MusicRadar Verdict
A powerful gated fuzz with a range of features to animate it either statically or in performance.
Pros
- +
Harmonically-rich fuzz tones. Adjustable modulation and OSC. Fun.
Cons
- -
That power switch may not be for all...
MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.
The ethos of London-based Rainger FX is that pedals should sound great, be totally reliable and fun to use. The Dr Freakenstein Fuzz DrFF-3 fulfils those criteria.
"This pedal delivers glorious, harmonically-rich fuzz, albeit via a noise gate"
This pedal won't even power up unless you engage the laboratory-style knife switch, bringing life to the monster.
And a monster it is: this pedal delivers glorious, harmonically-rich fuzz, albeit via a noise gate, so you get silence between notes; but you need to have the guitar volume max'd and play carefully to avoid unwanted sonic artefacts.
An OSC knob, which controls the harmonic overtones, is effectively a tone control for the fuzz and for dialling in a low octave via a hi/lo switch that offers two different fuzz voices. There's also adjustable modulation for the OSC for sweep or tremolo effects.
The doctor has an assistant named Igor, too: a foot-controlled pressure pad that you step on to tweak the OSC or the modulation range, so filter sweeps, wah-like effects, bringing the low octave in and increasing modulation, are all possible.
"It's fantastic, playing with my old mate": Ringo Starr joins Paul McCartney for emotional Got Back tour finale in London
“It’s better in every way. The second version took what the first could do and made it five times as useful”: Waleed on Digitakt II, Ableton Live and overcoming creative block
“Why am I using this digital monstrosity when it flies in the face of all my principles that I have acquired over decades?”: Guthrie Govan makes the case for the all-digital guitar rig – it’s all about the F-word
