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Gear: The legendary Harmonic Percolator

November 4, 2008 · Filed Under Gear

Got back from New York ATP and walked into a London Town full of Economic doom and gloom, I hid away for two weeks looking at weird guitar pedals on EBAY. Just when I thought my pedal addiction was saturated some fella knew how to press my buttons. ‘Buy a clone of the legendary Harmonic Percolator sound like Steve Albini from Shellac’ I didn’t need to think twice jumped in for the full price.

Harmonic Percolator this is a licenced replica from the 1970’s. There were very very few hand made in Milwalkee and were quite delicately built so it has had a revered and rare pedal status for many years. The idea of it is that it cuts out all the ‘even’ harmonics and leaves in all the odd ones creating a very unusual disortion.

The official website claims this is an exact duplicate of the original 1970’s pedal employs the same obsolete type number Germanium transistor and same number Silicon transistor. Also used are the exact same type number obsolete Germanium diodes. Not common counterparts 1N34 or 1N60) Same type capacitors also are used. Mylar-Silver Mica, Tantalum, and Ceramic. The slider controls are the same as in the original. These New Old Stock parts have the original packing slip dated February 19, 1968 - so now you know?

I expected distortion but found it to have more then a fuzz to it. Also found it a bit unclear and unsatisfying. Steve Albini in Shellac uses a homemade Harmonic Percolator replica and not this branded one, and out of the box this does not make you sound like him. That metallic industrial clunk of guitar I can’t find.

Turning up the amp to performance loud, I start to find the oddity of this pedal. Feels slightly digital and less organic then the fuzz at lower volumes. I plug a few more pedals into the board, a Metalizer sitting before this really starts to bring out the Industrial clunk, played with a Double Muff the guitar is really wailing and getting some weird muted notes out of it, needs a noise gate though.

In short not a stand alone answers to your unique tone prayers. But if you are sick of indenti-pedals and prepared to experiment and have a room to turn it up in. Then let ripp.

Want to know more about the construction?
http://pages.prodigy.net/chuckcollins/percolator.html