Mod Kits ThunderDrive

The Mod Kits ThunderDrive is a do-it-yourself overdrive pedal kit: instead of buying a finished pedal, you get a bag of parts, a pre-drilled enclosure and a set of instructions, and you solder the thing together yourself. Mod Electronics (sold as MOD Kits DIY) describes it as an overdrive pedal kit that delivers both overdrive and distortion sounds, built with point-to-point wiring rather than a printed circuit board¹.

Vintage Guitar introduced it to readers in 2011 as "a do-it-yourself overdrive pedal," noting that the pedals operate on a 9-volt battery or a 9-volt adapter². The kit line later grew into a small family: the ThunderDrive Deluxe, an overdrive/distortion pedal kit, and the ThunderDrive Deluxe LTD, a limited edition that Premier Guitar reported added three different types of clipping to one of the company's flagship models³⁴.

What the kit is and what it does

The ThunderDrive sits in the overdrive and distortion family. Mod Electronics lists the standard ThunderDrive as an overdrive pedal kit and the Deluxe as an "Overdrive / Distortion Pedal," so the circuit covers the range from pushed amp grit to heavier breakup¹³. For a player new to overdrive pedals, the appeal here is different from a factory-built unit: the point of the product is the build itself.

The kit uses point-to-point wiring, meaning the components are soldered directly to one another and to the enclosure hardware rather than mounted on a circuit board. Mod Electronics says that with this construction and its easy to follow instructions, "you can have a working overdrive pedal in a matter of hours"¹. The only equipment you need to provide is solder and a soldering iron¹; Premier Guitar's press announcement for the Deluxe adds hand tools to that list⁶.

What is in the box

Everything needed for the working pedal comes in the kit:

• A pre-drilled enclosure, so there is no metalwork to do²⁶
• All the electronic parts for the circuit²⁶
• Clear, easy to follow instructions¹⁶
• On the ThunderDrive Deluxe, a pre-painted black enclosure with red control knobs and a red LED indicator⁶

What you supply yourself:

• A soldering iron and solder¹⁶
• Hand tools⁶
• A 9-volt battery, which is not included¹

Power and current draw

The ThunderDrive runs on a 9-volt battery, and Vintage Guitar's launch coverage noted it also works with a 9-volt adapter¹². Premier Guitar's announcement for the Deluxe recommended the adapter as "a longer lasting option" that "can be purchased separately"⁶.

The current draw is very low at 1.3 milliamps, a figure given by both the maker and the press coverage, which allows for long battery life³²⁶. For comparison, that draw is low enough that a single battery lasts a long time even with regular playing, and it also makes the pedal easy to power alongside others from a common 9V supply.

The ThunderDrive family

The ThunderDrive line expanded over the years into three kits:

Vintage Guitar reported the ThunderDrive Deluxe as an overdrive pedal kit from MOD Kits DIY in June 2011⁵. At NAMM 2019, Premier Guitar's Jason Shadrick demoed the ThunderDrive Deluxe LTD, describing how "the pedal kit company expanded one of its flagship models to include three different types of clipping"⁴. For a builder comparing kits, the three clipping options are the practical difference on the LTD: they let you voice the pedal's breakup character differently from the standard and Deluxe versions.

Instructions and manuals

Mod Electronics publishes a separate instruction manual for each kit as a PDF download linked from its product pages at modkitsdiy.com¹³⁸:

• The Thunderdrive (K-950) instructions¹
• The Thunderdrive Deluxe (K-955) instructions³
• The Thunderdrive Deluxe LTD (K-956) instruction manual⁸

Each manual matches its kit number, so match the number on your box to the right document before you start soldering³.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions