How many different types of overdrives can one Englishman churn out? Adrian Thorpy seems determined to find out.
The ThorpyFX Kudu started as a modified circuit gifted to Thorpy by Dan Coggins—the legendary Lovetone wizard who’s been making guitarists poor since the 90s. Coggins handed over a tweaked classic at Christmas 2024, and Thorpy, bless him, couldn’t just say “thanks, mate.” He had to build a pedal around it .
What emerged is a “tone-enhancing stacking overdrive” that claims to make everything sound better. Bold. But here’s the thing: it actually works.
Inside are twelve diodes, six of them just for power management. The remaining six give you three clipping flavors:
- Soft (2N4148 silicon) – classic compression and mid-push
- Hard (red LEDs) – open, less compressed, more headroom
- Soft+ (mystery Schottky diodes) – the one everyone’s losing their minds over. It sounds “extraordinary and incredibly Germanium-like,” with enhanced harmonics and touch sensitivity that rivals a good rangemaster .
The Bite control handles brightness and sizzle, but it’s not just a tone knob—it interacts with what comes before and after. Shift it and your other pedals respond differently. That’s the point. The Kudu is designed to be stacked, to push and be pushed, to make everything around it sound more alive .
£209 (~$250 USD). 30mA draw. True bypass. Another notch on Thorpy’s ever-growing belt.
How many overdrives can one company make? Apparently, as many as they want. And this one’s a keeper.
