Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Pasta Pedals' FrankenSTEEN Fuzz take on Dwarfcraft Devices' Eau Claire Thunder is every way phenomenal - underlined by a really smart design
So this FrankenSTEEN Fuzz makes use of the Effects Layouts Chaos Bolt PCB which they in turn describe as a ’Noisemaker of a Muff’ which describes it very neatly. It’s a somewhat full-on Muff style of a fuzz - getting maximum mileage out of 7 smart controls and dual footswitches.
Controls - Volume, Tone, Gain, Feedback Tune (Red), Tone Switch : Bypass / On, Green LED Switch : On/Off, Input Gain Time, Left Feedback Footswitch, Right Bypass Footswitch.
Ports - TS In, 9V DC [-] 10mA, TS Out.
This is a full-on saturating noisemaker (yay ’Thundering’ even per its original moniker!), and with my being something of a ’Boss Guy’ I started with all the knobs in the middle, and the two switches to the left - pretty much exactly as per my visual.
I tweaked those controls in every direction - but always came back to those core startup settings - they sounded consistently the best and most balanced!
The FrankenSTEEN sounds great pretty much every way you turn those dials - while too much Feedback Tune can choke out the output a touch. With that control in the middle - it delivers just the right degree of saturation and sustain on the Left Footswitch.
The FrankenSTEEN sounds more full-on and textured with the Tone Bypassed, and when you switch on the Green LED via the second switch - it further adds to the pedal’s gain profile - kind of beefs it up a touch more.
All-round a very satisfying pedal - in fact - about as instantly satisfying as these come. As I tried to navigate away from the central starting poisons - but always ended up with near enough the same settings.
The artwork is obviously of Gene Wilder from Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein Movie - and I sought out a suitable ’Frankenstein Castle’ for the backdrop. At one stage I was going to use the actual prop from the Young Frankenstein film - which might have proven too close for comfort for the copyright police - so I settled on a suitable image library spooky Frankenstein’s Castle as pictured - and added some suitable lightning.
I first covered Charles Costa back at the tail end of August this year- where I picked out 6 of my favourite Pasta Pedals of his!
I have had the compact Dwarfcraft Baby Thunder for several years, and I always intended to to get in the vertical 1590BB Enclosure Gold Standard Edition - for which this FrankenSTEEN is something of an improved clone on that - with extra mods and more ! So this was me finally getting hold of a full-fat Eau Claire Thunder!
I aim to get a few of these Pasta Pedals - while the FrankenSTEEN was always the first choice for me. I intend to go for the Sasquatch Germanium Muff with Octave next - then Charles' take on the Dude - which I never got around to getting in either. And form then on I will be guided by Charles - as to which his favourite pedals are.
I really love the aesthetic of his pedals - and they're really well made - mostly utilising the very best PCB's and components available.
A previous model of the FrankenSTEEN had the Green LED visible on the facia - while that is now tucked away and concealed into one of the corners of the PCB (which you can see on the final visual below!). We do get a really cool Black Main Footswitch in this latest edition - which superbly matches the artwork and more than makes up for the visual disappearance of the Green LED. It's those little details that inspire!
Really smartly designed and well-built overall.
Las time I checked there were still a few pedals available on the Pasta Pedals' Reverb.com Store - but there are none currently listed.
In any case Charles mostly makes these from commissions - so you're best hitting him up via his Instagram Page.
I'm staring to power down for the year now - in terms of acquisitions. I have all the 'Best of the Year' posts to complete for the year - which will be started early December. Anyone who launches in December will have to wait for me to return from vacation in Ultima Thule - in early January!
I will of course be hitting up Charles in the new year for more of the same!
Still just the one demo - as below - this is a fantastic evolved Muff for sure!
Demos
2025 Best New Fuzz Pedals of the Year
