ThorpyFX releases Kudu overdrive with three clipping modes
August 1, 2026 · 2 sources
ThorpyFX has released the Kudu, an overdrive with switchable clipping, Guitar World reported. The pedal was developed by founder Adrian Thorpe with analog designer Dan Coggins, who sent Thorpe a modified MXR Distortion+ as a gift at Christmas 20241.
Thorpe told Guitar World the Kudu has three clipping options: "Hard clipping, which is LED; Soft clipping, which is silicon; and then Soft+ clipping, they're Schottky diodes"1. He said the Schottky pair has "a response and feel exactly the same as germanium," and that germanium was left out because it "would make the pedal more expensive"1. Guitar Pedal X lists the parts as 2 x 2N4148 silicon diodes for Soft, 2 x red LEDs for Hard and 2 x Schottky diodes for Soft+, with 12 diodes onboard in total, six of them for power management2.
The controls are Level, Bite, Drive and Clip2. Thorpe said the tone control "is not a true tone control; it adds presence and treble, so it's more of a 'bite'. And the control's actually called Bite"1. He described the pedal as "fairly transparent at low-gain settings" and said its mid focus "sits perfectly for a standard tuning guitar"1. On the clipping modes, he said "Soft is great for Marshall-style amps," "Hard is great for something with more sag" and "Soft+ is really if your amp is more present and with less negative feedback, so something like a Two-Rock"1.
"we've decided to release the thing so everyone else can have this pedal where they have to keep it on all the time"
Guitar Pedal X said the Kudu was available on the ThorpyFX webstore, with international dealers to follow2. No US list price was given in either report. Guitar Pedal X described the circuit as "a smart multi-clipping tone-enhancer" for boosting and stacking that also works on its own2.