{"product_id":"electro-harmonix-the-black-finger-sustainer-pedal-1972-near-mint","title":"Electro-Harmonix 1972 Black Finger Sustainer Pedal Near Mint","description":"\u003cp\u003eNo sales tax for US customers outside California.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis pedal was found by a local customer at a recent yard sale!  Some guys have all the luck!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eElectro-Harmonix was founded by Mike Matthews in New York City in 1968, and the first few years of production — 1969 through the early 1970s — represent the most historically significant and collectible period in the company's catalog. The Big Muff Pi arrived in 1969. The Black Finger arrived in 1972, making this a first-year example of one of EHX's earliest production pedals. The Black Finger was marketed as a distortion-free guitar sustainer — a compressor pedal designed to extend sustain and even out dynamics without adding the fuzz or clipping character of the Big Muff. It occupied a different sonic territory from everything else EHX was producing: clean, controlled, musical compression rather than saturation. The original solid-state Black Finger was produced from 1972 through 1978 — a six-year run that ended before EHX's first closure in the early 1980s, making original examples increasingly difficult to find in any condition, let alone near mint.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"inline-flex\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/uniqueguitar.blogspot.com\/2009\/10\/the-les-paul-recording-guitar.html\" class=\"group\/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover\/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover\/tag:border-accent-100\/60\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover\/tag:text-text-200\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eThe original Black Finger was an early example of optical compression in a guitar pedal context — super clear compression that can really squash your tone in the right way, described by players who know it as among the most transparent and musical compressors produced in the early solid-state era. The triangle knob layout on the earliest examples — present on this 1972 unit — is the visual identifier of first-year production, before the graphics and layout evolved in subsequent versions. Near mint condition on a 53-year-old pedal from a first production year is an extraordinary finding. Exactly as described: the cleanest one we have encountered.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe knobs are likely not original to the pedal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShipping policy:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShipments will require signature on delivery, no exceptions.  If there is damage, the buyer must retain all packing materials intact and picture them immediately and send them to sales@maharsvintageguitars.com.  Less than 1% of our shipments are damaged in transit, and we are committed to making sure your item arrives safely, but we are taking these additional measures to make sure you are happy with your purchase.   \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Electro Harmonix","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56515661562022,"sku":"ACC-0968","price":329.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0455\/7527\/4662\/files\/electro-harmonix-1972-black-finger-sustainer-pedal-near-mint-4504237.jpg?v=1779505994","url":"https:\/\/www.maharsvintageguitars.com\/products\/electro-harmonix-the-black-finger-sustainer-pedal-1972-near-mint","provider":"Mahar's Vintage Guitars","version":"1.0","type":"link"}