SOMA Laboratory Harvezi Hazze Waveshaping Distortion Pedal

Harvezi Hazze is a versatile and quite unique distortion pedal with a wide tonal palette.

The heart of Harvezi Hazze is a waveshaper designed around a unijunction transistor, a relic from the early days of the semiconductor industry unearthed from the e-waste bins of flea markets in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The unique properties of the unijunction transistor allow one simple component to replace a number of very complex devices: depending on the operating mode, we can get a distortion, a limiter, a waveshaper and a generator - with a smooth transition between them. Experiments have shown that this transistor is an excellent basis for a distortion stompbox.

The name translates from Georgian as "a fault on the transmission line" or "signal jamming", and both the semantic and phonetic natures of it unequivocally imply what to expect - an impediment to the input signal, ranging from pleasant harmonic distortions to complete obliteration. The signal chain of the unit consists of an optical compressor with fixed parameters; a dual-mode distorting amplifier with either softer or harsher clipping; a waveshaper built around a unijunction transistor; and a tone stack section trying to tame all this mess.