Plus, they’re British and all their products are made in England and, being the shameless patriots that we are, we just had to give it a go.
Before we even get to the Thunderpup’s great sound, it is worth mentioning that it is incredibly easy to use and designed with the interests of amateurs and pros in mind. It has only two toggles (‘gain’ and ‘volume’) so keeping variables to a minimum, but both provide more than enough variations in tone for most players. It has also got a ‘big amp’ and ‘little amp’ setting, allowing it to reproduce the sound delivery of an amp head and speaker cab stack or a smaller combo amp.
The Thunder Pup produces a classic British overdrive, most associated with the distinctive sound of the Marshall ‘Bluesbreaker’ and ‘Plexi’ amps of the ‘60s. Any players wanting to replicate the sounds of The Who, Led Zepplin, Cream or Hendrix etc. should seriously consider giving this pedal a go. Rich Robinson of ‘The Black Crowes’ in fact has this pedal in his live rig, so their live shows on YouTube might be worth checking out. With the ‘gain’ rolled completely off, the Thunder Pup gives a standard clean boost, but it’s when you add the ‘gains’ that the magic really happens. It delivers a quintessential British ‘crunch’ overdrive, which can stretch from a small amount of break-up to a distortion that would be more than enough for hard-rock, if not also metal.
The unit also runs off batteries, which some players find inconvenient, but we think that keeping wires to a minimum is always an advantage. The only possible downside is the price: at £129 rrp it is a lot more expensive than basic Boss, Digitech and TC Electronic equivalents, but you do really get what you pay for and it is more than worth the money.
All in all, this is a really wicked pedal, which we can’t recommend enough!
Online Guitar Review Video Thanks To GAK!
Written by Adam Sumnall
Student at the University of Exeter and resident Smiths enthusiast.
