JHS unveils the Emperor pedal, a multi-voiced chorus and vibrato effect pedal in one, with tap tempo.
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This pedal offers versatile modulation options, from analog chorus to pitch vibrato with rotary speaker emulation, waveform selection and modern true bypass with buffered bypass option.
According to the company, the new JHS Emperor is built using the same topology as vintage Arion SCH-1 chorus pedals. The SCH-1 were Japan-made chorus pedals that started out as cheap alternatives to other big name brands. However It ended up being on the pedalboards of professionals!
Many players stand by the claim that old Arion SCH-1 chorus pedals are organic sounding and that they are great at emulating the rotating speaker Leslie effect. Now JHS has incorporated the topology of this vintage pedal into the JHS Emperor, and pairs it with a 3207 bucket brigade chipset.
The company says that, “The end result allows you to have a host of vintage modulation tones at your disposal with the amenities and modern flair that only we can offer. From vintage Boss VB-2, CE-2, CE-1, as well as the legendary and rare SCH-1, the Emperor lets you explore true analog modulation at its best.”
The two main effect types of the pedal are accessible via the Chorus/Vibrato switch. The switch beside it lets you choose between three waveforms – Sine, Square and Triangle. These waveforms give the pedal three voices for the chorus and another three for the vibrato, expanding the total modulation effect that you can get from the pedal to six. The company hints that when both switches are on the up position, it gives you SCH-1 style chorus, while putting both switches down produces VB-2 style pitch vibrato.
The Emperor has four knobs, Volume, Tone, speed and Depth. Volume adjusts the input signal for better control of the overall mix. The Tone control is a modified version of the one found on vintage SCH-1 pedals, updated to have improved focus, range and sweep. The Speed knob lets you adjust the speed of the modulation effect, you can also use the Tap tempo footswitch if you want to adjust the tempo on the fly with your feet. Finally, the depth knob adjusts the modulation depth.
Another nifty feature of the pedal is ability to use a TRS expression pedal. You can also switch to True Bypass or Buffered Bypass mode via a small dip-switch inside the pedal.
The new JHS Emperor is now available for preorder for around $373. I saw a retailer list it with a shipping date that falls on the later part of August. Visit JHS Pedals for further details.
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