The ProAnalog Devices Manticore V2 is a five-knob, Klon-style overdrive pedal released on November 6, 2018. It was designed by Scotty Smith of ProAnalog Devices, and from the V2 onward the pedals were built by Jon Cusack of Cusack Music and Mojo Hand FX to ProAnalog's specs1. On That Pedal Show, Dan and Mick described it as a circuit that "sort of started life as a clone type circuit and then it sort blossomed"2.
The V2 replaced the original 4-knob Manticore from 2017 with a fifth control, a broader dynamic range and gain structure, and a lower price: around $60 less than the original as of November 201813. ProAnalog Devices has since gone out of business, so the Manticore V2 is no longer in production4.
A Klon-style overdrive with three cascading gain stages
The Manticore V2 belongs to the family of pedals inspired by the KLON Centaur. The original Centaur's gain stages incorporate four op-amps with germanium diodes between certain stages, and it uses multiple signal paths that split the overdrive and clean signals before mixing them again at the output6. The Manticore takes that lineage and adds an extra control compared with the Centaur: where the Centaur has a single gain pot, the Manticore has both Gain and Drive7.
On That Pedal Show's 2019 review, Dan and Mick walked through the circuit's structure2:
"you've got these three cascading gain stages yeah sort of fitting into each other"
Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson groups the Manticore among the "five knob Klon Klones" and calls the original "the 5-knob Klone at the heart of this selection, with Interactive LPF and dual Gain controls essentially"3.
According to ProAnalog's own description, the V2 "can do it all from an always on lush and sparkling amp enhancer to an enormous and tonesome clean boost," and with Gain and Savage engaged it reaches crunchy rhythm tones, smooth lead tones and even raging metal tones without sacrificing clarity and touch response1.
The controls: Level, Treble, Savage, Gain and Drive
The V2's five knobs are Level, Treble, Savage, Gain and Drive5. The Savage control targets the lower frequencies, and Drive gives you more range to the Gain5.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level | Sets the output volume |
| Treble | Shapes the high end |
| Savage | Targets the lower frequencies5 |
| Gain | Sets the core overdrive amount |
| Drive | Gives more range to the Gain, "like a little preamp into the gain"7 |
On That Pedal Show's earlier look at the original Manticore, Mick explained how the two gain controls interact32:
"the drive is driving into the game setting okay it's like a little preamp into the game"
That review video also covers the pedal in full:
The earlier 2017 video on the original Manticore shows where the V2's extra control came from23:
Bypass and switching
The V2 uses an OEM electronic true bypass soft switching circuitry design1. In practice that means the pedal passes your clean signal uncolored when bypassed, and the soft switching avoids the mechanical click of a conventional stomp switch.
V1 versus V2
The original Manticore, a Klon-style overdrive, was released in 20173. The V2 was designed by Scotty Smith and is built by John Cusack of Cusack Music5. It was scheduled for a November 6 release and shipped in four new colors: Copper Gold, Shimmering Silver, Metallic Blue and Dark Green1. ProAnalog called the V2's price an improvement, selling at around $60 less than the original Manticore1.
What reviewers said
Stefan Karlsson of Guitar Pedal X reviewed the V2 in his 2019 roundup of Klon-style pedals and was positive about it:
"I've frequently picked this out as my favourite of the medium enclosure clones"
That Pedal Show's Dan and Mick were also fans, noting they "had the original Manticore on we were fans of that" before reviewing Scotty's new version2. The pedal also appeared in the show's wet/dry/wet rig demonstration in June 20188.
What happened to ProAnalog Devices
ProAnalog Devices went out of business and could not foot the bill for the production of the Sericon, a circuit it had commissioned from Cusack Music4. Cusack finished that circuit under the Mojo Hand FX brand in a limited number of units to recoup expenses, with discontinuation planned once parts and enclosures were exhausted4. The Sericon is documented as a court-directed continuation of the Manticore V2 project, which makes it the closest surviving relative of this pedal for players shopping today4.
The Manticore V2 is discontinued. ProAnalog Devices has gone out of business, and the related Mojo Hand FX Sericon was itself planned for discontinuation once its parts and enclosures ran out4.
Videos
Mike Hermans
Shawn Tubbs
Chris Buck
Sources (8)
- ProAnalog Devices Manticore V2 Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2018-11-26
- Source Audio True Spring, JHS Mini Foot 2, ProAnalog Manticore 2, Catalinbread Coriolis, That Pedal Show (YouTube), 2019-02-19
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2025-07-28
- Mojo Hand FX Sericon K-Style Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2022-03-24
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2019-07-23
- Classic Gear: How the Klon Centaur Overdrive Became a $5,000 Pedal, GuitarPlayer (www.guitarplayer.com), 2021-06-29
- That Pedal Show, That Pedal Show, 2017-12-15
- Awesome Wet/Dry/Wet: 3 Amps, Space Echo, Echorec, CE-1 & More, That Pedal Show, 2018-06-08
