Frantone Electronics is an American Philadelphia-based hand-made
effects pedal
An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...
manufacturer founded and run by Fran Blanche. Blanche operates a
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel
where she discusses the company's history and showcases various electronics projects.
History
Frantone Electronics was founded in 1994 in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...
by Fran Blanche, a self-taught
electronic engineer
Electronics engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering which emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current ...
. The company was one of the world's first boutique guitar effects companies.
Over the years, the company's boutique pedals would be used by notable musicians including
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
and
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative ...
The company's growth was never steady; Blanche moved Frantone repeatedly, being
gentrified
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the econ ...
out of several NYC-area locations.
In the early 1990s, Blanche built an effects pedal for herself named the "Fuzzy-Wuzzy". She subsequently founded Frantone and designed the Hep Cat, the company's first commercial product, which was followed by more pedal designs in the years to follow. Blanche took a hiatus from operating Frantone and worked at
Electro-Harmonix
Electro-Harmonix (also commonly referred to as EHX) is a New York City-based company that makes electronic audio processors and sells rebranded vacuum tubes. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. It is best known for a series of gu ...
,
from about 1997 through 2000,
where she designed the company's 2000 version of the Big Muff pedal.
Blanche also went on hiatus from Frantone in 2009, but revived the company in a 2016
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
campaign to restart production of her Cream Puff pedal.
After some years out of production, the company announced the release of new pedals in 2017 as well as reintroductions of the Peach Fuzz and Cream Puff designs as limited editions.
In 2021, Fran announced in a video on her channel that she will no longer be manufacturing the pedals herself, although she is open to a licensing deal.
Fran Blanche
Blanche is a strong supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, and a transgender person, as explained in the video "When Google Calls you a Slur"
in which she demonstrates Google's search engine auto populating the suggested term "Is Fran Blanche a tranvestite?"; she addresses this as a slur, prompting her subscriber and fanbase to mass contact Google to rectify the search results. The video got the attention of Google and as of May 1, 2022, this term no longer appears in Google searches for Fran Blanche or Frantone.
She is a Senior Member of the
IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...
since April 2021.
She has two Youtube channels: One is ''FranLab'', where she discusses and demonstrates vintage electronics, and the other is ''Frantone'', which includes the making and maintenance of her Frantone guitar pedals, along with some music she and others have performed with them.
Fran is a skilled guitar player and has previously performed as lead guitarist in a band called The Mysterons.
References
Further reading
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External links
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* {{YouTube, u=FrantoneElectronics, Frantone
Electronics companies of the United States
Guitar effects manufacturing companies
Manufacturing companies based in Philadelphia
Senior Members of the IEEE