Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
RhPf Electronics' Shodhana - a Cutting, Crisp, Bright and Balanced Overdrive - kind of works as a combination of Clean and Dirty Boosts - simple but really potent
Key Points
The RhPf Electronics Shodhana is a bright, crisp, and crunchy "balanced overdrive" that pairs a Clean Boost (Level) and a Dirty Boost (Drive) with a distinct 1 kHz-centered output profile. The Level side delivers sparkly, pristine cleans; the Drive side adds fast-onset crunch and focused brightness—RhPf calls it their "snappiest" pedal. Both sides ramp up volume and brightness quickly, so using your guitar Volume and Tone to tame the top end is essential. Typical usage: Level alone at around noon for pristine cleans; when blending Drive, try Drive ~1:30–2:00 and Level ~9:00, then fine-tune with guitar controls. Sonically it sits near a top‑boosted Vox AC30 but brighter and crunchier. Price: $179 / CHF 149. Overall: unique voicing, simple two‑knob design, highly usable for players who habitually use their guitar controls.
The Shodhana is quite a distinct overdrive - which kind of pivots around the 1kHz frequency band at the peak of its output profile. The Level side of the pedal essentially works as a Clean Boost / Clean Channel - delivering beautiful sparkly cleans - some of the very best of that nature. And the Drive half is the Dirty Boost - both sides ramp up very quickly - and get progressively brighter and more focused in their output. And you get a lot of Volume - while only relatively moderate gain.
This is a Bright, Crisp, and uniquely Crunchy pedal - where it has a fairly unique timbre and texture. For Fuzz fans who are used to using their guitar controls - you very much need to do the same with Shodhana - where your Drive and Level are your broader brush-strokes - and the your guitar Volume and Tone controls are used to temper that and soften the output. As the pedal gets progressively brighter - the more you need to dial back your guitar tone too - it all works rather splendidly. The crunch is sort of adjacent to that which you get from a Top-Boosted Vox AC30 - but more crunchy and brighter!
Both sides can be operated in a somewhat independent manner - while I prefer the Clean Channel / Level control just on its own - at around the Noon mark - that delivers the perfect sparkly cleans, and clean boost. When I deploy the Drive side - I typically have some level in the mix too - sp as to deliver the best balance of frequencies. So my favourite Drive setting is at circa 1:30 to 2 o’clock, with the Level at around 9 o’c. I then temper that further with my guitar Volume and Tone controls - to get my perfect output.
The Shodhana is mostly referred to as a 'Balanced Overdrive' as you are most typically balancing the relative output of the Clean / Level and Dirty / Drive sides of the pedal. And as mentioned - your guitar controls are the perfect tools to refine and temper that pedal's output.
It definitely leans into the Bright, Crips and Crunchy side of things on the Drive side - while the Cleans are just wonderfully sparkly and pristine. I have 3 killer Clean voicings these days - which is not always a category I'm particularly active in - those are the Drunk Beaver Mariupol Jazz Chorus Drive, the Clean Channel of my DSM & Humbold Dumblifier - and the Clean / Level side of this Shodhana - each of those sounds superb.
Thomas at RhPf wasn't sure I would like this drive - as I typically favour more extended-range variants with multiple controls. While there are a few 2-knob Overdrives that I really rate - including the DOD250 and Hello Sailor Effects Anchor Drive in particular - and this Shodhana now joins that elite company. I really don't mind using my guitar controls in lieu of further controls on the pedal - I'm so used to using those controls with Fuzzes.
The core Shodhana works really well as is. And delivers a pretty unique and distinct voicing. The volume Ramps up incredibly quickly - as does the Crunchiness of the Overdrive. RhPf often refer to the Shodhana as their 'snappiest' pedal - and it very much is that. It had a very rapid attack / onset - and it ramps up incredibly quickly - so you need to apply those controls somewhat diligently.
As mentioned - I like to use the Clean Channel / Level on its own, while I always mix up the Drive side with a little bit of level to properly balance its output - and then I typically temper further with Guitar Volume and Tone controls.
The Shodhana Balanced Drive goes for $179 / CHF 149 on the RhPf electronics Webstore.
I've really been enjoying my continued odyssey though the RhPf range - all of those pedals have really impressed me - and they're all pretty distinct too!
Demos
