The JHS Hard Drive is a groundbreaking modern distortion pedal designed from scratch to capture the best high-gain tones of the '90s and 2000s. With cascaded gain stages, a sweepable midrange EQ, and a class AB amplifier, this pedal delivers everything from crunchy tube amp sounds to massive distortion walls. Crafted as a final tribute to JHS's former head engineer, Cliff Smith, the Hard Drive represents a new era of distortion.
The JHS Hard Drive is the first attempt in the company’s fifteen-year history at a full-blown and respectable modern distortion pedal that is not based on a previous circuit or classic topology. In 2016, Josh had the idea to develop a circuit that covered the best high-gain distortion tones of the ’90s and 2000s, a sound that embodied the post-grunge alternative rock movement. We started by looking at pedals, then amps, and after exploring the typical paths of circuitry, we took a sharp turn and started from scratch. Eight years later, the pedal is finished and ready to take you to the next level. The Hard Drive goes harder and further than any gain or distortion we’ve released so far.
A fresh approach to achieving high gain distortion in a pedal format, the Hard Drive includes cascaded gain stages and a hard limiting circuit, followed by a class AB amplifier section that drives a “sweepable midrange” EQ and Baxandall bass and treble controls. With its generous external controls, the Hard Drive lets you dial in everything from grinding tube amp crunch to a bona fide wall of distortion that can easily cut through any stage or studio mix.
The Hard Drive holds a special place in JHS history as the final design work of the former head engineer, Cliff Smith. The prototype and design had been finalized just weeks before he passed away in 2021.
“I don't know that there's ever been a JHS circuit where we experimented more. It was always a loose and casual approach to getting this right. I knew something great would come of it, so we just let it simmer…Cliff would call the Hard Drive circuit a mutt, and I agree– meaning this circuit is not a clone of anything in particular but rather an original iteration of tons of different inspirations and ideas, kind of like the Colour Box that he and I developed years earlier. I have vivid memories of Cliff spending entire weekends and nights tinkering and experimenting with this circuit. He would message me notes on the weekend when he got excited about something he stumbled into. This pedal was his hobby for a long time. He truly loved big, complicated gain staging and the challenge of making solid state circuitry respond like a valve amp. As a passion project that became a real product through Cliff’s consistent work, I can’t think of a more fitting last release from us as a design team than the Hard Drive. Cliff loved learning and this was his last masterclass. It’s an honor to finally put it out and let people enjoy the idea he brought to life.” - Josh Scott
- distortion effect pedal
- cascaded gain stages and a hard limiting circuit
- class AB amplifier section that drives a “sweepable midrange” EQ and Baxandall bass and treble controls
- buffered bypass
- controls for Volume, Mid Freq, Drive, Bass, Middle, Treble
- Silent Soft Touch Bypass footswitch
- status LED
- metal housing
- 6.3 mm mono jack input / output
- power supply via optional 9V DC power supply, 2.1 x 5.5 mm barrel plug, polarity (-) inside
- battery operation not supported
- current draw 78 mA
- dimensions (L x W x H) 122 x 66 x 41 mm / 4.8" x 2.6" X 1.6"
- weight 395 g / 0.87 lbs
- made in USA
You might also like
