Laundromat is the name Finnish fuzz builder Antti Karttu has chosen for his line of handcrafted fuzz pedals.

The Thunderbird Mk I (390 €) is based on Gary Hurst’s legendary Tone Bender Mk I. The 1965 Tone Bender was one of the first fuzz pedals ever, and it started the fuzz craze in the UK.

Laundromat uses its own extremely rugged case design and only the best available components. The Thunderbird Mk I circuit is built around three NOS germanium transistors – namely a pair of Mullard OC75s and a Texas Instrument.

Like the original, the Laundromat Thunderbird Mk I isn’t a subtle fuzz pedal. This pedal grabs you by the lapels and shakes you, screaming in your face.

There isn’t much in the way of dialling down the fuzz with your guitar’s volume control, like on Fuzz Face-style circuits. This here is more of an on-off-affair.

The sound and behaviour of the Thunderbird Mk I is just as you’d expect – this is a rude sounding fuzz with a clear tendency towards gating, which adds crackles and spitting sounds to note attacks.

Vintage Tone Bender’s these days command silly prices, even for road-weary units.

Laundromat’s Thunderbird Mk I is clearly built to last, meaning it will give you delicious fuzz tones reliably.