JAM Pedals WaterFall

The JAM Pedals WaterFall is an analog BBD chorus and vibrato pedal. JAM Pedals describes it as a rich, three-dimensional chorus and vibrato that adds movement without sacrificing the character of the guitar, with an all-analog BBD circuit producing a warm, fluid response and a strong sense of depth and space¹. The circuit is built on bucket brigade (BBD) delay chips, the classic analog approach to modulation that most vintage choruses used.

The pedal comes from JAM Pedals, the Athens workshop guitarist Jannis Anastasakis started as a one-man operation in 2005¹. Its regular price is listed at £239.00¹.

What it does: analog BBD chorus and vibrato

The WaterFall covers two related modulation effects in one box: chorus and vibrato. Chorus splits the signal and modulates one copy slightly out of time with the original, thickening the sound; vibrato modulates the pitch of the whole signal. A toggle on the pedal selects which of the two you get, so a player can move from a subtle doubling effect to a warbling pitch bend without changing pedals¹.

JAM Pedals says the analog BBD circuit is what gives the pedal its character: a warm, fluid response with a strong sense of depth and space¹. Delicious Audio, reviewing the pedal, wrote that it "has established itself as one of the best analog chorus/vibrato pedals in the market"².

On the chips inside, two accounts differ. Delicious Audio describes the circuit as based on the MN3207 bucket brigade chip, with BBD chips that are faithful reproductions of the Panasonic MN3207². Premier Guitar's review, by contrast, describes the Jam Waterfall as "built around original NOS Panasonic MN3101 and MN3007 chips"³. Both accounts agree the pedal is analog BBD; they differ on which Panasonic parts are in the circuit.

The controls

The control set is deliberately small: two knobs and two toggles.

Depth and Speed are the core of the pedal: one sets how deep the effect goes, the other how fast it cycles. JAM Pedals notes that high Depth and Speed settings together create Leslie-style rotary effects⁴, so the pedal can reach rotary-speaker territory at the extremes of its two knobs.

The two toggles shape the effect rather than turning it on and off. The first switches between chorus and vibrato modes¹⁰. The second, marked +/−, selects between a subtler and a more pronounced modulation range⁷⁸⁹. Delicious Audio describes that second switch as moving to a "wetter" effect, resulting in a deeper, more contemporary sounding chorus, or a more intense, deranged vibrato sound².

History and versions: hand-painted editions and the WaterFall Bass

JAM Pedals offers the WaterFall in a series of custom artwork versions, all with the same sound and different hand-painted finishes. Each limited artwork pedal is a one-of-a-kind hand-painted piece, and the pedal you receive will differ in detail from the photos shown¹. The named custom artwork versions are:

• "Achenbach" WaterFall
• "Bewitched" WaterFall
• "Poison View" WaterFall
• "Relic" WaterFall
• "Spookful" WaterFall
• "Stalagmite Prince" WaterFall
• "Split Difference" WaterFall⁸

Every version shares the same circuit and specifications: analog BBD, true bypass, 47 mA current draw⁴⁸⁵¹¹. The artwork is the only difference, which makes the choice between them a matter of paint rather than tone.

There is also a bass version, the WaterFall Bass, a bass chorus/vibrato pedal¹²¹³. Like the standard WaterFall, it comes in hand-painted custom artwork editions, including "Relic" and "Achenbach" versions, each a one-of-a-kind hand-painted piece whose details differ from the photos shown¹⁴¹⁵. JAM Pedals describes these versions as offering the same sound with different artwork⁶⁴¹¹.

The standard WaterFall's own look is part of its identity. Premier Guitar's review describes brushed blue paint meant to simulate rushing water, with a water faucet on the face of the pedal and the mini toggle switches mounted on the faucet handle³.

Who plays it

JAM Pedals lists a roster of players with the WaterFall, and quotes John Scofield directly⁴⁷⁶:

Daniel Lanois is also named on JAM Pedals' artist page as a WaterFall user¹⁶.

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Questions