“It's different to anything we’ve ever made”: JHS Pedals launches Lari Basilio’s first-ever signature stompbox – and it offers “a new take on distortion and overdrive”
Basilio has been using a prototype of The Violet on almost everything she's played since mid-2022 – and now the core of her celebrated guitar tone has been given a signature release
The Violet: Lari Basilio's New Signature Overdrive Distortion Pedal! - YouTube
JHS Pedals has partnered with Lari Basilio to produce The Violet – a new signature distortion pedal that promises to offer “a new take” on the effect.
As JHS founder Josh Scott explains in a launch video, The Violet has been a long time coming: he and Basilio began their collaboration back in 2019, and for roughly the past two years the Ibanez signature artist has been using an elusive overdrive pedal prototype that, until this day, has remained a mystery.
Now, that mystery pedal has been finalized and released as Basilio’s first-ever signature stompbox, which Scott has badged “the ultimate distortion for your clean amp.”
“At the time you [Scott] called me I was alternating between a couple pedals, but they were always missing something. So, the first thing that came to my mind was to do an overdrive/distortion pedal,” explains Basilio in the launch video.
“Everything I did – YouTube videos, my recordings, live shows, clinics – everything from mid-2022 on is with this pedal.”
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(Image credit: JHS Pedals)
(Image credit: JHS Pedals)
It promises to put a unique spin on the classic overdrive/distortion design, owing to its unorthodox EQ. As Scott goes on to explain, “The guitar goes in buffered, and then you go straight into a mid control in the front.
“Then you go into the distortion-creating block, then out of that [into] bass and treble. So the mid is not directly connected to those bass and trebles.
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“I could tell you really liked that,” Scott says to Basilio of the quirky approach, “because it's different to other things you were playing and anything we’ve ever made.”
This, according to JHS, “allows the Violet to achieve hundreds of tones, from overdrive to full-on modern distortion.”
In operation, the pedal itself is easy to get around: there’s a single bypass footswitch, as well as parameters for Volume, Gain, Treble, and Bass. The flexible mid section that does all the heavy lifting can be found in the form of Mid Freq and Middle knobs.
The Violet is available now – in both Black and Purple colorways – for $199.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
