JHS Kodiak 500

The JHS Kodiak 500 is a tremolo pedal from JHS Pedals, part of the company's Series 500 line. It is an all analog signal path tap tempo tremolo, meaning the audio stays analog while the speed can be set by tapping a tempo rather than turning a knob. JHS describes it as an "Old School tremolo with tap tempo, expression pedal ability, and versatile controls", and says those features "make the Kodiak 500 a go-to studio effect for both tracking and mixing"¹. The maker also says it is "Perfect for instruments of any kind and vocals"¹, so it is not limited to guitar and bass.

What it does

As a tremolo, the Kodiak 500 modulates the volume of your signal, producing the pulsing effect long associated with vintage amp tremolo. JHS frames it as an "Old School tremolo", and the tap tempo footswitch lets you lock the speed to a song rather than dialing it in by ear¹. An expression pedal can be connected for hands-free control, and the pedal's controls are described by JHS as versatile¹. Because the signal path is all analog, the audio itself is not converted to digital at any point¹.

JHS positions the pedal for studio work as well as live playing, naming it a go-to effect "for both tracking and mixing"¹, and notes it suits "instruments of any kind and vocals"¹, which puts it in the same territory as dedicated studio tremolo units rather than guitar-only designs.

Where it came from

The Kodiak 500 was released in 2016 as part of JHS's Series 500 line². It has since been discontinued². For players looking at current JHS tremolo designs, the company has since offered other approaches to the effect, including the JHS 3 Series Harmonic Tremolo, a different take on tremolo based on harmonic rather than volume modulation. For more on the effect itself, see the site's guide to Tremolo Pedals.

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