The J Rockett The Jeff Archer is an overdrive pedal from J Rockett, described on That Pedal Show as "another kind of modified K style clone style overdrive"1. In other words, it is a modified Klon-style circuit: a take on the transparent, mid-focused boost-and-overdrive formula made famous by the Klon Centaur, with changes of its own. It sits within the Archer lineage from J. Rockett Audio Designs as a variant of the standard [J Rockett Archer]2, the premium Klon clone overdrive that Guitar World's reviewers called "the gold standard when it comes to Klon clones"3.
A variant of the Archer
The Archer family from J. Rockett Audio Designs grew into several versions. The standard Archer was followed by the Archer Ikon, which Guitar.com described in 2016 as "the follow-up" to the silver Archer6. There was also an Archer Clean, "a version of the Archer without the gain section"7, and the Archer Select, a Klon-style overdrive whose switching covers "the diodes of the Archer, iKon, Jeff Mod Archer and 4 additional diodes including LED"8. The Jeff Archer is the Jeff Mod version of the circuit in its own pedal, and Premier Guitar's review of the Archer Select confirms the maker as J. Rockett Audio Designs4.
How it differs from the standard Archer
The quickest way to spot one is visual: on That Pedal Show, the pedal was identified as "the JB Archer which is the one with the black knobs"2. Sonically, the differences from the standard Archer are small. Guitar World's history of the Klon Centaur put it this way:
"The differences are subtle but the Jeff version sounds best to my ears. A little warmer, thicker, and more musical"9
That verdict, from Guitar World's Amit, frames the Jeff Archer as a subtle refinement of the Archer voicing rather than a different pedal altogether9.
What reviewers heard
On That Pedal Show, where the Jeff Archer was the featured pedal in a March 2024 episode alongside the Wampler Tumnus Germanium5, Mick Taylor compared it directly with his own Klon Centaur and heard "more mid-range from mine"2, meaning his Klon carried more mid-range than the Jeff Archer. Comparing the Jeff Archer with the Tumnus Germanium, he said, "I am here in a slight different bias in the mid-range as well both really lovely"1: a slightly different mid-range bias between the two, with both praised.
The pedal also has a notable documented player. On That Pedal Show, Mick Taylor and Dan Steinhardt said that "Jeff apparently stopped using his clone in order to use the Archer instead"2, referring to Jeff Beck setting aside his Klon Centaur in favor of the Archer.
That Pedal Show's episode pairs the Jeff Archer with the Wampler Tumnus Germanium, playing both into the same amp to hear where their mid-ranges differ, and asks the practical question of the segment: "why would you spend all that money on a clone and and not use the overdrive because it is a killer overdrive"2.
Buying one now
The Jeff Archer is not a current catalog pedal in the way the standard Archer line is. On the March 2024 episode, Mick Taylor said, "They're probably sold out by now. But there's always Reverb, and heaven forfend, eBay…"5. The show's description at the time carried retailer links for Australia and for the UK and Europe5, so a player hunting one today is most likely looking at the secondhand market.
Videos
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Questions
Is the J Rockett Jeff Archer the same as the regular Archer?
No. The Jeff Archer is a modified version within the Archer lineage from J. Rockett Audio Designs. On That Pedal Show, Mick Taylor and Dan Steinhardt described it as a modified Klon-style clone overdrive, and Guitar World's history of the Klon found the differences subtle: the Jeff version sounded, in that writer's ears, a little warmer, thicker and more musical than the standard Archer, while still being a subtle difference overall.
How can you tell the Jeff Archer from the standard Archer?
By the knobs. On That Pedal Show, the pedal was identified as the JB Archer, the version of the Archer with black knobs. That visual cue is the quickest way to tell the two apart on a pedalboard or a used listing.
Is the Jeff Archer a Klon clone?
It is a modified Klon-style overdrive. That Pedal Show described it as another kind of modified K-style clone overdrive, sitting in the same family as the standard Archer, which Guitar World called the gold standard when it comes to Klon clones. The Jeff version is a variation on that circuit rather than a straight copy.
How does the Jeff Archer compare with the Tumnus Germanium?
Comparing the two on That Pedal Show, Mick heard a slightly different bias in the mid-range between the Jeff Archer and the Wampler Tumnus Germanium, and called both really lovely. In other words, the difference between them is a matter of mid-range character rather than one being simply better.
Where can you buy a Jeff Archer now?
As of the March 2024 That Pedal Show episode that featured it, Mick Taylor said the pedal was probably sold out by then, and pointed players to the used market: Reverb and, as he put it, heaven forfend, eBay. The show also listed retailer links for Australia and for the UK and Europe at the time.
Sources (9)
- Wampler Tumnus Germanium & J Rockett The Jeff Effector Du Jour, That Pedal Show (YouTube), 2024-03-05
- Does The J Rockett 'The Jeff' Archer Sound Like Mick's Klon Centaur? Or The Regular Archer?, That Pedal Show (youtube.com), 2023-10-23
- Best Klon clones 2026: Klon Centaur Klones for every budget, Guitar World, 2022-06-09
- Discover the Power of J. Rockett Archer Select: Review, Premier Guitar, 2023-11-18
- Wampler Tumnus Germanium & J Rockett The Jeff Effector Du Jour, That Pedal Show, 2024-03-05
- J Rockett Archer Ikon, ThorpyFX Peacekeeper & Wampler Tumnus, Guitar.com, 2016-05-12
- J.Rockett Archer Clean Boost, Delicious Audio, 2022-12-22
- J. Rockett Archer Select Klon-style Drive, Delicious Audio, 2023-05-09
- What makes the Klon Centaur a holy grail guitar pedal?, Guitar World, 2025-05-04
Jeff Beck
