I think we need to check/re-define the term "Amp-in-a-box" pedal. Given the UA, Tonex, Boss, Line6, etc., small form factor amp-cab/IR pedals, I think newcomers to the space are likely to misunderstand us old folks when we say "Amp-in-a-box" when talking about this kind of thing.
@@camenskycameron8413for me, ‘amp in a box’ means it has the speaker IR as part of the pedal features. Send a DI to a mixing console or audio interface WITH the IR filter straight from the pedal. Otherwise, every overdrive pedal could be considered an ‘amp in a box’
@@YTisGay I haven't found that affirmation anywhere else, but I'm interested to know where that info came from. I was googling crate and ampeg vh pedals, can you confirm that?
I'm 48 y/o and this pedal like the EVH phaser brings back what's inspirational about music. In return I'll say check out the UAFX Brigade chorus. It's as close to the Boss CE-1 if not identical.
Sick pedal. This is the best JHS Distortion pedal I have heard so far and it could go from old school rock tones to metal to punk because of the middle frequency knob. I love the versatility of this pedal.
As soon as you said Stone Temple Pilots I thought of Crackerman as their most "riffy" song and sure enough... And it nailed the tone! Getting this as soon as I've decided which colour I want...
Its funny how the difference in how modern something is depends almost entirely on where the mids are placed and how much or little of the mids there are
Sounds like one of those you may like Mr. RBG. I had the deep phase pedal, watched your video and bought an EVH phase 90. Better than the orange box on clean and distortion. From the 101 script and 9 volt script I prefer the 9 volt which the EVH comes a hair short of nailing, but enough to make it work. A lot better than the 101 script. The deep phase is to me a deeper dive on the EVH. I think this is another pedal that I'm going to buy and esteem. For only $130 MXR had to put a little more effort in the EVH phaser. It stands neck and neck with the 70's script and blows the block logo 101 phase 90 out of the water! OK, now let's watch this drive!
@@Mike_HuntizWet that's why typically better phase coherency comes from 1st order crossovers (6db/octave) than steeper 2nd, 3rd, etc order crossovers. There's also a type of distortion added, I can't recall the name of it now, hysteresis maybe? I'm not an expert. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn once a long time ago 😁
@@Relayer6a Well d@mn. I’ve been dealing with audio in many forms most my life. Personally and professionally. And I never heard of that nor aware of such sorcery. Learn something new every day 🤘
I used to run a red sun grantler (distortion based on a 1w high gain guitar amp) boosted by a maxon od808 into a two notes torpedo cab m+ (running power amp sim and cab sim and some eq, cause the natural grantler eq tilt was not my style) straight to front of house live, not bs-ing there was multiple gigs where touring bands, crew or audience members were asking what guitar amp I was using (cause they liked the tones) I used to run a line 6 pod hd into the effects return of a solid state amp head (bypassing the preamp, utilizing only the power amp) into a orange ppc 2x12 back in 2014-2016, these kinda rigs work great.
I really like how this pedal sounds. The sweepable mid control seems to strike a really nice balance between being powerful but also very musical throughout its entire range. Lots of pedals I’ve tried have overly aggressive mid controls that feel too harsh and resonant… but not this one. I also like what I’ve heard of the drive character, so far: chewy, gooey, and rich, with just enough subtle crackles and spit to not sound overly homogeneous and sanitized.
Carvin Mach 100 is better than the Powerstage. Smaller, stereo, 100W. I love mine and it's right at the end of my chain on my pedalboard... and only takes up the space of a Boss Pedal. The Powerstage is more for a desktop. You could even go with a Mooer Baby Bomb 30W. I have that one on my board too actually. Mono/Stereo, Dry/Wet rig that powers both a 2x12 and a 4x12 cabinet. The Seymore Duncan Powerstage is also very expensive and not built like a pedal like the other two. I wish this channel would review and show off the two Poweramp Pedals I mentioned. Especially that Carvin Mach100 I love it.
I absolutely adore RAT style pedals and JCM 800s in general. However, it is also nice to see a high gain distortion box, especially one that is an amp-in-a-box design that isn't trying to emulate a Marshall or isn't a variation of the RAT. This thing sounds great
This whole idea of "distortion vs preamp" is getting quite blurred. I love that you approached the "Hard Drive" as a preamp. I feel like there is a big missing component, in the tube /stereo power amp world. I have my TriAxis, 20/20 and 50/50, but nothing for my lighter set up. Just some shitty stereo solid state sh*t.
@@Mike_HuntizWet 20/20, 50/50, 90/90 and then there was something absurd like a 250W stereo tube power amp, all released around the same-ish time in the 90's. Those aforementioned tube power amps were designed to compliment Mesa's tube preamps, but in a modular way, as to fit your needs. I have the 50/50, but it is WAY TOO loud for the Triaxis, for my use case. I use the 50/50 with my Ampeg SVT III rack preamp. In general, I find it hard to find a stereo tube power amp in a small form factor. There are loads of solid state power amps (Milkman, EHX and some others), but when I A/B them to my 20/20...I hear the difference big time. I've even explored the Hi-Fi world for alternatives. More specifically to your question, I know that the 20/20 has some sort of "touch resistant-blah blah blah" (you can still look up the marketing on Mesa's site) that deals with the relationship between the preamp and power amp tubes, in a more natural way. Modelers claim that they've nailed this, (and maybe it's a mental thing) but I still don't think the models match the feel or sound. But I also like well tuned, unmuffled, loud vintage drums over modern-y, well muffled drums. Ultimately, I think if you wanna go modeler/FFR...cool. If you want full tube, also cool. But with the Triaxis/tube preamps or even transistor based preamps (the Hard Drive), it'd be nice to couple it with something of equal size that maintains the tube sound. PS::Z-Vex had a mono tube power amp that was pedal sized, like...15-years ago, but it was crazy expensive. The Mesa 20/20 and maybe Marshal or Rocktron are the best case, single rack space/smallest tube power amps out there (to my knowledge), but they're hard-to-find 90's vestiges.
No, the JHS Hard Drive is NOT, I repeat Not a Metal Zone Clone. Yes, it is a Pre-Amp or a Very Versatile Distortion Stomp Box that will also double as a Pre-Amp Pedal as well. 🤷♂️
How does it match up with an Empress Heavy Menace,...? My dirt stages are Tumnis Deluxe Angry Charlie V2 Empress Heavy Menace. And,..the Tumnis into Angry Charlie is absolutely magnificent,.. also.
It also has a Haunting Mids circuit. I can’t believe somebody would take an existing, out of production circuit, add more features, and then tweak it over 8 years to make it as versatile as possible. What a scam!
@@traviscrown9189 I don’t own a JHS pedal. I don’t really like distortion pedals. But don’t be disingenuous. To replicate this pedal you’d have to buy a used distortion pedal and a different JHS pedal. The sm7 copied three different pedals itself.
@@traviscrown9189 almost all analog circuits are a copy of another pedal. There's only so much you can do to make a circuit "unique". What you're paying for is the quality and the specific parameters and tweaks that were made. Fortunately for you, no one is forcing you to buy this, or any other JHS product for that matter. You can enjoy whatever you want without crapping on other people.
the sm7 was an inspiration to make a heavy distortion pedal. the circuit itself is not based on the sm7 or any of the other pedals mentioned in our video. our point was to show how versatile it can be. hope that helps.
Not sure that's true, I can't think of another overdrive/distortion that does sweeping mids in the same way. Maybe watch the JHS video about it. Or tell me what pedals you think do the same thing, maybe I'm just ignorant to them.
@@the_panosit’s a cool pedal but it’s been done to death. The original Ibanez sm7 is exactly the same which can also sound a lot like a beod. I mean don’t listen to me Josh did this himself in his video 😂. Basically grab any distortion pedal and an eq in front or behind, bang every distortion pedal ever made.
@@the92project The SM7 doesn’t have a mid control at all. And most overdrives and distortions can be tweaked to sound similar. JHS did a video about that already.
Man, that drummer colab was something else, I was here to see the regular playtrough without knowing I was in for a treat with a STP song! Damm!
🤘
this is too good to just be a preamp, please make a lunchbox head. The industry doesn't have enough GOOD solid state amps
@@nickalderman5943 199 bucks... Seems like it's got a lil extra power with good crunch capabilitiesoundabilities and it's not over priced ? Cool !
@@nickalderman5943good call! I doubt they have the infrastructure to make such a thing but it’d be awesome.
I think we need to check/re-define the term "Amp-in-a-box" pedal. Given the UA, Tonex, Boss, Line6, etc., small form factor amp-cab/IR pedals, I think newcomers to the space are likely to misunderstand us old folks when we say "Amp-in-a-box" when talking about this kind of thing.
Preamp in a box?
So how about you explain what it is and why it is different to an amp sim or a pre-amp with ir afterwards,
so we’d understand :)
Good luck explaining Gibsons Rythm and Lead toggle positions ;)
@@camenskycameron8413for me, ‘amp in a box’ means it has the speaker IR as part of the pedal features. Send a DI to a mixing console or audio interface WITH the IR filter straight from the pedal.
Otherwise, every overdrive pedal could be considered an ‘amp in a box’
Let’s just call it a distortion pedal!
Your welcome Fluff. I got JHS to send you a pedal, per a comment in the JHS feed the day it was released! I got you bro! lol.
This is refreshing that it's not based on anything pre-existing. Not many companies are making original things now.
It's based on a Crate. Which is why they won't say it.
@@YTisGay how do you know that?
@@MrJingles021 it's super obvious: it's box shaped.
@@YTisGay I haven't found that affirmation anywhere else, but I'm interested to know where that info came from. I was googling crate and ampeg vh pedals, can you confirm that?
"mids are dirty so we need to sweep them" DAMNIT RYAN THAT'S A GOOD LINE.
Dad joke of the day with that one…
this sounds great. i loved playing with mine. its so versatile! great demo :D
I love that Loki Mobius shirt
A Fluff w/special guests grunge cover EP would be killerrrrr
I'm 48 y/o and this pedal like the EVH phaser brings back what's inspirational about music. In return I'll say check out the UAFX Brigade chorus. It's as close to the Boss CE-1 if not identical.
Absolutely need this pedal in my life!
I love this pedal, reminds me of what I thought a Krank Distortus Maximus would sound like.
Man was I let down with that pedal 🙂↕️
@@Mike_HuntizWet you and I both man. The Krank was supposed to be a rock distortion but ended up being a treble machine.
One of my all time favourite riffs and songs. STP!!!
Finally, a pedal that captures your clean tone.
See, you get it.
DId you bust into We've Had Enough by Alk3 at 8:14?
Yes I did
FIRE, Great Demo Fluff; JHS you Killed it , STP All the Way..
I wonder how would this pedal compare to the revv g3?
That drummer is really hitting that thang
Sick pedal. This is the best JHS Distortion pedal I have heard so far and it could go from old school rock tones to metal to punk because of the middle frequency knob. I love the versatility of this pedal.
As soon as you said Stone Temple Pilots I thought of Crackerman as their most "riffy" song and sure enough... And it nailed the tone! Getting this as soon as I've decided which colour I want...
Its funny how the difference in how modern something is depends almost entirely on where the mids are placed and how much or little of the mids there are
Sounds like one of those you may like Mr. RBG. I had the deep phase pedal, watched your video and bought an EVH phase 90. Better than the orange box on clean and distortion. From the 101 script and 9 volt script I prefer the 9 volt which the EVH comes a hair short of nailing, but enough to make it work. A lot better than the 101 script. The deep phase is to me a deeper dive on the EVH. I think this is another pedal that I'm going to buy and esteem. For only $130 MXR had to put a little more effort in the EVH phaser. It stands neck and neck with the 70's script and blows the block logo 101 phase 90 out of the water! OK, now let's watch this drive!
loooove the live drums- looove the stp tune even more. Man- fave in review vid in a looooong time 🙌🏻🖤
Josh hit it out of the park with this one. And it's not a fortune.
"Sweep the Leg, Johnny !"...
A slower EQ slope helps maintain the phase and harmonics of the sound.
Really?
Interesting 🤔
@@Mike_HuntizWet that's why typically better phase coherency comes from 1st order crossovers (6db/octave) than steeper 2nd, 3rd, etc order crossovers. There's also a type of distortion added, I can't recall the name of it now, hysteresis maybe? I'm not an expert. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn once a long time ago 😁
@@Relayer6a Well d@mn. I’ve been dealing with audio in many forms most my life. Personally and professionally. And I never heard of that nor aware of such sorcery. Learn something new every day 🤘
Excellent pedal, love how it sounds!
I would love to see people who actually run distortion pedals into power amps.
Distortion pedals are not always preamps.
Never send a pedal to do a tubes job.
Edit: unless it has tubes. Friedman IRX is my main tone generator now
@@OttophilCongratulations on being “that guy.” Every comments section needs a cartoon character like you 😄
@@josearjona3728 it’s marketed as a distortion pedal. Are you running distortion pedals thru power amps?
I used to run a red sun grantler (distortion based on a 1w high gain guitar amp) boosted by a maxon od808 into a two notes torpedo cab m+ (running power amp sim and cab sim and some eq, cause the natural grantler eq tilt was not my style) straight to front of house live, not bs-ing there was multiple gigs where touring bands, crew or audience members were asking what guitar amp I was using (cause they liked the tones)
I used to run a line 6 pod hd into the effects return of a solid state amp head (bypassing the preamp, utilizing only the power amp) into a orange ppc 2x12 back in 2014-2016,
these kinda rigs work great.
I really like how this pedal sounds.
The sweepable mid control seems to strike a really nice balance between being powerful but also very musical throughout its entire range. Lots of pedals I’ve tried have overly aggressive mid controls that feel too harsh and resonant… but not this one.
I also like what I’ve heard of the drive character, so far: chewy, gooey, and rich, with just enough subtle crackles and spit to not sound overly homogeneous and sanitized.
That song takes me back. I loved that album
The sound of those drums is so fucking good.
Dumb question: when one used an "amp in a box" should you then also use an IR or cabinet?
I'm in the market for a JHS distortion. Trying to decide between this and a Notaklon. I'm thinking I'll go hard drive after seeing this video.
Interesting, it has the grit of some Vemuram pedals for way cheaper. It’s going to stay in my radar for a while.
Damn your drummer has it with the nuances. Rare, except few professional bands.
Interstate Love Song In A Box
Carvin Mach 100 is better than the Powerstage. Smaller, stereo, 100W. I love mine and it's right at the end of my chain on my pedalboard... and only takes up the space of a Boss Pedal. The Powerstage is more for a desktop. You could even go with a Mooer Baby Bomb 30W. I have that one on my board too actually. Mono/Stereo, Dry/Wet rig that powers both a 2x12 and a 4x12 cabinet. The Seymore Duncan Powerstage is also very expensive and not built like a pedal like the other two. I wish this channel would review and show off the two Poweramp Pedals I mentioned. Especially that Carvin Mach100 I love it.
I’m surprised you haven’t reviewed the Blackstar Amped series pedals. It’s literally an amp on a pedalboard.
I absolutely adore RAT style pedals and JCM 800s in general. However, it is also nice to see a high gain distortion box, especially one that is an amp-in-a-box design that isn't trying to emulate a Marshall or isn't a variation of the RAT. This thing sounds great
Mids freq is kinda wimpy. No bees, no old english font, doesn't say metal on it. Has a nerdy computer instead of a sword or an axe.
Maybe I missed it, but I'd love to know the recording chain. Mics, mic preamps? Mic technique?
Every amp in the box pedal i've ever owned in 30 years, always sounds better through a preamp to me.
Def nails that STP vibe
It supposed to be a wide range of sounds, and we basically got one flavor of it.
Well luckily for you there are 500 other videos on this pedal 🙂
Sold! You playing STP was the catalyst.
Sweet jesus those drums sound tasty
This pedal sounds very good. 🤘
You youtubes are great rock pedals.
Sweep the mids, do it, DO IT.!!!!!!
Still love your show Bro. 👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾
Sounds great. Great song choice. Album stick kicks total ass.
Man for sure, It's one of the pedals ever made...
Hey Fluff, lookin sharp lately. How and what do you eat? Greetings from Germany
Less of everything 😂
Josh and the Jhs group are Great Musicians on top of it all plus his pedals are awesome !
Love the shirt dude
dude bloodmagic is so good! It's sick you got to work with kyle
Love the shirt, Fluff!
This whole idea of "distortion vs preamp" is getting quite blurred. I love that you approached the "Hard Drive" as a preamp. I feel like there is a big missing component, in the tube /stereo power amp world. I have my TriAxis, 20/20 and 50/50, but nothing for my lighter set up. Just some shitty stereo solid state sh*t.
I have a Triaxis. What does the 20/20 and 50/50 represent?
@@Mike_HuntizWet 20/20, 50/50, 90/90 and then there was something absurd like a 250W stereo tube power amp, all released around the same-ish time in the 90's. Those aforementioned tube power amps were designed to compliment Mesa's tube preamps, but in a modular way, as to fit your needs. I have the 50/50, but it is WAY TOO loud for the Triaxis, for my use case. I use the 50/50 with my Ampeg SVT III rack preamp.
In general, I find it hard to find a stereo tube power amp in a small form factor. There are loads of solid state power amps (Milkman, EHX and some others), but when I A/B them to my 20/20...I hear the difference big time.
I've even explored the Hi-Fi world for alternatives.
More specifically to your question, I know that the 20/20 has some sort of "touch resistant-blah blah blah" (you can still look up the marketing on Mesa's site) that deals with the relationship between the preamp and power amp tubes, in a more natural way.
Modelers claim that they've nailed this, (and maybe it's a mental thing) but I still don't think the models match the feel or sound. But I also like well tuned, unmuffled, loud vintage drums over modern-y, well muffled drums.
Ultimately, I think if you wanna go modeler/FFR...cool. If you want full tube, also cool. But with the Triaxis/tube preamps or even transistor based preamps (the Hard Drive), it'd be nice to couple it with something of equal size that maintains the tube sound.
PS::Z-Vex had a mono tube power amp that was pedal sized, like...15-years ago, but it was crazy expensive. The Mesa 20/20 and maybe Marshal or Rocktron are the best case, single rack space/smallest tube power amps out there (to my knowledge), but they're hard-to-find 90's vestiges.
@@TheLordcasio I use a Fryette Power Station as the power amp for my Triaxis. I believe Fryette also has a 1U rack mounted power amp
@@TheLordcasio Yeah. It’s the LX II. 50/50 single space tube power amp 👍
How it is as a high gain amp booster?.
Sounds great to me, now just need to find one.
So it’s a Metal Zone?
Neh, it has more substance, sounds like it has more body u know
That was kind of a joke
@@gasarockbandsomebody didn't watch 20 cycle hum's review...
No, the JHS Hard Drive is NOT, I repeat Not a Metal Zone Clone. Yes, it is a Pre-Amp or a Very Versatile Distortion Stomp Box that will also double as a Pre-Amp Pedal as well. 🤷♂️
@@reverendg5937 your friends will think it’s a Metal Zone though
I think it sounds pretty alright
That shirt is awesome...
So you turned your diezel into a jcm900, That's cool because I love my 900. Rock on.
This sounds AMAZING.
That's a spicy pedal!
Not fooling me, that's a Metal Zone!
who is this for?
that mid freq pot is a big of a red flag; below 2AM quite unusable.
cool STP cover!
8:08 🔥🤘🏻😝🤘🏻
Kept waiting for those FLUFFy pipes to sound off...
8:08 "that's it we've had enough!!!" 💋
8:27 Had them Pennywise vibes.
so its like a Demeter that dean deleo uses
Wow that drummer
what a sound! STP! Shut up and take my money please
Super fuzzy. Sweet though.
Metal zone clone?
Get away, i gotta get away
This made me buy another jhs pedal...
How about running this from the front of an amp without a FX loop. Not everyone has the luxury of that.
Nice pedal, too expensive? 🧐 I hope it’s not!
How does it match up with an Empress Heavy Menace,...?
My dirt stages are Tumnis Deluxe
Angry Charlie V2
Empress Heavy Menace.
And,..the Tumnis into Angry Charlie is
absolutely magnificent,.. also.
I have more or less the same tattoo
Silent switching:(. I love the typical jhs clicky switching
already got a tat for this video! nice valve!
Would have preferred to hear it raw in the room.
Too bad the whole video featured a les paul. Was hoping for some modern tones
You didn’t do much sweeping.
Sounds Muddy
3:32 Cold? Grandpa had to loan you his cardigan?
200$ for this????
Im here for the GAINZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously killer tone, killer cover, and what a fucking drummer!!!
Didn't hear any 90s or early 2000 tunes played.
You didn’t hear the Stone Temple Pilots cover 😂😂😂
@@RiffsAndBeards metal that is
Hey look JHS made another non original pedal. Sweet.
Josh literally said in the jhs video this pedal came from an old ibanez sm7 smash box.
It also has a Haunting Mids circuit. I can’t believe somebody would take an existing, out of production circuit, add more features, and then tweak it over 8 years to make it as versatile as possible. What a scam!
@@boonehcorrect. Scam. Mass marketing company that happens to copy pedals or collab pedals along the way. Tell everyone you’re a fanboy.
@@traviscrown9189 I don’t own a JHS pedal. I don’t really like distortion pedals. But don’t be disingenuous. To replicate this pedal you’d have to buy a used distortion pedal and a different JHS pedal. The sm7 copied three different pedals itself.
@@traviscrown9189 almost all analog circuits are a copy of another pedal. There's only so much you can do to make a circuit "unique". What you're paying for is the quality and the specific parameters and tweaks that were made. Fortunately for you, no one is forcing you to buy this, or any other JHS product for that matter. You can enjoy whatever you want without crapping on other people.
the sm7 was an inspiration to make a heavy distortion pedal. the circuit itself is not based on the sm7 or any of the other pedals mentioned in our video. our point was to show how versatile it can be. hope that helps.
Sounds great, but offers nothing that 100 other pedals don’t. Repackaged marketing exercise.
Not sure that's true, I can't think of another overdrive/distortion that does sweeping mids in the same way. Maybe watch the JHS video about it. Or tell me what pedals you think do the same thing, maybe I'm just ignorant to them.
@@the_panosit’s a cool pedal but it’s been done to death. The original Ibanez sm7 is exactly the same which can also sound a lot like a beod. I mean don’t listen to me Josh did this himself in his video 😂. Basically grab any distortion pedal and an eq in front or behind, bang every distortion pedal ever made.
I’m not gonna lie, I definitely am not super impressed. I’m a huge shredmaster+rat fan. But something about it..
@@the92project The SM7 doesn’t have a mid control at all. And most overdrives and distortions can be tweaked to sound similar. JHS did a video about that already.
@@MyersJMark lying about super impressiveness always looks ands sounds impressive no lie
I lost respect for JHS when they started getting political on Instagram. Focus on music, not politics...
How dare people care about things!
How dare people care about things!
I feel it a little thin
There's a pill for that