Fallout Cloud

More than just a fuzz? 

Thorpy FX wanted to make a fuzz and like many companies, this was one of the first effects they created. However, the similarities with run-of-the-mill fuzzes end there, whereas many pedal builders would tweak a simple circuit to test interest Thorpy went in another direction.

For instance, the bespoke casing is designed for ease of use, reduction of knocking controls, durability, and striking unique design. Here Thorpy was inspired by the way Boss pedals had all these features and always stood out on a pedalboard. That said no one has ever said that a Thorpy FX pedal looks like anything else, many years in military design gave Major Adrian Thorpe the skills needed to design things his own way.

The pedal itself is often referred to as based on a Triangle big Muff and though true this is only half the story, as happens occasionally in gear circles a particular guitar/amp or pedal will do the rounds cited as “the best XXX we’ve ever played”. The greatest examples of these are Peter Green’s, Les Paul!

There so happened to be an EXH Triangle Big Muff which people had been citing as the best they’d ever played. It’s well known that not all are the same, some in fact are utter dogs, but this particular example was the real deal and so Thorpy FX hunted down this holy grail of triangle muffs and tried it for himself.

So blown away by the pedal were the Thorpy team that they indeed designed the Fallout cloud on that very specific pedal. But a direct clone would never suit the likes of Thorpy FX and so each component was chosen for its fidelity and reliability (not to mention source-ability for creating consistent sounding units over a long time) Burr-Brown and Panasonic components were used over cheaper potentially problematic alternatives. The attention to detail resulted in an extremely low noise floor when the pedal is turned on and you’re not playing and the ability to reduce the gain from your guitar’s volume.

The tone control from the original was scrapped in favour of separate Bass and Treble pots and the gain range was increased to give not just more gain but a more usable spread throughout the control as you can hear for yourself on the Tonepedia interactive demo.

This pedal is a firm favourite of thousands and can be seen regularly on peoples pedalboards all over the world.