The JHS Pedals 3 Series Pherb is a compact effects pedal that puts a dark, moody lo-fi reverb into a four-stage phaser, with both effects on all the time. JHS describes it as "a dark, moody lo-fi reverb running into a four-stage phase shifter. Both on, all the time."1 It sits in the JHS Pedals 3 Series, the maker's line of affordable, simple pedals built in Kansas City, MO, and carries the series' $99.00 USD list price.1
The name is the idea in one word: PHERB is phaser plus reverb, built from the ground up in house in October 2026.1 A BREAK toggle adds a bitcrusher in front of both effects, so the pedal can go from ambient wash to deliberately wrecked signal in one switch.
JHS warns not to exceed 9VDC or the warranty is void.1
What the Pherb does to your sound
The signal path is fixed: your guitar goes into the lo-fi reverb, the reverb runs into a four-stage phase shifter, and the phased result is recombined with your dry signal.1 The phaser section is a four-stage vintage-style phase shifter, which JHS likens to a Phase 90, with the feedback left off and the notch sweeps moved up through the frequency spectrum.1
That fixed order and always-on pairing is the point of the pedal. JHS says there is no blend on purpose, no order switch because they wanted it one way, and no way to run one effect without the other, except stepping the phaser out in normal mode.1 If you want a conventional phaser or a standalone reverb with more routing options, the 3 Series also includes a six-stage 3 Series Phaser with a Blend control and Feedback toggle for modern and experimental tones, and a range of reverb pedals including the 3 Series Hall Reverb.5
The controls
The Pherb follows the 3 Series formula of three knobs and one toggle.1
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| MIX | Controls the amount of reverb/phaser. Clockwise increases the level, counterclockwise decreases it.1 |
| LENGTH | Controls the decay time and pre-delay of the reverb. As decay time increases, pre-delay increases proportionally. Higher settings allow more phasing to be present.1 |
| SPEED | Controls the speed of the phase shifter. Clockwise is faster, counterclockwise is slower.1 |
| BREAK toggle | Up engages BREAK mode; down is normal mode.1 |
The interaction between LENGTH and SPEED is worth understanding: because the phaser sits after the reverb, a longer decay means more reverb signal available for the phaser to sweep through, so JHS notes that higher LENGTH settings naturally allow more phasing to be present.1
BREAK mode: a bitcrusher in front of both effects
Flipping the BREAK toggle up changes the character of the pedal completely. In BREAK mode, your incoming signal hits an "asymmetric bitcrusher" with analog-style clipping on the way in, distorting the guitar signal before it reaches the reverb and phaser.1 JHS adds that BREAK mode takes the whole signal, reverb, phaser and dry guitar, and destroys it.1
Bitcrushing is a form of digital distortion that reduces bit depth and sample rate, the same job the standalone 3 Series Bitcrusher does, reducing both bit depth and sample rate and then shaping the result with a filter.6 Gearnews describes the Bitcrusher as a well-known tool for anyone who wants to intentionally use digital distortion, and notes that in JHS's demo it sounds almost like an early Tone Bender-style fuzz at certain settings.7 On the Pherb, that crushing happens inside the pedal, ahead of the reverb and phaser, rather than as a separate unit in the chain.
Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Reverb decay (RT60) | 241 ms to 49.83 seconds1 |
| Phaser rate | 0.05 Hz to 5 Hz1 |
| Power | 9VDC center negative, 70mA1 |
| Dimensions | 4.42" x 2.38" x 1.22"1 |
| List price | $99.00 USD (October 2026)1 |
The decay range is wide for a $99 pedal: at the short end, 241 ms is a small-room type of tail, while 49.83 seconds of RT60 is a near-endless wash. The phaser rate range of 0.05 Hz to 5 Hz runs from a sweep so slow it is barely perceptible to a fast warble.1
History: designed and approved in 35 hours
The Pherb came together unusually fast even by 3 Series standards. JHS says it was decided, designed, prototyped and approved for production in just 35 hours, calling it "the fastest pedal we have ever made."1 That 35-hour push took place in October 2026.1
The 3 Series itself launched in 2020 as a collection of USA-made pedals designed to give players affordability and simplicity without compromising quality, each with three simple controls and a single toggle switch, priced at $99.48 The range expanded in November 2021 with the Hall Reverb, Flanger and Phaser, branching the line into modulation and widening its reverb offering.9 The Pherb continues that pattern of combining effects in one affordable box, following pedals like the 3 Series Octave Reverb, which mixed ambient reverb with octave effects in the decay.
Videos
JHS Pedals
B's Music Shop
Questions
Can you use the JHS Pherb as just a reverb?
Yes, in one specific way. With the BREAK toggle in the down (normal) position, turning the Speed knob fully counterclockwise disables the phaser and leaves the reverb running by itself. There is no other way to run one effect without the other, and JHS says that is on purpose.
Is the reverb before or after the phaser on the Pherb?
The reverb comes first, running into a four-stage phase shifter, and the result is then recombined with your dry signal. JHS describes the signal path as reverb into a four-stage phase shifter, recombined with the dry signal, and there is no order switch to change it.
Does the Pherb have presets or a blend knob?
No. JHS states there are no presets, no blend knob, no order switch, and no way to run one effect without the other except stepping the phaser out in normal mode by turning Speed fully counterclockwise. The only controls are Mix, Length, Speed and the BREAK toggle.
How long can the Pherb reverb decay?
JHS lists the reverb decay, measured as RT60, as ranging from 241 ms to 49.83 seconds. The Length knob controls both decay time and pre-delay, and as decay time increases, the pre-delay increases proportionally, with higher settings allowing more phasing to be present.
Sources (9)
- 3 SERIES PHERB, JHS Pedals, 2026-10
- JHS Bit Cusher, Glitch Delay And Ring Modulator, Delicious Audio, 2026-05-22
- 3 SERIES TAPE DELAY, JHS Pedals
- OUR SUCKIEST PEDALS YET, JHS Pedals
- 3 SERIES PHASER, JHS Pedals
- 3 SERIES BIT CRUSHER, JHS Pedals
- JHS Pedals Destroy Your Tone with 3 Series Bit Crusher, Ring Modulator, & Glitch Delay, gearnews.com, 2026-05-08
- JHS launches $99 pedal range, Guitar World, 2020-10-02
- JHS Pedals adds Hall Reverb, Flanger and Phaser units to its $99 3 Series range, Guitar World, 2021-11-22
