This four-in-one effects box is a one-stop shop for Frusciante fans, but it’s also loaded with classic-rock swagger.
Great, lively preamp sounds. Combines two modulation flavors with big personalities. One-stop shop for classic-rock tones. Good value.
Big. Preamp can’t be disengaged. At some settings, flanger effect leaves a little to be desired.
$440
JFX Deluxe Modulation Ensemble
jfxpedals.com
When I think of guitarists with iconic, difficult-to-replicate guitar tones, I don’t think of John Frusciante. I always figured it was easy to get close enough to his clean tones with a Strat and any garden-variety tube amp, and in some ways, it is. (To me, anyway.) But to really nail his tone is a trickier thing.
That’s a task that Jordan Fresque—the namesake builder behind Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario’s JFX Pedals—has committed significant time and energy into tackling. His Empyrean is a five-in-one box dedicated to Frusciante’s drive and dirt tones, encompassing fuzz, boost, and preamp effects. And his four-in-one, all-analog Deluxe Modulation Ensemble reviewed here is another instant Frusciante machine.
The Frusciante Formula
Half of the pedal is based off of the Boss CE-1, the first chorus pedal created. The CE-1 is renowned as much for its modulation as for its preamp circuit, which Boss recently treated to its own pedal in the BP-1W. The other half—and the pedal’s obvious aesthetic inspiration—is the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress, an analog flanger introduced in the late ’70s. Frusciante fans have clamored over the guitarist’s use of the CE-1 for decades. The Chili Peppers 6-stringer reportedly began using one in the early ’90s for his chorus and vibrato tones, and the preamp naturally warmed his Strat’s profile. Various forum heads claim John dug into the Electric Mistress on tracks like “This Is the Place” off of 2002’s By the Way. The Deluxe Modulation Ensemble aims to give you the keys to these sounds in one stomp.
JFX describes the DME as “compact,” which is a bit of a stretch. Compared to the sizes of the original pedals its based on? Sure, it’s smaller. But it’s wider and deeper than two standard-sized pedals on a board, even accounting for cabling. But quibbles around space aside, the DME is a nice-looking box that’s instantly recognizable as an Electric Mistress homage. (Though I wish it kept that pedal’s brushed-aluminum finish). The knobs for the Mistress-style as well as the authentic Boss and EHX graphics are great touches.
The flanger side features a footswitch, knobs for range, rate, and color, and a toggle to flip between normal function and EHX’s filter matrix mode, which freezes the flange effect in one spot along its sweep. The CE-1-inspired side sports two footswitches—one to engage the effect, and one to flip between chorus and vibrato—plus an intensity knob for the chorus, depth and rate knobs for the vibrato, and gain knob for the always-on preamp section. The DME can be set to high- or low-input mode by a small toggle switch, and high boosts the gain and volume significantly. A suite of three LED lights tell you what’s on and what’s not, and Fresque even added the CE-1’s red peak level LED to let you know when you’re getting into drive territory.
The effects are wired in series, but they’re independent circuits, and Fresque built an effects loop between them. The DME can run in stereo, too, if you really want to blast off.
I Like Dirt
The DME’s preamp is faithful to the original in that it requires a buffered unit before it in the chain to maintain its treble and clarity. With that need satisfied, the DME’s preamp boots into action without any engaging—it’s a literal always-on effect. To be honest, after I set it to low input and cranked it, I forgot all about Frusciante and went to town on classic-rock riffs. It souped up my Vox AC10 with groove and breadth, smoothing out tinny overtones and thickening lead lines, though higher-gain settings lost some low-end character and overall mojo.
The chorus nails the wonky Frusciante wobble on “Aquatic Moth Dance” and the watery outro on “Under the Bridge,” and the vibrato mode took me right through his chording on 2022’s “Black Summer.” On the flanger side, I had the most fun in the filter matrix mode, tweaking the color knob for slightly different metallic, clanging tones, each with lots of character.
The Verdict
If you’re a Frusciante freak, the Deluxe Modulation Ensemble will get you within spitting distance of many of his most revered tonal combinations. If you’re not, it’s still a wickedly versatile modulation multitool with a sweet preamp that’ll give your rig instant charisma. It ain’t cheap, and it ain’t small, but JFX has squeezed an impressive amount of value into this stomp
JFX Pedals unveils the Mesquerfresquer, a 12-stage Phaser reminiscent of the classic Moogerfooger unit.
The Mesquerfresquer is designed to offer subtle tonal coloration or extremely deep phasing and contains multiple CV/Expression Pedal inputs and outputs. This allows each parameter to be manipulated and controlled simultaneously, while also providing modular interconnectivity between other Moogerfooger analog effects.
Pedalboard friendly: the Mesquerfresquer comes in a light and compact enclosure that is 35%smaller than the original! It maintains top-mounted jacks and is powered by a standard 9V(center-negative) adapter.
Each pedal is assembled by hand and tested personally by the Jordan Fresque himself.
The Mesquerfresquer 12-Stage Phaser features include:
- DRIVE: Adjusts audio input gain with three-color level LED
- BYPASS: On/Bypass switch with two-color LED indicator
- RESONANCE: Determines the height and sharpness of the peaks in the phaser frequency response
- RATE: Varies the LFO frequency from 0.01Hz - 250Hz with indicator LED
- LO/HI: Selects between the low LFO range (0.01Hz-2.5Hz) and the high LFO range(1.0Hz-250Hz)
- AMOUNT: Determines how much the LFO modulates the phaser sweep parameter
- SWEEP: Shifts the phaser frequency response over a six-octave range
- 6-STAGE/12-STAGE: Select between 6-stage and 12-stage phaser modes
- 1/4” CV/EXPRESSION PEDAL INPUTS: Rate, Amount, Resonance and Sweep
- 1/4” CV OUTPUTS: LFO
- Beautifully designed Japanese TAKACHI enclosures with quality hardware
- Made in Canada
JFX Pedals 12-Stage Phaser is now available for pre-order.
For more information, please visit jfxpedals.com.
JFX Revives the Moogerfooger 12-Stage Phaser | *GIVEAWAY*
The retro-inspired chorus/vibrato/flanger pedal provides all the functionality of a classic big box Deluxe ElectricMistress flanger/filter matrix and the first-ever chorus pedal, the BOSS CE-1.
Adding to a growing lineup of high-quality guitar effects, JFX Pedals has introduced the Deluxe Modulation Ensemble. The retro-inspired chorus/vibrato/flanger pedal provides all the functionality of a classic big box Deluxe ElectricMistress flanger/filter matrix and the first-ever chorus pedal, the BOSS CE-1.
The JFX Deluxe Modulation Ensemble offers an uncannily accurate revisitation of two iconic effects. Just like the originals, the JFX’s Mistress circuit includes the filter matrix mode and the optional direct out, while the JFX’s CE-1 circuit provides mono or stereo outputs and a footswitch to toggle between chorus or a faster vibrato mode.
The pedal also offers the much beloved CE-1 preamp, an always-on circuit that fattens and sweetens your guitar’s signal. The CE-1 preamp is controlled by a two-way toggle switch with high/low settings, as well as a level control knob. With this feature, the JFX Deluxe ModulationEnsemble will improve your tone every time you plug it in, even when you aren’t using its chorus/vibrato or flanger effects.
It’s pedalboard friendly: the JFX Deluxe Modulation Ensemble comes in a compact enclosure with top-mounted jacks and is powered by a standard 9V adapter. It only takes up about as much space as two BOSS pedals!
Each pedal is assembled by hand and tested personally by the owner.
Deluxe Modulation Ensemble features include:
- The sought-after CE-1 preamp with high/low toggle and peak level LED, just like an original CE-1
- Stereo or mono operation (wet/dry chorus and vibrato in stereo)
- An optional effects loop between the two circuits provides flexible routing options
- True-bypass switching (flanger); Buffered bypass (chorus/vibrato)
- Standard 9V power via external supply (no battery compartment)
- Fully analog BBD circuitry
- The same voltages and operation as the originals
- Beautifully designed enclosures with quality hardware
- Made in Canada
JFX Pedals Deluxe Modulation Ensemble is available for $574.99 CAD.
For more information, please visit jfxpedals.com.