With only three controls, this deceptively powerful pedal offers you everything from light overdrive to full on distortion with clarity and blissful grinding. A Tone On/Off switch allows you remove the Tone control from the circuit, opening up a whole new world of midrange grind. Switch it off for a simplified and straightforward attack or leave it on for a full-bodied distortion with loads of low-end with a slight natural scoop. Roll up the Sustain for wall-shaking bass notes or sustaining lead and adjust the Tone for a wild and wide frequency response from aggressive top end to low-end rumble.

Sometimes pedals can change. Parts drift, pots break, transistors go bad. They go to new homes; they get neglected and resold. Sometimes people get in there and try to revive them to their original state and sometimes they just throw whatever is laying around inside and hope it does the trick. In this case, we’re pretty sure all the above happened to the fuzz pedal that made its way to James Murphy and ended up finding a forever home with LCD Soundsystem.

This particular pedal really does have something special. It’s heavy without being too heavy, clean but not too clean. A simple set of controls yet it has an expansive array of tones that makes it very versatile on a wide variety of instruments. It has clarity when you need it and can blur all discernible lines when you don’t. It still retains the familiar foundation of the classic fuzz it was intended to be but something special happened to it over the years and it has very much grown into its own thing.

I’m going to guess that you have heard this pedal. It has been the chosen bass fuzz for several LCD recordings and has traveled around the world with them. I’d say that it is a prized possession, a real one-of-a-kind pedal. It has been beat up and taped back together. It looks like it shouldn’t work but it always delivers. It is old, it is fragile, and it sounds massive. Too good to retire yet too tired to keep going. That is where we come in. We were tasked with replicating the exact sound of this pedal but in a reliable format that can withstand the stresses of this modern world. No easy feat, for sure, but we persevered and have brought you the Chelsea.

Named after the guitar shop in which it was purchased back in 1989, the Chelsea recreates all the idiosyncrasies of the original but without the threat of total collapse. Each Chelsea is handmade at EarthQuaker Devices headquarters in always sunny Akron, Ohio, USA by a bunch of pretty nice humans and one big robot.

Sustain: Adjusts the amount of distortion and sustain.

Tone: Use this to fine tune the frequency response. Boost treble by turning clockwise, boost bass and tame the top end by turning counterclockwise.

Tone On/Off: This switch bypasses the tone control and delivers a more mid focused response.

Level: Controls the output volume.

Why To Buy From Rock City!

Established in 2015, Rock City Music Company is an independently owned music store for players by players. Located just outside of Detroit, Michigan, Rock City Music Company is a music mecca that encompasses everything from guitars and lessons, to vinyl records and t-shirts, to posters, accessories, our music-themed pinball machines and more.

Rock City has earned its rank  as one of the top places in the country for in-store events. Rock City has hosted legends such as Geddy Lee (Rush), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Gary Holt (Slayer/Exodus), Blackberry Smoke, Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper) and many many more. Rock ’n’ Roll is our passion, and we strive to provide excellent service, and a great experience, both inside and outside of our store.

Ready to Rock, Right Out Of The Box: All of our guitars are maintained by our FMIC (Fender Musical Instruments Company) Certified in-house guitar technician, to ensure any guitar that leaves our hands is ready to play as soon as you receive it!

Fast Shipping & Communication: Our top priority is making sure that your gear arrives safely to you as soon as possible. Our staff members strive to pack and label your items for shipping within 2 hours of placing your order (During regular business hours). Items never take more than 24 hours to leave our possession.

Guitars, Basses, Amps, Cases and select other items ship via UPS Ground

Pedals & Accessories ship via USPS Priority & First Class Mail

Have a preferred shipping method? Let us know and we will do our best to accommodate

We appreciate your business more than you know and we show it! Our communication is second to none and very important to us.  You will have a dedicated and educated staff member overseeing your order, that can assist with any questions or concerns.

Is My New Guitar Protected During Shipment ? : All items are packed with extreme care and although we do our best to protect items from damage, sometimes it happens. Have no fear, all of our items are shipped fully insured at no additional cost to you.

Rock City Music Company is an official dealer of:

Reverend, Ibanez, Taylor, Martin, PRS, Gretsch, Fender, Charvel, Jackson, Epiphone, ESP/LTD, EVH, Takamine, Rock N Roll Relics, Sterling/MusicMan and Echopark Guitars.

Electro-Harmonix, Earthquaker Devices, Boss, MXR, Dunlop, Pro-Tone, Strymon and Catalinbread Effects Pedals

Orange, Fender, Boss, EVH and VOX amplifiers

Any questions? Feel free to contact us during store hours!

Monday - Thursday 11AM-7PM

Friday-Saturday 11AM-6PM

Sunday 11AM - 4PM

(All Times are Eastern Standard Time)

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