured copper is a sort of synaesthesia for those more classic and vintage fuzzy tones!
Mithrandir Controls - Bass, Volume, Treble, Gain, Clean>Wet Blend, and Octave Blend.
Left Footswitch is Engage, Right Footswitch is Octave On.
The Mithrandir started off way back as a sort of take on Boss’s FZ-2 circuit - at the bequest of a customer. While Brooks was never really that enamoured with the FZ-2’s output - finding it slightly harsh and over-pronounced - so the Mithrandir really evolved along its own path. Both circuits use 2 OpAmps - in the case of the Mitrhandir - a LM386N + UA741CP in place of the original’s 2 x M5218AL, while the Mithrandir has just a single 2N5457 Transistor in place of FZ-2’s 3 x 2SA1335 + 3 x 2SC3378 + 2SA1135.
The Mthrandir thus renders a much more even-tempered harmonic octave fuzz - while you can suffer slight volume-drop if the Octave-Blend goes much past noon. Optimal for me is between 10 and 11 o’c. Note also that both circuits featured here are sort of vintage in nature - meaning that you really need to crank them to get the best out of them - as far as I’m concerned.
Ideal Settings for me are typically - Bass at Max, Volume at Max, Treble at Noon, Gain at Max, Clean>Wet Blend at Max, and Octave Blend at 11 o’c.
Valhalla Controls - Volume, Treble, Mids, Clean>Wet Blend, and Gain.
Left Footswitch is Engage, Right Footswitch bypasses Mids.
The Valhalla is essentially an evolved and extended-range 2 x Silicon Transistor Fuzz - elevating the Fuzz Face and Meathead style Fuzz to new levels of controllability - with 5 smart controls and Footswitch-selectable Mids. You can tell this is a vintage-inspired circuit as you need to crank the Volume and Gain to get the most out of it. Fuzz Faces can often suffer a little on the output side - while the Valhalla sounds about right when dimed.
The 2 Transistors deployed here are a 2N3904 + 2N5457 and the output sounds plenty full-fat and richly textured - and the Mids can be engaged as a sort of Solo Boost - which also raises output volume a touch. The magical element here really is the mids - which can totally change-up and elevate the pedals-output. I have quite a fondness for Mids controls on fuzz pedals - and the one employed here works particularly well.
My preferred settings for the Valhalla are Volume at Max, Treble at Max, Mids at Noon, Clean>Wet Blend at Max, and Gain at 3 o'c.
Both fuzzes featured here are rich and full and beautifully textured. While with my setting you don't get a lot of gain clean-up on your guitar volume dial. Make no mistake though - these are 2 giants of their respective genres - and each a distinctive take with some classic Brooks Blackhawk flavour - who stamps his own signature profile onto every single one of his pedals - which largely means lots of harmonic richness and beautifully nuanced saturation and extended sustain.
Copper Hammertone Enclosure versions need to be ordered direct from the Blackhawk Amplifiers Webstore - $200 for the Valhalla and $220 for the Mitrhandir - standard Black and Blackened versions can usually be acquired from the Blackhawk Reverb.Com Store.
I've already decided on my next two Blackhawks - which will be the Valkyrie Drive V4 and Uruk-hai Distortion. Likely early next year now!
Note that there aren't a lot of demo videos out there for Blackhawk pedals - and not much on YouTube really - the occasional Instagram clip more typically. I struggled to find a demo for the Mithrandir - while I did find a few for the Valhalla - while not exactly the same version of the pedal as mine - the Valhalla comes in a variety of editions - including a stripped-down 2-knob version - as featured in two of these demos!
Demos
