JHS Bun Runner 2-In-1 Fuzz

The JHS Bun Runner is a 2-in-1 fuzz pedal from JHS Pedals, built as two quite different fuzz circuits in one box. The two sides can be used on their own or together, which is where the pedal earned its reputation: Pedal of the Day wrote that with both sides combined, "you'll be hard-pressed to find another fuzz with as much gain, buzzsaw, warmth, distortion and blitz as the Bun Runner"¹.

The pedal is discontinued, and reviewers note that it has become harder to find on the used market over time¹. It was originally designed in collaboration with Drew Shirley of Switchfoot¹.

What it is and what it does

The Bun Runner puts two fuzz voices in one housing. Each side has its own character, and the pedal covers ground from slightly overdriven sounds to what reviewer Mike B described as "all-out crazy, gooey, fuzzy goodness"⁴. Because the two sections can be switched independently, a player can use one side alone for a simpler fuzz tone, or engage both at once for a stacked, higher-gain sound.

Pedal of the Day's reviews across several years consistently described it as unusually flexible for a fuzz. In 2014, Mike B called it "one of the most versatile and useful fuzzes I have ever had the privilege of playing"⁴, and the site repeated that verdict in its 2017 re-review².

The two circuits

The two halves of the pedal come from different places in fuzz history.

The Astro Mess, the basis of the left side, is a silicon fuzz design that JHS described as having "a taste of both vintage and modern fuzz"⁵. Its own origins trace back further: Jeds Peds states that its Hyper Fluff circuit "has been copied by another reputable pedal manufacturer and sold as The Astro Mess"⁶. So the left side of the Bun Runner carries a circuit that itself began as a copy of the Hyper Fluff.

The right side is JHS' take on the Tonebender-style circuit⁴, the transistor fuzz design associated with British pedals of the 1960s. Jeds Peds' Simply Oak kit documentation also compares its own build to "the Tone Bender side of the JHS Bun Runner"⁷, confirming that association from outside JHS.

Versions and the Order toggle

The Bun Runner appeared in two versions. The earlier version, reviewed by Pedal of the Day in 2014, lacked the Order toggle¹². The newer version added it¹.

The Order toggle lets you decide which side is placed first or second in your signal chain¹. With two fuzz circuits stacked, the order changes how they interact: the first circuit in the chain feeds the second, so flipping the order gives two different stacked sounds from the same two sides. Players comparing a used Bun Runner to a newer one should check for the toggle, since it is the visible difference between the versions.

Who it was built for and what reviewers said

The pedal was originally designed in collaboration with Drew Shirley, guitarist of Switchfoot¹. Pedal of the Day reported that after release it "has become a go-to for guitarists everywhere"⁴.

Reviewer verdicts were positive across the pedal's life. In 2014 Mike B praised its range, from slightly overdriven tones to full fuzz⁴. In 2017 Pedal of the Day revisited the pedal after reviewing the earlier V1 and highlighted the same versatility, noting that "with two quite different sides to this 2-in-1 pedal, many fuzzy tones are easily accessible"². The 2023 retrospective repeated that view and singled out the combined setting as the pedal's standout feature¹.

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