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Review: ThorpyFX The Deep Oggin Chorus/Vibrato

An oceanic analogue chorus from a UK brand renowned for its boutique excellence. Time to get salty…

Thorpyfx The Deep Oggin
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Review Overview

Our rating

9

Our verdict

Simply one of the finest chorus tones we have ever heard, in an indestructible box.

A relative newcomer to the world of boutique pedals, UK-based ThorpyFX is the brainchild of Adrian Thorpe MBE, whose hand-made objects of desire have been adorning the boards of discriminating tone viveurs since 2015. Thorpy’s success thus far has mainly been founded on a selection of extremely high-quality overdrive, fuzz, and boost pedals with The Deep Oggin (a collaboration with Dan Coggins – formerly of Lovetone and Dinosaural) being one of the company’s first forays into temporal effects.

As with all ThorpyFX pedals, The Deep Oggin’s circuitry is protected from the vagaries of expressive musicianship by an armoured steel chassis which sports five mini chicken-head knobs and, on the top, an input jack and two outputs allowing for twin-amp wet/dry use. The sole footswitch is extremely heavy duty and this attention to longevity extends inside the pedal, with the jacks wired off-board in order to reduce potential stresses on the PCB. The pedal runs on nine-volt of DC and as you’d expect, ThorpyFX recommends the use of a quality power source.

In use

Perhaps due to overuse (especially when mixed with acoustic guitars and piezo pickups), chorus as a concept has had a tough time over the last few years. Recently, however, there has been something of a resurgence – with several companies marketing their offerings with the promise of “a chorus pedal for people who hate chorus pedals”. ThorpyFX has chosen to navigate these waters via the exclusive use of analogue circuitry, which should help avoid the more vinegary characteristics typical of lesser units.

Thorpyfx The Deep Oggin
The treble control allows you to fine-tune the high-end definition of the chorus signal

Given that The Deep Oggin commands a boutique price tag, the first notes ought to be pretty spectacular. With an open-goal setup of neck/mid Stratocaster tone into a hand-wired Vox AC4 we are greeted with a thought-provokingly beautiful wash of sound that immediately compels us to really listen to what we play and savour every note.

With the rate and depth increased we coax out one of the best Leslie-style warbles this reviewer has heard in recent years, adding depth to octave comping that would make John Scofield and Charlie Hunter sit up and take notice. In classic rock and blues contexts, The Deep Oggin is nothing short of superb. From No Quarter warbling to Walking On The Moon chime via Come As You Are menace, this pedal imbues iconic sonic territory with new life and elegance.

Thorpyfx The Deep Oggin blend
The wet/dry blend allows you to opt for anything from a subtle splash to a deep bath in waves of analogue chorus

As if that wasn’t enough, The Deep Oggin also allows for a stereo amp setup. Assigning wet duties to a Fender and winding the dry Vox up to the point of breakup, the results are nothing short of erogenous. Meanwhile, a deep, slow setting into a twin-channel acoustic amp with a Kostal Modified Dreadnought encourages us to re-examine long-held prejudices regarding the role of chorus as an acoustic-guitar effect.

Investing this amount of cash into a chorus pedal implies that you either love quality pedals or you love chorus. With The Deep Oggin, you get both. It’s not cheap, but it was built to a standard, not to a budget – and it shows.

Key Features

  • PRICE £249
  • DESCRIPTION Stereo analogue chorus/vibrato pedal. Made in the UK
  • CONTROLS Volume, treble, blend, rate, depth, bypass footswitch
  • FEATURES Hand-wired boutique construction, stereo out
  • DIMENSIONS 100mm x125mm x53mm
  • CONTACT thorpyfx.com

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