evoking a supercharged Fuzz Face with a
hint of Roland Bee Baa or Fuzzrite. Unlike
some specimens of those classics, however,
there’s nothing approaching a volume drop
with the Freakenstein. You can be quite
confident it will rise above the fray in
almost any context. Through a small amp
like a Fender Pro Junior, the Freakenstein
sounds incendiary. Through a larger amp
like a Twin, it can sound every bit as dangerous, though a big clean amp will highlight some of the scratchier, buzzier, more
’60s-styled facets of its voice—no bad
thing unless you’re looking for smooth,
singing distortion.
Sweeping the osc. knob can alter that
voice in ways from subtle to heavy—
emphasizing octave overtones or squashing bandwidth to get throatier or more nasal variations on the basic fuzz voice. It’s not the easiest for dialing in exactly what you want, but
it does add a very deep layer of tailoring that
considerably expands the breadth of colors.
The Freakenstein is designed to be used
all-out. A built in noise gate—not a bad idea
on a fuzz this hectic—means that running
your guitar less than wide open finds your
RATINGS
Pros: Versatile, if hectic and unpredictable at times. Great
for out-of-the-ordinary-to-radical fuzz for riffs and leads. Nice
palate of sci-fi effects.
Rainger FX, $355 street, raingerfx.com
Cons: Has to be used with guitar volume wide open.
Tones
Ease of Use
Build
Value
signal crapping out prematurely. And if you
don’t practice using the pedal a bit—
especially in a band context—you can easily
find yourself in situations where it’s tough
to pull back the throttle. Once you have a
handle on the volume, tailoring the depth
and rate of the LFO becomes very intuitive.
Using the Igor footcontroller is the best way
to manipulate the LFO on the fly, though
it’s not always completely predictable—
particularly because it can vary in effectiveness,
depending on whether you’re on a hard floor
or a carpeted surface.
The Verdict
With its test-instrument-like design, the
brilliant and inspired Dr Freakenstein
Fuzz is a dream device for studio-oriented
tone manipulators. But while it’s easiest to
envision it as a recording tool, this pedal’s
ferociously loud and cutting voice makes it
a great candidate for live situations where
you’re less interested in tonal purity than
achieving the sonic equivalent of a machete
hacking away in a slasher flick.
• Three Iconic ‘60s Tremolo Circuit Algorithms • Three Classic Reverbs from the ‘60s, ’70s, & ‘80s • Tap Tempo Switch Input • True Bypass • Selectable TRS Stereo Input • Made in the USA
®
strymon.net/flint
