Pricing and availability
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Price
Average Price: $115
Standard/Professional
$50
$176+
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Budget
Standard
High-end
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Description
Introducing the JHS SuperBolt, a handcrafted overdrive/boost pedal designed meticulously for the discerning musician. This pedal captures the essence of vintage Supro amps, renowned for their iconic touch-sensitive overdrive and tube rectifier character. Famous artists, including the legendary Jimmy Page, have used these '50s and '60s Supro amps to create unforgettable music. The JHS SuperBolt embraces this rich history and packs it into a compact design, delivering that same classic tonal goodness in a modern, user-friendly pedal.
Key Features:
- Touch-sensitive overdrive/boost pedal
- Emulates vintage Supro amps
- Handcrafted design
- Compact and portable
- Ideal for creating '50s and '60s tones
- Suitable for a range of musical styles and genres
- User-friendly design for easy operation
Product specs
| Brand | JHS |
| Model | SuperBolt V1 |
| Finish | Hand Painted, White |
| Year | 2012 - 2015 |
| Made In | United States |
| Categories | Overdrive and Boost Pedals |
| Pedal Format | Standard |
FAQs
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What is the JHS SuperBolt based on?
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The JHS SuperBolt is based on the original Supro Thunderbolt amplifier, aiming to emulate the tone and character of 1960s-era Supro amps with its discreet circuit design.
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How does the JHS SuperBolt compare to other overdrive pedals?
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The JHS SuperBolt offers a unique vintage amp-like overdrive, distinct from more transparent or modern overdrives, making it ideal for those seeking a classic rock or blues tone.
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Is the JHS SuperBolt suitable for both guitar and bass?
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While primarily designed for electric guitar, the JHS SuperBolt can be used with bass, though it may color the tone more significantly than bass-specific pedals.
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Does the JHS SuperBolt work well with other pedals?
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Yes, the JHS SuperBolt integrates well with other pedals, particularly those with clean boosts and delays, enhancing its vintage amp simulation.
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What power supply does the JHS SuperBolt require?
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The JHS SuperBolt requires a standard 9V DC center-negative power supply, consuming approximately 3mA.
Videos
JHS Pedals
JHS Pedals "SuperBolt" (Supro, Valco)
Reviews
PROS
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Exceptional value for its price
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Versatile, works well alone or with other drive pedals
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Offers unique overdrive sounds, from clean boost to fuzz tone
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Gain switch provides flexibility between low and high gain settings
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Transparent quality blends seamlessly with the amp
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Ideal for praise and worship music styles
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Provides a warm, crunchy drive perfect for leads
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Simple, easy-to-use design with three knobs for precise control
CONS
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May be considered a one-trick pony by some users
Owner Insights
We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about JHS SuperBolt.
Features and functionality
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The JHS SuperBolt V2 is noted for its substantial gain, delivering a raspy growl that emulates a cranked 1960s Supro amp.
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The SuperBolt is described as having a mid-drive sound that responds well to dynamics, with a cranked gain yielding a smooth fuzz.
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The middle toggle switch offers high/low settings: high boosts midrange, while low provides normal EQ with lower output, contributing to tonal versatility.
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Internal up-scaling to 18V provides massive headroom, allowing for a range of usable tones from crunchy, tube-like overdrive to thick distortion.
Source
User experience
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Owners highlight that the pedal is exceptionally loud, often overpowering when used with amps like the Fender Twin, even at low volume knob settings.
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A user with a Fender Princeton amp finds the SuperBolt effective at low volumes, suggesting it maintains clarity even when the amp is set to clean.
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Use cases and applications
Comparisons
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Known to stack well with a Kilt pedal, enhancing sound thickness during performances, particularly in church settings.
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The SuperBolt is noted for being more compressed, while the Supro Drive offers a more open sound, ideal for achieving "Whole Lotta Love" tones.
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The Supro Drive is preferred by some for its versatility, offering two distinct tonal flavors that are highlighted when used with a boost or Tube Screamer type pedal.
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Unlike the OCD pedal, the SuperBolt has much lower gain and is designed to emulate old Valco amps, offering a fizzy, bright sound ideal as a boost in front of another overdrive.
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Value and pricing
Critic Reviews
4.5 out of 5
Based on 2 Reviews and 17 Ratings
Super cool!
My taste dictates that a dirt pedal should feel as if the amp is a part of it. Maybe that is what is meant by transparent. The Superbolts is both transparent and not. Its gain structure goes from a cleanish boost to an amp in a fuzzy compressed meltdown. It never sounds fizzy or like it lies on top of the signal, but blends beautifully with the amp. I don't even need the amp to be breaking up to get it feeling good and responsive, which is great when I'm playing at home and need to keep it down.
40997
this is an amp in a box type pedal so its meant to go into a straight clean platform... its meant to be like a supro thunderbost, which if you're unaware is a mid-wattage 50s/60s bass combo that in tis most revered form utilized 2 6L6 tubes run very low power, tube rectified and with a primitive grid leak bias dual triode preamp and high cut tone control (like a guitat tone control, no joke, that's the supro tone control from their golden age, all the original amps just have that). It has a simple, square pine cab with a 15" and the amp bolted to the bottom and controls accessible via the rear because there is no back panel (like on most old supro amps I've owned). From the front it looks like an old extension cabinet. Its become a colelctors item for 3 reasons. 1) there's a photo of a young Hendrix inf ront of one in a band photo and tis presumably his ampligfier (I think he may have mentioned liking the amp in an interview somewhere but I've enver seen the interview), 2) for a while it was rumored to be the LZ1 amp but based on pagey's comments this mdoel has been sunk as a contender form the supro line and 3) when turned all the way up it produces a righteous power tube distortion that has a marshally quality but is also way raunchier not unlike the silvertone amps but far more responsive to playing then any but the tube rectified ones. The thunderbolt has been 'reissued' in a somewhat bastardized form built cheaply on a PCB by the new supro which is apparently a collaboration between pigtronix effects and bruce zinky of fender custom shop amps fame. The new ones sound pretty decent compared to well serviced old ones but I've actually seen some in stores BROKEN, marked not for sale, so they have some QC issues at the new supro. To be fair, the old ones were budget amps and likely had QC issues. They're a nightmare to service, rat's nest of wire in most of them I've had. To the best of my knowledge every other supro amp in a box pedal on the market goes after the smaller 6V6 or 6973 power tubes since those are the hot ticket these days with the Page association. Hope thatw asn't boring, but you definitely got me thinking sicne you didn't mention this as an amp in a box tone-a-like of an old obscure amp known for its overdrive and not much else.
552
Crunchy, powerful overdrive that can be used for light drive
The JHS Superbolt is easily my favorite pedal on my board. Featuring a toggle switch for high gain and low gain, it is a warm, crunchy drive that is great for leads. Using the low gain switch is a good option for those looking to have a light gain for ambient things or those not trying to be the most present one playing. It has three knobs for volume, drive and tone, and is a very simple, easy to use, great sounding pedal.
Artist usage
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Noel Gallagher shows his pedalboard (new as of Oct 2016) on his Instagram. In the top row, fifth from the right, is his JHS SuperBolt Overdrive Pedal.
The signal coming out of the pedalboard looks to be going into the first Vintage channel of his Fender '68 Custom Twin Reverb Amp.
Joey shows his pedalboard in this video at 3:59. You can see he has a JHS Superbolt there.
Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails uses a JHS SuperBolt Overdrive according to this photo posted to Effects Bay's website.
This photo taken by @danyshaharriot (instagram) at Nightjar Festival 2024 shows Ambrose's pedalboard. This photo was posted Danysha's instagram story on 26th Janurary 2024.
The JHS Superbolt sits at the top middle of the board and has a plastic cover to stop the accidental adjustment of knobs. There is also a piece of red tape on the pedal and pieces of yellow tape with drawn on marks to show Ambrose’s settings.
On September 8, 2020, she posted a picture on her Instagram story and you can see part of her personal pedalboard.
A picture on Guitar Magazine, January 2019 issue, shows Gotoh's pedalboard circa 2018.
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
Used With
Based on how musicians on Equipboard use JHS SuperBolt, it is most commonly used with the following gear.
Community setups
Show yoursSimilar
Add recommendation3 alternative and related items for JHS SuperBolt, curated by the Equipboard community.
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A newer version, that adds JHS's red remote system, for a switchable gain boost.
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The JHS Ruby Red is based on the SuperBolt, with an additional boost section that can be ran pre or post drive.