Sound Selections
All of the Jam's Multi-Pedal effects sound exceptional.The Dyna-ssor was especially good with a humbucker and a little distortion The manual states it can be used as a typical squash-type compressor or as a sustainer. I preferred it for the latter and it worked exceedingly well with the exception of having a somewhat limited boost capability.
The TubeDreamer+ overdrive is next in line and of the handful of Tube Screamer inspired pedals I have played through, it was the best by far. The effect is controlled by three knobs—Level, Tone, and Gain. As mentioned previously, this stomper also has an additional High Gain footswitch that kicks in some beef and fuzz. This overdrive effect gave me great sustain that faded out well at higher Gain settings, and I found the tone richer overall and more harmonically complex than the pedal that inspired it. Used with a humbucker, it was super-crunchy with plenty of bite. And it is a great effect for players who need a tone that punches through thick mixes. The highs can border on brittle, but could also be tamed by the Tone knob. And there was no discernable addition or subtraction to my guitar’s bottom end.
Used in conjunction with the Dyna-ssor, this pedal gave a really aggressive tuneful overdriven sound that worked great for lead and rhythm. The High Gain switch is a nice addition on the Tube Screamer theme, and it took the pedal into creamy distortion zones beyond what typical overdrive pedals deliver.
The Delay Llama is third in line. The control set is a familiar and easy-to-navigate set of knobs for repeats, time, and level or mix. With a max delay time of 600ms, repeats range from slapback to sci-fi sound regeneration. If you remove the bottom plate of the unit you can access an internal pot that allows you to adjust the max delay repeats—a very useful addition.
The Delay Llama uses faithful reproductions of the classic Panasonic MN3205 IC chip. And indeed, the pedal sounded like a vintage BBD-style delay that was mint-in-the-box and not beat to crap from decades on the road. Like the TubeDreamer+ and the Dyna-ssor, the Delay Llama was quiet and about as noise free as you can get from an analog stomper.
The Verdict
The Verdict
All in all, the Multi-Pedal provides extremely faithful reproductions of classic delays, overdrives, and compressors. Like all Jam Pedals, it’s very well crafted. At $500, it is reasonably priced for a boutique handmade multi-effect pedal. It provides excellent takes on vintage circuits that could fetch that much or more if purchased individually, with the bonus that if these three aren't the effects you're looking for, can have Jam tailor one more specifically to your needs. For the player that knows what they like and prefers vintage over digital, the Jam Multi-Pedal concept is one that, in terms of ease and tone, really works.
Buy if...
you want faithful but improved replication of vintage stompbox delay, overdrive and compression, and you demand style.
Skip if...
you like the ability to swap pedals in and out and don't really care about one-of-kind graphics.
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