# JHS Pedals is killing it!



## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

JHS Pedals, Kansas City USA— Current Pedals







www.jhspedals.info










They're nailing it with the new 3 series. 7 pedals, each with only 3 knobs, each very versatile, and all only $135 each.

I'm eyeing the chorus and the fuzz, pretty hard to beat at that price!


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

Found this video from JHS, probably the most in depth demo I've seen!


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## KoskineN (Apr 19, 2007)

The Fuzz sounds pretty good, so I ordered one. Josh's description of the circuit and vision sound like a great design to me.


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## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

The fuzz is what interests me for sure. 

I thought RJ did a great demo. Another one of those guys that makes everything sound great.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

This should be big for them considering the price and the fact they’re US made.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

KoskineN said:


> The Fuzz sounds pretty good, so I ordered one. Josh's description of the circuit and vision sound like a great design to me.


I'm looking to add the Fuzz to my stable eventually. The problem I currently run into is that with them being $130 I can often get a used upmarket fuzz for about the same money. That being said, I have 5 (I think) other JHS pedals and I've been very happy with all of them so it's not like I don't expect to end up with one eventually.


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

What do you consider up market? Especially with fuzz, I don't think they have to be expensive or exclusive. This one seems particularly versatile, even compared to the suhr rufus I'm currently using, which has a lot more to dial.

I find these intruiging as they're all right in the pricerange where you can justify a nice to have pedal without spending bigger bucks on larger (or more boutique) brand names


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

TheYanChamp said:


> What do you consider up market?


Brands whos pedals generally run in the $200 plus range. JHS, Fulltone, Wampler, Earthquaker. Boss and MXR flirt with this with their Waza and Custom Shop lines.



TheYanChamp said:


> Especially with fuzz, I don't think they have to be expensive or exclusive. This one seems particularly versatile, even compared to the suhr rufus I'm currently using, which has a lot more to dial.


Make no mistake, in my personal opinion neither cost nor exclusivity have anything to do with whether or not a pedal is good for a player.



TheYanChamp said:


> I find these intruiging as they're all right in the pricerange where you can justify a nice to have pedal without spending bigger bucks on larger (or more boutique) brand names


I also find them intriguing, it's just not the price point that makes them intriguing to me. In my experience if you're shopping used you don't really have to spend bigger bucks to get more optioned, bigger named, etc. pedals. It takes a special kind of idiot to get involved with fuzz pedals and that really slashes the value in the secondary market, lol. Of the 4 fuzzes I currently have (Octafuzz, MXR La Machine, EHX Big Muff, EQD Hoof) a new JHS 3 series would be among, if not the, most expensive of the bunch, certainly within a couple bucks.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

These seem like they are a good option for a guy like me who is super phobic about buying expensive pedals


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I remember years ago on the Gear Page Josh (JHS) was not well liked because he claimed a copied circuit was his original design. He's come a long way since then.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Interesting.
If I didn't already have the Chorus I like (Or if I needed to replace a Chorus pedal)-I would consider that one.
The Reverb interests me, I have a cheap reverb pedal I like, but this could be a cool second reverb--or if going head to head this one comes out as better.


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

I think the fuzz sounds like Pooh. I wish Howard Gee would finish his fuzz and get it out.

TG


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

These pedals aren't designed to the same level as their normal lines. They are meant to be generic sounds in a basic package covering most of the needs a guitarist would have at the start of their pedal journey.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

traynor_garnet said:


> I think the fuzz sounds like Pooh. I wish Howard Gee would finish his fuzz and get it out.
> 
> TG


Also you: _Has 6 Metal Zones_


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

Okay Player said:


> Also you: _Has 6 Metal Zones_


????????


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

1SweetRide said:


> These pedals aren't designed to the same level as their normal lines. They are meant to be generic sounds in a basic package covering most of the needs a guitarist would have at the start of their pedal journey.



The rest is cork sniffing. Thats why I appreciate his drummer and bass demo's. When its not an isolated track fuck if you can tell much of a difference between 130, 230 or 330.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

traynor_garnet said:


> ????????


Just making a joke.


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## Festus McCorkindale (Dec 17, 2017)

1SweetRide said:


> These pedals aren't designed to the same level as their normal lines. They are meant to be generic sounds in a basic package covering most of the needs a guitarist would have at the start of their pedal journey.


Good point. But weren’t almost all of the classic pedals designed with this goal in mind?


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## Festus McCorkindale (Dec 17, 2017)

Okay Player said:


> Just making a joke.


Hey man, the Metal Zone is no joke


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

Festus McCorkindale said:


> Hey man, the Metal Zone is no joke


You dont have to tell me. It turns out if you don't do what every 14 year old does with them they sound pretty alright.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Festus McCorkindale said:


> Good point. But weren’t almost all of the classic pedals designed with this goal in mind?


Don’t know. I wasn’t around back then. Perhaps. Not sure why old pedals are so desirable then.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

1SweetRide said:


> Don’t know. I wasn’t around back then. Perhaps. Not sure why old pedals are so desirable then.


Magic chips.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Okay Player said:


> Magic chips.


Apparently. One of my favourite pedals has NOS caps and resistors in it so maybe there was some magic back then.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

1SweetRide said:


> Apparently. One of my favourite pedals has NOS caps and resistors in it so maybe there was some magic back then.


I’d be willing to bet it has more to do with intangibles than anything else. It’s amazing how much better the gear I’ve had since I was a teen or pined for since I was that age sounds compared to everything else.


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## KoskineN (Apr 19, 2007)

I received the Fuzz today, and so far I like it very much. It sounds very good, and it's easy to find a good sound, thanks to the Fuzz knob that works all over its range(well at full counterclock it's off). The pedal itself doesn't feel cheap at all, and it's well constructed. The only negative point, for me at least, is that it doesn't clean up like a Fuzz Face, but it's seems to be more similar to a Tonebender-type in that department. Anyway, for $135CAN, it's hard to beat.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

KoskineN said:


> I received the Fuzz today, and so far I like it very much. It sounds very good, and it's easy to find a good sound, thanks to the Fuzz knob that works all over its range(well at full counterclock it's off). The pedal itself doesn't feel cheap at all, and it's well constructed. The only negative point, for me at least, is that it doesn't clean up like a Fuzz Face, but it's seems to be more similar to a Tonebender-type in that department. Anyway, for $135CAN, it's hard to beat.


Thanks for the quick review.


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## Dave B4 (Jan 11, 2020)

My JHS 3 Chorus arrived today. 

'Working' from home, so only played a bit so far

First impression is that it easily got to a late 70's/early 80's Alex Lifeson tone - think Exit... Stage Left, with my 335 and SD-1. Clean, it has that same, period correct sound at just before 1 o’clock on the rate and depth. For me, unity volume is around 11 o’clock 

Took my Chorus Ensemble off to try this. Have to say, I prefer the 3 knob system.

Vibe setting is a bonus and sounds cool!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Dave B4 said:


> My JHS 3 Chorus arrived today.
> 
> 'Working' from home, so only played a bit so far
> 
> ...


The CE-1 used a different LFO waveform for vibrato than it did for chorus. Specifically, it used triangle modulation for chorus and sine-wave modulation for vibrato. I couldn't find out any info one way or the other Do you have any sense that the modulation in the vibrato setting is a bit "rounder" is some respects? I'm not saying that would be easy to hear; I'm just asking.


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## Dave B4 (Jan 11, 2020)

Sorry, mhammer, I only have a CE-5 (digital) to compare. Don’t have another vibrato....


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

No problem. When you said "chorus ensemble", I thought you meant a CE-1. Carry on.
Mark


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## Dave B4 (Jan 11, 2020)

Ha! I wish. I wouldn’t be looking for new options if that were the case! Or, if the Waza wasn't $300!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Quite honestly, the ONLY good thing about the CE-1 was the different LFO waveforms for chorus and vibrato, and the ability to get both types of effects from the one pedal. Its input impedance was too low for guitar, although its built-in noise gate for the delay signal was helpful, compared to the use of pre-emphasis/de-emphasis in later-model Boss chorus pedals.

The CE-5 is actually_ analog_, not digital. It appears to be able to do the same trick that the CE-3 does. That is, if you insert a mono plug into Output B, you get dry-only from that jack, and wet-only from Output A. Folks normally think of it as being exclusively for stereo. But if you only use the A output, you have vibrato. It's not as wonderful a vibrato sound as from the CE-1, using a sinusoidal sweep, but it's serviceable, and its free.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

If the pedal does what you want it to--it doesn't matter if it's cheap or not.
Actually lower price can be better that way.

Of course if you gig a lot (Or did or might again)-especially with lots of travel, durability is a great thing.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

So, I have a bit of an affinity for Rat's. So when I found out the 3 series Distortion is a modified Rat I ordered one. It's good. Really good. Good enough that I ordered the Overdrive a few days later. I haven't had a lot of time with the Overdrive, but it's got me wondering if I really need to keep around some of these significantly more expensive OD's.


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## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

Okay Player said:


> So, I have a bit of an affinity for Rat's. So when I found out the 3 series Distortion is a modified Rat I ordered one. It's good. Really good. Good enough that I ordered the Overdrive a few days later. I haven't had a lot of time with the Overdrive, but it's got me wondering if I really need to keep around some of these significantly more expensive OD's.


How does it compare to a Rat?


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

fretzel said:


> How does it compare to a Rat?


Favorably in my opinion.

I'm still feeling out how the toggle impacts the overall character of the pedal, but I loaned the Rat2 that's normally on my board to a co-worker leaving the JHS in its place. When I went to play a little bit today I didn't think to myself "This doesn't sound right." Hopefully I'll get the chance to monkey with it a little bit more tomorrow. Maybe compare it to my WFRI. If shipping wouldn't make it ridiculous I'd lend it to you.


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## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

@Okay Player that's very kind. I have a cmatmods Black Plague, later renamed Ratified. I've been meaning to pull it out of storage as I haven't used it in awhile. 

I have the fuzz from this series. Pretty versatile, but it suffers from what most drives do with a bias. While I enjoy the sag it adds, it ends up pushing mids more than I enjoy. 

@mhammer is there a reason this happens?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

fretzel said:


> @Okay Player While I enjoy the sag it adds, it ends up pushing mids more than I enjoy.
> 
> @mhammer is there a reason this happens?


I couldn't say for sure, but since handling bass transients generally requires greater current, I would imagine that restricting current would allow mids to seem to come to the forefront because lows are severely limited in amplitude. That's just a guess, though.

As for the overall price/performance aspect of this series, you know, when you have standardized machining of a white powder-coated enclosure for an entire line of pedals, you can save a heap of production costs. And when you think you can move a lot of them, you can afford to gamble on keeping the cost to retailers modest.

As I often have to keep reminding people, YES, there may only be $10 worth of parts in a $250 pedal, but the calculation of the retail price includes a lot we don't think of. The retailer has to defray all of their operating costs and still make a bit of profit. The pedal-maker, in turn, has a lot of costs we rarely think of. The $10 worth of parts does not factor in all the living expenses the maker needs to meet (rent, car payments, family costs, paying any staff, health insurance, etc.), the $1000 they had to lay out for the test equipment they need, the outlay for whatever the minimum order requirements any contractors may require ("Sure I can machine and powder coat those boxes for ya,but it's gotta be a minimum order of 10,000"), marketing costs, freebies to distributors and influencers, and so on. I won't even begin to mention the student debt the maker may still be paying off, for the education they pursued to learn how to make what they make. It takes a lot more than $10 worth of parts for that pedal to get to you. The pedal-maker starts off by calculating how many they will need to make and sell each month or quarter, in order to meet those costs, and works backward from that to set the price they give to the retailer.


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## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

Thanks for the reply.


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## Scott McCrea (Dec 27, 2020)

The fuzz is great!!


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

I heard nothing but good things about JHS pedals.


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## terminalvertigo (Jun 12, 2010)

AJ6stringsting said:


> I heard nothing but good things about JHS _pedals_.


correct.


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