The Fox River Devices Autumn is an overdrive pedal built around FET clipping, which the maker describes as subtle and audible only at high gain: "At high gain you can even hear some subtle harmonics from FET clipping"1. Depending on where the knobs are set, the pedal is capable of turning from warm, open and subtle to dark, heavy, and crisp1.
A limited, seasonal release
The Autumn's EQ is low/mid ranged focused, with a frequency hump around 700 Hz to 1 kHz depending on settings1. The circuit is designed in a way where tone will darken as gain is increased, and at maximum gain the pedal is capable of producing approximately 55 dB of output1.
The tone darkens as gain is increased, so the pedal sits differently in a mix at low and high gain settings. Its EQ is low/mid ranged focused, with a frequency hump around 700 Hz to 1 kHz depending on settings1.
Circuit and sound
The Autumn is an asymmetrical hard clipping circuit that uses red, yellow, green, and orange LEDs. At high gain, the reviewer noted you can even hear some subtle harmonics from FET clipping on top of the LED clipping1.
Pedal of the Day described the pedal's range this way:
"this pedal is capable of turning from warm, open and subtle to dark, heavy, and crisp depending on where the knobs are set"
A few traits define how it sits in a rig:
- EQ character: low and mid-range focused, with a frequency hump around 700 Hz to 1 kHz depending on settings1
- Tone behavior: the circuit is designed so that tone darkens as gain is increased1
- Output: capable of producing approximately 55 dB at max gain1
The mid hump around 700 Hz to 1 kHz puts the Autumn's emphasis lower than the classic Tube Screamer-style mid peak covered in our Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 comparison, which players often hear as a different flavor of midrange push1.
Videos
Pedal of the Day
Pedal Haven
Matt Dunn
Questions
Is the Fox River Devices Autumn still in production?
No. The Autumn was made as a limited release: Pedal of the Day reported in November 2022 that the Seasonal Drive Series pedals are hand made in small batches and only produced for a limited time. The pedal was being funded through a Kickstarter campaign at launch, so availability depended on that run rather than ongoing production.
Which pedal came after the Autumn in the Seasonal Drive Series?
The Winter. Pedal of the Day reviewed the Fox River Devices Winter in January 2023 as the second of four planned seasonal overdrives, with a Spring pedal announced as coming in the near future. The Autumn was the first pedal in the series.
What kind of clipping does the Autumn use?
The Autumn is an asymmetrical hard clipping circuit that uses red, yellow, green, and orange LEDs. At high gain settings, the reviewer noted you can also hear some subtle harmonics from FET clipping in the circuit.
Where does the Autumn's mid hump sit?
Pedal of the Day described the Autumn's EQ as low and mid-range focused, with a frequency hump around 700 Hz to 1 kHz depending on the knob settings. That places the emphasis in the lower midrange rather than the upper mids.
Sources (1)
- Fox River Devices Autumn (Seasonal Drive Series), Pedal of the Day, 2022-11-23