Baldwin-Burns Dizzy Tone...?

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Here's a mystery for the real nerds.

Back around 2011 this weird pedal popped up on the internet that had the enclosure and graphics of an Elka Dizzy Tone, but also the "B" logo used by Baldwin-Burns, and contained the circuit of a Buzzaround!

As it turned out it was owned by an old friend of the blog (a very difficult to track down friend), who probably has the best fuzz collection in the world. At the time we had a few long discussions about the mysterious "Burns Dizzytone", but unfortunately never discovered any kind of definitive story behind its origin or reason for its existence. 🤔

Well it's been over 10 years now, and we're still about exactly where we left off. So I figured it was time to throw it up on the blog and see what happens...

There has always been a rumored connection between Elka and the Buzzaround; with the Dizzytone essentially being an Italian copy of the British fuzz (most likely brought to Italy by Gary Hurst while he was working for Elka... but that has never been confirmed). 

So with this pedal, we see a literal Buzzaround circuit inside of a Dizzytone enclosure, but what are we actually seeing? 

Is it a mockup or prototype enclosure that they used for demonstration purposes? Is it evidence of a partnership between the two brands that ultimately fell through? Is it simply a rehoused Buzzaround that someone made at home? Or is it some crazy fourth option we haven't even considered yet?

Adding to the weirdness, the enclosure isn't quite the same dimensions of an Elka Dizzytone and it's heavier/thicker, but it's clearly the same shape! And it obviously says "Dizzy Tone" right where it should...

So what's the deal with this thing, and what does it tell us about the history of Baldwin-Burns, Elka, and possibly Gary Hurst???

These are questions that as of now will most likely remain unanswered. But I thought it would be cool to highlight this oddity and get it out there for the collective fuzz trust to stumble upon and maybe offer up some new possibilities.

So what do you think? 

Hit me up via Email or Instagram, or just leave a comment below. 

Thanks for reading, 

-ed