The Horrothia Triage is a preamp and overdrive pedal from the British builder Horrothia Effects, hand built one by one in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK12. It is an all-transistor, ground-up Horrothia design: a JFET preamp, followed by an internal clean-level trimmer, feeds an overdrive stage built around a transistor-based discrete opamp, with no chip ICs anywhere in the circuit13. Delicious Audio called it "a high-end front end for all, from clean to nasty," noting that it works as both a front-end preamp and an overdrive3.
Horrothia describes it as a tool that spans a wide range: dialed right down it serves as a front end to brighten up vintage pickups, and wound right up it delivers compressed, crunchy overdrive. RockBoard's PedalPedia says it works for bass, acoustic and electric instruments1. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson characterized it as a "beautifully elegantly textured low to mid gain overdrive"4.
A JFET preamp into a discrete overdrive
The circuit is what sets the Triage apart from most overdrives on a pedalboard. Instead of an opamp chip doing the clipping, the overdrive stage is made from transistors forming a discrete opamp16. Ahead of it, the JFET preamp provides the input stage, and an internal clean-level trimmer after the preamp lets the builder set the clean level inside the pedal16.
The Triage was born from the same DNA as Horrothia's Teeth, the company's low-gain overdrive, and shares some circuit and tonal similarities with it13. Pedal of the Day put it as "dwelling on the wet side of the Teeth's design," with boost, grit and level covered6.
The controls: HF balance and Mid Peak
The original Triage carries three knobs plus a voicing switch4. The two shaping controls players interact with most are the HF balance knob and the MID PEAK switch.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| HF balance | Cuts or boosts the high frequencies; RockBoard's PedalPedia says that dialed to full it acts "like a hot knife through a band mix"1 |
| MID PEAK (switch, off) | The Triage acts as a full range boost1 |
| MID PEAK (switch, on) | Engages a distinct, carefully chosen mid bump1 |
Delicious Audio described the mid bump as Tubescreamer-style when engaged, and noted that with the Mid Peak switch off and the HF knob centered, the pedal acts as a full range boost3. Pedal of the Day's reviewer highlighted the HF control in a band context:
"The HF balance control is a high frequency cut or boost, dialed to full acting like a hot knife through a band mix."
Power: 18V, 39mA
The Triage runs on 18V DC, center negative, drawing 39mA1. That voltage requirement is worth noting for anyone planning a pedalboard around it, since many common power supplies top out at 9V on their standard outputs. When Horrothia later upgraded the pedal into the Triage Deluxe, Guitar.com's reviewer Richard Purvis made the point directly in his verdict on the Deluxe: it "sounds great with 9V but needs 18V to show its full power"5.
History and versions
The original three-knob Triage dates from 20224. Delicious Audio covered it in August 2023 as the Triage Preamp, a discrete transistor pre-amplifier born from a rib of the Teeth3, and Pedal of the Day reviewed it in January 20236.
The Triage goes back to 2022, when Horrothia released it as a three-knob pedal4. It is an analog preamp and overdrive, and RockBoard's PedalPedia describes it as born of the same DNA as the Teeth, covering boost, grit and level1. RockBoard's PedalPedia says it can be dialed right down to serve as a front end that brightens up vintage pickups, or wound right up for compressed, crunchy overdrive, and that it works for bass, acoustic and electric1.
The Triage Deluxe has replaced the non-Deluxe Triage in the Horrothia line-up5, though the earlier version of the Triage has remained available from the Reverb.com store7.
There was also an earlier V1 Germanium version of the Triage, with demos online4.
Where it is made
Like all Horrothia effects pedals, the Triage is hand built, one by one, in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK136. Delicious Audio described it as "hand built with love, one by one, in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK"3.
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Questions
Is the Triage like a Tube Screamer?
Not in its circuit. The Triage is an all-transistor design with a JFET preamp feeding a discrete opamp overdrive stage, with no chip ICs. But its Mid Peak switch, when engaged, delivers a distinct, carefully chosen mid bump that Delicious Audio described as Tubescreamer-style. With the switch off and the HF knob centered, the pedal acts as a full range boost instead.
What is the difference between the Horrothia Triage and the Teeth?
The Triage was born from the same DNA as the Teeth, Horrothia's low-gain overdrive, and shares some circuit and tonal similarities. The Teeth is the low-gain overdrive; the Triage is a preamp and overdrive built around a JFET preamp feeding a discrete opamp clipping stage. Both were later upgraded, into the Teeth MKII X and the Triage Deluxe.
What is the Horrothia Triage Deluxe?
The Triage Deluxe is the upgraded version of the original three-knob Triage, and it has replaced the non-Deluxe Triage in the Horrothia line-up. It adds controls including a Headroom knob that sets the second gain stage's voltage between 6V and 16V, an Input HPF from 20Hz to 1kHz, a Breath high-frequency control, and a Clip on/off switch. It is available through Horrothia's Reverb.com store.
Where is the Horrothia Triage made?
Like all Horrothia effects pedals, the Triage is hand built, one by one, in Falmouth, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. The company is based there, and its pedals are sold through its Reverb.com store.
Sources (7)
- Triage by Horrothia Effects, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- Triage Deluxe by Horrothia Effects, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- Horrothia Triage Preamp, Delicious Audio, 2023-08-02
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2026-02-04
- Horrothia Effects Triage Deluxe review, Guitar.com, 2026-01-05
- Horrothia FX Triage Discrete Transistor Pre-Amplifier, Pedal of the Day, 2023-01-30
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2026-01-12
