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moosers
Published on 01/14/11 at 17:47
The Emma Electronic RF-1 ReezaFRATzitz is an overdrive pedal that aims to be an emulation of a tube amplifier. I didn't know anything about Emma Electronic until I used this pedal, which is now discontinued. There is a newer version - the RF-2, but I haven't used it as of yet. The pedal has a simple configuration, with 1/4" connections for input and output and taking it power from a nine volt power supply. It isn't rackmountable since it's a stomp box.
UTILIZATION
There's not much to using the Emma Electronic RF-1 ReezaFRATzitz, as it simply has a series of four knobs for parameters. They control volume, tone, bias, and gain, all of which are pretty standard except for the bias control, which allows you to control the 'amp' sound, changing it from class A to B components. I haven't seen a manual, but users should be able to get away without needing it since it's so easy to use.
SOUND QUALITY
The Emma Electronic RF-1 ReezaFRATzitz is a really thick sounding OD box. It aims to give you a tube amp's distortion sound, and while it doesn't have a real tube inside of it, it still does quite a good job of this. I haven't recorded with it as a player, as a client brought it into the studio that I work at, but this thing absolutely ripped on the recordings we did. The player was using his Fender Telecaster and the studio's Fender Pro Reverb. It's probably best to use this with a tube amp as it's not going to be the same on solid state.
OVERALL OPINION
While somewhat pricey, the Emma Electronic RF-1 ReezaFRATzitz is a very high caliber overdrive/distortion pedal. It's definitely a unique take on an overdrive pedal, as they literally try to copy the sound of breaking up tubes here, which of course is the first true overdrive. This is a pedal that is built to last and should give you years of great work, so it's definitely worth consideration regardless of price...
UTILIZATION
There's not much to using the Emma Electronic RF-1 ReezaFRATzitz, as it simply has a series of four knobs for parameters. They control volume, tone, bias, and gain, all of which are pretty standard except for the bias control, which allows you to control the 'amp' sound, changing it from class A to B components. I haven't seen a manual, but users should be able to get away without needing it since it's so easy to use.
SOUND QUALITY
The Emma Electronic RF-1 ReezaFRATzitz is a really thick sounding OD box. It aims to give you a tube amp's distortion sound, and while it doesn't have a real tube inside of it, it still does quite a good job of this. I haven't recorded with it as a player, as a client brought it into the studio that I work at, but this thing absolutely ripped on the recordings we did. The player was using his Fender Telecaster and the studio's Fender Pro Reverb. It's probably best to use this with a tube amp as it's not going to be the same on solid state.
OVERALL OPINION
While somewhat pricey, the Emma Electronic RF-1 ReezaFRATzitz is a very high caliber overdrive/distortion pedal. It's definitely a unique take on an overdrive pedal, as they literally try to copy the sound of breaking up tubes here, which of course is the first true overdrive. This is a pedal that is built to last and should give you years of great work, so it's definitely worth consideration regardless of price...