Handmade limited edition effects pedals
Welcome to Vorp FX, home of handmade, limited-edition effects pedals. This is my pedal blog, in which I show and briefly describe all the pedals I've built, with some notes about the build process. It also lists all Vorp FX pedals that are currently available to buy. Vorp FX is not a business, but one man's hobby, therefore the pedals are produced in very small quantities. For more information about Vorp FX, please see the About page.
The Ampère Fuzz (named after André-Marie Ampère, who is also pictured on the pedal) sounds positively electric. It is a gated silicon fuzz with a lot of bite (thanks to a full low and high end) that is based on a somewhat obscure circuit with a handful of modifications. Sounds robust with a low gate setting, sounds really freaky at high gate settings. Requires a 9V DC power supply.
PEDALS MADE: 1
CURRENT STATUS: OUT OF STOCK
FUTURE AVAILABILITY: MAYBE
The Bellboy is my take on a famous octave fuzz/distortion pedal. Below the 12th fret, it will generate distortion with some slight ring modulation; above the 12th fret it will generate a more pronounced fuzz and upper octave effect that adds a certain brightness to the tone. The soft/hard switch allows to adjust the intensity of both the distortion and the modulation/octave effect. Requires a 9V DC power supply.
PEDALS MADE: 1
CURRENT STATUS: IN STOCK
FUTURE AVAILABILITY: NO
I have just become aware of a minor design flaw in most Double Dodo pedals with a 3-position clipping switch.
The flaw does not affect the regular operation of the pedal, which works just as it should as long as the clipping switch is in the SYMM or ASYM position. Only in the middle position, where it is supposed to completely bypass diode clipping and provide a relatively clean boost, does it add some faint asymmetrical silicon diode clipping and is thus not as clean, nor as loud as it should be.
This design flaw concerns almost all pedals with the 3-position clipping switch, with the exception of some early models (serial numbers unknown) and DDOD032.
If you would like to have the cleaner boost option in the middle position, I can offer the following:
The Beta Preamp is inspired by solid state amplifier from the late 1970s of the same name that was rediscovered by several grunge bands in the 1990s. It is loud, sludgy and gritty and perfect for stoner doom tones. A 3-band EQ allows versatile sound shaping, and a voice switch improves the sound for drop tuning or bass guitar. With gain at maximum, this is LOUD. It is best used as a preamp to go directly into your power amp, but it can also be used as an overdrive/distortion pedal. Requires a 9V DC power supply.
PEDALS MADE: 1
CURRENT STATUS: OUT OF STOCK
FUTURE AVAILABILITY: MAYBE
This pedal was made in a very limited edition of three for April Fool's Day 2021, but it's not a joke. While none of the knobs are labeled, all of them are doing something; in fact, they are highly interactive and dependent on each other. You may like or dislike the things it does to your guitar signal, but believe me when I tell you that it's an experience that is not for the faint at heart.
PEDALS MADE: 3
CURRENT STATUS: SOLD OUT
FUTURE AVAILABILITY: NO
The Espresso is an attempt to revive a rare fuzz pedal from the early 1970s that has achieved something of a cult following after it was used by producer/musician Steve Albini in numerous recording sessions. The sound is wild, chewy and abrasive, and has a very distinct flavour. At low gain settings, it merely adds compression and harmonics, but it quickly breaks into an aggressive fuzz tone with the gain knob around the 1 o'clock mark. The clipping stage can be bypassed with a toggle switch, which allows the pedal to be used as a compressor or clean boost. Requires a 9V DC power supply.
PEDALS MADE: 13
CURRENT STATUS: IN STOCK
FUTURE AVAILABILITY: YES
The Astrolabe is my take on the famous Astro-Tone Fuzz by the Universal Amplifier Company, first built in 1967. It was one of the first silicon fuzz units, developed in an era when germanium was still the industry standard. Requires a 9V DC power supply.
PEDALS MADE: 5
CURRENT STATUS: SOLD OUT
FUTURE AVAILABILITY: NO
A classic 1980s distortion pedal that features a picture of a white-faced rodent - it should be easy to guess the lineage and the sound. This one adds an optional upper octave that can be dialed in for extra presence. No battery operation; requires a 9V DC power supply.
PEDALS MADE: 1
CURRENT STATUS: IN STOCK
FUTURE AVAILABILITY: NO
This one started out as a commission. Rick Sell of PureSalem Guitars bought the Fat Cat pedal I had built a while ago and asked me if I could do a clone of the DOD Punkifier for him. The Punkifier is a combination of a DOD250-style distortion and a rather abrasive fuzz in one box with a blend control that allows to mix the two signals. The pedal can do anything from classic distortion to walls of noise. No battery operation; requires a 9V DC power supply.
PEDALS MADE: 2
CURRENT STATUS: OUT OF STOCK
FUTURE AVAILABILITY: MAYBE
The Astronaut is in fact the Chasm Reverb by Deadastronaut, assembled by myself and put in a box of my own design. It's a particularly nice ambient-ish reverb that can go into self-oscillation or just pleasantly hold atmospheric tones for long periods of time. It's pretty unique in what it does, and it's perfect for the ambient guitar music I'm playing. The knobs set the overall output level, the mix of wet and dry signal, oscillation on/off, signal damping (a low pass filter), and the length of the reverb decay. The combination of the Damp and Decay settings heavily affects if and how the signal will go into self-oscillation. No battery operation; requires a 9V DC power supply.
PEDALS MADE: 3
CURRENT STATUS: OUT OF STOCK
FUTURE AVAILABILITY: UNLIKELY