The Frana Effects White Wave Fuzz Boost is a fuzz and boost pedal in one enclosure, built around a Green Russian Big Muff style fuzz circuit with a separate boost stage in front of it. Pedal of the Day's 2017 review describes it as "conjuring up Green Russian Big Muff fuzz with tons of Low end and longer sustain than the original," and notes it was "Modeled after the boost-before-Muff styles of Jack White and Thurston Moore"1. For a player, that means a big, low-heavy fuzz that can be pushed harder by kicking up the boost, rather than running a separate boost pedal into a separate fuzz.
The fuzz side: Green Russian Big Muff
The Green Russian Big Muff is a variant of the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi, which the maker classifies as a "Fuzz / Distortion / Sustainer"2. Among players the Green Russian has a particular reputation: a bassist commenting on Guitar FX Layouts put it this way: "i'm a huge fan of the original green russian muff. it's massive and the fuzz is smooth and creamy"3. Premier Guitar's reviewer highlighted how the Green Russian responds to the guitar's volume control, praising "the Green Russian's capacity to move from white-hot fuzz to rich, mellow overdrive-type distortion with a quick flick of" the volume knob4. That volume-knob sensitivity is a trait of the circuit the White Wave draws from, so rolling the guitar volume back is a usable way to clean it up.
Electro-Harmonix later reissued the Green Russian Big Muff, engineered by Gino Maisano, who told Kit Rae it was the reissue he was most proud of: "Honestly, it's probably the Green Russian Big Muff reissue. I'm really happy with how it turned out."5
Controls
The White Wave keeps its control layout simple, with one knob for each half of the pedal.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Kick | Adjusts the boost: clockwise for maximum boost, counterclockwise to dim the loudness1 |
| Level | Makes the pedal louder or quieter; used to increase the sharp screaming fuzz, with a nice range of tones to explore1 |
The Kick control is the heart of the design. Because the boost sits before the fuzz, raising it drives the Big Muff style circuit harder rather than simply making the output hotter. The Level knob then sets the overall output, and Pedal of the Day found plenty of headroom there, writing that the pedal "has more output volume available than just about any pedal that's come through our office"1.
Build and hardware
Pedal of the Day's review describes a common set of construction features across the Frana Effects line, which the White Wave shares1:
- True bypass high quality foot-switches
- Neutrik 1/4 inch jacks
- Switchcraft DC jacks
- High quality Wima and Panasonic capacitors
- Fairchild and Central transistors
- Made in USA resistors with 1% tolerance
Videos
Frana Effects
Pedal of the Day
Frana Effects
Questions
Is the Frana White Wave Fuzz Boost based on a Big Muff?
Yes. Pedal of the Day's review describes the White Wave as conjuring up Green Russian Big Muff fuzz, with tons of low end and longer sustain than the original. The Green Russian is a Russian-built variant of the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi, known among players for a massive, smooth and creamy fuzz character.
Is the Frana White Wave Fuzz Boost true bypass?
Yes. Pedal of the Day notes that all Frana Effects pedals feature true bypass high quality foot-switches, and the White Wave is built with the same hardware standards as the rest of the line, including Neutrik 1/4 inch jacks and Switchcraft DC jacks.
What does the Kick knob do?
The Kick knob adjusts the boost section. Turning it clockwise gives maximum boost, while turning it counterclockwise dims the loudness. It is the control that pushes the fuzz harder, in the boost-before-Muff style the pedal was modeled on.
Who made the White Wave Fuzz Boost?
The White Wave Fuzz Boost was made by Frana Effects, a builder whose pedals share common construction features such as true bypass foot-switches, Neutrik 1/4 inch jacks, Switchcraft DC jacks, Wima and Panasonic capacitors, Fairchild and Central transistors, and made in USA resistors with 1% tolerance.
Sources (5)
- Frana Effects White Wave Fuzz Boost, Pedal of the Day (pedal-of-the-day.com), 2017-08-14
- Green Russian Big Muff Pi, Electro-Harmonix
- Guitar FX Layouts: Mojo Hand Colossus Fuzz, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2015-11-18
- Electro-Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff Review, Premier Guitar, 2018-02-05
- Green Russian Big Muff π reissue by Electro-Harmonix, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
