I can only speak of my experiences here, and I haven’t seen any of his videos. I bought the buffered splitter pedal to stick under my board in order to run my pedal board out to 2 amps. Sounded ok until I dug in or slapped hard and then POP. Hmm strange. I soon realized it only happened on my active basses. Reached out to them and they confirmed the voltage of an active bass could very well be too much for the splitter and would result in distortion. Well poopie, that was money wasted. Sold it for a loss on eBay and left a stale JHS taste. Radial splitter fixed the problem.
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Has your opinion of JHS pedals changed?
- Thread starter FullTime Tim
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- fx jhs youtube channel
As much as Josh is said to have done some bad stuff in the past, it would seem that he's also done more good than anyone else in recent times. He's telling the story of pedals. He makes it feel special to own pedals because you know there's a whole history and lineage behind them. There's a grand tradition to it all. Everyone has benefited from it. I started buying pedals a year or two ago in large part from listening to his vlog, and I don't even own any JHS pedals. So I think what he is doing now is elevating the whole pedal market.
Bassist4Eris
Frat-Pack Sympathizer
I had read, on this forum and others, some allusions to some sort of controversy surrounding Josh and/or his company. I didn't look to much into it at the time. More recently, I've gotten into his YouTube channel, and it made me want to find out what the fuss was about. I did some Googling, and I read a lot of stuff on both sides. Then I realized that after all that reading, all I really knew about it was stuff I read on the internet.
TL;dr: Carrots
TL;dr: Carrots
Personally, I like the guy. I enjoy his weirdness and sense of humor. All I REALLY know is that I've learned a lot from him.
I don't own any of his pedals as he doesn't produce anything I need at the moment. But I'd kinda like to if he did.
If anything, the extreme vicious hatred I used to read against him probably influenced my opinion in his favor.
Is any if this actually documented?
Or is it just various community supporters and fanboys propagating stories they heard from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone?
I only ask because, as I look into more and more stories about dirty deeds in the pedal and pickup world (where there’s very little originality and mainly endless minor riffs on circuits found in circuit encyclopedias dating back to the early days of solid state audio or today’s manufacture’s sample circuit sheets) there’s usually little or nothing to support the contentions that either: (a) anything was all that original to begin with, or (b) stolen.
So beyond the rumors and “good stories” we read or hear on the web, is there anything concrete and verifiable (and actual legal actions taken) to back things like this up? Or is it just the usual “let’s try it in the court of public opinion since we don’t have actual proof or a real leg to stand on” type thing that’s become far too common these days? An accusation doesn’t establish proof. An assertion isn’t a fact. A belief in something, or its repetition, doesn’t make it so.
Not trying to give you a hard time. But lately I’ve started fact checking a lot of things I’m reading now that disinformation and misinformation has become closer to the norm on the web. And now I’m seriously curious about JHS in that Bob Keeley, Brian Wampler, and a bunch of the other heavyweights in the pedal industry seem to respect and get along with Josh Scott just fine. And it strikes me as odd they would if he were the pariah you’ve made him out to be.
So maybe you can help me out in understanding the actual facts in the case by pointing me to something besides the usual hearsay? Because, as I said earlier, it would be very strange indeed (at least to me) that JHS isn’t vilified and shunned throughout the industry if what you posted was the actual case.
Thx!
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So you’re basically saying it’s all just surmise and conjecture your part if I understand you correctly?
For the record, I don’t own anything by JHS, more because I have other pedal purchase priorities right now rather than lack of interest. I’ll admit I’m very interested in trying out their 500 series JHS Colorbox. But that’s the limit of my involvement with anything related to JHS. I’m mainly asking about the specifics behind the “JHS is a bad company” thing because I’ve become interested in running down the details of some of these stories. More for my own personal enlightenment than anything else.
Raw N Low
If I can't hear it, hopefully I'll feel it
I've got a Low Drive, Pandemonium, and a Double Barrel. JHS is an enthusiast company and it shows in their work. Never paid much mind to all the noise going on about him in the past.
It's easy to fall into the echo chamber that is the internet...
It's easy to fall into the echo chamber that is the internet...
So you’re basically saying it’s all just surmise and conjecture your part if I understand you correctly?
For the record, I don’t own anything by JHS, more because I have other pedal purchase priorities right now rather than lack of interest. I’ll admit I’m very interested in trying out their 500 series JHS Colorbox. But that’s the limit of my involvement with anything related to JHS. I’m mainly asking about the specifics behind the “JHS is a bad company” thing because I’ve become interested in running down the details of some of these stories. More for my own personal enlightenment than anything else.
This kinda thing blew up on TGP in the past, and since I have nothing against Josh, it's not worth rehashing. What I will say is it appears he's very much trying to move past that time in his life. As for cloning, I personally don't care about that kinda thing. My position on clones is don't make me figure it out. Tell me what it is up front. In that light, Josh's pedals seem overpriced for what they are, but again, I'm sure he doesn't care.
As for my post about Behringer and BBE, Josh clearly states in the Behringer video that he and the entire industry buy their Cool Audio delay chips, and many other parts, from Behringer. I wonder how they made a video worth his while.
Ok. I think I get the drift about where you’re coming from with all this. Which is about where I expected. Thx for the replies. Looks like I’ll need to look elsewhere for the specifics in the backstory I’m after. But thanks just the same.
Not to call you a hypocrite, but I clicked on your profile and your current setup includes a Behringer BSY600 which is a copy of a Boss SYB-5
- I'm not looking for a fight though...just seemed worth mentioning considering your post about avoiding JHS because he copies others' designs. As I understand it, there are very few truly original designs out there, mostly minor variations on a theme.Assuming the above is true, is there no way to rebuild good faith? Modern society is built on improving upon the creations of the true originals. Do it cheaper, smarter, better features, etc...it's all the same thing
I use the JHS Bonsai on my guitar board. I guess I should try it on my bass rig (never thought of it as I love my current sound). Anyway, great pedal with 9 different tube screamer circuits (including Keeley's overdrive). I also enjoy his videos. I had no idea there was a history as I just got back into music and gear a year ago. I don't care much for drama, anyway.
It is verified in several DIY forums be tracing circuits, looking at PCBs etc. It was about 8 or 9 years ago when this was a hotter topic. I have no interest in going back to find the specific threads but they exist on the Madbean Forum, ILF DIY and General Gear forums, DIYstompboxes.com among other places.Is any if this actually documented?
Or is it just various community supporters and fanboys propagating stories they heard from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone?
I only ask because, as I look into more and more stories about dirty deeds in the pedal and pickup world (where there’s very little originality and mainly endless minor riffs on circuits found in circuit encyclopedias dating back to the early days of solid state audio or today’s manufacture’s sample circuit sheets) there’s usually little or nothing to support the contentions that either: (a) anything was all that original to begin with, or (b) stolen.
So beyond the rumors and “good stories” we read or hear on the web, is there anything concrete and verifiable (and actual legal actions taken) to back things like this up? Or is it just the usual “let’s try it in the court of public opinion since we don’t have actual proof or a real leg to stand on” type thing that’s become far too common these days? An accusation doesn’t establish proof. An assertion isn’t a fact. A belief in something, or its repetition, doesn’t make it so.
Not trying to give you a hard time. But lately I’ve started fact checking a lot of things I’m reading now that disinformation and misinformation has become closer to the norm on the web. And now I’m seriously curious about JHS in that Bob Keeley, Brian Wampler, and a bunch of the other heavyweights in the pedal industry seem to respect and get along with Josh Scott just fine. And it strikes me as odd they would if he were the pariah you’ve made him out to be.
So maybe you can help me out in understanding the actual facts in the case by pointing me to something besides the usual hearsay? Because, as I said earlier, it would be very strange indeed (at least to me) that JHS isn’t vilified and shunned throughout the industry if what you posted was the actual case.
Thx!
The list of cloned pedals is not really debatable:
The Ultimate JHS Guitar Pedal Clone List - Tone Start
I get that circuits for a lot of analog pedals do generally have some kind of heritage but the accepted thing to do is tweak/tune, add or subtract functionality, etc to make your pedal unique OR call it out as a clone and give credit where it is due. Design your own PCB and so on. This was not the case initially with JHS. Maybe the way that business is run has changed over the past 9 years or whatever but I have this company on my ignore list and can’t speak to whether that is the case today.
Not to call you a hypocrite, but I clicked on your profile and your current setup includes a Behringer BSY600 which is a copy of a Boss SYB-5
Assuming the above is true, is there no way to rebuild good faith? Modern society is built on improving upon the creations of the true originals. Do it cheaper, smarter, better features, etc...it's all the same thing
I have no clue how long ago that current set-up is from but it sure isn’t current
maybe 6 or 7 years ago. I agree I am not perfect and won’t ever claim to be. It probably isn’t right but I feel less upset about Behringer cloning Boss than I do about smaller businesses having this done to them. Also, I am selling that BSY600 pedal for cheap so hit me up and help me be less of a hypocrite!Sure, I believe people change, I believe in redemption because I live it - I am 11 years clean and who I am and what my life looks like is beyond what I could have ever imagined in the past.
Some of my personal distaste for Josh is his former association with the IHOPKC Church. This convo could easily get sideways at this point but the bottom line, that church has spewed hate towards a number of people (gay, other religions, etc) and I am not a fan of that...at all.
Wow, I had no idea of all the fuss. Well, I love my Colourbox, and have a few other JHS's on my shopping list (for guitar). I think his stuff is pretty rad, and solid/worth the $.
What old fights?
I have no opinion on JHS pedals.
This opinion has not recently changed.
This should be an early morning "wake up" mantra to so many people...