Fredric Effects Foxrite

The Fredric Effects Foxrite is a fuzz pedal that recreates the late 60s silicon Mosrite Fuzzrite, a two-stage fuzz whose Depth knob blends in a second gain stage so it can move from trashy distortion to full fuzz¹². Fredric Effects describes it as "an exact reconstruction of the original circuit, improved with the addition of a boost stage to bring the volume up to modern expectations"¹. In the maker's words, it is "a uniquely abrasive effect - offering sounds from garagey distortion to full-on octavey, velcro-ripping fuzz"¹.

The pedal is hand built in North London, in a folded metal enclosure custom made for Fredric Effects and powder coated with screen-printed artwork³. It is available direct from Fredric Effects and from selected shops and online retailers⁴.

A Fuzzrite clone with a boost stage

The original Mosrite Fuzzrite runs two gain stages, and its Depth knob blends in the second one. Delicious Audio's Griffin Jennings describes how "with its particular design that blends in a 2nd gain stage through the Depth knob, the Fuzzrite could go from trashy dis[tortion]" upward into heavier fuzz⁵. That single knob is what gives the circuit its range, from a rough, garage-style edge to a much denser fuzz.

Fredric Effects' reconstruction keeps that circuit intact but adds a boost stage, which the maker says brings the output volume "up to modern expectations"¹. Vintage 60s fuzzes often run quieter than modern pedals, so the boost stage lets the Foxrite hold its level against the rest of a pedalboard. Premier Guitar's 2013 announcement of the original Foxrite described the same design: "It is a reconstruction of the original circuit, improved with the addition of a boost stage to bring the volume up to mo[dern levels]"².

The components inside include a 2N3904 and two BC108A transistors, as noted in Guitar.com's review of the MkII³. Those are silicon transistors, matching the silicon version of the original Fuzzrite rather than the earlier germanium build.

The Rite/Rong switch

The Foxrite MkII features a central slider switch labeled "Rite" and "Rong"¹. Guitar Interactive Magazine's Jonathan Graham reported at the MkII's announcement that the switch "adds greatly to the versatility of th[e effect]"⁴.

The two settings work like this:

Guitar.com's reviewer found the second setting worthwhile:

Guitar.com, on the Foxrite MkII³

In practice, Rite gives you the pedal as the 60s circuit behaved, while Rong trades some of that character for a more familiar tone-control sweep³¹.

History and versions: from Mosrite Fuzzrite to the MkII

The Mosrite Fuzzrite was designed by Ed Sanner and built between 1966 and 1968, with one version fitted with silicon transistors and the other with germanium components⁶⁷. The silicon version seems to have been much more widespread, and it was also whitelabeled or cloned as the Orpheum Fuzz, the Guild Foxey Lady, and the Electro-Harmonix Axis Fuzz⁷. Premier Guitar's reviewer of a modern Fuzzrite recreation noted that "even among these sects, divisions over the merits of germanium and silicon versions persist" among fans of the circuit.

The original pedals went through several construction methods. Fuzzboxes' history of the Fuzzrite records that early versions were assembled on phenolic paper boards, with components soldered directly to one another "without the aid of any printed tracks, eyelets, or turrets," and that those pedals initially had red molded 100nF input, output and coupling capacitors⁸. Around 1967 to 1968 the Fuzzrites were assembled on a smaller eyelet board, and a 1968 version was built by Mosrite together with Sprague, with the circuits encased in orange Sprague "modules"⁸.

Fredric Effects released the original Foxrite in 2013, priced at £90 alongside the West Germany Vintage Tremolo². The MkII followed, adding the Rite/Rong slider switch to the same circuit reconstruction and boost stage¹⁴. By 2015 the MkII carried a UK price of £95³, and the maker's current listing prices it at £140¹.

The Foxrite is not the only modern take on the circuit. Keeley's Custom Shop built a Mosrite FUZZrite recreation with a Boost Mode added to the original design⁹, and Fredric Effects itself has gone on to build a range of other vintage-circuit fuzzes, including the Deeply Unpleasant Companion, the Utility Perkolator MKII, the Standard Fuzz Machine and the DuoFace.

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