EMMA RF-1 ReezaFRATzitz

If you've ever used an overdrive pedal, you know how it works

When you want that definitive sound that this pedal produces, it's the greatest there is. But it only has one sound. Shure, you can vary how much of that sound you want (I usually use it with the gain set between 12 and 5(max) O'clock) with the gain and volume, but it stays with it's sound. The more volume you give it, the better it sounds, but I usually turn the volume down because I'm playing through a 1974 Marshall 100W MK2 Lead, which is annoying the whole street enough as it is.

The only thing that annoys me about it is the power cable which will fall out a bit too easily. Of course, I could just use a battery instead, but I hate having to change them.

Never dealt with them..

I play prograssive rock-blues and when I want to get dirty, this one does it without destroying the basic blues tone. It is after all the pedal which I use the most.

You need a little time getting used to the controls, but once you figure out which knob controls which parameter you're set to go. If you're used to using pedals this won't be any problem at all, but for someone who aren't used to using pedals getting the different filters to work together it will be a big problem at least for the first few days. For the experienced player it isn't as intuitative because it is innovative and you'll have to learn how to use it, but as I said before it's quickly learned.

The other reviewers have already covered the sound of this thing. It's extremely versatile. I use this with a Peavey Classic 30 a Dunlop Crybaby 535Q and a Boss ME-33 multifx board (for delays and modulation effects). The Reezafratzitz is definately less noisy than the multifx when turned up high, but when you really press the gain you'll get a little noise. I recently changed my 9v adaptor that's feeding the pedal to a better power supply though and this helped cut down the noise to a minimum. This gets a 9 because of the little noise that slips through.

I bought this directly from the music store that make them (www.orkestergraven.dk). When you look in their windows from the street you can look directly in at them handwiring these pedals at a table inside the shop. Each pedal is an individual handwired and handwelded piece and as a such I expect that they're sturdy and extremely reliable as the workmanship is top drawer. The pedal itself is enclosed in a solid square metal box. Even though the pedal could probably be more sturdy I can't really see how that would be done, short of giving it it's own tank armour.

I live in ?rhus and normally buy my music supplies at the shop that make these pedals. I can tell you that the customer support probably won't ever get better than this. If you have a problem you just go down there with your pedal and they'll fix it for you! It's your typical local music supplies shop, that just happens to make some of the best pedals in the world.

I was needing a distortion pedal to shape my sound after struggling with making my multifx pedal sound the way I wanted it. This thing can do almost everything genrewise. Fiddle a little with the knobs and you have a complete arsenal of sounds at your fingers.

I play Blues and Classic Rock and this thing can cover it very well. The fantastic thing is that with the bias control you can simply "close and open" the distortion/overdrive. It's a control over the sound that I've never had before.


Let me say clearly that it isn't a coincidence that the pedal got a 6/6 rating on the leading Danish internet magazine for musicians. It has it's own sound and you have to work with it on it's own premises. It isn't a DS-1, a Tubescreamer, a RAT or a Muff.
It's entirely it's own pedal in it's own right and with it's own sound, but the thing is that even though this is just a little pedal to come out of a little company in ?rhus, Denmark this pedal is worthy of comparison to all these big names and all that at a very affordable price considering it's entirely handwired. That's an amazing feat and something that Emma Electronics should be applauded for.

4 knobs: Level, Tone, Bias and Gain. Level, Tone and Gain are self-explanatory, but Bias is special. It allows you alter the type of gain, from bluesy Fender-like overdrive, to heavy Mesa-Boogie-like distortion.

A bit of experimenting is needed to get good tone out of the pedal. On top of that, it reacts very diffenrently to different amps and guitars.

I have used this pedal with two amps, a Peavey Bandit 112, and a Peavey Classic 50.
I normally play a Fender Jap Strat with a SD Lil' 59 in the bridge.

The pedal sounds awesome. From the bluesy overdrive to the heavy distortion, the pedal sounds crisp and clear even with maximum gain. In essence, the acts like a gain channel on a very good amp.
The only problem is that the pedal can be a bit noise with bias and gain turned up, but not enough to be annoying.

I have jumped around on the pedal for four months now, and it hasn't even been scratched. Of course, I couldn't resist taking it apart to see how it was built. It seems very solid and the interior shows good worksmanship.

All-in-all, it seems very reliable, but I ALWAYS bring some kind of backup.

Additionally, there is a small problem with the design. The 9 volt DC jack is placed a little awkwardly, so you risk with disconnecting the power-supply when jumping around on the stage. A strategically placed bit of tape solves this quickly and efficiently, though.

The Pedal is handmade by a small firm in Aarhus, Denmark. I heard good things about the pedal, but Aarhus is a bit too far from Copenhagen where I live. I phoned them, and the guy I talked to was very friendly. He offered to mail the pedal to me free of charge, so I could check it out for a couple of weeks. If I did not like it, I could return it to them.

I have played for 10 years, mostly rock, with a touch of blues. This pedal delivers all kinds of distortion, and does a very good job of it. It has become my favourite distortion, even beating the, in my opinion, very good gain channel on my Peavey Classic.
I would definitely buy a new one if mine got lost somehow.

This thing is ready to play in minutes, and still leaves room for toying around. The RF-1 doesn't come with a manual, but the 4 buttons are easy to put to GOOD! use: Level, Tone (Hi-boost/Hi-cut), Bias, Gain, On/off switch and a red LED. Level is easy to adjust. Tone also - adjust it to fit the sound of your amp. The Bias is really cool. Turn it counter clockwise and the sound is open and shimmering, turn it up and it tightens up giving you a really ballsy sound. Gain goes from sweet blues to roaring hell!

I am using a G&L S500 and a handbuilt hollowbody with Gibson PAF pu's into a Cry-baby wah, TS-9, Emma RF-1, DOD A/B box into my 70's Fender Pro Reverb (40w Twin Reverb). From the A/B box i route the signal into a Roland GP-100 MultiFX and into the Fenders 'clean' channel (no reverb, tremolo) and the other channel to the.... u guessed it.. the luxurious input on the fender providing tremolo and reverb.
The ReezaFRATzitz is not noiseless but doesn't produce an alarming amount of hum.
It sounds great for a pedal. I was looking for something to add a convincing compressed classic rock sound (Slash, Craig Ross, Jimmy Page, etc.) to my amps really nice clean sound. I was considering everal options like adding a marshall top (or similar) with a vintage cab or a Koch Pedaltone preamp. The extra amp option was a nice idea but clumpsy and expensive. The Koch is great but also pretty expensive. Then I read about the Emma RF-1 ReezaFRATzitz.. 'The Best Distortion Peadal In The World'. I checked it out and bought it in ten minutes. In my opinion it's a future classic and the price will only go up!
The sound goes from bluesy to nu-metal it covers all bases very nice, but what really makes it great is its responsiveness to pick and input volume. It reacts like a tube amp, so you can basically set the RF-1 to thunderous drive, back down your guitars volume and be nice and cool - but still clear! - and then turn your volume up for that saturated solo! The value for money is unreal!
As a pedal I would rate it 10, but for me it's actually an alternative for a second channel/amp so the ratings should go higher!

Seems rugged, solid metal casing, good quality plastic knobs, on/off switch seems a little light weight but will propably stand the test of time.

Called the company to ask for dealers. They were very friendly and I'm sure I would receive 1' class service if I should call them again.

I play cover rock from the 70's and up. Been playing close to twenty years. Have been through a number of amps: Acoustic G100T, Roland JC-160, Marshall JTM45 and currently plays my Fender Pro Reverb which is a keeper. I would buy a new Emma pedal in a split second if it was lost. It's the most musical OD/dist.-pedal I've ever heard. The alternative is a high-end preamp.