VS Audio releases Jangle Master Vox AC30-style preamp pedal
July 2, 2024 · 2 sources
VS Audio has released the JangleMaster, a Vox AC30 Top Boost-style analog preamp pedal, priced at $239 and available to order on the VS Audio Webstore, with international dealers to follow1. Guitar Pedal X reported the launch on July 2, 2024, and Delicious Audio published its own item the same day12.
The pedal is split into three sections. The Top Boost section carries Gain, Bass and Treble knobs plus a Boost footswitch. Boost Type switches between Treble Boost and Clean Boost. The Master section has Volume and High Cut controls and a Main Bypass footswitch. An internal Presence trim-pot is set to minimum by default1. Delicious Audio describes the boost circuit as able to sound either like a clean boost or a Rangemaster Treble booster, and describes the Cut control on the boost side as a high-cut knob that also affects the pedal's dynamic response and high frequencies2. Guitar Pedal X lists the controls as follows1:
| Section | Controls |
|---|---|
| Top Boost | Gain, Bass, Treble, Boost footswitch |
| Boost Type | Treble Boost / Clean Boost |
| Master | Volume, High Cut, Main Bypass footswitch |
| Internal | Presence trim-pot (default set to Min / CCW) |
Guitar Pedal X reports that the Jangle Master uses a Triad Magnetics MIL-T-27E transformer, described as an audiophile military specification high fidelity transformer, which the site says contributes to the pedal's dynamics and sparkle1. The production model has custom commissioned magenta knobs, where the prototype shown at the London Synth and Pedal Expo in March had the same black knobs as the Platinum Preamp1.
"My only niggle with this pedal is its output volume, which I feel could be slightly higher - and more in line with its Platinum Preamp sibling."
Guitar Pedal X also wrote that the Treble Booster side is a little louder, but drops to the level of the main voicing when used with it, and that the pedal covers Beatles-era Vox UL730, Rory Gallagher, Brian May and U2 tones1. Delicious Audio describes the JangleMaster as the Greek company's take on the Vox AC-30-style amp-in-a-box2.