JHS’ boutique effects pedals are exercises in minimalism. Perhaps it’s because—like a lot of great industrial design—JHS pedals work quite well without the benefit of visual hype and favor form over function. From their Peel N’ Pump compressor to their Sweet Tea overdrive, a lot of care goes into making these pedals tick. And like great beer aficionados, JHS clearly know the history of their craft intimately and build small-run stompboxes that are savvy re-imaginings of some best-loved flavors, with plenty of innovative tone blending and interface features to make them stand apart.
Consider the Panther Analog Tap Tempo Delay, which clearly sets out to explore the terrain mapped by the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man. The JHS pairs real-deal bucket brigade analog delay circuitry with a smooth and rich modulation circuit that aims for the creamy shimmer and low-mid warmth of its inspiration. But it adds functions like tap tempo for players hooked on more modern delays.
Bucket Head
The Panther’s minimal interface is both
cool and a potential headache. The number
of knobs certainly merits clear labels, but
apart from the single-letter representations
on the unit, knob functions are only
explained on an included information card.
Like the Memory Man, the Panther doesn’t save presets (it’s not digital, after all), includes a Dry Output, and maxes out at a single second of delay time—it’s not a ton, but it’s more than the Edge had on the first couple of U2 records, and likely all you need for most applications.
The Panther features an effects send/return for patching in external effects to process the delayed repeat signal only. The tap-tempo control can also be used with modulation without affecting delay time, and there are jacks for an assignable expression pedal and an external tap-tempo pedal to supplement the onboard tap-tempo switch. Other cool features include a chirp toggle, which switches between bright-sounding repeats in the style of a Boss DM-2, or darker, more backgrounded repeats that, to my ears, suggest the sound of some vintage tape delay units. The subdivision knob (called the ratio control) offers a choice of quarter-, dotted-eighth, eighth-, and triplet eighth-note divisions.
The Soul of an Echo
After dialing the modulation speed and
depth completely down (it’s too bad there’s
not a way to bypass it more easily), your
two main options for shaping the delay are
delay time and delay ratio or number of
subdivisions. The ratio control (denoted by
a somewhat puzzling ? symbol) is a standard
type of rotary knob.
The delay time control, of course, has everything to do with how these ratios actually play out. Set to the far left, the delay time (T) is at its longest—about a full second of delay—and when the ratio is also set to the far left the pedal delivers straight quarter-note delays. It’s easy to hear how lush and truly analog-sounding the delays are at this setting, and each repeat is a nice, sepia-toned reproduction of the first that fades out sweetly with a warm, organic degradation.
Chirping and Percolating
Setting the chirp toggle switch to the down
position is meant to make the repeats a bit
brighter and more present, but frankly, the
difference is hard to detect apart from a
more rounded top-end when the chirp is off.
Nevertheless, in either position I found the
delay to be warm and pleasing—capable of
lending a beautiful harmonic underpinning to
my clean dominant 9 and 6/9 chords. Adding
modulation brings a lovely contour to long
chords and slow figures that evokes players
like Bill Frisell, and the pedal’s wide-ranging
warble ranges from light chorus to full-on
Leslie whoosh, letting you add cool decaying
tails to whole-notes and complex chords.
Of course, delays can work as well for rhythms as textures, and as rich and warm as the basic sound of the Panther is, it’s every bit as good at handling nifty delay-rhythm passages. The dotted-eighth and triplet subdivisions work especially well for setting up the kind of rolling feel that the Edge used in the famous dotted-eighth groove of “Pride in the Name of Love,” and that Roger Waters employed on “One of These Days.”
Ratings
Pros:
Superior bucket brigade analog circuitry delivers
warm and lush echoes and unusually thick modulation flavors.
Cons:
No true stereo delays. Large footprint. Homespun
graphics (or lack thereof) that can be hard to follow.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$499
JHS Pedals
jhspedals.com
Depending on your tempo, this effect can also be achieved by setting an eighth-note subdivision and planting your accents on the first note of each eight-note triplet in your rhythm (tip: you’ll find yourself playing on the downbeat only on the 1 and 4). The Panther’s vintage vibe really works for this approach, and the addition of some light modulation brings even more richness and width to your sound—though it can leave you wishing that the Panther were equipped with true stereo delay functionality. (Yes, it does have a dry output for stereo field effects, but does not do actual stereo delays.) The idea of having these thick, richly voiced repeats panned or even ping-ponging in stereo is almost too dreamy to bear.
The Verdict
The Panther is a very versatile analog pedal
that modernizes a circuit inspired by the
functionality and features from one of the
most beloved delays of all time. And while
it still lacks some of the user convenience
of digital units, and the Zen approach to
graphic design makes the Panther challenging
to navigate, it makes up for those shortcomings
with gorgeous tones only real-deal
3205 bucket brigade chip sets can produce.
The Panther’s capabilities run deep, and the rhythmic and sonic possibilities seem to grow the more you prowl the time-domain jungle with this sleek and hungry audio predator. It compares very favorably to some of today’s best delay pedals, such as the tape-simulating Strymon El Capistan, the updated Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man with tap tempo, and the very cool Diamond Memory Lane—which is probably closest in style and spirit to the pedal the Panther. You will pay to keep that kind of company, and the Panther, at $499, is an investment in genuine analog that not everyone will be willing to make.
Still, this is a professional-grade, handmade pedal for audiophile players looking to tap into the universe of texture, rhythm, and modulation that analog delay does so well. Both in function and flavor, the Panther channels the best of vintage sonics and an adventurous spark of its own that’s hard not to admire.
Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard, EGC Chessie in hands, coaxing some nasty tones from his Hiwatt.
The Jesus Lizard’s sixth album, Blue, served as the band’s final statement from the frontlines of noisy rock for the next 26 years. By the time of their dissolution in 1999, they’d earned a reputation for extreme performances chock full of hard-hitting, machine-like grooves delivered by bassist David Wm. Sims and, at their conclusion, drummer Mac McNeilly, at times aided and at other times punctured by the frontline of guitarist Duane Denison’s incisive, dissonant riffing, and presided over by the cantankerous howl of vocalist David Yow. In the years since, performative, thrilling bands such as Pissed Jeans, METZ, and Idles have built upon the Lizard’s musical foundation.
Denison has kept himself plenty busy over the last couple decades, forming the avant-rock supergroup Tomahawk—with vocalist Mike Patton, bassist Trevor Dunn (both from Mr. Bungle), and drummer John Stanier of Helmet—and alongside various other projects including Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and Hank Williams III. The Jesus Lizard eventually reunited, but until now have only celebrated their catalog, never releasing new jams.
The Jesus Lizard, from left: bassist David Wm. Sims, singer David Yow, drummer Mac McNeilly, and guitarist Duane Denison.
Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins
Back in 2018, Denison, hanging in a hotel room with Yow, played a riff on his unplugged electric guitar that caught the singer’s ear. That song, called “West Side,” will remain unreleased for now, but Denison explains: “He said, ‘Wow, that’s really good. What is that?’ And I said, ‘It’s just some new thing. Why don’t we do an album?’” From those unassuming beginnings, the Jesus Lizard’s creative juices started flowing.
So, how does a band—especially one who so indelibly captured the ineffable energy of live rock performance—prepare to get a new record together 26 years after their last? Back in their earlier days, the members all lived together in a band house, collectively tending to the creative fire when inspiration struck. All these years later, they reside in different cities, so their process requires sending files back and forth and only meeting up for occasional demo sessions over the course of “three or four years.”
“When the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.” —Duane Denison
the Jesus Lizard "Alexis Feels Sick"
Distance creates an obstacle to striking while the proverbial iron is hot, but Denison has a method to keep things energized: “Practice loud.” The guitarist professes the importance of practice, in general, and especially with a metronome. “We keep very detailed records of what the beats per minute of these songs are,” he explains. “To me, the way to do it is to run it to a Bluetooth speaker and crank it, and then crank your amp. I play a little at home, but when the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.”
It’s a proven solution. On Rack—recorded at Patrick Carney’s Audio Eagle studio with producer Paul Allen—the band sound as vigorous as ever, proving they’ve not only remained in step with their younger selves, but they may have surpassed it with faders cranked. “Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style,” explains Allen. “The conviction in his playing that he is known for from his recordings in the ’80s and ’90s is still 100-percent intact and still driving full throttle today.”
“I try to be really, really precise,” he says. “I think we all do when it comes to the basic tracks, especially the rhythm parts. The band has always been this machine-like thing.” Together, they build a tension with Yow’s careening voice. “The vocals tend to be all over the place—in and out of tune, in and out of time,” he points out. “You’ve got this very free thing moving around in the foreground, and then you’ve got this very precise, detailed band playing behind it. That’s why it works.”
Before Rack, the Jesus Lizard hadn’t released a new record since 1998’s Blue.
Denison’s guitar also serves as the foreground foil to Yow’s unhinged raving, as on “Alexis Feels Sick,” where they form a demented harmony, or on the midnight creep of “What If,” where his vibrato-laden melodies bolster the singer’s unsettled, maniacal display. As precise as his riffs might be, his playing doesn’t stay strictly on the grid. On the slow, skulking “Armistice Day,” his percussive chording goes off the rails, giving way to a solo that slices that groove like a chef’s knife through warm butter as he reorganizes rock ’n’ roll histrionics into his own cut-up vocabulary.
“During recording sessions, his first solo takes are usually what we decide to keep,” explains Allen. “Listen to Duane’s guitar solos on Jack White’s ‘Morning, Noon, and Night,’ Tomahawk’s ‘Fatback,’ and ‘Grind’ off Rack. There’s a common ‘contained chaos’ thread among them that sounds like a harmonic Rubik’s cube that could only be solved by Duane.”
“Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style.” —Rack producer Paul Allen
To encapsulate just the right amount of intensity, “I don’t over practice everything,” the guitarist says. Instead, once he’s created a part, “I set it aside and don’t wear it out.” On Rack, it’s obvious not a single kilowatt of musical energy was lost in the rehearsal process.
Denison issues his noisy masterclass with assertive, overdriven tones supporting his dissonant voicings like barbed wire on top of an electric fence. The occasional application of slapback delay adds a threatening aura to his exacting riffage. His tones were just as carefully crafted as the parts he plays, and he relied mostly on his signature Electrical Guitar Company Chessie for the sessions, though a Fender Uptown Strat also appears, as well as a Taylor T5Z, which he chose for its “cleaner, hyper-articulated sound” on “Swan the Dog.” Though he’s been spotted at recent Jesus Lizard shows with a brand-new Powers Electric—he points out he played a demo model and says, “I just couldn’t let go of it,” so he ordered his own—that wasn’t until tracking was complete.
Duane Denison's Gear
Denison wields his Powers Electric at the Blue Room in Nashville last June.
Photo by Doug Coombe
Guitars
- Electrical Guitar Company Chessie
- Fender Uptown Strat
- Taylor T5Z
- Gibson ES-135
- Powers Electric
Amps
- Hiwatt Little J
- Hiwatt 2x12 cab with Fane F75 speakers
- Fender Super-Sonic combo
- Early ’60s Fender Bassman
- Marshall 1987X Plexi Reissue
- Victory Super Sheriff head
- Blackstar HT Stage 60—2 combos in stereo with Celestion Neo Creamback speakers and Mullard tubes
Effects
- Line 6 Helix
- Mantic Flex Pro
- TC Electronic G-Force
- Menatone Red Snapper
Strings and Picks
- Stringjoy Orbiters .0105 and .011 sets
- Dunlop celluloid white medium
- Sun Studios yellow picks
He ran through various amps—Marshalls, a Fender Bassman, two Fender Super-Sonic combos, and a Hiwatt Little J—at Audio Eagle. Live, if he’s not on backline gear, you’ll catch him mostly using 60-watt Blackstar HT Stage 60s loaded with Celestion Neo Creambacks. And while some boxes were stomped, he got most of his effects from a Line 6 Helix. “All of those sounds [in the Helix] are modeled on analog sounds, and you can tweak them endlessly,” he explains. “It’s just so practical and easy.”
The tools have only changed slightly since the band’s earlier days, when he favored Travis Beans and Hiwatts. Though he’s started to prefer higher gain sounds, Allen points out that “his guitar sound has always had teeth with a slightly bright sheen, and still does.”
“Honestly, I don’t think my tone has changed much over the past 30-something years,” Denison says. “I tend to favor a brighter, sharper sound with articulation. Someone sent me a video I had never seen of myself playing in the ’80s. I had a band called Cargo Cult in Austin, Texas. What struck me about it is it didn’t sound terribly different than what I sound like right now as far as the guitar sound and the approach. I don’t know what that tells you—I’m consistent?”
YouTube It
The Jesus Lizard take off at Nashville’s Blue Room this past June with “Hide & Seek” from Rack.
LR Baggs HiFi Duet High-fidelity Pickup and Microphone Mixing System
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Now, the Les Paul Studio has been reimagined. It features an Ultra-Modern weight-relieved mahogany body, making it lighter and more comfortable to play, no matter how long the gig or jam session runs. The carved, plain maple cap adds brightness and definition to the overall tone and combines perfectly with the warmth and midrange punch from the mahogany body for that legendary Les Paul sound that has been featured on countless hit recordings and on concert stages worldwide. The glued-in mahogany neck provides rock-solid coupling between the neck and body for increased resonance and sustain. The neck features a traditional heel and a fast-playing SlimTaper profile, and it is capped with an abound rosewood fretboard that is equipped with acrylic trapezoid inlays and 22 medium jumbo frets. The 12” fretboard radius makes both rhythm chording and lead string bending equally effortless, andyou’re going to love how this instrument feels in your hands. The Vintage Deluxe tuners with Keystone buttons add to the guitar’s classic visual appeal, and together with the fully adjustable aluminum Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge, lightweight aluminum Stop Bar tailpiece, andGraph Tech® nut, help to keep the tuning stability nice and solid so you can spend more time playing and less time tuning. The Gibson Les Paul Studio is offered in an Ebony, BlueberryBurst, Wine Red, and CherrySunburst gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finishes and arrives with an included soft-shell guitar case.
It packs a pair of Gibson’s Burstbucker Pro pickups and a three-way pickup selector switch that allows you to use either pickup individually or run them together. Each of the two pickups is wired to its own volume control, so you can blend the sound from the pickups together in any amount you choose. Each volume control is equipped with a push/pull switch for coil tapping, giving you two different sounds from each pickup, and each pickup also has its own individual tone control for even more sonic options. The endless tonal possibilities, exceptional sustain, resonance, and comfortable playability make the Les Paul Studio the one guitar you can rely on for any musical genre or scenario.
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Introducing the Reimagined Gibson Les Paul Studio - YouTube
Phat Machine
The Phat Machine
The Phat Machine is designed to deliver the tone and responsiveness of a vintage germanium fuzz with improved temperature stability with no weird powering issues. Loaded with both a germanium and a silicon transistor, the Phat Machine offers the warmth and cleanup of a germanium fuzz but with the bite of a silicon pedal. It utilizes classic Volume and Fuzz control knobs, as well as a four-position Thickness control to dial-in any guitar and amp combo. Also included is a Bias trim pot and a Kill switch that allows battery lovers to shut off the battery without pulling the input cord.
Silk Worm Deluxe Overdrive
The Silk Worm Deluxe -- along with its standard Volume/Gain/Tone controls -- has a Bottom trim pot to dial in "just the right amount of thud with no mud at all: it’s felt more than heard." It also offers a Studio/Stage diode switch that allows you to select three levels of compression.
Both pedals offer the following features:
- 9-volt operation via standard DC external supply or internal battery compartment
- True bypass switching with LED indicator
- Pedalboard-friendly top mount jacks
- Rugged, tour-ready construction and super durable powder coated finish
- Made in the USA
Static Effectors’ Street Series pedals carry a street price of $149 each. They are available at select retailers and can also be purchased directly from the Static Effectors online store at www.staticeffectors.com.