New Arrivals For May 2019

At a recent post-gig band rehearsal, we decided that I needed to start adding effects to my acoustic rig. The plan this month was to build out a full acoustic board – one that’ll run into the amp for shows, and also directly into a PA for open-mic spots.

Sadly, my timing’s off, and the pedals I’m targeting for the acoustic board have been out-of-stock every time I’ve gone shopping for them. In the meantime, there’s been a few unexpectedly good bargains crop up on eBay, so I grabbed those instead.

Here’s a list of all the new gear that arrived in May, along with my first impressions of each item. I’ll do a detailed writeup about each piece of gear when I’ve had a bit of time with it.

Continue reading “New Arrivals For May 2019”

JHS Modded Boss DS-1 Synth Drive

Yes, you read that right. JHS has taken the ubiquitous Boss DS-1 and made some crazy mods to it. And then they asked Mike Hermans – one of the top  demo guys – to show what this thing can do.

It starts out with an upgraded drive circuit, complete with a three-way toggle switch for different clipping types. That alone would be a great mod in its own right.

Then, they added 3 different synth circuits that you can switch in and out independently … just in case you’re bored with overdrive sounds. Or you just want something that’s batshit 🙂

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Mike’s video.

JHS Bonsai Demo – All The Tubescreamers!

I think this was released at Winter NAMM 2018?

Over at Premier Guitar, John Bollinger has posted a demo of the JHS Bonsai – 9 different Tubescreamers in 1 standard-size pedal housing.

The Tubescreamer is probably the most-cloned pedal of all time. With a few notable exceptions – like the Wampler Euphoria – if it’s a pedal in a green housing, it’s normally an outright Tubescreamer clone or something based on the Tubescreamer circuit.

Tubescreamers can be difficult to dial in. The traditional 1 tone control either works for you or not, and over the years, the Tubescreamer circuit has evolved to offer more options to suit different players and rigs. Having 9 of these in a single housing could be very handy indeed. If 1 circuit isn’t working for you with a particular guitar and amp, one of the others probably will.

I’ve got a Mad Professor Little Green Wonder on my board. It’s there for when I use my Strat. A ZenDrive into a Tubescreamer is a magical sound 🙂 I’m tempted to pickup a JHS Bonsai at some point, for the extra flexibility.

If you like the video, please head over to YouTube to like the video and leave a comment there.