Kernom Effects – My Thoughts!

I’ve been lucky enough to test out all of the three Kernom pedals. This article will talk about my experience testing the Kernom Ridge, Moho, and Elipse. Let’s get into it.

Howdy, I’m Shane from intheblues, and after 3,000+ YouTube demos, I thought I’d seen it all—until Kernom’s pedals blew my mind. These French-made beasts (Ridge, Moho, Elipse) are like the Super Champ X2 of pedals: innovative, versatile, and packed with killer tones. Let’s dive into why they’re game-changers for your pedalboard

What the Deal with Kernom Pedals?

The range of Kernom pedals are designed to be a one-and-done option for guitarists who like analog simplicity. They feature a wide selection of fantastic and iconic tones with the ability to dial in something unique and different.

This puts Kernom ahead of the game when it comes to releasing pedals. Unlike other companies that continue to release more and more pedals with slight variations – Kernom took a different approach. Their pedals are literally designed to give you anything you need tonally. Whether you’re a fan of a classic overdrive, Klon or clean boost – their Ridge will do it.

Kernom pedals are from France and the build quality and overall design is right up there with the best of the best. If you’re sick of buying numerous pedals, these might be the option you’re looking for.

Saving Presets

Each pedal allows you to store a single preset and switch between the “live sound” giving you two unique options. For those who enjoy midi-control – you can store up to 128 unique settings! It’s a bit stingy to only have one saved preset without a MIDI controller, but hook up a Midi Controller for the full experience, and you’ve got 128 tones at your feet.

The Only Consideration

The only one thing to consider with Kernom pedals are that they are quite a lot bigger than a standard “dual pedal”. I love the fact there’s top mounted jacks and if you’ve got space on your pedalboard, it’ll be a great option.

Ridge: The Overdrive Chameleon

The Kernom Ridge was the first of the three pedals I got to test. When this was released I dismissed it as a complicated digital multi-effects overdrive pedal – but I was WRONG. At first glance it can look daunting, but I was able to find the sound in my head in no time at all.

The Kernom Ridge allows you to cycle through anything from a clean boost to a high gain distortion using the Mood control. The further this is to the right hand side, the more gain you are going to get in combination of course, with the Drive control.

In the center we get a post tone and pre-tone option which allows you to select the precise amount of high end you want in your signal. Having a tone stack before and after your drive separates this from a lot of other pedals out there.

Additionally, the Mid control allows you to either scoop or boost the mids. If you’re laying down some rhythm guitar for a recording you can adjust it slightly to the left for less mids and then turn it clockwise for more of a mid focused sound.

Unlimited Possibilities!

The Kernom Ridge is like the Super Champ X2 of overdrive pedals (without the digital part). The pedal is versatile, innovative, and packed with great tones.

Its Analog Morphing Core tech lets the Mood knob morph from clean boost to heavy distortion, like having a Klon, Tubescreamer, and Fulltone OCD in one box. At low Mood, it’s a sparkly boost that makes my Tele sing through a Super Champ X2, perfect for country or blues. Crank it to 80%, and you’re in high-gain territory, with thick, compressed tones for hard rock riffs.

The 30V output gives it a punch that wakes up any amp, and the Pre, Mid, and Post knobs let you sculpt the EQ like a studio pro. Try Pre at 50%, Mid at 40%, and Mood at 25% for bluesy crunch, or push Mood to 80% for metal-ready grit. The catch? Only one onboard preset—grab a MIDI controller like the Hotone Ampero Control for 128 more.

Compared to a Boss BD-2 or Ibanez Tube Screamer, the Ridge’s infinite clipping options make it a tone-shaper’s dream. I took it to a gig, and it’s a solid contender for a pedal that will work in any live players rig.

Check out my review of the Kernom Ridge – Buy it on Thomann (affiliate link)

Kermon Ridge Tone Chart Guide

Kernom Ridge Tone Chart (Overdrive)

Tone/Genre	Settings (Pre, Mid, Post, Mood)	Description	Notes
Clean Boost (Country/Blues)	Pre: 50%, Mid: 40%, Post: 60%, Mood: 10%	Sparkly, transparent boost that makes your Tele pop through a Super Champ X2, like a Klon for twangy licks or clean blues.	Set Super Champ X2 to Blackface voicing for max shimmer. Use before other pedals.
Blues Crunch	Pre: 60%, Mid: 50%, Post: 50%, Mood: 25%	Gritty, warm overdrive with a Tubescreamer vibe, perfect for SRV-style blues leads or BB King bends.	Pair with Super Champ X2’s Channel 2 for extra bite. Try clipping switch on “soft.”
Classic Rock	Pre: 70%, Mid: 60%, Post: 50%, Mood: 50%	Punchy, mid-heavy drive like a Marshall stack, great for AC/DC riffs or Led Zeppelin crunch.	Use 30V output to push your amp hard. Mid switch on for thicker tone.
High-Gain Rock/Metal	Pre: 80%, Mid: 60%, Post: 60%, Mood: 80%	Thick, compressed distortion like a Fulltone OCD, ideal for Metallica rhythms or modern rock solos.	Sensitive Pre knob—dial slowly. MIDI for presets if switching live.

Kernom Moho: The Fuzziest of Fuzz Pedals

The Moho was the second release from Kernom after the Ridge. This pedal is the all-in-one option for Fuzz lovers! If you’re a fuzz fan, this will do everything and replace the need for owning more than one Fuzz effect.

While I am not the biggest fuzz fan in the world (I prefer overdrive), it doesn’t take away from how versatile this effect is. The Kernom Moho will do anything from Lo-Fi Fuzz, Fuzz Face, Big Muff tones, and much more.

From vintage Tone Bender warmth to glitchy Zvex Fuzz Factory chaos, the Moho’s a fuzz playground. I ran it with a few of my guitars and and low Mood gave me Hendrix vibes, while maxed-out settings were pure stoner rock sludge (which I can’t play).

The mood control gives you full flexibility to find the fuzz tone that’s in your head. Like the Ridge we get the same great EQ options for pre and post tone stack for dialling in the high-end. The Electricity control adds low or high octaves (think Hendrix) which allows you to get it screaming.

The Moho is the same size, weight, and deisgn as the Ridge keeping the range of pedals very consistent.

Kernom Moho Tone Chart

Kernom Moho Tone Chart (Fuzz)

Tone/Genre	Settings (Pre, Mid, Post, Mood)	Description	Notes
Vintage ‘60s Fuzz (Rock/Blues)	Pre: 50%, Mid: 50%, Post: 60%, Mood: 20%	Creamy, Hendrix-style fuzz with a warm, round tone, like a Tone Bender for “Foxy Lady” vibes.	Run into Super Champ X2’s clean channel for clarity. Knobs interact—tweak slowly.
Classic Big Muff (Rock)	Pre: 60%, Mid: 60%, Post: 50%, Mood: 40%	Thick, woolly fuzz like a Big Muff, perfect for Smashing Pumpkins or stoner rock riffs.	Boost with Ridge for more sustain. Mid knob shapes thickness.
Modern Fuzz (Grunge/Doom)	Pre: 70%, Mid: 50%, Post: 60%, Mood: 70%	Heavy, saturated fuzz with a grunge edge, like Nirvana or QOTSA’s desert-rock growl.	Super Champ X2’s British voicing adds bite. Careful with high Mood—gets chaotic.
Experimental/Glitch	Pre: 80%, Mid: 40%, Post: 70%, Mood: 90%	Wild, ring-mod-like fuzz for avant-garde or Radiohead-style weirdness—think Fuzz Factory chaos.	Use MIDI to save presets. Run after Elipse for trippy textures.

Check out my Kernom Moho Review on YouTube – Buy it on Thomann (affiliate link)

Kernom Elipse: It Can ALMOST summon UFO’s!

The Kernom Elipse is the most recent release and this offers an all-in-one solution for guitarists looking for modulation effects. The Elipse does everything from Harmonic Tremolo, Rotary, Chorus, Vibrato, Flanger, Phase, Univibe, and More!

The benefit of the mood control is you can position it between two effects giving you something that would not be possible on a standard single effects pedals.

Additionally, the Elipse has another trick up it’s sleeve called the “Swirl” control. This allows you to dial in a second Chorus effect over anything you dial in with the mood control.

All three dials on the left let you set the pedal in terms of Shape, Speed, and Depth like conventional modulation effects. If you’re sick of buying more than one chorus pedal or want something unlike anything else, this is where the Elipse really shines. This thing is so crazy, I am sure there’s a tone in here that can summon UFO’s. haha.

Watch my Kernom Elipse Review – Buy it on Thomann (affiliate link)

Kermon Elipse Tone Chart

Kernom Elipse Tone Chart (Modulation)

Tone/Genre	Settings (Speed, Depth, Mood, Swirl)	Description	Notes
Lush Chorus (Pop/Jazz)	Speed: 30%, Depth: 50%, Mood: Chorus (40%), Swirl: 20%	Rich, shimmering chorus like a Boss CE-1, perfect for clean jazz chords or ‘80s pop leads on a Super Champ X2.	Pair with Super Champ X2’s clean channel. Swirl adds subtle phasing.
Vintage Vibe (Rock/Blues)	Speed: 40%, Depth: 60%, Mood: Vibe (60%), Swirl: 30%	Uni-Vibe-style swirl for Robin Trower or Hendrix’s “Little Wing” vibe—warm and hypnotic.	Super Champ X2’s Tweed voicing enhances warmth. Roland EV-5 expression for speed.
Rotary Speaker (Blues/Gospel)	Speed: 50%, Depth: 50%, Mood: Rotary (70%), Swirl: 40%	Leslie-like spin that’s killer for blues organ tones or gospel chords through a Super Champ X2.	Mono-only, so no stereo swirl. Place after Ridge for gritty rotary.
Ambient Phaser/Flanger	Speed: 20%, Depth: 70%, Mood: Flanger-Phaser (50%), Swirl: 60%	Dreamy, shoegaze-y modulation for My Bloody Valentine textures or ambient soundscapes.	Run in Super Champ X2’s effects loop for lush repeats. Swirl adds drive.

Final Thoughts

Let’s wrap up this post. At the end of the day, if you’re sick of buying loads of different overdrives, fuzz, or modulation pedals these three Kernom pedals will replace the need for anything else.

While they are quite expensive, they offer a solution that no one else is even coming close to unless you want to menu-dive through a multi-effects processor pedal.

The analog simplicity of the Kernom Range is what makes them unique, fun, and very usable. Thanks for checking out my blog. Subscribe on YouTube for more videos.