The ThorpyFX Electric Lightning is a signature overdrive and boost pedal built in collaboration with Chris Buck, guitarist with Cardinal Black. ThorpyFx describes it as a valve overdrive and boost: a tube-driven drive section with a three-band EQ, stacked in one enclosure with a high-headroom clean boost that can fatten up cleans or push extra saturation into the drive1. It sells for £429.00 and remains available at that price1.
Guitar World's reviewer, Trevor Curwen, characterizes the circuit as a valve-based overdrive with a three-knob EQ similar to a Marshall tone-stack, combined with a high-headroom clean boost2. Delicious Audio calls it "a dynamic and articulate tube overdrive with a peculiar boost section"3.
A valve overdrive with a high-headroom boost
The pedal is really two sections in one box. The drive side is a tube overdrive with Volume, Treble, Mids, Gain and Bass controls, and ThorpyFx says the 3-band EQ gives control over the tonality no matter what amp and guitar combination you use1. The maker describes the result as "a dynamic overdrive that retains clarity and articulation all the way up to the upper reaches of the gain pot"1.
The boost side is what makes the pedal unusual. ThorpyFx calls it "a familiar high headroom boost but tailored to Chris's needs", usable to fatten up cleans on its own or to give extra saturation to the valve overdrive section when the drive is engaged1. The two sections are independently footswitched, with the boost feeding into the drive2.
Chris Buck himself described the drive side in a Guitar World interview:
"The drive side is my go-to when I'm looking for an overdrive sound that doesn't round the edges off and really leaps out of a mix"6
The controls
| Control | Section | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | Drive | Sets the drive section's output level2 |
| Gain | Drive | Sets the amount of drive2 |
| Treble | Drive | High end of the drive section2 |
| Mids | Drive | Midrange of the drive section2 |
| Bass | Drive | Low end of the drive section2 |
| Boost | Boost | Level control, capable of attenuation or boost, with unity gain at around one o'clock2 |
| Lows | Boost | Fattens up cleans when only the boost is on, or adds extra saturation to the drive when it is engaged3 |
| Drive footswitch | Both | Switches the drive section2 |
| Boost footswitch | Both | Switches the boost section2 |
The Lows knob was requested by Buck specifically to fatten up cleans when running the boost alone, or to push extra low end into the overdrive when both sections are on3. Guitar Pedal X groups the layout as a preamp section (Volume, Treble, Mids, Gain, Bass) plus an active high pass filter / boost section (Boost, Lows)7.
Power: 12V, 750mA at startup
The Electric Lightning runs on 12V through a center negative 2.1mm barrel, drawing 750mA at power up before settling to 300mA1. Delicious Audio notes the pedal "operates at 12v for extra headroom"3.
That startup draw rules out most small pedalboard power supplies and daisy chains. You need a 12V output rated for at least 750mA. ThorpyFx does supply a 12V adaptor in the box, with an adaptable input for use in the UK, EU, USA and Australia1.
Chris Buck's signature pedal
The Electric Lightning emerged from a collaboration between ThorpyFx and Chris Buck, and was revealed as the Cardinal Black guitarist's signature pedal2. MusicRadar described the launch as "a boost and a tube-driven drive pedal stacked together in one super-tough enclosure", well tested before release4.
Players who followed the launch may have expected a familiar circuit. Buck addressed that directly in his Guitar World interview6:
"I think there was an expectation that my signature pedal would be Bluesbreaker or Klon-derived"6
The design is instead a new one, done from the ground up6. Guitar World's review places its voicing in Marshall territory rather than either of those camps2.
There is also a Maud NOS Edition of the pedal, a special version with Marshall style knobs that gives the Electric Lightning a little less gain than the standard model8.
What reviewers said
Guitar Pedal X's reviewer wrote that the Electric Lightning "sounds excellent - but you could argue that it's rather pricey comparatively!", finding that it matches the Gainlord well for the Plexi side while sitting more in JCM800 territory overall7. Adrian Thorp MBE, writing on Guitar Pedal X, called the drive side his go-to "when I'm looking for an overdrive sound that doesn't round the edges off and really leaps out" of a mix6.
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Questions
Is the Electric Lightning a Klon or Bluesbreaker clone?
No. Chris Buck has said the circuit is a new design done from the ground up, not derived from a Bluesbreaker or a Klon. Guitar World's reviewer describes it instead as a valve-based overdrive with a three-knob EQ similar to a Marshall tone-stack, paired with a high-headroom clean boost.
Does the boost come before the drive on the Electric Lightning?
Yes. The two sections are independently footswitched, with the boost feeding into the drive. That means you can run the boost alone to push a clean amp, or leave it on to add saturation and low end into the overdrive section.
Is the Electric Lightning true bypass?
Yes. Guitar World's review lists true bypass among the pedal's features. It has a standard input and a standard output, and it is built in the UK in a super-tough enclosure.
Does the Electric Lightning come with a power supply?
Yes. ThorpyFx supplies a 12V adaptor with the pedal, with an adaptable input for use in the UK, EU, USA and Australia. The pedal runs on 12V center negative through a 2.1mm barrel, drawing 750mA at power up before settling to 300mA.
Sources (8)
- ELECTRIC LIGHTNING, ThorpyFx
- ThorpyFX Electric Lightning review, Guitar World, 2024-07-05
- Thorpy FX Electric Lightning, Delicious Audio, 2024-04-30
- “It's dynamic and it's versatile, and thanks no doubt to its enclosed tube it is very 'amp-y'”: ThorpyFX and Chris Buck apply real valve heat to overdrive and boost with signature Electric Lightning pedal, MusicRadar, 2024-05-02
- Electric Lightning by ThorpyFX, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- Chris Buck on the making of his ThorpyFX Electric Lightning, Guitar World, 2024-07-30
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2025-11-21
- THE ELECTRIC LIGHTNING MAUD NOS EDITION, ThorpyFX
