The pedal features two distortion modes, modern and vintage, both modeled after a traditional British gain structure.
Nashville, TN (November 26, 2018) -- Gervana Pedals is proud to announce the launch of our new hand-wired distortion pedal, the Ji Si (pronounced jee-suh).
The Ji Si offers incredible versatility over your distorted guitar tone. With common EQ controls (bass, mid, treble) and a dedicated gain control you can shape the tone to fit your mood. The Ji Si features two distortion modes, modern and vintage, both modeled after a traditional British gain structure. The vintage distortion has the sound of an old tube amplifier that has the master controls cranked up to sound more like power-tube overdrive, whereas the modern option focuses more on the preamp tube tone.
What sets the Ji Si apart is the boost side of the pedal. With its own independent and unique EQ controls you essentially have two distortion pedals in one. The boost channel adds a supercharged mid-range control which allows the player to sweep through the mid frequency between 250Hz and 4500Hz and adjust the contour of the eq curve for that frequency which can provide anywhere from a sharp spike of the selected midrange and volume for solos, or subtly adjust the mid-range to give the guitar a different voice.
The Ji Si is the perfect boutique pedal for the discerning player that needs a broad variety of quality distortion tones at their feet. Renowned pedal designer and electronics guru Bjorn Juhl says that this pedal is “…musical and fun to play. You don’t normally see pedals with this performance.”
Gervana’s Ji Si offers the following features:
- 3-Band EQ on main channel
- Selectable Modern and Vintage gain structures
- Variable Gain Control
- Mid-range sweep between 250Hz and 4500Hz on boost channel
- Contour control to adjust the eq contour on boost channel
- Master volume to control output of pedal
- True-bypass circuitry
- 9-volt operation with standard DC input or battery (not included)
The Ji Si carries a street price of $149.
For more information:
Gervana Pedals
Five EQ bands and footswitchable mid-scoop boost converge in a stomp inspired by high-gain Mesas.
RatingsPros:Decent variety of Mesa/Boogie-esque sounds. Respectable amount of gain. Cons: Lacks high-end clarity and note articulation. Could use more low-end oomph. Somewhat noisy operation. Street: $149 Gervana Ji Wei Distortion gervanapedals.com | Tones:  Ease of Use:  Build/Design: Value: |
The Chinese-made Ji Wei aims to replicate the tones and functionality of high-gain Mesa/Boogie amps. The rightmost footswitch activates distortion dialed with the seven top-panel knobs—low, mid low, mid, mid high, high, level, and gain—and a 3-position toggle that’s labeled “boost” but seems more like a gain-level selector. The left stomp engages a mid-scooped boost inspired by the footswitchable 5-band EQ on many Mesas. Two internal trim pots adjust the boost’s low and high frequencies, and a third fine-tunes levels between the boost and distortion effect.
Ji Wei does indeed capture much of the scooped-and-saturated essence of a Boogie dialed to match corpse paint. However, I found myself expecting a little more fine-tunability from a 5-band setup. Even with the mid-high and high knobs cranked, treble lacked clarity and note definition. Likewise, though I simultaneously routed the pedal through both a brawny-sounding 50-watt combo with an oversized cab and a cranked 200-watt 1x15 bass combo, maxing Ji Wei’s low and low-mid knobs left me wanting more muscle. (I tested the same setup, with both amps at the same volume settings, with a simpler, similarly priced dual pedal featuring a gain channel and a separately footswitchable boost set to scoop mids, and achieved heavier, more articulate tones, even with less available gain.) Even so, the Ji Wei does yield a respectable variety of useful metal and hard-rock tones at a reasonable price.
Test gear: Schecter Ultra III, Jaguar HC50 running in tandem with Fender Rumble 200 1x15 bass combo
The analog-voiced circuit offers up to 600 ms of delay time.
Nashville, TN (October 15, 2018) -- Gervana is proud to announce the launch of the new Xin Wei Delay/Chorus Dual Pedal. The Xin Wei combines two useful effects into one pedal. The signal path moves from the input through the chorus effect, then the delay effect. The delay time, delay repeats and delay volume are easily controlled by the knobs on the top of the pedal, as well as the chorus speed and depth. These are familiar operations on most comparable pedals, but the tone is what sets this apart. Using pure analog circuitry, the Chorus channel provides a warm, lush effect. The delay is a warm analog-voiced, natural sounding effect that provides up to 600ms of delay.
Features:
- Independent Chorus and Delay Effects
- Up to 600ms delay time
- Delay Controls: Delay Time, Delay Repeats, Delay Volume
- Chorus Controls: Speed, Depth
- Functions equally well in front of the amp, or in the effects loop
- 9-volt operation and standard DC input (due to the power draw, this pedal does not operate on a battery)
The Ji Wei carries a street price of $149.99.
Watch the company's video demo:
For more information:
Gervana Pedals