Since the fuzz effect was invented in the early sixties, guitar players have gone to great lengths to achieve the perfect fuzz tone. Legends say that Duane Allman placed his fuzz pedal in the freezer between sessions to cool down the transistors, and that Roger Mayer meticulously modified Hendrix’s Fuzz Faces beyond recognition in search of an elusive, magical fuzz experience. Fortunately, even apart from these mythological methods, there’s one trick that always works: use a dying battery. Inherently simple devices like fuzz circuits are extremely sensitive to the amount of voltage that they receive, thus any change in the voltage from your power supply will cause drastically different tones. Guitarists eventually caught on to this hack and began draining their batteries to try and find the sweet spot for their fuzz pedal. A good idea in theory, but who has time for that? Then, just a few years ago, a certain unnamed guitarist reached out to me for a practical solution for this technique– and the Volture was born.

The Volture is a modern day device for your vintage fuzz circuitry. Simply place it in between your power supply and your pedal, and you can precisely trim the input voltage and perfectly replicate the tone of a dying battery. As the song says, “Power is made by power being taken.”

Though we developed it specifically for vintage fuzz circuits, the Volture will work on any fully analog pedal. In fact, you might be surprised by the trippy sounds you find lurking in your favorite overdrive or distortion.

With the Volture, you can input 9, 12 or 18VDC and output an adjustable voltage from 7.5VDC down to 1.25VDC, creating gated, distorted, possibly glitchy but always sputtery fuzz sounds. Input voltage is 9VDC to 18VDC, center negative. Output voltage is 1.25VDC to 7.5VDC, center negative. The Volture uses 10mA in addition to the power when it is active. The Volture should be used with pedals less than 50mA.

NOTE: As you turn the voltage down, the LED will dim simultaneously with the voltage level.

THE VOLTURE USES INDUSTRY STANDARD 2.1MM POWER SUPPLY CABLES

THIS PEDAL REQUIRES STANDARD 9V DC NEGATIVE POWER, CONSUMES 12MA, AND MEASURES 3.6"X1.5"X1"

WARNING

The Volture should not be paired with any digital/logic circuitry-based pedal, otherwise the user risks potential damage to the pedal being powered due to inadequate voltage. As long as your pedal is all analog, you’ll be fine. A dying battery never hurt an analog circuit.

Product specs

FAQs

What is the primary function of the JHS Volture?

The JHS Volture is a voltage sag utility pedal designed to simulate the effect of a dying battery on your pedal's tone, offering unique and vintage-like sound variations.

Can the JHS Volture be used with any effects pedal?

The JHS Volture is compatible with most 9V DC-powered effects pedals, allowing you to experiment with voltage sag and achieve different tonal characteristics.

How does the JHS Volture affect my pedal's sound?

By adjusting the voltage, the JHS Volture can introduce a range of tonal changes, from subtle warmth to a more pronounced, vintage-style distortion, depending on your pedal's response to lower voltage.

Does the JHS Volture require its own power supply?

Yes, the JHS Volture requires a separate 9V DC power supply, which is not included with the pedal.

Is the JHS Volture easy to integrate into my pedalboard?

With its compact dimensions of 1" x 1.5" x 3.6", the JHS Volture is designed to fit easily on most pedalboards without taking up much space.