The JHS Paul Gilbert signature overdrive began life as a prototype: an unnamed, six-knobbed black stompbox developed by JHS with the guitarist Paul Gilbert, reported by Guitar World in October 2019 as "an incredible-sounding signature overdrive" in the works1. It was never sold under that name. In January 2020, JHS officially announced the pedal as the JHS Paul Gilbert PG-14, a tube-like FET overdrive and Gilbert's artist signature pedal23.
What it does and where it came from
The prototype surfaced in October 2019, when Gilbert was photographed with a "mystery six-knobbed black stompbox" in his session rig with Martin Miller, with the JHS prototype pedal described as being "on most of the time"1. At that stage JHS had not announced the pedal or given it a name.
Guitarists were quick to guess at its lineage. As Guitar World reported, "Guitarists are already speculating it's a replacement for Gilbert's old fave, the TC Electronic MojoMojo"1. That was player speculation rather than anything from JHS or Gilbert. TC Electronic later brought out its own official Paul Gilbert version of the MojoMojo overdrive4.
From prototype to PG-14
Guitarists quickly connected the prototype to Gilbert's earlier gear: as Guitar World put it, "Guitarists are already speculating it's a replacement for Gilbert's old fave, the TC Electronic MojoMojo"1.
"Introducing the JHS Pedals PG-14... Paul Gilbert Artist Signature Pedal"
So a reader looking for the prototype today should look at the PG-14: the pedal Gilbert was using in 2019 is the one JHS released under that name, with the six-knob layout of the prototype carried into the production unit12.
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Questions
Did the JHS Paul Gilbert prototype overdrive ever come out?
The prototype itself was never sold. It was an early, unnamed six-knobbed black stompbox that Paul Gilbert was using in 2019. In January 2020, JHS officially announced the pedal as the PG-14, described as a tube-like FET overdrive and Gilbert's artist signature pedal, so the prototype became the released product under that name.
Was the JHS prototype a replacement for the TC Electronic MojoMojo?
That was guitarist speculation, not an official claim. When the prototype appeared in October 2019, Guitar World reported that players were speculating it was a replacement for Gilbert's old favorite, the TC Electronic MojoMojo. TC Electronic later released its own official Paul Gilbert version of the MojoMojo.
Sources (4)
- Paul Gilbert is working with JHS Pedals on an incredible-sounding signature overdrive, Guitar World, 2019-10-14
- NAMM 2020: JHS Paul Gilbert PG-14 tube-like FET overdrive pedal, gearnews.com, 2020-01-11
- Introducing the JHS Pedals PG-14... Paul Gilbert Artist Signature Pedal, JHS Pedals (YouTube), 2020-01-10
- TC Electronic Paul Gilbert MojoMojo, gearnews.com, 2021-06-03
