The Foxpedal City is an overdrive pedal built around the classic Tube Screamer circuit, paired with an independent boost in the same box. Foxpedal's own description of it was direct: "The classic screamer brought to life in a flexible and dynamic package. The City is the dreamer's screamer."1 Where a stock 808-style pedal gives you tone, level and drive, the City adds controls for bass content, treble clipping, midrange focus and the character of the clipping itself, so a player can push the familiar screamer sound in several directions without touching another pedal.
The pedal was later revised as the City V2, an "808 Style Overdrive + Boost"2 with an updated boost circuit, a smaller enclosure, top-mount jacks and soft-touch relay switching3.
What the controls do
The City keeps the three knobs a screamer player expects and adds two more, plus two switches. Here is how Foxpedal described each control1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drive | "All the way from low transparent sizzle to tube-cracklin crunch." |
| Tone | "The class TS tone control." |
| Level | "You know… how loud the thing is." |
| Body | "Adjust the amount of bass content to your signal to give you some meat when you want to get down." |
| Presence | "Adds some treble clipping to liven up single note playing." |
| Flat switch | "To lessen the mid focus." |
The Body and Flat controls are the ones that set the City apart from a stock Tube Screamer. The screamer circuit is famous for cutting bass and boosting midrange, which is why it cuts through a band but can sound thin on its own. Body adjusts the amount of bass content in your signal, and the Flat switch lessens the mid focus, so the pedal can go from a traditional mid-forward push to something closer to a flatter, fuller drive1.
The Presence control is a second, separate treble tool. Rather than only shaping the tone like the Tone knob, it adds treble clipping, which Foxpedal says livens up single note playing1. For lead work, that means extra definition and bite on top of whatever the Tone knob is doing.
Clipping options: red LED and MOSFET
The City carries a clipping toggle with two positions, and Foxpedal's descriptions of the two are blunt1:
- Red LED: "for loud, aggressive nastiness"
- MOSFET: "for lovely textured smoothness"
Diode choice is one of the main ways overdrive circuits differ in feel. LEDs need a higher voltage before they start clipping, so the red LED setting holds together at higher input levels and clips harder when it does, which suits a louder, rougher drive. MOSFETs clip more softly and asymmetrically, which players generally hear as smoother and more compressed. Having both in one pedal means the City covers two very different drive characters without a second box on the board.
The City V2
The V2 kept the same basic idea, "the classic screamer brought to life in a flexible and dynamic package"3, but reworked the hardware around it:
- An updated boost section, "now using the powerful Ebenezer boost"1
- Dual footswitches, including an independent clean boost4
- 5 dials and 3 toggle-switches4
- Top-mount jacks and soft-touch relay switching3
- "A much smaller form-factor"1
The independent clean boost is the headline change. The City V2 carries dual footswitches, one of them an independent clean boost, alongside 5 dials and 3 toggle-switches, all in what the maker calls "a much smaller form-factor" than the original1. Guitar Pedal X's 2020 roundup of compact overdrives counted the City V2 among them at $239, noting its "combination of dual footswitches, including independent clean boost, 5 dials and 3 toggle-switches"4.
The smaller enclosure and top-mounted jacks are practical changes for pedalboard users: jacks on the top face rather than the sides mean the pedal occupies only its own footprint width, with patch cables running behind it13.
Where the pedal came from
The City began as Foxpedal's take on the classic screamer. The maker described the original in its own words: "The classic screamer brought to life in a flexible and dynamic package. The City is the dreamer's screamer."1 The V2 keeps that screamer foundation, with the maker still describing it as "The classic screamer brought to life in a flexible and dynamic package."1 What changed is the housing: the V2 moved to "a much smaller form-factor"1.
The V2 also brought practical changes to the pedal's build. It moved to top-mount jacks and soft-touch relay switching1, a bypass design that avoids the coloration some players hear from cheaper switching schemes. Guitar Pedal X listed the City V2 at $239 in its 2020 roundup4, which is the most recent dated price for the pedal.
The City and City V2 date from before and around this transition. Players shopping secondhand should check which version they are looking at, since the V2 differs in enclosure size, jack placement, switching and boost circuit.
Videos
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Questions
What does the Flat switch do on the Foxpedal City?
The Flat switch lessens the mid focus of the drive circuit. A classic Tube Screamer-style overdrive pushes the midrange hard, which helps a guitar cut through a mix but can sound honky on some amps. Flipping the Flat switch backs that off for a more even tonal balance.
What is the Ebenezer boost in The City V2?
The City V2 replaced the original boost section with what Foxpedal called the powerful Ebenezer boost. It is an independent clean boost with its own footswitch, so you can leave the overdrive alone and hit the front of your amp harder for solos or louder passages.
Does the Foxpedal City use true bypass?
The City V2 uses soft-touch relay switching rather than a mechanical true-bypass switch, which gives the same effect of removing the pedal from the signal path with a quieter, more reliable footswitch action.
Are the jacks on The City V2 top-mounted?
Yes. The City V2 moved to top-mount jacks, along with a much smaller enclosure than the original. Top-mounted jacks sit above the pedal rather than on its sides, which saves horizontal space on a pedalboard.
What does the Presence control do on the Foxpedal City?
The Presence control adds some treble clipping to liven up single note playing. It works alongside the standard Tone control, which Foxpedal describes as the classic TS tone control, giving you two ways to shape the top end.
Sources (4)
- Foxpedal The City, Delicious Audio, 2017-06-23
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2021-05-03
- Foxpedal The City V2 Overdrive Boost, Delicious Audio, 2017-06-07
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2020-03-29
