The Fredric Effects Scrambled Brainz is a pedal that produces what its maker calls "a harsh upper-octave fuzz with a few ring-mod tones thrown in." It is a clone of the rare and desirable Ampeg Scrambler, an octave-up fuzz from the 1960s, built by the London maker Fredric Effects with a few modern additions.1
What it does and how it is controlled
The Scrambled Brainz has two main controls:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Texture | Sets the amount of upper octave fuzz. Turned down it sounds like a "normal" fuzz pedal; turned up you get octave and ring-mod sounds.1 |
| Blend | Sets the mix with your clean guitar sound.1 |
Compared with the original Ampeg Scrambler, Fredric Effects kept the circuit faithful to the originals but added a 9V power jack, a status LED, true bypass and a volume control.1
Where it came from: the Ampeg Scrambler
The Scrambled Brainz is one of several clones of the original Ampeg Scrambler. Delicious Audio's history of the Scrambler, by Blake Wright and Paolo De Gregorio, notes that "There are clones of the Scrambler around" and lists Fredric Effects' Scrambled Brainz by name among the clones of the original.2
The original circuit sits in a family of octave-up fuzzes. As Aion FX puts it, "The Scrambler is an octave-up fuzz in the vein of the Superfuzz, fOXX Tone Machine and Octavia," although all four circuits use their own techniques to generate the octave, so they all sound different.3 Ampeg itself reissued the Scrambler in 2017 in a modernized enclosure with a treble control and output volume, marketed as a "bass overdrive" with no mention of fuzz.3
On bass
Fredric Effects states plainly that "The Scrambled Brainz sounds great on bass."1 The Blend control helps here: setting the mix against your clean signal is a common way players use octave and ring-mod fuzzes with a bass, and the Scrambler lineage has a bass connection through the 2017 reissue's marketing as a bass overdrive.3
The Scrambled Brainz is a UK-made pedal priced by its maker at £125 GBP. The maker's page gives the price in pounds sterling; no US dollar price is given.
Fredric Effects fuzzes
The Scrambled Brainz sits in a wider range of fuzz pedals from Fredric Effects, including the Deeply Unpleasant Companion, the Standard Fuzz Machine, the DuoFace and the Demon Fuzz. For more on the effect type, see the site's page on Fuzz Pedals.
Videos
mlrecs
timhulio
timhulio
Questions
Is the Scrambled Brainz true bypass?
Yes. Fredric Effects lists the Scrambled Brainz as true bypass, and the pedal also has a status LED and a 9V power jack. These are additions the maker made to the original Ampeg Scrambler design, which the Scrambled Brainz is otherwise faithful to.
What power does the Scrambled Brainz need?
The Scrambled Brainz uses a 9V power jack, one of the modern conveniences Fredric Effects added to the original Ampeg Scrambler circuit. The maker's product page does not give a current draw figure, so check a suitable 9V supply for your pedalboard.
Is the Scrambled Brainz a copy of the Ampeg Scrambler?
Yes. Fredric Effects describes it as a clone of the rare and desirable Ampeg Scrambler, faithful to the original but with a 9V power jack, status LED, true bypass and a volume control added. Delicious Audio's history of the Scrambler also lists the Scrambled Brainz among the clones of the original.
Does the Scrambled Brainz work on bass?
Yes. Fredric Effects says the Scrambled Brainz sounds great on bass. That fits the Scrambler lineage: the 2017 reissue of the original circuit was marketed as a bass overdrive, and the Blend control lets you set the mix with your clean sound.
Sources (3)
- Scrambled Brainz improved Ampeg Scrambler, fredric.co.uk
- Seminal, Vintage Pedals: Ampeg's Scrambler, Delicious Audio, 2016-09-28
- Aperture Octave Fuzz / Ampeg® Scrambler, Aion FX, 2021-07-02
