Jad Freer Audio CAPO

The Jad Freer Audio CAPO is a preamp pedal for bass that puts four different preamps in a single box, in a format the maker describes as pedalboard friendly and "a real studio-in-a-box"¹. It is organized into two sides, A and B, each with its own footswitch, and both sides can be used at once. The A Side combines a clean high-impedance preamp with two saturators, J and F, that can be mixed in parallel; the B Side is a FET preamp reminiscent of classic tube designs¹. Around the preamps sit a three-band EQ, two send-return loops, a low pass filter and balanced outputs, which makes the CAPO as much a small studio front end as a bass pedal.

Bass Magazine's reviewer, Jonathan Herrera, framed what the pedal fundamentally does: "It's essentially a preamp, meaning it buffers an incoming instrument-level signal and boosts it to line level"². Bass Musician Magazine has called it "the company's flagship CAPO preamp" and noted that products like it have established Jad Freer Audio's credentials among discerning bassists³.

What it does: four bass preamps in one pedal

The CAPO's core is its A Side, which the maker describes as "based on three very different preamps that can be used in parallel": a clean high-impedance preamp with fixed gain and lots of headroom, plus the two saturators, J and F, mixed into that clean signal with the BLEND control¹. The maker says the range runs "from studio-grade clean sounds up to heavy saturations, passing through endless overdrive flavors with amp-like dynamics"¹. The B Side adds a fourth preamp, and the two footswitches control which side is active, with both usable simultaneously².

What sets the CAPO apart from most overdrive and distortion pedals is how it generates its dirt. Bass Magazine's reviewer put it plainly: "The Capo gets its dirty sounds from pure preamp saturation, not clipping diodes, so the gain control has a major impact" on the character². Jad Freer Audio confirms the design choice: "No clipping diodes are used in both saturators, providing a dynamic feeling comparable to a real amplifier"¹.

A Side: clean preamp with the J and F saturators

The A Side is where most of the tonal shaping happens. The clean preamp provides the high-headroom foundation, and the two saturators sit alongside it in parallel¹.

The two saturators have distinct voices. The maker describes the J Saturator as having "huge bottom, aggressive highs that brings the note attack upfront in the mix," and the F Saturator as "sound focused on mid frequencies, more vintage inspired"¹. Herrera heard the same split: "The J circuit has big lows and forward highs, sort of a 'scooped' vibe, while F is much more midrange focused"². Of the neutral STYLE position he wrote that "it captures the best of both worlds, offering a full-spectrum grit that is super-responsive to the position of the gain" knob, like a tube amp².

B Side: a FET tube-style preamp

Side B is, in the maker's words, "a linear response FET preamp with dedicated volume and gain controls," reminiscent of some classic tube preamps, with a dynamic range that runs from clean to various saturation stages¹. Herrera described it as "another saturated circuit, designed to emulate the sound of an overdriven amp," and found "It has a very tube-y character, somewhat like an old Fender Bassman pushed hard"².

The B Side can run in two relationships to the A Side¹:

• Stand-alone: as an alternative preamp to the A Side, its own sound at the press of its footswitch.
• In series with the A Side: the order is set with the PRE / POST switch. In the POST position, the maker says, the B Side works "either as a simple volume boost available at your feet, or as a preamp base to build your own sound"¹.

Loops, outputs and the low pass filter

Beyond the preamps, the CAPO carries the routing features that make it a studio-in-a-box. With both sides switched off, Herrera noted, "the Capo simply behaves like a clean buffer, rendering the controls inoperable"².

• LOOP PRE: a passive send-return loop before the pedal's preamps, for pedals you want to use before the CAPO while keeping the DIRECT OUT unprocessed¹.
• LOOP POST: a send-return loop after all the CAPO preamps, affecting both PREAMP OUT and OUTPUT; it can be always active or linked to the A Side with the LOOP LINK switch¹.
• DIRECT OUT: the natural sound of your instrument without any preamp stage¹.
• PREAMP OUT: a balanced signal after all the pedal preamps, EQ and loops¹.
• LPF: a low pass filter, a treble cut, designed to remove harsh frequencies at high gain levels and useful with full-range sound systems. It affects both PREAMP OUT and OUTPUT, stays on even when the pedal is bypassed, and lets the CAPO work as a cabinet simulator for drive and fuzz pedals¹.

The Tim Lefebvre Edition

Jad Freer Audio also offers the CAPO Tim Lefebvre Edition, a special version built around a routing option Tim Lefebvre himself requested: "the ability to effortlessly switch two different sounds out of the DIs"⁴. The maker describes it as "a powerful preamp and D.I. capable of studio-grade clean sounds, harmonic saturations" and more, with "three different preamps wired in parallel, two XLR balanced outputs and endless routing possibilities" in a pedalboard-friendly format⁴. Its channels are listed as LOOP and PREAMP⁴.

What reviewers said

Published reaction to the CAPO has been positive. Bass Musician Magazine's Cláudio Ribeiro wrote that products like the CAPO have "established the company's credentials among discerning bassists"³. The reviewer found it "a phenomenal piece of gear, especially for those seeking harmonically rich, saturated sounds," and of the EQ wrote:

His one reservation was the price: "If you have the money (it ain't cheap at about $600)"².

Who plays one

Rob Mullarkey keeps a CAPO at the end of his signal chain for Jacob Collier. In his own words on his Jad Freer Audio artist page: "The Capo is currently the final stop on my pedalboard for Jacob Collier"⁵. Tim Lefebvre's involvement goes further than an endorsement, since the Tim Lefebvre Edition exists because he asked for its routing option⁴.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions