Jack White’s Third Man Hardware & Beetronics Drop Limited-Edition Fuzz Pedal Built in a Tuna Can
Jack White's Third Man Hardware teams with Beetronics to release the Old Zoo Lion Meat Fuzz—a limited 333-unit pedal housed in a vintage tuna can
Jack White’s Third Man Hardware has teamed up with boutique gear maker Beetronics FX to unveil one of the most eccentric stompboxes of the year: the Old Zoo Lion Meat Fuzz. Housed in something that literally looks like a vintage can of tuna, this limited-edition release blends a bizarre aesthetic design with pure, old-school analog power.
Strictly limited to just 333 units worldwide, the collectible pedal sold out almost instantly upon its release.
Thick Vintage Tone Meets Radical Simplicity
While Third Man Hardware is no stranger to fuzz pedals, the Old Zoo Lion Meat stands out for its hyper-streamlined approach. Built around Beetronics' distinct tuna-can enclosure, the stompbox strips away complex controls in favor of a single-dial setup labeled the Phlegmatic Roar.
This lone knob controls the pedal's overall output volume, leaving the intensity of the fuzz to be driven directly by the player’s electric guitar volume knob:
- Rolled Back: Delivers a glassy, highly articulate clean tone.
- Cranked Wide Open: Unleashes a roaring, saturated wall of vintage fuzz.
In true Beetronics fashion, the aesthetic details extend inside the unit. The underside features a clear acrylic backplate that reveals the company’s signature bee-shaped circuit board trace.
Unboxing the Lion Meat: Artwork and Packaging
The packaging for the Old Zoo Lion Meat is as unconventional as the pedal itself. Designed by long-time Jack White visual collaborator Rob Jones, the pedal ships in an over-the-top blister pack fashioned to look like a vintage butchered meat package.
The artwork and branding play heavily on the biblical story of Samson and the lion:
"Eat up, then plug in to give your guitar a belly full of bees, like the carcass of Samson’s legendary leonine corpse." — Third Man Hardware & Beetronics
Price, Availability, and Where to Buy
The Old Zoo Lion Meat carried an original retail price of $150 and was sold exclusively via Reverb.
FOMO: A Scalper's Delight!
Because the production run was capped at just 333 units, primary stock vanished in minutes. Guitarists hoping to snag one on the secondary market are advised to add the pedal to their Reverb watchlist to catch future resale listings.
Sounds like the scalpers will love this collaboration and the limited run, a great excuse to push up prices.
Hopefully, there could be a standard run at some point to kill the inflated hyped prices we are about to see online.
This release continues a string of high-profile Third Man Hardware collaborations, including the Eventide Knife Drop synth-octave pedal.
Meanwhile, Beetronics continues to push creative boundaries across the industry, recently making waves with its Bee Bee Dee analog delay.
- +Unique, iconic tuna-can enclosure design
- +Single-knob simplicity encourages creative playing
- +Old-school analog fuzz tone
- +Highly collectible limited run (333 units)
- +Exceptional packaging artwork by Rob Jones
- +Clear acrylic backplate reveals circuit design
- −Extremely limited availability (sold out immediately)
- −No secondary tone-shaping controls
- −Single knob requires reliance on guitar volume for fuzz intensity
What makes the Old Zoo Lion Meat Fuzz different from other Beetronics pedals?
The Old Zoo Lion Meat stands out for its radical simplicity and unique tuna-can enclosure design. Unlike many pedals, it features only a single knob controlling output volume, forcing players to use their guitar's volume knob to dial in fuzz intensity. It's a hyper-streamlined approach to fuzz that prioritizes aesthetic creativity alongside analog tone.
How many Old Zoo Lion Meat Fuzz pedals were made?
The Old Zoo Lion Meat Fuzz was strictly limited to 333 units worldwide. The pedal sold out almost instantly upon its release, making it a highly collectible boutique item for Third Man Hardware and Beetronics fans.
Where can I buy the Old Zoo Lion Meat Fuzz?
The pedal was sold exclusively via Reverb at its original $150 retail price and has since sold out. Secondary market resales occasionally appear on Reverb, so interested guitarists are advised to add it to their watchlist to catch future listings.
