The Red Witch Seraphina is a hand-made fuzz pedal with a switchable octave up, built around four matched germanium diodes. It was a collaboration between Red Witch Pedals and Reverb, limited to 100 units and sold exclusively through Red Witch's Reverb store1. Red Witch's own product page now lists it as sold out, and it was available only for a very limited time2.
Red Witch describes the pedal's range as running "from a leviathanic wall of fuzz to a more classic vintage feel," and from "incredibly searing, laser beam tones to the bass heavy 'American Woman' sound"23. The circuit uses four germanium diodes with through-hole components, and the enclosure is finished in vintage cream powder coat2.
A germanium-diode fuzz with a switchable octave up
The Seraphina is centered on four germanium diodes, with through-hole components and Wima capacitors inside56. Germanium diodes clip the signal at a lower threshold than silicon, which is part of why players seek them out for vintage-flavored fuzz. Premier Guitar's launch announcement framed the build plainly: "Built the old way. By Hand. In New Zealand. By Ben Fulton."5
The pedal carries two footswitches. One engages the fuzz, and the second engages what Red Witch calls the "incendiary octave up," which adds an octave above your note on top of the fuzz2. Pedal of the Day found that engaging the octave "really opens up" the sound1. Because the octave sits on its own footswitch, it can be kicked in and out while the fuzz stays on; Gearnews noted this "makes this fuzz a lot more versatile than many other fuzz/octave effects on the market"7. The octave cannot run on its own without the fuzz engaged.
The Seraphina was Red Witch's third partnership with Reverb on a limited effects pedal, following the Ophelia and the Concordia3. It sits in a Red Witch fuzz lineup that also includes the Fuzz God IV, the Fuzz God III, the Euphorium Fuzz, and the Zeus Bass Fuzz Suboctave.
The controls and internal trim pots
On the outside, the Seraphina keeps it simple with three top-side-mounted dials4:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fuzz | Sets the fuzz amount, from a classic vintage feel to a wall of fuzz21 |
| Tone | Shapes the fuzz's tonal balance4 |
| Volume | Sets the output level4 |
Pedal of the Day described the fuzz range as going "from a classic, vintage feel to a leviathanic wall of fuzz"1.
Inside the enclosure are two trim pots that shape the character further7:
- Octave trim pot: sets the octave up between a "singing sound" and a "blend of octave and fundamental fuzz" tone7
- Fuzz girth trim pot: dials in the fuzz girth, letting you thicken the fuzz to taste7
These are internal adjustments rather than performance controls, so the pedal presents a simple three-knob face while the fine tuning lives under the hood47.
Availability and pricing
The Seraphina launched in May 2020 at $299.99, exclusively at Red Witch's Reverb store4. Gearnews listed a UK RRP of GBP 249.69 plus shipping at the same time7. Red Witch's product page gives the price as 349 USD2. The run was limited to 100 units1, and by the time of Pedal of the Day's 2021 review it was already "a scarce pedal"1. Red Witch's page now lists it as sold out2.
The Seraphina runs exclusively from a DC 9V wall-wart power supply and takes no battery25. Plan on a 9V DC output on your pedalboard power supply rather than an internal battery.
What reviewers said
Reviewers focused on the pedal's range and its separate octave footswitch. Pedal of the Day called it a fuzz "unlike any fuzz Red Witch has created before," with "a wide range of fuzzy options in a simple control package"1. Gearnews highlighted the two-footswitch layout and the internal trim pots as the features that set it apart from other fuzz and octave pedals on the market7. MusicRadar called it Red Witch's most ambitious fuzz pedal at launch3.
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Questions
Does the Red Witch Seraphina take a battery?
No. The Seraphina runs exclusively from a DC 9V wall-wart power supply, with no battery option. That means it needs a spot on a power supply or an isolated 9V output rather than a battery clip inside the enclosure.
Is the Seraphina true bypass?
Yes. Red Witch states on its product page that the Seraphina is true bypass, so with both footswitches disengaged the signal passes through without buffering.
How many Red Witch Seraphina pedals were made?
The run was limited to 100 units, produced as a collaboration between Red Witch Pedals and Reverb. Red Witch's own page now lists the pedal as sold out, and it was only available for a very limited time.
Can you use the octave without the fuzz on the Seraphina?
No. The octave up is engaged by a second footswitch on top of the fuzz, so it stacks onto the fuzz sound rather than standing alone. Gearnews noted that the separate footswitches still make it more versatile than many other fuzz and octave effects.
Where is the Red Witch Seraphina made?
It was built by hand in New Zealand by Ben Fulton, Red Witch's designer, using through-hole components. Red Witch also ships orders from a US warehouse.
Sources (7)
- Red Witch Pedals Seraphina Fuzz Octave, Pedal of the Day, 2021-01-25
- Seraphina, Red Witch Pedals
- Red Witch unleashes its most ambitious fuzz pedal with the Seraphina, MusicRadar, 2020-05-04
- Conjure a “leviathanic wall of fuzz” with Red Witch and Reverb's new Seraphina pedal, Guitar World, 2020-05-04
- Red Witch Pedals Unveils the Seraphina, Premier Guitar, 2020-05-01
- Red Witch summons the Seraphina, a four-diode octave fuzz, Guitar.com, 2020-05-04
- Red Witch conjures up Seraphina, a flexible 4-diode fuzz octave pedal, gearnews.com, 2020-05-04
