JHS Pedals 424 Gain Stage Fuzz Pedal

The JHS Pedals 424 Gain Stage fuzz pedal gives all the elastic, lo-fi tone you get from plugging a guitar rig straight into a TASCAM Portastudio 424. Now in pedal form, you can easily integrate the rubbery clean tones, high head room, and smashed out fuzz that’s being repopularized by today’s emerging guitarists.

THE ORIGINAL PORTASTUDIO SOUND

The original Portastudio multi-track recorders were initially meant for home studios, but found their way onto hit records like Springsteen’s Nebraska, the Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and Spoon’s Gimme Fiction. In this historically accurate recreation, JHS perfectly replicated the original 424 MKI circuit using the original UPC4570 and NJM4565 op-amps and all the original controls, which is crucial for recreating the unique character that makes the old units sound so good. The Portastudio’s gain controls–trim, channel volume, and master volume–all work in tandem for dialing up your desired tone and can be further refined with the Low and High EQ settings. In addition, the JHS unit offers a ¼” output alongside a balanced XLR output (DI out) for ultimate flexibility in any situation, live or studio.

THE 424 GAIN STAGE AS A DI

Going DI will give you the exact same unparalleled gooey texture and lo-fi fuzz you get when plugging directly into a 424 without the hassle of dragging around your beloved Portastudio. Leave it on your recording desk for easy access. If you want to get fancy, you can toss an Active A/B/Y switcher at the end of your rig and send the A output to your amp and the B output to the JHS 424 Gain Stage input, then XLR output of the pedal directly into your mixer or interface. This way, you can flip between your amp and the 424 Gain Stage easily or play through both at the same time. Give it a try!

THE 424 GAIN STAGE WITH AN AMP

Plugging a Portastudio into your amp is quite a feat. In this pedal format, you can easily integrate the tone of the 424 with the saturation of your favorite amp. This adds a whole new quality to the tone and gives the ability to stack it with your other pedals. Use it as a gain stage to boost your signal, a unique and colorful new overdrive sound, or push the gain knobs into full-on overloaded and broken fuzz.

JHS 424 GAIN STAGE FEATURES:

• Lo-fi fuzz pedal designed to emulate the tone from plugging a guitar rig straight into a TASCAM Portastudio 424
• Bass and Treble EQ controls for tone-shapeing
• Gain 1 (Trim) and Gain 2 (Channel) controls set pre-amplification and second gain stage volume
• XLR balanced output for connecting directly to audio interface or mixer
• Ground-lift dip switch gets rids buzz/hum with XLR output