Pete Cornish LP-2

The Pete Cornish LP-2 is an analog booster and buffer built around a buffered effects loop¹. Your guitar goes into the INPUT, which carries Pete Cornish's unity gain buffer and line driver, the LD-1; the SEND feeds an external pedal, and the RETURN brings that pedal's output back with a variable gain stage that can boost or cut it by up to 16dB before it reaches the OUTPUT²¹. One footswitch alternates between bypass, with the LED off, and loop, with the LED on¹.

RockBoard's PedalPedia describes it as designed for any guitar or bass effects pedal or device that needs a boost or cut when activated¹. Each unit is housed in a rugged die-cast box and hand built, wired and tested by Pete, Lynda and Mingus Cornish².

How the loop works

The single RETURN GAIN control sets the boost or cut applied to the RETURN signal from the external effects pedal in active mode. No gain boost is applied to the SEND feed². The gain stage sweeps from -16dB through unity to +16dB, and the same +/- 16dB range applies with the internal bypass engaged and no external pedal connected².

A few operating points matter:

• The external pedal connected to the SEND/RETURN must be permanently ON, because it is bypassed by the LP-2's footswitch when the LED is off².
• In active mode the RETURN signal goes to the OUTPUT with whatever boost or cut the RETURN GAIN control adds¹.
• The SEND is isolated and ground lifted, and permanently active².

Because the SEND is ground lifted and always running, Pete Cornish points out it can feed a second amplifier at the same time as the main amplifier connected to the OUTPUT, without creating ground loop hum².

Uses beyond a simple loop

The LP-2's high impedance RETURN, identical to the INPUT, opens up a second use: connecting a second guitar. Switching the loop on routes the second guitar to the OUTPUT with its level adjustable by RETURN GAIN; switching it off mutes the second guitar and routes the first guitar without any gain boost².

Pete Cornish also names a specific repair job the LP-2 can do. The maker's page says²:

Pete Cornish product page²

The Electric Mistress loses level in Flange mode, and the RETURN GAIN control's +16dB of boost can bring that level back up when the flanger is in the loop²¹.

Power, battery and connections

The LP-2 runs on 9V DC, center negative, drawing 20mA¹. The DC adaptor input takes an M2.1 connector with a negative tip². For supplies, Pete Cornish recommends the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus, and the BOSS PSA series if only a single unit is being powered².

A battery is an option: replacement is through a drawer, the battery switches on when a plug is inserted in the INPUT / PWR ON jack, and the preferred type is MN1604².

The maker also publishes figures for a 24V DC supply, where the maximum output rises to +16dBm, 5 Vrms, 14v peak to peak, against +10dBm, 2.4 Vrms, 6.8v peak to peak on 9V DC².

In the Pete Cornish range

The LP-2 sits among Pete Cornish's hand built pedals, which include boosts and overdrives such as the TB-83, the TB-83 Extra and the Battery Free GC-1. Where those pedals shape tone, the LP-2 is a utility: a boost and buffer built around a switchable loop, closer in spirit to the maker's switching and signal management pedals than to its drive designs²¹.

The Gray Series price list dated 31 March 2026 lists the LP-2 at 412.10 GBP for international buyers and 494.52 GBP including VAT in the UK³. Orders are placed by email to petecornishpedals@gmail.com, advising the delivery location². The warranty runs twelve months from the date of purchase, covering original manufacturing faults, but excluding normal wear, misuse, unauthorized modifications, accidental damage, damage from incorrect adapters, and any fault in the customer's own equipment connected to the unit².

Questions