Fredric Effects Regent 150

The Fredric Effects Regent 150 is a preamp pedal that recreates the preamplifier and EQ circuit of the Vermona Regent 150K, an East German guitar amplifier of the 1970s¹. Fredric Effects, a London company, launched it in July 2019², and it is built with real NOS East German transistors around 40 years old, chosen to get as close to the original amp's character as possible¹³.

The maker positions it as a working tool rather than a novelty: use it as an EQ, as a boost, or leave it on all the time¹. Gearnews describes the Vermona Regent 150K as a common amp model across the Eastern bloc, so the pedal is a way to get that amp's front end on a modern pedalboard without hunting down a 1970s East German combo³¹.

An East German amp's preamp as a pedal

The Vermona Regent 150K was a preamp section built into an East German amplifier of the 1970s¹². Fredric Effects took that preamp and EQ circuit and put it in a stompbox², using a charge pump to match the voltage of the original amplifier¹. That detail matters to players who care about circuit accuracy: the charge pump raises the pedal's internal voltage so the circuit behaves as it did in the amp.

The other half of the authenticity story is the parts. The pedal uses real NOS (new old stock) East German transistors about 40 years old¹, the same kind of components the original amp was built with. Gearnews notes these were chosen "to help get as close to the original as possible"³.

How it fits on a board depends on what you want from it:

• As an EQ: shape your tone with the two-band Bass and Treble controls².
• As a boost: push your amp or another pedal with the Volume control³.
• Always-on: leave it in the chain as a tone enhancer, the way you would treat an always-on preamp⁴.

Fredric Effects describes the results in its own words: "The treble control adds a clean sound which is glassy and precise, and the boosted bass is warm without being flubby"¹.

The controls

The Regent 150 keeps things simple with three knobs⁴:

That is the whole interface. There is no gain knob, no switching between voices, no mid control: the pedal is the amp's preamp, not a modern multi-band EQ. Guitar.com's review lists the controls simply as "Bass, treble, volume"⁵. Players looking for a boost pedal with more shaping options, or a full EQ pedal with a mid band, will find this deliberately minimal by comparison.

Power, bypass and size

The pedal runs on a 9-volt battery or a mains power supply, which is not included⁵. It is true bypass, so when switched off the signal passes straight through⁵. At 109 x 68 x 49mm it is a compact enclosure that fits easily on a small board⁵.

Price and availability

The Regent 150 launched in July 2019 and was available immediately⁴⁶. The launch price was reported differently by different outlets: Guitar.com's launch news gave £150⁴, while MusicRadar, Guitar.com's later news item and Gearnews all gave £120⁵²⁶. Guitar.com's December 2019 review also listed £120⁵. Fredric Effects' own product page currently lists it at £140¹. It can be ordered direct from the company's website³.

What reviewers said

Guitar.com reviewed the Regent 150 Preamp in December 2019 alongside Fredric Effects' Verzerrer distortion, another East German-inspired pedal, and gave the Regent 150 a score of 9/10⁵. The reviewer's verdict:

Guitar.com review, December 2019⁵

That "three pedals in one" framing matches the maker's own description of the pedal as an EQ, a boost and an always-on tone enhancer⁴¹.

Fredric Effects also published a demo of the pedal by Christian at Magnetic Effects¹.

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