JHS Crayon Preamp/Distortion/Fuzz JHS

JHS Crayon Distortion pedal with Master and Pre-volume, tilt, and Hi-Pass toggle controls.

JHS Crayon Preamp/Distortion/Fuzz

From the manufacturer:

“In 1968 a piercing guitar tone came through the speakers on the Beatles “Revolution 1”. This is one of the most famous uses of plugging a guitar straight into a mixing console and creating the now referred to as “Direct-In Distortion”. That tone is one of the most recognizable and unique guitar tones of the last 60 years and was one of the inspirations for the JHS Colour Box that we released in May of 2014. We sought to recreate that same compressed bite and fuzz that you get when plugging directly into a British style preamp but in a compact pedal.

What we came up with was something even more than we imagined, and the Colour Box has become a staple among many producers, guitar players, and multi-instrumentalists world wide. Many players over the last few years have expressed their interest in a unit that is like the Colourbox but more streamlined for the one basic application of a dirt box. No XLR function, no 3 band EQ… Just the dirt in an easy to use format for guitarists… So we decided to pull the Crayon out of the Colour Box.”

Little Brother to the Colour Box

The JHS Pedals Colour Box began with a simple idea: create a pedal that sounds like plugging directly into a vintage preamp and cranking it. No amp, no speaker, just DI goodness. Well, the Colour Box became much more as we got into designing it. Thus JHS decided it was time to pare it down and give guitar players and bass players a simplified version that gives you the distinct compressed overdrive and fuzz sounds you’ve heard on so many classic recordings. The Crayon is just that, a powerful little box that has all the color and characteristics of a vintage studio preamp when cranked.

 

Controls

The Crayon has controls for Master, Pre-Vol, Tilt, and a Hi-Pass toggle. The Master volume controls the overall volume of the unit, while the Pre-Vol acts as a gain control to go from a gritty preamp drive to over-the-top gated fuzz. These controls work together to create a ton of colorful tones that are extremely useful. The Tilt control is an active EQ where when set at 12 o’clock you have a flat EQ, while turning clockwise boosts highs and cuts bass, and turning counterclockwise boosts bass and cuts highs. This gives the Crayon the ability to be tailored to any rig for bass or guitar. The Hi-Pass toggle cuts your low end with a flick of the switch for the ability to cut through the mix or get lo-fi sounds. There is a dip switch on the right side of the pedal to choose either 200Hz or 750Hz cut for the Hi-Pass.

 

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JHS Crayon Features at a Glance:

• Preamp DI tones from low gain grit to gated fuzz
• Active EQ for the perfect tones on bass or guitar
• Hi-ass for lo-fi AM radio sounds
• Paint with all colors of the wind

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Product Specifications:

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Pedal Type:	Overdrive
Analog/Digital:	Analog
Inputs:	1 x 1/4″
Outputs:	1 x 1/4″
Power Supply:	9V DC power supply required (sold separately)
Min Current Required:	15 mA
Height:	1.6″
Width:	2.6″
Depth:	4.8″
Weight:	0,57 lbs
Manufacturers Part Number:	CRAYON