JHS Pedals releases Hard Drive, its first original distortion pedal

June 25, 2024 · 4 sources

JHS Pedals announced the Hard Drive on June 25, 2024, priced at $199.00¹. The maker describes it as its first distortion pedal that is not based on a previous circuit or classic topology, and as the final design work of former head engineer Cliff Smith, who died in 2021¹². JHS says the prototype and design were finalized just weeks before he passed away¹.

The pedal is a distortion design that JHS says began in 2016, when Josh Scott wanted a circuit covering high-gain tones of the 1990s and 2000s¹. JHS states the circuit uses cascaded gain stages and a hard limiting circuit, followed by a class AB amplifier section driving a sweepable midrange EQ and Baxandall bass and treble controls¹. It runs on standard 9V DC center-negative power, draws 78mA, measures 2.6 by 4.8 by 1.6 inches, and has silent soft-touch switching with buffered bypass¹. MusicRadar reports top-mounted jacks³.

Controls, as listed by JHS¹:

Scott's statement describes the circuit as an original rather than a clone:

Coverage differs on finish. MusicRadar reports black or white enclosures³; Guitar World reports Black and Tan². MusicRadar gives $199³; Guitar World gives $199²; JHS lists $199.00¹. Guitar Pedal X, which calls the $199 price tag industry standard for such pedals, traces the design's original reference to the 1999 Ibanez SM7 Smash Box and describes the Hard Drive as a harder-edged, denser take than the Boss Metal Zone⁴.