Thorpy FX - anyone looking at these?

[motterpaul]

Has anyone looked into these new booteek pedals? They are currently hot on TGP. https://thorpyfx.com/

The build seems to be all inline analog, mostly turret with axial electrolytics and oversized caps (great for the vintage look). I see some vintage germ transistors, also.

The enclosure are really well-designed ergonomically, with recessed and protected control knobs so you don't bang them with your toes during a gig. All connections are up top, which is good (and easily done) because the enclosures are basically oversized.

These look like they would be very easy to backwards engineer if you had one or even some good gut shots.

[Pavlos]

they certainly do look to be of interest and nice home grown (British) builder for a change. Something really nice and honest here (Unscrupulous builders take note) is that there is no trying to hide what the pedals are based on/developed from, just simply trying to build the best possible vesion of it that he can, to the highest standards, using the best possible components......hence the price! though to be fair, all the reviews I've read about them say thay are built to withstand a nuclear blast and sound great, so perhaps some justification there

Now if anyone does manage to draw up a layout for any of these, JohnK will have to supply the enclosures  

[PMowdes]

I heard their fuzz was supposed to be awesome.  I'd be interested to see how they have implemented the two band EQ into the triangle muff circuit.

[rocket88]

Nothing really special from what I've seen of gut shots and from the clips IMHO. I don't know what boards of theirs you've seen, but what I've seen its all typical pcb.

Muffroom Cloud:


Gunshot:


The only one I've seen on turretboard is what appears to be a fuzzface clone:


They look neat due to the enclosure, the rest is just hype.

[Travis]

Actually there are 3 trannies on that tagboard build and a Ge diode. Judging by the layout I'd say it's a Buzzaround and judging by the component selection (Newmarket Ge) I'd say it actually looks pretty fuckin top knotch

[rocket88]

oop, missed that one on the far left. got to agree with you on that one being a buzzaround type of fuzz.

idk, about the rest of their builds though. they have 4 pedals, and i think the turretboard one was either a short run or something special that's not made anymore, so i don't think that's representative of their builds. but, that's my opinion.

[Travis]

Yeah that Buzzaround build looks great but I wasn't wowed by the sound of the Mushroom fuzz in the PGS video. Not bad, in fact way too perfect for my taste. You know how I like em. I like a Muff when the note explodes out of the amp when you hit the strings hard, this sounded really tame from what I heard. Not bad but doesn't sound like something I'm looking for personally

[PMowdes]

After a bit of digging it turns out that these guys are 20 minutes down the road from me.  I wonder if they like visitors?  Probably not, but it cant hurt to ask :)

[Frank_NH]

Neat.  Build quality looks excellent and rather unique.  I'm sure they're not breaking any major new ground circuit-wise, but I for one appreciate well-built, good sounding, basic effects.  Hope they do well.  

[Beaker]

I'm in two minds about them. I really like the fact that they are British, and they have taken a fresh look at enclosure design - something I appreciate as an ex-toolmaker.

However the enclosures look horribly over-engineered. Sure you can't hit the knobs with your toes, but unless your middle name is Sasquatch, is it really necessary? I can imagine having to get your fingers in there to turn the knobs being a bit of a pain. In my eyes they are just plain fugly as well.

The tagboard builds look really nice, but Travis' builds look even better. There is nothing  really special about the PCB builds at all. Geiri uses some stunning looking PCBs in his pedals - I'd take one of his anyday on that front.

Finally, they really don't sound that great to me. Maybe I'm getting jaded, but all these "ultimate" boutique pedals just sound slightly boring to me, with little real difference between them.

[motterpaul]

Before I gig or even just rehearse I set my pedals and amps to fixed spots and I don't change anything after setup. I start with the board off, set up the amp, and add pedals (setting all knobs) one at a time. Then I mark the spots for each knob with a day-glo marker so I know it's in the right place.

In my experience that's the only way to get exactly what you expect when you use all of your pedals. The worst possible is when a volume knob gets turned full off when you are unpacking and you don't notice it until you hit that pedal for your big lead solo in the opening song. Or a chorus pedal where the depth & speed get turned full CW.

I mark them because the worst is when knobs get moved and you can't figure out which ones they are.
When playing you only have few milliseconds to hit that pedal, and it is easy to get sloppy when thinking about the next chord and maybe moving in to sing a BU vocal.

Of course there are times when you want something different out of a pedal during a set, but these days most pro guitarists who do "setup" articles have everything pre-set to a large extent. That is why pedalboards get so big, and rack gear has user-configurable presets.

So, to me having those knobs recessed is a major buying point. I almost never fiddle with any settings once I am into a set - unless it is to fix something that is not where I wanted it in the first place.

[rocket88]

Beaker I'm right there with you. Just looks neat, but that's all.

As far as marking a settings and keeping them and all that most pro musicians do one of four things. One nothing at all. They set things how they want and just play, looks at J. Masics who has the most compact board I've ever seen, it's massive, and he just plays and without any markings. At least the times I've met him and talked to him and saw his board, and saw them live. Two, they mark the setting on the pedal with a marker, I've seen this countless times. Three, they set everything where they want it and, and use gaffer tape/duct tape, to tape the knobs in place. Or four, they have a micro controller that controls what's on when, with the board either in front of them or somewhere in the back.

Digital rack mounts are for a lot of different reasons, none of which I've seen due to fear of changing a pedal setting.

Ive got a fairly large pedalboard, 18"x28", currently with 19 pedals. Never once do I worry about my settings changing when I'm stomping around. I think if someone's worried about or do change settings when stomping on a pedal you're too ruff and clumsy and I don't know how they can play without constantly hitting wrong cords or notes, IMHO. Amps I personally never had an issue with my settings changing, I know where I like my tonestack, and all I do is adjust my gain and volume to match the setting. If my tonestack moved I can change it in a sec.  Just my $0.02 of course.

I look at this cage for the pots and agree over engineer for no reason, but add cost and perceived value IMHO. The pedals looks cool, but nothing special. Which is typical TGP hype. I mean Ibanez had a similar concept where the knobs were able to recess into the enclosure after you find your settings, I think it was the Tone-Lok series.  

[Pavlos]

I actually quite like the look of the enclosures, they are at the very least identifiable, I also quite like that it is not easy to accidentaly adjust the knobs, though granted, that does make it slightly less easy to adjust them deliberately so I guess that is an advantage to some but less so for others. Personally I tend not to fiddle too much once I've found what works best for me so the protection for me is an advantage, though I'd hate not to have the option of tweaking things if I wanted to.

Beaker wrote

Finally, they really don't sound that great to me. Maybe I'm getting jaded, but all these "ultimate" boutique pedals just sound slightly boring to me, with little real difference between them.

I don't think you're necessarily jaded, more that you just know what you like and these aren't for you, there are plenty of great pedals that don't do anything for me either. Nothing actually bad about them but they just don't suit me, and likewise things that I love would perhaps leave others wondering if I've lost my mind (Which I have, so if you see it please be kind to it and ask it to return home even if just for a vist, ta!) Aren't the majority of 'boutique' pedals either direct clones or slightly tweaked versions of only a handful of classic designs? if so, it maybe shouldn't be a surprise to any of us if a lot of them sound very similar....maybe that's why we build our own?

Geiri does make some fantastic looking boards, theyt are a work of art in themselves!

[Pavlos]

I think you're right about the Ibanez pedals being called tone lok, ugly grey things and the knobs felt really flimsy, yamaha used to have the same sort of knobs/pots on the APX elctros as well for a while. Other ideas I've seen to try to protect knobs/setting from being inadvertantly altered are the frosted clear clip on housings for the cheaper plastic danelectro pedals a few years back and I'm sure I've seen something similar being advertized for the digitech hardwire pedals as well?

[rocket88]

I remember the danelectro plastic thing, and the yamahas too. I don't remember which one came out first though, but I'm sure there's something from way back when, like the knobs are in a recessed section of the enclosure or something. Never any new ideas in he wonderful world of pedals. Lol

[Pavlos]

if memory seves me right it was the yamaha guitars that had them first, early - mid 90's when the backs had the textured coating to look a bit like ovation bowl backs, I think the ibanez pedals followed a a couple of years afterwards and then the danelectros with their 'knob shrouds' possibly late 90's early 2000's? hmmm.......now there is a possible name for a pedal........maybe someone should make a fuzz called a knob shroud (Tuts and shakes head)

[Travis]

Beaker wrote

I'm in two minds about them. I really like the fact that they are British, and they have taken a fresh look at enclosure design - something I appreciate as an ex-toolmaker.

However the enclosures look horribly over-engineered. Sure you can't hit the knobs with your toes, but unless your middle name is Sasquatch, is it really necessary? I can imagine having to get your fingers in there to turn the knobs being a bit of a pain. In my eyes they are just plain fugly as well.

The tagboard builds look really nice, but Travis' builds look even better. There is nothing  really special about the PCB builds at all. Geiri uses some stunning looking PCBs in his pedals - I'd take one of his anyday on that front.

Finally, they really don't sound that great to me. Maybe I'm getting jaded, but all these "ultimate" boutique pedals just sound slightly boring to me, with little real difference between them.

First off, thanks for the compliment you're way too kind :)

Secondly, I agree with you on the enclosure. It's a little ugly to me. Just don't like the proportions or artwork personally.

Third, I feel similarly jaded.. It's been a while since I've been impressed by a new boutique pedal. Really the only fuzz builder I'm willing to shell out the cash for at the moment is DAM. David just gets the sound right to my ears, and the reliability and aesthetics are awesome too. Love my DAM pedals, would love to get more in the future.

As for Thorpy, I expect they will continue to do well, and I respect what they are doing although I'm not sure it's for me

[Muadzin]

I almost never marked my pedals, I don't use tape, I stack them as close as possible next to each other and I have used many different means of transporting my pedal boards, ranging from canvas covers to hard cases. I had power cables free on top of pedals, I had them underneath the board. Considering all that I'm amazed at the few times knobs or switches got knocked out of setting. Those knobs seem to be fairly resistant to change. Those few times I had to readjust knobs I tend to spot the differences quite easily.

I can't say the same about amp knobs. Those seem to be incredibly susceptible to the slightest movements. Not to mention prone to breaking off.

As for this bootweek builder, as long as they're honest as to what they're building and not trying to sell us YATS as the most radical innovation since the invention of the printing press I'm fine with it.

[IvIark]

I think Thorpy is a member here, or at least has posted in some threads in the blog, and also at FSB.
Good luck to him

[nocentelli]

IvIark wrote

I think Thorpy is a member here, or at least has posted in some threads in the blog, and also at FSB.
Good luck to him

+1 pretty sure thorpy was responsible for posting a fair few vero layouts back in the day