The Rainger FX Break Box is a distortion pedal released in November 20221, built around two unusual tricks: a vinyl record scratch sound that your guitar playing triggers, and a chorus effect that fades in on its own when you hold a note. Rainger FX describes it as a wide-frequency-range distortion pedal with "lots of low-end, good amounts of mids (not scooped), and some searing highs", with the distortion running from a light crunch to a high-intensity heavy setting2.
The pedal is housed in a Rainger FX custom enclosure, asymmetric in shape and finished in pink and black2. Delicious Audio called it "an asymmetrical fuzz pedal" when covering it in January 20233.
Distortion with a vinyl scratch and a fading-in chorus
The Break Box is really two effects sharing one box. The first is the distortion itself, which Rainger FX says goes from a light crunch to a high-intensity heavy distortion, with a frequency balance that keeps the low end and the mids rather than scooping them out2. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson found it to be "a really cool gritty style of distortion that works really well lower down the gain scale too", meaning it holds up as a low-gain dirt box, not just at full tilt4.
The second is the vinyl scratch. Rainger FX bills it as a "vinyl record scratch sound, guitar triggerable", so the scratch fires in response to your picking rather than from a separate button press2. The pitch control sets its character, and Delicious Audio describes the range as running "from a slow hip-hop scratch to a fast manic flick of the deck"3.
The third element is the active sustain chorus. Hold any note or chord for a second or more and a chorus effect fades in, audibly growing the sound2. Delicious Audio explains the timing: the chorus fades in about one second after the last note was played, so it stays off during riffs and only appears on sustained notes, adding what they call a liquid spatial character and a little volume3.
The controls
The Break Box keeps its control set small. Three knobs sit on the top of the pedal, with the scratch pitch control and a trigger sensitivity button alongside them3.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Sets the amount of distortion in the distortion/fuzz section3 |
| Tone | Shapes the distortion/fuzz section3 |
| Vol | Sets the output level3 |
| Pitch | Adjusts both the pitch and the speed of the scratch sound, the way they move together when scratching real vinyl2 |
| Chorus Speed | Sets the speed of the fade-in chorus, from a slowly churning grind to a fast psychowobble3 |
| Hi/Lo trigger sensitivity button | Sets how easily the scratch is triggered3 |
The On/Off footswitch is true bypass2.
The circuit behind the Break Box
The Break Box is a hybrid design. Rainger FX states that the distortion part of the circuit is entirely analog, tweaked over time to give the best sounds in all kinds of situations, while the scratch, the noise gate, the chorus and the chorus fade-up system are all digital2. RockBoard's PedalPedia entry likewise lists the circuit type as hybrid5.
Its lineage runs through two earlier Rainger FX circuits. The pedal is based on the Rainger FX El Distorto overdrive pedal from 2009, with the back half of a Tonebender taken from the Freakenbender, Rainger FX's collaboration with Colorsound2. Delicious Audio describes the same combination: the normal part of the pedal is borrowed from the El Distorto overdrive circuit, with an added Tonebender-style fuzz, at least the back half of it3. Guitar Pedal X's Karlsson summed up the design as "a really clever combination of the Distorto Distortion with David's Tone Bender tone-stack, a delayed-action sustaining chorus"4.
"A really clever combination of the Distorto Distortion with David's Tone Bender tone-stack, a delayed-action sustaining chorus."
For context on the El Distorto side of the family, MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen called that pedal "the most conventional-sounding of Rainger FX's off-the-wall range" and "a great dirtbox"6.
Where it went next
Videos
Demos In The Dark
collector//emitter
Perfect Circuit
Questions
Is the Rainger FX Break Box true bypass?
Yes. Rainger FX states that the On/Off footswitch on the Break Box is true bypass, so the pedal passes your clean signal unaltered when switched off.
Is the Break Box analog or digital?
It is a hybrid. Rainger FX says the distortion part of the circuit is entirely analog, while the scratch sound, the noise gate, the chorus and the chorus fade-up system are all digital.
How much current does the Break Box draw?
Rainger FX lists the current draw as about 60mA, which is modest for a pedal with digital sections but more than a simple analog distortion box.
What does the pitch control do on the Break Box?
The pitch control adjusts both the pitch and the speed of the scratch sound, the way pitch and speed move together when scratching a real vinyl record. Delicious Audio describes its range as running from a slow hip-hop scratch to a fast manic flick of the deck.
How does the chorus fade in on the Break Box?
Hold a note or chord for a second or more and a chorus effect fades in, audibly growing the sound. Delicious Audio reports that it fades in about one second after the last note was played, so it stays off during riffs and appears only on sustained notes.
How big is the Rainger FX Break Box?
Rainger FX measures the custom asymmetric enclosure at 88mm at its widest point, 127mm at its longest point from near to far, and 50mm high with the footswitch unpressed.
Sources (6)
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2026-08-06
- Break Box, Rainger FX
- Rainger FX Break Box, Delicious Audio, 2023-01-31
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2023-08-14
- Breakbox by Rainger FX, RockBoard (rockboard.de PedalPedia), 2026
- Rainger FX El Distorto review, MusicRadar, 2015-01-11
