ThorpyFX Pulse Doppler

The ThorpyFX Pulse Doppler is an analogue phaser, vibrato and tremolo pedal. It’s a collaboration between ThorpyFX founder Adrian Thorpe and Dan Coggins. Dan designed original Lovetone Doppelgänger in the 1990s that went on to became one of the most desirable and expensive phaser pedals on the used market!

We have a few Mk1 versions remaining. The Pulse Doppler V2 is a cosmetic update — so we have priced these to make them great value!

The Pulse Doppler is a four stage twin-notch phaser built around a core LFO modulation circuit, with five rotary controls, two toggle switches, and two footswitches. The twin-notch design — two resonant filters swept by the LFO simultaneously. This is what gives the Pulse Doppler its depth and complexity.

The two notches can move in tandem or in opposition, the phase can be inverted, and the signal can be pushed into tremolo-style pulsing. Wet and dry outputs allow true stereo operation, sending the phase-shifted signal to one amplifier and the clean signal to another.

Premier Guitar called it “a phase nerd’s dream” and noted that the range of sounds available goes from deep, liquid variations of familiar phase tones to intense and weird modulation colours.

The Controls — What Each One Does

The controls are genuinely interactive. Understanding what each one does individually is the key to getting the most out of it.

• Rate: Controls the speed of the LFO from very slow at fully counterclockwise to very fast at fully clockwise.
• Depth: Introduces the LFO waveform to the phase shift. At zero, the Manual control sets a fixed notch position. As Depth increases, the LFO sweeps the notch frequencies by a progressively larger amount.
• Manual: Sets the base notch filter frequencies. When sounds seem to disappear during use, this is almost always the control to adjust to relocate them.
• Blend: Sets the balance between dry input signal and the phase-shifted wet signal. At noon the mix is approximately 50/50, producing the deepest notch effect.
• Enhance: Adds resonance and feedback into the four-stage phase shifter path — deepening the frequency notches and altering the harmonic content as it increases.
• DUAL toggle switch: Sets whether the notch filters move in tandem or in opposition to one another in a bidirectional figure-of-eight motion — two distinctly different sounds.
• INVERT / PULSE / NORMAL three-position toggle: Three fundamentally different sounds:
  • Normal: The conventional additive approach — straight and phase-shifted signals combined in phase. Classic phaser territory.
  • Invert: Inverts the phase of the shifted signal so the sounds subtract rather than add. Like an out-of-phase pickup — a bit thinner, with different harmonic content.
  • Pulse: Removes low frequencies from the phase-shifted signal, producing disappearing, stuttering and tremolo-style effects.
• Left footswitch (Vib/Phase): Connects or disconnects the dry signal from the output mix, switching between a blended Phase sound and a wet-only Vibrato or Pulse sound.
• Right footswitch (Bypass): Turns the Pulse Doppler on and off via buffered bypass.

ThorpyFX Pulse Doppler Key Features

• Fully analogue four-stage twin-notch phaser circuit
• Designed by Adrian Thorpe and Dan Coggins — heir to the Lovetone Doppelgänger
• Five controls — Rate, Depth, Manual, Blend, Enhance
• DUAL toggle — tandem or bidirectional figure-of-eight notch movement
• INVERT / PULSE / NORMAL toggle — three distinct phaser characters
• Left footswitch — Phase or Vib/Pulse mode
• Right footswitch — buffered bypass on/off
• Wet and dry outputs — stereo operation with two amplifiers
• Dual red LEDs show real-time LFO modulation position
• Buffered bypass
• Premium components — 1% metal film resistors, WIMA and Panasonic capacitors
• 9V DC centre-negative, 50mA current draw — 200mA minimum supply required
• 2-year warranty, original owner only
• Handmade in Northamptonshire, UK

Power

The Pulse Doppler requires a regulated 9V DC centre-negative supply with a minimum output of 200mA — the current draw is 50mA, but ThorpyFX specify a 200mA supply minimum for reliable operation. Any outlet on the CIOKS DC7 v2 or CIOKS SOL handles it comfortably. ThorpyFX are clear that incorrect voltage or polarity will trigger the protection circuitry — check your supply before connecting.

Who Is This For?

The Pulse Doppler is not a plug-in-and-go phaser. Spend some time with it and what you get is a tonal range that most other phaser pedals simply don’t cover — classic vintage phase, Univibe-style throb, bidirectional figure-of-eight sweeps, pure vibrato, high-pass tremolo. All from one analogue pedal.

Watch It In Action

FAQs