
Key Points
Rainger FX is one of the 3 Top Tier UK brands - alongside Origin Effects and ThorpyFX. David Rainger definitely ploughs his own furrow and is one of the Original Auteurs of the pedals scene - with ever distinctly different circuit designs.
Coming into this roundup I was short of a few Minis - where I picked up the Air Space Invader and Deep Space Pulsar from Macari’s, and the Echo X - from Andertons.
I don’t really have much need for the Deep Space Pulsar - that’s there largely for sake of Mini Series completion - while the other 2 are both really handy and will get in on the pedalboard rotation fairly regularly.
There are 3 current Rainger FX pedals that I’ve kind of decided aren’t really for me - the Drone Rainger, Minibar, and Snare Trap. I’ve decided that I’m not pariticularly a fan of Drone Effects - while there is still something about the Drone Rainger that appeals - it has an excellent delay onboard for instance. The Snare Trap is Mono - while the last 1/3rd of my chain is Stereo - so the Snare Trap - however good it sounds - just doesn’t fit in where I would need it to be - at the end of the chain!
I may still get the Snare Trap - and stick it on my Parallel Mixer. So there’s actually hope for both.
For the Minibar though - all my science professors always told me never to mix liquids with electricity (except for a kettle - which is made for that sort of thing!) - and I’m just not comfortable with the mechanic of having to constantly clean out ’the bowl’ for when you swap one liquid for another! All that makes me a little squeamish - and so I’ve avoided that from the start - while it’s one of Rainger’s perennial bestsellers still!
So t
Rainger FX is one of the 3 Top Tier UK brands - alongside Origin Effects and ThorpyFX. David Rainger definitely ploughs his own furrow and is one of the Original Auteurs of the pedals scene - with ever distinctly different circuit designs.
Coming into this roundup I was short of a few Minis - where I picked up the Air Space Invader and Deep Space Pulsar from Macari’s, and the Echo X - from Andertons.
I don’t really have much need for the Deep Space Pulsar - that’s there largely for sake of Mini Series completion - while the other 2 are both really handy and will get in on the pedalboard rotation fairly regularly.
There are 3 current Rainger FX pedals that I’ve kind of decided aren’t really for me - the Drone Rainger, Minibar, and Snare Trap. I’ve decided that I’m not pariticularly a fan of Drone Effects - while there is still something about the Drone Rainger that appeals - it has an excellent delay onboard for instance. The Snare Trap is Mono - while the last 1/3rd of my chain is Stereo - so the Snare Trap - however good it sounds - just doesn’t fit in where I would need it to be - at the end of the chain!
I may still get the Snare Trap - and stick it on my Parallel Mixer. So there’s actually hope for both.
For the Minibar though - all my science professors always told me never to mix liquids with electricity (except for a kettle - which is made for that sort of thing!) - and I’m just not comfortable with the mechanic of having to constantly clean out ’the bowl’ for when you swap one liquid for another! All that makes me a little squeamish - and so I’ve avoided that from the start - while it’s one of Rainger’s perennial bestsellers still!
So there are 13 listed here - which is a pretty decent number - I may still add more of the older ones I passed on - but these 13 are a decent selection anyway. Right across the middle we see different size variants and generations of the Dr Freakenstein Fuzz! Including my DRFF-3LE from 2017 - my first Rainger FX pedal!
Note that most of these come with Rainger FX’s ingenious ’Igor’ Expression Pad - which has a Soft side and a Hard side for different degrees of impact and intensity. For some of these pedals you even combine the use of 2 Igors - like on the most recent Chop Fuzzz!
Most of these are still available on the Rainger FX Webstore - bar the Air Space Invader, Bleep Fuzz, Deep Star Pulsar, Dr. Freakenstein DRFF-3LE-BLK, and DFST-1.

Controls - Volume, Drive, Mix (White Noise), Filter Button, Hi/Lo Q Button.
Envelope Follower Fuzz with White Noise - a sort of of slightly different kind of overtone fuzz - which style David is very well known for. I really like this one - and feel that it's an essential part of David's Fuzz History! A great sounding somewhat crunchy fuzz!
Controls - Bleep / Fuzz, Volume, Overtone, Mod Button, Ratę Button.
This is the 3rd iteration of the Mini Overtone Fuzz I believe - which is somewhat adjacent to the Dr. Freakenstein series - has some fairly significant overlap - this one has always been an essential for me - it was the second acquired - but probably first onto the list! Has a glorious kind of synth texture - still very underrated, and seemingly currently out of production!
Controls - Volume, Tone, Gain, Chorus Speed, Vinyl Scratch.
I really liked this one when it first emerged - and I dubbed it 'The Portishead Pedal' with its combination of Distortion, Sustaining Chorus and Vinyl Scratch Effect. I was hoping that someone would do a Portishead style track for a demo, but no one ever did - it is a very 'Geoff Barrow' style effect - at least to my ears! Someone do me a favour and do a Break Box take on Portishead's Wandering Star!
Controls - Dip, Release, Volume, Invert (Silent by default), Pad.
This is a very unique and unusual device - which comes with an included microphone - which you would typically be expected to place within your band's or studio's bass drum. It typically 'Ducks' the main output signal when the bass drum is hit. While you can also invert it to accentuate each kick drum beat, or else use it entirely manually - without the included Microphone. I mostly use it for punch-in duties myself - and somewhat sparringy. As I said in the intro - I'm never going to get much use out of it - but it remains on tap in case I ever need it!
Controls - Level, Rate, Feedback, Gate, Input Level, Volume, Send, FBK/RATE.
A simple but potent, and texturally distinct gated digital delay. It's left somewhat in the shade by its somewhat more popular Reverb-X sibling. While like that, there aren't too many gated delays around - and the Reverb-X has most of its popularity because of how Mk.gee uses it. The Echo-X could do with an equivalent artist ambassador as its just as good in its own way.
Controls - Volume, Mod : 1 | 0, Rate, Knife switch, Overtone, On/Off Footswitch.
This was my very first Rainger FX pedal - and a very iconic one - one of the last ones before the 'Chop Fuzzz' phase that then took over for the Dr. Freakenstein Series. This one still comes with the iconic 'Knife Switch' at its centre - a gorgeous limited black edition for me - which I bought second-hand from a Canadian! A really cool original fuzz pedal for sure!
Controls - LFO : On/Off, Fast, Slow, Slow/Fast Footswitch, Rate, Chop : On/Off, Overtone (Frequency Intervals), Volume, Fuzz On/Off Footswitch.
This one is 2 generations on from my first Dr Freakenstein - and is the most feature-rich design to date - with so many smart touches - no knife-switch - but with that eyeball VDU - which involves Rainger FX staff peeling off an replacing stickers. This is a fantasistc pedal - with extensive control - but really needs at least a Modulation Mix control - as you can get degrees of choke out at times. It's a very richly textured series of effects - and the Modulation could do with that additional finessing control. While overall this is a gorgeous and beautifully design pedals - sporting Rainger FX's very first custom knobs - which also have stickers in the central indent - I like those original variants the best! You can see the same knobs on the Pull Focus and Razor Fuzz also - but with different inset stickers!
Controls : Altitude (High > Low RQ), Harmonic Overtones, Modulation Speed, Silence (Output Level), Awareness (Envelope Sensitivity), High Sensitivity / Line In Button, Step Modulation / Envelope Mode Button.
A limited edition with one-off stealth design enclosure with blue LED underlighting. This is the mini variant of the Dr Freakenstein Chop Fuzz - pretty much with all those features intact - courtesy of its 7 controls - and of course further manipulated with the included 'Igor' expression pad.
Controls - Flange, Rate, Rocket Noise, Volume, Feedback, Igor Button, Envelope Button.
This is such an interesting Flanger - where the Modulation is digital, but the wooshy white noise / rocket sound is analog. One of my favourite flangers for sure - and certainly for the mini varieties - of which I have several. This is the kind of digital effect that I love - one that sounds very analog - and that is good for life pretty much - not like those many digital editions that you're forever having to update the firmware!
Controls - Pitch 2, Pitch 1, Drones, Instrument Level, Drone 2 Button, 1/2 Tone Button.
I love the look and format of this one, but find it very one-note. Actually 2-note strictly speaking if touching on the literal. You're essentially able to move from none Drone Tone to Another - 2-step, no major thrills - beautiful carry-over from the Drone Rainger - particularly with that window circuit view. While it's an effect I generally get limited enjoyment and scope out of - which has also kept me away from the larger one!
Controls - Volume, Tone, Ramp, Effect, Gain.
This is such a Rainger FX 'Greatest Hits' pedal - featuring elements from 4 of its best pedals - the Freakenbender Fuzz, El Distorto Distortion, Break Box, and Reverb-X. A veritable cornucopia of Rainger FX delights. A really smart pedal with ramped-in Chorus and Reverb over a very Fuzz-like distortion - this one hits very instantly!
Controls - Volume, Tone, Pick Volume, Mode : Sandpaper / Metal / Metal Long / 1 Note, Pitch.
The most recent of Rainger's concoctions - featuring a further evolution of the white noise that appeared on the Break Box and Flanger-X pedals. This great fuzz features really cool twittery synth-like overtones - where I particularly like the Sandpaper (white noise) and twittery Metal Short tones. You get these random synth overtones which follow your playing - another really unique fuzz pedal.
Controls - Level, Size, Distortion, Input, Output, Gate Button, Dark Button.
And last we find Rainger FX's most popular pedal - which has much to do with Mk.gee's signature sound use of this pedal. You can trace the recent pattern of sales to the Rig Rundown of Dijon's touring band - which featured of course Mk.gee as one of the principal proponents. This also led to the JHS 424 Gain Stage Console Preamp. Mk.gee has certainly contributed much to the pedal sector - and the levels of uptake of those effects he has inspired!

