Monster distortion. Harmonic overtones controlled by knob, LFO, or unique foot-controlled pressure pad. Built-in noise gate. Hi/Lo intensity button...

This is an extreme tone-mangling distortion, adapted from John Hollis' 'Crash Sync' circuit. It's the same circuit as that used in the original Dr Freakenstein Fuzz (click here for that page), housed in our own original design steel desk-type enclosure, with true bypass footswitching incorporated.

This 'OSC' knob sounds great at any setting, but also is really exciting as you adjust it - like a cross between a wah wah and a phaser. So an LFO option is incorporated to modulate this control (giving a triangle wave-shape, speed adjustable from a slow sweep to a fast wobble). There's a switch ('MOD') on the front panel to turn this on or off, the status and speed of the oscillator shown by the red and white throbbing meter backlight.

DrFF-3 guitar effects pedalHi/Lo Button
The DrFF-3 has a hi/lo intensity pushbutton on the back panel, switching the overtone from a lower 'inside the sound' to a higher-pitched in-your-face zip. On the low setting it's possible to get a strong - perfectly tracking - low octave introduced, especially when the guitar's neck pickup is selected. Add an LFO fast wobble, and great thick organ-y tones are possible.

As part of how the distortion circuit works, the Dr Freakenstein has an impressive fixed-setting noise gate built in, creating dead silence between notes (which is very strange for a distortion).

IGOR
DrFF-3 guitar effects pedaAlso, being the Dr Freakenstein Fuzz, of course it has an assistant called Igor - which is a postage stamp-sized pressure pad that you tread on. This plugs in via mini-jack to either tweak the OSC according to how hard you press, or to adjust the bias of the modulation range; on a fast modulation setting, this can give an effect reminiscent of a bubbling synth, sweeping down from high cutoff to low. Igor is like 'aftertouch' on a synth - but for guitarists. It's a new thing - tiny, cheap, light, and practically no moving parts. One Igor comes with each Dr Freakenstein.

There's also a meter for monitoring your input signal, plus - for a full gothic 'laboratory' vibe, it's mounted in a miniature steel desk console, complete with knife switch that you throw to turn it on.

DrFF-3 guitar effects pedalKNIFESWITCH
The knifeswitch turns the power on - like plugging a lead into the input sockets of most other pedals. On throwing it, the orange control-illumination LEDs come on. The DrFF-2 has true bypass, and on pressing the 'On/Off' footswitch the input meter backlight comes on steadily, showing the fuzz is in circuit.

MAIN FEATURES
*Collossal wall-of-fuzz sound
*Totally silent between notes
*Steel desk enclosure (130mm x 133mm footprint) unique to Rainger FX, with all sockets out of the way on the top panel
*Controllable by the Igor foot expression pad - virtually indestructible, no 'right way up' - just drop it on the floor and use it.
*One Igor supplied with each unit
*Incredible industrial styling
*Hi/Lo intensity switch for choice of overtone presence
*Can go frighteningly loud
*LFO (with rate control) to modulate the 'harmonic overtone'
*Igor also tweaks the LFO - and works with the Rainger FX Compactotron C-2 (Igors are interchangeable)
*Meter monitors input signal with throbbing backlight (LFO speed)
*Powered by 9 battery or via 'DC in' socket
*Black leatherette paint finish for extra protection
*Hard-wired true bypass footswitching