ThorpyFX Veteran V2 [Si]

The ThorpyFX Veteran V2 [Si] is a dual-effect pedal that combines a high-quality Sixties-style silicon fuzz, akin to a Fuzz Face, with a Rangemaster-style silicon treble booster in a single box¹. It is part of ThorpyFX's "Vintage Reimagined" series, which revisits classic effects circuits in modern enclosures¹. For a player, that means two of the most influential circuits of the British blues-rock era, a fuzz and a treble boost, available separately or stacked together.

The two effects are independent, each with its own footswitch, with the fuzz side running into the boost side so the two can be stacked for extra push¹. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson, reviewing the Veteran Si in his roundup of mid-size Fuzz Face pedals, called it:

The Veteran V2 [Si]'s printed manual is available from ThorpyFX, and the pedal has been reviewed by Guitar Pedal X¹².

Where the circuit comes from

The Veteran name goes back to 2017, when Thorpy made a limited run release of the original Veteran, a pedal that combined Fuzz Face and Rangemaster circuits³. Guitar.com's reviewer Richard Purvis described the original Veteran Germanium as "think Fuzz Face and Rangemaster in one extra-wide chassis"⁴. That first Germanium version was limited to 100 units and sold out on pre-orders, and Guitar Pedal X has called it the rarest proper Thorpy production model run to date, excluding one-off specials³.

The silicon version followed the same two-circuit idea with silicon transistors instead of germanium. In November 2017, MusicRadar's Michael Astley-Brown reported on The Veteran (Si) Reverb Special Edition, "a limited-edition purple incarnation of the silicon transistor-equipped Veteran fuzz/boost," promising the best of '60s Fuzz Face and Rangemaster-style units, limited to 100 units⁵. Guitar Pedal X lists the Veteran Si's transistors as 2 x 2N3904 plus a 2N3904 in the RangeMaster section, all silicon².

The RangeMaster circuit in the Veteran also has a life beyond this pedal. Guitar Pedal X notes that the Silicon Veteran style RangeMaster section was retained unchanged in the ThorpyFX WOPR AtomIC Fuzz + Silicon RangeMaster⁶.

The controls

The Fuzz section features controls for Fuzz, Volume, Smooth, and Bias, while the Boost side has controls for Boost and Range¹. Guitar Pedal X's full control list for the Veteran Si matches: Boost (Level), Range, Smooth (Impedance), Fuzz, Volume, Bias, plus a Boost footswitch and a Fuzz footswitch².

Two of these deserve a closer look for players new to the circuit. The Smooth control sets the input impedance and bass response of the fuzz¹. Because vintage Fuzz Face circuits are sensitive to what feeds them, being able to set the input impedance lets a player tune how the fuzz interacts with the guitar and how much low end survives. The Bias control sets the circuit heat and the mids¹, which on a Fuzz Face style circuit shifts the character of the fuzz from tighter and more mid-forward to looser and spittier. On the boost side, Range selects from bass-heavy to treble-focused frequencies¹, which mirrors what a Rangemaster style treble booster is for: pushing a specific band of frequencies into an amp.

V2 versus V1, and availability

The V2 version is smaller than the V1¹. The original 2017 Veteran put the Fuzz Face and Rangemaster circuits in one extra-wide chassis⁴, and the V2 carries the same two-circuit concept in a more compact box.

On availability, Guitar Pedal X reported in March 2024 that "The Veteran has been discontinued for a while now - but is still a great buy if you can track one down!"². That report covers the earlier Veteran Si; the V2 is the current form of the pedal listed by RockBoard's PedalPedia².

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