The Horrothia FX TEETH is a low gain preamp and overdrive pedal from Horrothia FX, and the second pedal the maker released, following the Type One Chorus Ensemble1. Its core idea is a split signal: Pedal of the Day describes it as having "two sides, a very transparent dry side and an 'edge of breakup' wet side"1. The Saturation knob blends those sides, so the pedal can sit anywhere from clean to nearly full overdrive.
That split makes Teeth flexible. Horrothia positions it as a pedal you can leave on all the time or use as a straight drive1:
- As an "always on" pedal, to brighten up old pickups or add color to a signal chain
- As a standalone overdrive on its own1
Circuit: nine transistors, no ICs
The circuit is where the "Discrete" in the name comes from. Pedal of the Day sums it up1:
"Teeth is a 9 transistor design, all analogue design, using no IC opamps. No modeling, nothing digital."
For a player, that means no digital processing anywhere in the signal path, and no integrated-circuit op-amps: the gain stages are built from individual transistors instead1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Saturation | Mixes the dry and wet sides: full left is clean, full right is almost only overdrive with a hint of clean; it also works as a gain control that increases gain as it turns right1 |
| Gain Stage | Sets the maximum gain, which Pedal of the Day says gives "limitless combinations of clean and drive"1 |
| Clipping | Changes the shape of the overdrive clipping, from a soft squashy compression to a more squared-off, harder, traditional low gain drive1 |
| Breath switch | Adds an airiness to the upper mid frequencies on the boost side, and can help out-of-phase pickup selections cut through the mix1 |
The Breath switch is worth a second look if you use in-between or out-of-phase pickup positions: Pedal of the Day says it gives those selections "some chance to breathe and cut through the mix / bar / bedroom / studio"1.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's reviewer came away positive about how the pedal interacts with the player's core tone1:
"We love how this 'overdrive' just kinda sits perfectly on your tone, not covering up or hiding anything, just enhancing it in the best of ways."
The same review describes the pedal as "a subtle but powerful machine" offering "gorgeous boost, tasty crunch and delicious tonal enhancement around every corner"1.
Teeth in the Horrothia lineup
Players comparing Teeth with other low-gain drives may find the Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer comparison useful context, or the site's preamp pedal page for the wider category.
Videos
Ambient Endeavors
Ponderer Sounds
Pedal of the Day
Sources (1)
- Horrothia FX Teeth Discrete Low-Gain Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2021-03-13
