DS Custom Audio Electronics Harmonious Perc

Although I’ve never had the pleasure of playing a real, vintage Harmonic Percolator, we’ve had our share of clones come through the office here at Pedal of the Day, each one trying to capture the magic that the original units somehow created. Today’s pedal, the DS Custom Audio Electronics Harmonious Perc continues that tradition, but with its own special twist on this rare and unique sound. Lots of knobs and switches here – if you dig that sort of thing, you’re gonna dig this pedal…

The DS Custom Harmonious Perc is our adaption of one of the most famous and highly sought after effect pedals in history, the Interfax Harmonic Percolator. As in the original, the Harmonious Perc also uses a silicon and a germanium transistor (in this case a NOS Soviet one), and two germanium Diodes (2 NOS Soviet ones in here). The Interfax version featured just 2 control sliders, Harmonmics and Balance – the DS Custom version has a LOT more under the hood, up top and all over the place.

To make it stand out and to make it work better in some applications, DS Custom Audio wanted to add some more useful features to the Harmonious Perc, like the switchable FFB circuit, which makes it work better with Buffers in front of it. They also wanted to add some more controls, like the Symmetry and the Sag control, and have the Diode Lift footswitchable, as this makes it easier to control this in a live situation. The Ω Trimmer sets the Impedance of the simulated Pickup in the FFB circuit, and the HB/SC Switch allows you to toggle between Humbucker & Single Coil modes, depending on what kind of guitar/pickup configuration you’re using.

While it’s a bit fancier than the majority of Percolator clones I’ve come in contact with, the Harmonious Perc still brings THAT feel and tone, just with more ways to sculpt and shape it. And while it’s nice to have a 2-knob set-it-and-forget-it pedal, I love the options here, letting you tweak the sound to fit your rig and your playing style. There’s more info (and ordering, of course) over on the DS Custom Audio website – be sure to check that out, and don’t skip out on our demo video below and on YouTube – cheers!!