JHS Pedals Bonsai

The JHS Pedals Bonsai is an overdrive pedal from JHS Pedals that packs nine Tube Screamer circuits into one compact enclosure, selected with a single rotary knob. JHS calls it "our tribute to one of the greatest pedals ever created," and describes the result as "exact replication, not emulation" of the original units rather than a digital modeling exercise¹. It launched in 2018 and, according to JHS itself, has consistently outsold every other pedal in the company's lineup²³.

For a player, the appeal is straightforward: instead of hunting down vintage TS808s, TS9s, TS10s and modded variants, each with its own price, condition and quirks, the Bonsai puts all of them on one knob. The circuits span the Boss OD-1 of 1977 through to modded Tube Screamers from the 2000s, so the differences between modes are the differences players argue about when comparing original units¹⁴³.

Nine Tube Screamer circuits in one pedal

The Bonsai's nine modes, as listed by Pedal of the Day, are:

⁴

Eight of the nine are Tube Screamer variations, with the OD-1 mode based on the Boss OD-1; guitar.com's reviewer noted that the OD-1 mode inverts the signal just like the original and uses asymmetrical clipping, where most Tube Screamer modes use symmetrical clipping⁷. Tone Island's reviewer described the spread as covering "the more popular TS808, TS9 and TS10 variations of the Tube Screamer," plus the OD-1 and several mods including the Keeley Mod Plus and JHS Strong Mod⁸.

The controls

The control set is the familiar Tube Screamer layout plus the mode selector⁸⁹:

• Volume: sets the overall output level⁴
• Drive: sets the amount of overdrive
• Tone: the standard Tube Screamer tone control, which rolls off or opens up the high end
• Mode knob: a nine-position rotary switch that selects which Tube Screamer circuit is active¹

Tone Island's Adam Connell summed up the layout as "the typical volume/drive/tone controls. And a selector switch for each of the different modes"⁸. JHS's own buying guide makes the same point about the selector: "the knob couldn't be simpler to use. If you want to use the OD-1 mode, just flip the knob to it"⁹.

Power and bypass

The Bonsai requires standard 9V DC negative power and consumes 20 mA¹. There is no battery option: guitar.com's review lists it as "9V external PSU only"⁷. At 20 mA it is a light draw that most isolated power supplies and even many daisy chains can handle comfortably.

The pedal is true bypass⁶. guitar.com's reviewer noted the tradeoff that comes with that: "This is a true bypass pedal, complete with the slight popping sound that accompanies switch-on"⁷.

History: from the Muffuletta to the Bonsai

The Bonsai follows a pattern JHS established with the Muffuletta fuzz pedal, which put multiple Big Muff-style circuits in one box using a rotary knob. JHS's product page says the Bonsai follows "in the steps of our Muffuletta (released 2015)"¹; in Sweetwater's demo video, Josh Scott dated the Muffuletta to 2014¹⁰.

JHS has also explained a broader inspiration. The Bonsai applies that idea with analog circuits instead of digital models¹¹²⁷.

The design work behind the nine modes was extensive. Pedal of the Day reports that JHS examined dozens of original overdrive units and "captured all of their nuances and quirks using an Audio Precision analyzer," after which Josh chose nine of his personal favorite units to replicate⁴. In a guitar.com interview, Scott added that the pedal was designed after an inside joke of sorts made with fellow pedal designer Brian Wampler following their joint appearance on a pedal-maker discussion panel¹². On the technical side, Guitar Pedal X describes the Bonsai as "a smartly multi-branched analog circuit with a digital switching control layer," credited to Jon Cusack of Cusack Music and Mojo Hand FX¹³.

What reviewers said

Reception was positive across the press. On That Pedal Show, Dan and Mick compared a range of Tube Screamers against the Bonsai, calling it "what seems to be the best Tube Screamer clone yet"¹⁴. Delicious Audio included it in its Best Stompboxes of 2018 according to Dennis Kayzer¹⁵.

Tone Island's reviewer was similarly positive, writing: "I especially like the Keeley Mod Plus and JHS Strong Mod. They sound excellent. And, as you might expect from JHS, the build quality is exceptional"⁸. guitar.com's Huw Price confirmed the all-analog signal path and the true bypass switching in his review⁷.

Two demo videos are worth watching. Sweetwater's Mitch Gallagher and Josh Scott walk through the pedal's origins and all nine modes¹⁶, and Pete Thorn's demo covers the mode set, including the OD-1's inverted signal and symmetrical clipping behavior in the Screamer modes¹⁶.

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