Capharnaüm was built to create a massive, layered fuzz sound that stays musical and dynamic, avoiding the sudden gating or cut-off typical of extreme fuzz circuits.
By blending two very different gain textures and shaping them carefully after summing, it offers an unusually versatile yet chaotic character.

Splitting the chaos.

After a buffered input stage, the guitar signal is split into two separate paths.
One side enters a multi-stage BJT transistor fuzz circuit, running at extremely high gain levels and clipped by highly compressed diodes.
This fuzz path always operates at maximum gain, delivering a constant wall of saturated sound.
The other side travels into a distortion circuit based around an op-amp, voiced to be much darker and heavier than the fuzz side.

The Wrath control – blending and boosting.

The two paths meet at the Wrath control, a dual-ganged potentiometer.
The first gang blends between the fuzz and distortion signals. Turning clockwise emphasizes the wild, high-gain fuzz character, while turning counterclockwise brings out more of the heavier, darker distortion.
Because the fuzz is always running at full intensity, dialing it in with the Wrath control allows players to layer in just the right amount of chaos on top of the distortion texture.
The second gang of the Wrath control simultaneously increases the gain of the distortion path as you turn clockwise, making the blend even more aggressive if desired.

Summing and shaping.

After blending, the signals are summed together using an op-amp stage.
From there, the combined output goes into the Pillar control. Which acts as the master level, and then into the Scorch tone circuit.
Placing the tone control after the level stage gives the EQ sweep a more pronounced and interactive feel.

The Scorch control – balancing extremes.

The tone control works like a scale with a tipping point in the center.
Turning clockwise increases the sizzling, cutting character of the fuzz, while turning counterclockwise boosts the bottom end, emphasizing thickness and rumble.
This allows players to shape the overall voice of the pedal based on their guitar, amp, and style.

Always alive, never gated.

Despite its extreme compression and saturation, Capharnaüm avoids the harsh gating effect common in many fuzz pedals.
The parallel design and careful balancing of gain stages ensure that sustain feels natural, letting notes bloom and decay without sudden dropouts.

Stay tuned for more RhPf Electronics Behind the Scenes!

Want to read more like Behind the Scenes – Capharnaüm How It Works? go to our Behind the Scenes series on our subreddit.