Seven new USA-built pedals announced, with no-nonsense designs that promise pure, refined JHS tone
(Image credit: JHS Pedals)
JHS Pedals has unveiled an exciting new line of affordable USA-built stompboxes – the 3 Series.
Consisting of a Chorus, Compressor, Delay, Distortion, Fuzz, Overdrive and Reverb, the range is well-rounded enough to create a pretty comprehensive – not to mention aesthetic – pedalboard at a reasonable price.
Why's it called the '3 Series'? Well, each pedal in the range boasts the exact same three-knob enclosure – with differing dial functions, of course – aiming to offer users a straightforward, no-frills playing experience. Each pedal also includes a toggle that controls an effect specific to the respective design.
The Chorus is built to offer "classic chorus and modulation sounds", with typical Volume, Rate and Depth knobs. The Vibe toggle enables players to remove the dry signal, leaving a simple true pitch vibrato sound.
The Compressor features Volume, Attack and Sustain knobs and a Bright toggle, which engages a brighter EQ – perfect for ensuring your tone is heard in busy mixes.
JHS says the Distortion unit is "massively versatile", despite its simple user interface. Controls include Volume, Filter and Distort knobs, as well as a Gain toggle which gives a choice between either a compressed or open tone.
The Delay offers between 80ms and 800ms of delay time, for everything from "slapback to long ambient washes of pad-like echo". Controls are Mix, Time and Repeats, and a type toggle lets you choose between a clearer digital-voiced delay and a darker analog-voiced delay.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Image 1 of 7
JHS 3 Series Chorus(Image credit: JHS Pedals)
JHS 3 Series Compressor(Image credit: JHS Pedals)
JHS 3 Series Distortion(Image credit: JHS Pedals)
JHS 3 Series Delay(Image credit: JHS Pedals)
JHS 3 Series Fuzz(Image credit: JHS Pedals)
JHS 3 Series Overdrive(Image credit: JHS Pedals)
JHS 3 Series Reverb(Image credit: JHS Pedals)
According to the Kansas City pedal company, the new Fuzz unit is "the perfect balance of vintage and modern with soaring sustain and clear articulation". Boasting Volume, Bias and Fuzz knobs and a bass-boosting Fat toggle, it's likely a be a hit amongst dirt enthusiasts.
The Overdrive offers Volume, Body (EQ) and Drive knobs, and a Gain toggle for switching between compressed and open tones. The company says "you can achieve anything from boost, transparent low gain, to huge amp-like medium overdrive sounds" with this pedal.
And finally, the Reverb has Verb, EQ and Decay knobs, and a Pre-delay toggle which, you guessed it, allows the user to switch between a short and long pre-delay times.
Each 3 Series pedal is available now for $99 apiece. For more information, head to JHS Pedals.
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
