Lovetone Returns: ThorpyFX Revives Cult Boutique Pedals

The long-awaited comeback of the legendary UK boutique pedal brand Lovetone is officially nearing completion. Spearheaded by ThorpyFX founder Adrian Thorpe in collaboration with original Lovetone creator Dan Coggins, "Lovetone 2.0" is gearing up to launch its first units this month.

“We are on the final furlong to seeing Lovetone 2.0 ready for human consumption,” the brand announced, signaling an imminent release for the highly anticipated effects.

The Authentic Comeback vs. Recent Clones

The timing of this official revival couldn’t be better. The appetite for Lovetone's elusive 1990s circuits recently hit a fever pitch following a wave of affordable re-creations.

Earlier this year, budget gear giant Behringer unveiled their own takes on the brand's holy grail units, releasing the Behringer Meatball, the highly sought-after Ring Stinger, and the famously eccentric Flange With No Name.

While those budget clones gave experimental sound designers a cheap taste of the Lovetone DNA, the ThorpyFX revival promises authentic, hand-built UK craftsmanship directly from the mind of the original designer—along with some major modern upgrades.

Evolution, Not a "Forensic Clone"

Founded by Coggins in April 1995, Lovetone helped pioneer the modern boutique pedal market, amassing a massive cult following that included U2's The Edge, all three guitarists from Radiohead, and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. Today, vintage Lovetone units routinely command upward of $2,000 on the used market.

Lovetone 2.0

Despite that vintage prestige, ThorpyFX has confirmed that Lovetone 2.0 will not feature 1:1 slavish replicas of the originals. Instead, they are updating the designs for the modern player. Responding to fan questions on Instagram about whether the new pedals will feature the bulky hinged enclosures of the originals, ThorpyFX was clear:

“They will not. But there is no need for that to be the case. Whilst we are looking to the past for inspiration and meeting sonic benchmarks and aesthetics, we have made sure these pedals are an evolution rather than a forensic clone…. in other words, we are offering more capability and removing weaknesses.”

The newly engineered pedals are promised to be "smaller, more convenient, and [feature] more features," all while retaining the iconic sonic footprint that made them famous.

The First Two Pedals: Meatball and Brown Source?

According to ThorpyFX, the first two pedals are already being built and are "incoming soon."

Based on extreme close-up teaser photos posted to the official Lovetone Instagram account, the Meatball envelope filter—famously championed by Johnny Marr—looks guaranteed to be the first pedal back on the menu. Accompanying teaser images featuring metallic brown and orange/red enclosures heavily suggest that the second unit will be the Brown Source overdrive/distortion.

With the launch officially dropping this month, players won't have to wait long to get their hands on a brand new, premium Lovetone circuit.

To sign up for official launch updates, visit the Lovetone website and follow their Instagram.

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