Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Drunk Beaver reboots its #1 Pedal Drop Kherson Drive with new PD #30 Soviet Mojo Components Retro Edition
Key Points
Drunk Beaver reboots its Pedal Drop #1 Kherson Drive as PD #30 Retro, modeled on the rare Ukrainian Sound JS DS-5 (90s take on Boss SD-1). The original PD #1 (Aug 25, 2022) ran 10 units; this PD #30 release is 40 units.
Controls remain Level, Tone, Drive with EQ Stock/Fat and Op‑Amp Classic/Modern. Internals updated with NOS Soviet components: 1407УД2 in gain (Soviet analog of NS LM4250) and УД1208 in the tone stack (Soviet uA776); Modern op‑amp TL082. RC4559/OPA2134 were used in the original; КД521Д is noted.
Available from the Drunk Beaver Rocks Webstore for $150. As of 2026-07-13, the price was £120. No demos exist; only a similar sound sample is referenced. For electrical work or opening/modifying the pedal, consult a qualified tech.
It’s nearly 3 years since Drunk Beaver launched its very first Pedal Drop - on August 25th, 2022 - the ’Kherson Drive’. This was based on a rare Ukrainian take on Boss’s SD-1 Super OverDrive - the Sound JS DS-5. The Sound JS DS-5 was active for just a short period in the 90’s.
Interestingly and for various reasons, I missed out on that 10 unit run (the only Pedal Drop Edition I don’t have!) - and now 3 years later I get redemption through this updated 40 units release.
The original Kerson Drive had the same 3 controls as the pedal it was modelled on - the Sound JS DS-5, but then added a couple of external mods - a 2-way Stock / Fat EQ Switch (Fat Boost essentially), and an A/B Classic / Modern OpAmp Switch - for the original PD #1 edition the Classic OpAmp was a NOS RC4559, with the Modern option an OPA2134.
The external controls are the same for the original PD #1, and this PD #30 Retro :
Controls - Level, Tone, Drive, EQ : Stock / Fat, Op-Amp : Classic / Modern.
The layout and arrangement of the internal circuit is different, and contains different Mojo Vintage Soviet Components!
As Vitalii states :
"It will be almost the same as the PD-#1 Kherson Drive but with updated layout and NOS Soviet op-amps: a 1407УД2 programmable op-amp in the gain stage (Stock setting, Soviet analog of NS LM4250) and УД1208 (Soviet uA776) in the tone stack. Modern op-amp option is TL082. КД521Д (3 green stripes)."
So this is my grand redemption therefore - and I get to own a Kherson Drive at last - it’s not the same as the very original edition - but in many ways it is slightly better - and kind of goes to ’11’!
As mentioned - 40 units will be up for sale as soon as you see this article - available for $150 from the Drunk Beaver Rocks Webstore.
This is a momentous occasion - as it marks the first and latest Pedal Drop Editions - which now number 30 - and where we’ve seen 10 releases of those per each of the active years.
This is a milestone release in several ways - and well worth adding to your own collection and board!
There are no demos available for either the original Kherson Drive, or this Kherson Drive Retro unit - and so we must refer to a similar sounds sample - purely for ballpark reference purposes!
Sound Sample Reference
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