Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
VFE Pedals Personal Capsule Collection
I recently realised that I’d not published this particular selection previously - where all 8 of these were acquired between the years of 2018 and 2020. Some 9 years after the VFE brand first materialised! UPDATE! - I’ve just added a rare VFE Fuzz Cocktail in Hot Pink as my 9th VFE type! (more on that later!)
I’m a big fan of Peter Rutter’s VFE (VonRutter Family Effects) brand of pedals - in particular the circa V2 ’Silhouette’ Editions. I say ’circa’ as there have been so many different artwork and circuit iterations over the years - while the ones of these I like the most have 3 Big and 3 Small Knobs (3B3s) with the Silhouette Style of artworks - as exemplified by my own Alpha Dog, Blues King, and Fiery Red Horse pedals. I like all 8 (9 now!) of those VFE’s acquired thus far - while for instance for the Dark Horse - I tried for the longest time to get hold of one with the jousting knight silhouette. I really like the cartoony edition I finally snagged - but probably overall would have preferred to have acquired another silhouette edition (per my original VFE visual - immediately below! I just never came across one of those in the wild - some of those editions seem to be somewhat rare and unobtanium!
I did a major VFE Pedals roundup back in 2018 (per below visual) - which was at the root of this activity - that mentions most of the different VFE varieties made - along with some of the history of this brand. VFE frequently falls under the radar - but always rises again in the end. While probably its peak is well behind us now. Some really magnificent pedal varieties for sure - particularly in the gain arena!
Interestingly Peter has an obsession with Horses and Hounds (Dogs) - with a number of his pedals with those monikers - including the Dark Horse (DS-1++), Pale Horse (TS808+), White Horse (Optical Compressor), and Alpha Dog (Rat), Dragon Hound (Rat + TS808), and Vomit Hound (Rat + TS808).
These are the 8/9 I've acquired to date (mostly via Reverb.com) :
- Alpha Dog Distortion (Rat)
- Blues King Overdrive (BluesBreaker)
- Distortion3 (MXR Distortion+, DOD 250, MXR Micro Amp)
- Dark Horse Distortion (DS-1++)
- Fiery Red Horse Fuzz (Ram's Head Muff)
- Merman Transparent Overdrive (Klone)
- Vomit Hound Dual Overdrive / Distortion (Alpha Dog + Pale Horse [TS808+])
- Woodchipper Octave Fuzz (Brassmaster)
- [[Cocktail Octave Fuzz - still to land]]
Those have mostly been around the $200 mark - and mostly those prices still hold sway today. The brand frequently goes on Hiatus before it returns again in some guise. Peter has re-issued a number of VFE pedals recently - with all big knobs - so all 6 knobs / controls are the same size now. I much prefer the earlier 3 Big 3 Small editions as I feel they were a very specific part of VFE's trade dress!
The recent reissues included - Alpha Dog, Blueprint PT2399 Delay, Blues King, Bottle Klein Mixer, Bumblebee Compressor + Swell, Choral Reef Analog Chorus, Distortion 3, Dragon Dynamic Overdrive, Dragon Hound Overdrive / Disortion, Merman, Mini Mu Autowah, Old School Vintage Tremolo, White Horse Compressor, Rocket 3-Band / Parametric Mids EQ, Tractor Beam Phaser etc.
You can also buy and download the complete designs / schematics for each of those pedals - for $2 a pop - in order to make your own. In fact over the years Peter has released schematics, boards, and even kits for some of his designs. My Woodchipper / Hydra was made from one of those boards!
I don't particularly like the recent slightly naive style of outline artworks - VFE Pedals were at their best for me 0 for the V2 3B3s Silhouette editions as far as I'm concerned.
Finding these in my ideal editions has been really tricky, and I'm still seeking a couple of these out - including the Duo Fuzz in particular!
I very recently came across a VFE Fuzz Cocktail Octave Fuzz - which is a rare variety - so I've snagged that too for the reference collection - and will update the selection when that arrives as my 9th VFE Pedal. Would be nice to finally snag a Duo Fuzz also - which seems to be incredibly rare / and or avoiding me - most likely because not many were made - and those Germanium components are always tricky to get hold of in the same varieties. The photograph for the Cocktail Fuzz Reverb.com listing is not suitable for this blog - so I will need for it to land - before I can deliver a visual with that pedal type added!
Generally I'm only interested in 3B3s types - and especially those with the refined silhouette style of artworks - I don't know why Peter did not maintain those editions for longer - as for me those are the ones that are the most immediately identifiable as classic peak era VFE pedals!
Further individual pedal details as below! :
Alpha Dog Distortion (Rat+)
Controls - BIG } Level, Gain, Filter, small } Fat, Hard Clipping, Soft Clipping.
One of my most favourite Rat style Distortions - and both one of the first of that class for me, as well as my first ever VFE Pedal - also this is my only VFE Pedal that I got direct from source - some of my others are 2nd hand or from other sources on Reverb.com and Ebay! I really love the dual Hard / Soft Clipping and Fat controls - which really set this pedal apart. There have been some more sophisticated rats since - but this one was in a class of its own for the longest time - and is still a favourite!
Blues King Overdrive (BluesBreaker)
Controls - BIG } Tone, Drive, Level, small } Bass, Hard Clipping, Soft Clipping.
A superb take on the BluesBraker in a very unusual greeny-blue colourway that you really need to see first hand - as it's impossible to fully replicate on-screen. This has the same sort of dual Hard & Soft Clipping controls - for one of the most expressive BluesBreakers out there. That colourway is really super-attractive up close!
Distortion³ (MXR Distortion+, DOD 250, MXR Micro Amp)
Controls - BIG } Drive, Mode : Germanium > Silicon, Level, small } Clipping : Asymmetrical / OD (Clean-Open) / MOSFET, Fat, Filter.
3 x hard-clipping distortions in one - the DOD250 was originally a straight-up clone of the Distortion+ - but then changed its Clipping Diode to silicon. All of these are really just variations of the same type largely - where the onboard controls allow you to set the parameters to exactly the right type for each of those pedals! Great sounding and cleverly conceived circuit!
Dark Horse Distortion (DS-1++)
Controls - BIG } Level, Gain, Comp, small } Clipping : Sustaining Germanium, LEDs, Asymmetrical Silicon, Treble, Bass.
This is one of the very best takes on the Boss DS-1 Distortion - along with the equally brilliant Drunk Beaver Distortion. Both of those are a little ahead of the admittedly excellent Keeley Modded DS-1. This Dark Horse and the Drunk Beaver Distortion - take the DS-1 into uncharted territory - for thicker, beefier, and more satisfying tones overall. The very original DS-1 can be a little thin-sounding and unsuitable for Clean Pedal Platforms like mine. Keeley was the first to beef it up to suitable levels and girth for Clean Platform applications - and the Dark Horse and Drunk Beaver Distortion take that Keeley concept a lot further forward to create almost a completely different pedal!
Fiery Red Horse Fuzz (Ram's Head Muff)
Controls - BIG } Power, Gain, Level, small } Compression, Bass, Treble.
This is a smart take on the circa 1972 EHX Ram's Head Big Muff - with the 3 Big controls largely replicating that original topology, and the 3 Small ones adding quite a bit more.
Merman Transparent Overdrive (Klone)
Controls - BIG } Drive, Treble, Level, small } Compression, Warm, Bottom.
Every one of Peter's gain pedals consist of vastly improved versions of their source circuits - and this Klone style one is another great evolution - with controllable Compression and Warmth!
Vomit Hound Overdrive / Distortion (Alpha Dog / Rat + Pale Horse / TS808) [AKA Dragon Hound, Crown Jewel)
Controls - BIG } Alpha Dog Gain, Pale Horse Gain, Level, small } Fat, Filter, Mix.
The Vomit Hound, Dragon Hound, and Crown Jewell are all versions of the same circuit - which combines 2 of Peter's best - the Alpha Dog (Rat), and Pale Horse (TS808). This was the first of the combined Screamer-Rat circuits - where we had a number following on from there - including one from Magnetic Effects, and Summer School Electronics! The two sides pair up rather superbly - for an even beefier variant of overdrive / distortion!
Woodchipper / Hydra Octave Fuzz (Maestro Brassmaster)
Controls - BIG } Fuzz, Clean, Gain, small } Bottom, Bass, Treble. (Brassmaster)
This is very much a cool take on the 1971 Maestro Bass Brassmaster BB-1 Fuzz - a smart Bass Octave Fuzz - where pristine original editions of that circuit go for $2000+ nowadays. This Woodchipper take is a greatly improved version of that circuit, while my favourite ever Brassmaster - is the TWA Krytikal Mass. This is my one VFE pedal to date that wasn't made by Peter himself - but made using one of Peter's Boards and Schematics. It's a more attractive version of that fuzz - but lacks any labelling - where I've had to add my own!
