Drunk Beaver's 7th Pedal Drop is the Luhansk Hammer Thrash Metal Distortion - based on the Exar HR-03 Hammer from 2003

So this latest Pedal Drop - the Luhansk Hammer - is actually derived from a discontinued Polish pedal - the Exar HR-03 Hammer Distortion (2003), which was in turn based on Ibanez’s 1989 Soundtank TM5 ThrashMetal Distortion. There are some parts variances along the way, and the Drunk Beaver edition breaks out the EQ into separate Low and Hi controls - where the Low 100Hz Filter is entirely new, and delivers ±15dB - meaning it’s an active pot.

As Vitalli explains :

"The base of the circuit are the Ibanez TM5 Thrash Metal and Exar Hammer. The main modification (on the Luhansk Hammer) is a variable LOW filter which is fixed in both of the original pedals, it allows circa ±15dB of cut / boost at 100Hz. Other that that it’s almost the sane, but a true bypass circuit."

"It’s a pretty high gain beast with its 2 gain stages : where the BJT Transistor one is fixed and has a voltage gain of 120 or +41dB (but it won’t reach those levels as the signal would be clipped at the power supply), and then a variable op-amp (JRC072 - JRC version of the classic TI TL072) gain stage. Both gain stages jointly shape the signal frequency response - and it has most of the boost between 700-1000Hz. After the gain stages there is a pair of hard clipping diodes (1N4148), active Lows peak filter (gyrator), and passive LP Low-Pass filter (similar to the one in the Rat). The circuit also has FET input and BJT output buffers."

As this is a Pedal Drop - you know the score - typically only around 10 to 15 rapidly prototyped pedals released per Pedal Drop run - and usually in and around $150 to $180 - there’s no time for Demo videos or further references beyond this GPX coverage.

I could not find any YouTube demos of the Exar Hammer, so I’ve gone back to one on the Ibanez Thrash Metal - just for you to get a ballpark for the sound.

To me it sounds a touch Rat-adjacent - more High Gain - so rather more like a Boosted Rat - but with the familiar bite within the core texture - a really distinct and rare distortion for sure - as many of the plastic Ibanez Soundtank types have perished along the way, and I don’t believe too many Exar Hammers were made either. The Brown colour of the Luhansk Hammer is sort of derived from the Exar Hammer enclosure - but in different lights they can look a touch different.

Vitalii is obviously on a roll with his Exar circuit tracings, and I would expect more takes on that brand in the future - and possibly a little something more eventually. I personally am always fascinated by all those variations and varieties of pedals that fell between the cracks - and never gained as solid a following as they probably deserved - so much of this is to do with luck and timing!

In any case if you’re looking for a sort of High Gain Rat Adjacent Slightly Different Distortion - then surely the Luhanks Hammer is for you! You need to keep your eyes peeled generally on the Drunk Beaver Reverb.com store - as there are frequent surprises and updates. As before it’s a snooze-you-loose situation - if you want one you need to be quick! They normally go on sale around about when this article is live and shared.