Fredric Effects Accomplished Badger

The Fredric Effects Accomplished Badger is an original two-stage boost pedal: an op-amp buffer/boost driving a germanium transistor gain stage. Fredric Effects describes it as usable as a sparkly clean boost, to just push an amp to breakup, or for a grittier saturated sound like a torn speaker or an overloaded recording desk tone¹. The current version is the MKII, an update of the original 2016 design, and it is in production and available to buy at £140¹².

A two-stage op-amp and germanium boost

The circuit is an original design, though its tones are based on some classic boost pedals, as Gearnews noted at the 2016 launch³. The signal path has two stages: an op-amp buffer/boost first, then a germanium transistor gain stage⁴. That split is what gives the pedal its range. Gearnews described the two characters plainly: one stage is a nice clean sparkly boost that gives you an extra push when you need it, and the other is far grittier³.

The germanium side is where the character comes from. The transistors are individually selected vintage new-old-stock germanium components, tested by the maker for optimal gain and low leakage¹. Germanium transistors are the same parts behind classic fuzz and boost circuits, and testing for leakage matters because germanium behaves less predictably than silicon.

Guitar.com's reviewer, Michael Watts, found the two gain controls interact in a useful way: ramping up the germanium gain while keeping the op-amp gain low adds an enticing sizzle, and the harder you push it the closer it gets to a chewy low-gain fuzz².

The controls and internal DIP switches

The MKII keeps its external controls simple and puts the deeper options inside the box².

The three DIP switches sit on the circuit board¹. With them off, the pedal behaves as a boost; switching in the gain and clipping options pushes it toward overdrive and distortion territory¹. Watts found the Badger "turns refined with a throaty bark" that increases further when tinkering with the internal DIP switches². He also noted the pedal does all this without sucking your tone when switched off, or adding noise when switched on².

Power: 9V, run at 18V inside

The MKII incorporates an internal charge pump to run at 18V from a 9V input¹. For a player, that means a standard 9V supply powers the pedal while the circuit gets the extra headroom of 18V, which typically means more clean range before the op-amp stage breaks up. Guitar.com lists the MKII as 9V mains power only², so there is no battery option.

The original, the MKII, and where it came from

Fredric Effects, a London-based builder, announced the original Accomplished Badger in September 2016 as a two-stage boost with a germanium transistor gain stage, at a UK RRP of £95⁴³. The MKII arrived as an update of that 2016 design, housed in a single-berth silver enclosure². The headline change in the MKII is the internal charge pump running the circuit at 18V from a 9V input¹; the two-stage op-amp and germanium architecture carries over from the original¹.

What reviewers said

At the 2016 launch, Gearnews' reviewer came away impressed by the range:

Guitar.com's Michael Watts reviewed the MKII in December 2021 and scored it 8 out of 10, concluding²:

Fredric Effects also hosts a demo video of the MKII by Joe Perkins, which walks through the pedal's controls and sounds¹.

Videos

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