The JHS 3 Series Screamer is a Tube Screamer-style overdrive pedal from JHS Pedals, released in April 2022 as part of the company's $99 3 Series line123. JHS describes it as "the beloved JHS Tube Screamer 'Strong Mod', but in a brand-new $99 pedal"3. In other words, it takes the modification Josh Scott developed for the Ibanez TS9 and puts it in a plain white, pocket-sized enclosure, with a toggle that lets you switch between the mod and stock Tube Screamer clipping34.
For a player, that means one pedal covers two Tube Screamer flavors: the Strong Mod's asymmetric clipping, which JHS says brings "more clean headroom, better usability as a boost, more versatile drive and tone controls as well as a more pleasing frequency response"3, and the classic symmetric clipping of the original TS9 and TS808356.
A Tube Screamer with the JHS Strong Mod
The 3 Series Screamer is an alteration of the classic Ibanez Tube Screamer circuit5. The Strong Mod at its heart goes back to 2008, when JHS Pedals introduced its Tube Screamer Strong Mod, developed by founder Josh Scott58. Scott had been buying TS9s, or receiving customers' TS9s, and modifying them into what he called the JHS Strong Mod9. JHS describes the mod as "making vital changes in caps, resistors and more for the most well balanced Tubescreamer on earth"10. Pedal of the Day's 2015 review of the mod service noted that JHS "upgrades the guts of the TS9"11.
Guitar World reported that the mod promises "a much cleaner and overall more powerful" tone5. Gearnews described the 3 Series Screamer as "essentially the JHS Tube Screamer 'Strong Mod' in a plain white wrapper," meaning you get the tones without the higher price of JHS's main-line pedals4. The pedal is made in Kansas City, MO, and Gearnews noted it uses "nothing but high quality components"4.
The controls and the clipping toggle
Like every 3 Series pedal, the Screamer has three knobs and one toggle3. The knobs handle Volume, Tone and Drive5.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets output level. In JHS's demo, Josh Scott kept it low because the pedal is "crazy powerful and loud"9 |
| Tone | Sets brightness. Scott ran it dark in the demo, noting the modifications still let presence through9 |
| Drive | Sets the amount of drive, set a little more than halfway in JHS's demo9 |
| Toggle (up / +) | Asymmetrical clipping, the Strong Mod clipping style, which changes the headroom48 |
| Toggle (down / -) | Symmetrical clipping, the more compressed clipping of a stock TS9/TS80848 |
The toggle is the pedal's main trick. Delicious Audio describes the two positions as "the asymmetric one found in the Strong Mod, and the classic symmetric clipping produced by the original TS9 and TS808"6. In Sweetwater's demo video, Don Carr noted that "the strong mod switches to asymmetrical clipping which changes the headroom," while "the minus position uses symmetrical clipping and is well balanced and responsive"8. He also pointed out a practical detail: "you'll notice that unity gain is considerably lower on the volume control" in the Strong Mod position8.
Because the Strong Mod position is louder and more powerful than the stock setting, expect to re-set the Volume knob when you flip the toggle. Unity gain sits considerably lower on the volume control in the Strong Mod position8.
How it compares with a stock Tube Screamer
The Screamer is not a TS808 clone. Its lineage runs through the TS9 and TS808 circuits6, but the Strong Mod changes the component values and the clipping arrangement10. With the toggle down you get the stock TS9/TS808-style symmetric clipping4; with it up you get the mod's asymmetric clipping and its extra headroom8. Players comparing Tube Screamer variants may also want to look at JHS's other overdrives, such as the JHS The Bonsai, the JHS 808 and the JHS Morning Glory Clean, or the broader overdrive pedal category.
What reviewers and demos said
Gearnews' Jef felt the price was the deciding factor in a crowded market: "I feel JHS may actually do pretty well with this one though, as that price point is key"4. In JHS's own launch video, Josh Scott argued the pedal's range is wider than the Tube Screamer stereotype: "it works in every single genre. We could have done 12, 15 jams if we were good enough to cover different genres"9. MusicRadar reported the pedal as available now at launch, priced £/$997.
In JHS's launch demo, Scott walked through the pedal's setup and both toggle positions, demoing it with the volume kept low, the tone dark and the drive a little past halfway9.
Sweetwater's Don Carr demoed the pedal with a PRS 513 through a Mesa Boogie TC-50, explaining the two clipping modes and the volume behavior in the Strong Mod position8.
Videos
JHS EXTRA
Questions
What does the toggle switch on the JHS 3 Series Screamer do?
The +/- mini toggle changes the clipping character. In the up (plus) position it engages the JHS Strong Mod's asymmetrical clipping, which changes the headroom. In the down (minus) position it gives symmetrical clipping, the more compressed flavor of a stock TS9 or TS808 Tube Screamer.
What is the JHS Strong Mod?
The Strong Mod is a modification of the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer developed by JHS Pedals founder Josh Scott, introduced in 2008. JHS describes it as making vital changes to caps, resistors and more for a well balanced Tube Screamer, with more clean headroom, better usability as a boost and a more pleasing frequency response.
How much current does the JHS 3 Series Screamer draw?
It runs on 9V DC negative center power and consumes 12mA, according to JHS Pedals. That is a low draw compared with other 3 Series pedals such as the Reverb at 74mA, so it is easy on a pedalboard power supply.
Is the JHS 3 Series Screamer the same as a TS808?
No. It is built on the classic Ibanez Tube Screamer circuit, but with the JHS Strong Mod applied. With the toggle down it aims for stock TS9/TS808-style symmetric clipping, and with the toggle up it switches to the Strong Mod's asymmetric clipping, which JHS says gives a cleaner, more powerful tone.
Who designed the JHS 3 Series Screamer?
The pedal is made by JHS Pedals, the Kansas City company founded by Josh Scott. Scott developed the original Strong Mod of the Ibanez TS9 in 2008, and the 3 Series Screamer carries that mod in a new $99 enclosure.
What is the Strong Mod in the JHS Screamer 3 Series?
It is the asymmetric clipping style Josh Scott developed for modified TS9s, first offered in 2008. In the 3 Series Screamer it is engaged by the plus position of the toggle, giving more clean headroom and a cleaner, more powerful tone than the stock Tube Screamer circuit.
Sources (11)
- WHAT IS THE JHS 3 SERIES SCREAMER?, JHS Pedals, 2022
- THE JHS OCTAVE REVERB AND HARMONIC TREMOLO, JHS Pedals, 2022-04
- 3 SERIES SCREAMER, JHS Pedals
- A $99 USA made TubeScreamer? JHS Pedals 3 Series Screamer, www.gearnews.com, 2022-04-12
- JHS Pedals crams its popular Tube Screamer Strong Mod into the new $99 3 Series Screamer, Guitar World, 2022-04-13
- JHS Screamer 3 Series, Delicious Audio, 2022-05-28
- JHS Pedals adds the Screamer overdrive to its $99 stompbox range, MusicRadar, 2022-04-13
- JHS 3 Series Screamer Pedal Demo, Sweetwater, 2022-04-08
- What is the JHS 3 Series Screamer?, JHS Pedals (YouTube channel), 2022-04-08
- IBANEZ TS-9 MODS, JHS Pedals
- JHS Pedals Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Strong Mod, Pedal of the Day, 2015-03-13
