JHS Oil Can Delay

The JHS 3 Series Oil Can Delay is a delay pedal from JHS Pedals' affordable 3 Series line, priced at $99¹²³. JHS describes it as "creating a truly unique echo effect with elements of vibrato and slapback delay"². It is a digital pedal voiced after the vintage and murky-sounding oil can delay, an old mechanical echo design that used physical oil in a can to produce its repeats⁴.

Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes the sound as "the syrupy, dark, and wobbly repeats generated by the semi-forgotten technology powering oil can delays"⁵.

What it does

The Oil Can Delay sits in JHS's 3 Series, a collection the maker describes as "a collection of pedals designed to give you affordability and simplicity without compromising"². Each 3 Series pedal has "three simple controls and one toggle that offer a wide range of sounds, perfect for beginners and profess[ionals]"².

The controls are simple: Mix, Speed and Feedback⁵, with a Modulation Intensity toggle offering Up Heavy / Down Light settings⁷.

Speed covers a short range, 100ms to 330ms, which suits the slapback-style echoes the oil can design is known for²⁸.

Where it came from

The oil can delay itself is a mechanical, fluid-based echo: Josh of JHS Pedals explains that the original inventors "used physical oil in a physical can to cause Echo slap type Echo and they eventually created the company morly"⁶. He describes the character of the original as "a almost randomly modulated delay," because "the fluid would turn in the can and that would be the modulation"⁶.

The JHS pedal's origin traces to a conversation between JHS owner Josh Scott and Wilco's guitarist Nels Cline at the Solid Sound festival, after which Josh made a one-off oil can delay for Cline in the 3 Series format⁶. Delicious Audio reports the idea of a delay inspired by the oil can circuit was conceived in that meeting⁴.

The pedal first appeared as a limited Black Out edition of 1,000 units at $99 in November 2023⁶. By June 2025 it had joined regular 3 Series production in a white version⁵.

What reviewers said

Guitar World called it "the ridiculously well-priced 3 Series Oil Can Delay," framing it as an affordable route to the oil can sound³. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley noted the Speed control "adjusts the delay time from 100ms to 330ms"⁸. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson placed it among JHS's 3 Series expansion alongside the Rotary Chorus and Tape Delay, noting his mind goes to the Catalinbread Adineko when oil can delays come up⁷.

In the JHS delay range

The Oil Can Delay sits alongside JHS's other delay designs as a limited edition of 1,000 units, offered at $99 through the Black Out release⁶. JHS describes its character as "an almost randomly modulated delay," with short delay times that feel slightly warbled, because the fluid in the original oil can units would turn and create that modulation⁶. For other approaches to echo, see the site's Delay Pedals page.

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