The Frederic Effects Regent 150 is a preamp pedal from the London-based maker Frederic Effects, built around the preamp of the Vermona Regent 150K amplifier, a model that was common across the Eastern bloc. To get as close to the original as possible, the pedal uses 40-year-old East German NOS transistors, and a charge pump matches the original unit's voltage123.
What it does
The Regent 150 has three controls labeled Bass, Treble and Volume that let you shape your sound2. Guitar.com's report describes the same layout as a two-band EQ1.
Frederic Effects describes the sound as having clean, glassy highs, with bass that, when boosted, stays warm and defined, with lows that do not get flubby2. In practice, gearnews suggests you would normally use it as an EQ or perhaps as a boost, or leave it on all the time as a preamp2.
"It’s an interesting pedal and the sound in the video suggests this could do a nice job as a clean, almost HiFi-like preamp."
Background and availability
Guitar.com announced the pedal as Fredric Effects' new Regent 150, bringing vintage Soviet sounds to modern pedalboards, when it launched in July 20193. The charge pump inside matches the original Vermona unit's voltage, which is how the pedal reproduces the amp's preamp voicing on a modern board1.
At launch it carried an RRP of GBP 120 and could be ordered direct from the company's website2.
The price given here is the launch RRP in pounds sterling as reported at the time, not a US dollar figure.
Videos
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Questions
What is the Frederic Effects Regent 150 based on?
The pedal is inspired by the preamp of the Vermona Regent 150K amplifier, a model that was common across the Eastern bloc. To get as close to the original as possible, Frederic Effects built the pedal with 40-year-old East German NOS (new old stock) transistors, and used a charge pump to match the original unit's voltage.
How do you use the Regent 150 on a pedalboard?
As gearnews puts it, you would normally use it as an EQ or perhaps as a boost, or leave it on all the time as a preamp. The reviewer suggested the sound in the demo video pointed to a nice job as a clean, almost HiFi-like preamp in terms of overall character.
What does the Regent 150 cost?
At launch in July 2019 the Regent 150 carried an RRP of GBP 120, and it could be ordered direct from the company's website.
Sources (3)
- Fredric Effects’ Regent 150 preamp is inspired by an East German unit, Guitar.com, 2019-07-31
- Frederic Effects Regent 150 pedal: Rock the Bloc with a vintage East German preamp, gearnews.com, 2019-07-26
- Fredric Effects’ new Regent 150 brings vintage Soviet sounds to modern ’boards, Guitar.com, 2019-07-24
