The pedal rewards intention over excess
There is a long tradition of musicians discovering, almost by accident, that two imperfect things placed in sequence become something greater than either alone. Session guitarist Pete Honoré found that truth stacking two Tone City pedals on his board, and the Double Durple is the formal acknowledgment of that discovery — a dual-overdrive pedal built not around high gain or spectacle, but around the quieter art of making an amplifier breathe. Released in 2026, it arrives as a reminder that the most useful tools are often the ones that reward restraint.
- Decades of classic overdrive pedals have shortchanged players on usable volume boost — the Double Durple was built specifically to correct that oversight.
- Two distinct circuits, the Durple and a modified Blues Man, each carry their own personality and can tip from musical to muddy the moment a player reaches for too much gain at once.
- Lower-wattage amplifiers face a real risk of being overwhelmed when both sides are pushed simultaneously, making careful calibration less optional and more essential.
- The pedal's sweet spot lives in modest, intentional settings — touch-sensitive responses reward measured hands and punish impatience.
- Compact, solidly built, and priced accessibly, the Double Durple is landing as a credible option for both newcomers and seasoned players hunting edge-of-breakup tones without the clutter of two separate boxes.
Pete Honoré — session guitarist for Lionel Richie and Tom Jones, and a familiar presence in Andertons' YouTube content — had already found the sound he was looking for. He'd been running a Blues Man boost into a Durple Overdrive, and the combination was, by his own account, one of the best tones he'd ever coaxed from a rig. When Tone City approached him about a collaboration, the brief wrote itself: put both circuits into a single enclosure.
The Double Durple treats its two sides as genuine equals. The Durple circuit traces its lineage through Tone City's Mandragora back to Lovepedal's Kalamazoo — a low-to-mid-gain design that behaves more like a non-master-volume amplifier than a conventional overdrive. Gain and volume are in constant dialogue with each other; push the volume past the quarter-turn mark and the circuit opens up. A tone control acts as a gentle low-pass filter, while a mid-range knob sweeps between low-end weight and high-end edge — broad and musical rather than surgical.
The Double side, derived from the Blues Man, is more restrained still. It stays comfortably in edge-of-breakup territory, with a gain control that only becomes assertive in its final quarter of travel. Its real strength is volume — it will push an amplifier hard, and anything above a quarter-turn constitutes a serious boost. A bright/smooth toggle adds a touch of top-end shimmer, and the tone control rolls from dark to bright in the manner of a standard guitar pot.
Used together, the circuits reward patience. Thoughtful pairing produces layered, complementary tones; maxing both gains simultaneously produces mush. Players running lower-wattage amplifiers should approach the combined volume with particular care — the pedal will happily overwhelm a small amp if given the chance.
Physically, the Double Durple is compact and well-considered: 12 by 10 by 5.2 centimetres, with top-mounted jacks, smooth silver witch-hat knobs, and two footswitches spaced for individual use but close enough to engage together. The mid-control uses a smaller potentiometer as a concession to the symmetrical layout — functional, if slightly less satisfying to the touch. Power draw is a modest 25 milliamps from a standard 9-volt centre-negative supply.
What the Double Durple offers is not crunch or saturation but something more specific and arguably more useful: the kind of boosted, breathing output that makes an amplifier come alive. For the price, it is a serious proposition.
Pete Honoré was chasing a tone. The session guitarist—someone who'd played behind Lionel Richie and Tom Jones, and who now runs YouTube content for the music retailer Andertons—had been stacking two Tone City pedals together: a Blues Man boost feeding into a Durple Overdrive. The combination was working. It was, in fact, one of the best sounds he'd ever pulled from his rig. So when Tone City came calling about a collaboration, the answer was obvious: build that pairing into a single box.
The result is the Double Durple, a compact dual-overdrive pedal that treats two distinct circuits as equal partners rather than a primary effect with a sidekick. The Durple side draws its lineage from Lovepedal's Kalamazoo through Tone City's Mandragora—a low-to-mid-gain circuit that behaves less like a traditional overdrive and more like a non-master-volume amplifier, where the gain and volume controls are locked in conversation with each other. Crank the gain while keeping volume low and you get a touch-sensitive response with considerable range. Push the volume past the quarter-turn mark and the Durple opens up, revealing its character. A tone control works as a subtle low-pass filter, while a mid-range knob lets you dial between low-end rumble and high-end snarl—broad strokes rather than surgical precision, which keeps the effect musical rather than clinical.
The Double side, a modified version of the Blues Man, is even more restrained. It's muscular without being aggressive, staying in that edge-of-breakup territory where many players actually live. The gain control is touch-sensitive through most of its range, only ramping noticeably in the final quarter. The real magic here is volume—this side will push an amplifier hard, and anything above a quarter-turn becomes a serious boost. A bright/smooth toggle adds subtle top-end shimmer when engaged, while the tone control operates like a standard guitar tone pot, rolling from dark to bright.
Using both circuits together requires restraint. Pair them thoughtfully and they complement each other in gain and tone, layering nicely into a fuller sound. Max out both gains simultaneously and the result turns mushy. Players with lower-wattage amplifiers need to be especially careful about stacking volume from both sides at once—the pedal will happily overwhelm a small amp. The sweet spot comes from modest settings, measured adjustments, and understanding that this pedal rewards intention over excess.
Physically, the Double Durple is compact and solid. It measures 12 centimeters long, 10 centimeters wide, and 5.2 centimeters tall—small enough to fit on a crowded pedalboard without dominating real estate. The enclosure feels durable. Top-mounted jacks keep cable routing clean. The two footswitches have enough space between them for individual engagement but sit close enough that you can hit both simultaneously if the moment calls for it. The normal-sized potentiometers feel smooth and substantial, dressed in silver witch-hat knobs with black grip rings. The mid-control uses a smaller potentiometer—a practical concession to the symmetrical layout—and while it works fine, it lacks the tactile satisfaction of its larger neighbors. Power comes from a standard 9-volt centre-negative supply, drawing 25 milliamps when both sides are active.
For the price, this is a serious piece of gear. You're getting two flavors of overdrive, each addressing a problem that has plagued classic overdrive pedals for decades: the lack of usable volume boost. Whether you're just beginning to explore what overdrive can do or you've spent years chasing tones through various circuits, the Double Durple offers something worth investigating. It won't give you high-gain crunch or metal-ready saturation. What it will give you is the kind of edge-of-breakup character and boosted output that makes an amplifier sing.
Notable Quotes
Pete Honoré cited the combination of Blues Man into Durple as one of the best tones he had ever gotten— Mixdown Magazine review
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
So this pedal came from Pete Honoré actually using two separate Tone City pedals together. That's an interesting origin story for a product.
It is. He wasn't trying to design something—he was just solving a problem he had. He liked how the Blues Man sounded as a boost into the Durple, and that combination became his tone. When Tone City noticed, they didn't try to reinvent the wheel. They just put what was already working into one box.
The Durple side is described as behaving like a non-master-volume amp. What does that actually mean for someone playing it?
It means the gain and volume controls aren't independent. They talk to each other. You can't just set gain high and volume low and expect a certain sound—adjusting one changes how the other feels. It's more like an old amp where you have to balance those two things together to find your tone.
And the Double side is very low gain but has serious volume. Why would someone want that?
Because not every moment needs saturation. Sometimes you just need to push your amp a little harder, add some grit, stay clean but present. The Double does that beautifully. It's a boost that happens to have some overdrive character, not an overdrive that happens to have volume.
What happens when you use both sides at once?
That's where it gets tricky. They pair well tonally, but the pedal punishes excess. Max out both gains and you get mush. Max out both volumes on a small amp and you've overpowered your rig. The pedal wants you to think about what you're doing.
So it's not a pedal for someone who just wants to stomp and go.
No. It rewards intention. It's for someone who understands that sometimes less is more, and who's willing to dial things in carefully.