JHS Pedals JHS Emperor

The JHS Emperor is a true analog chorus and pitch vibrato pedal from JHS Pedals, released on October 7, 2014 with a MAP price of $299¹. It is a two-in-one design: a toggle switch selects chorus or vibrato, and the signal path is 100% analog, built on bucket brigade delay lines using a 3207 chipset¹². JHS designed it around the vintage Arion SCH-1 chorus topology, with the stated goal of imitating classic sounds from old stompboxes such as the Arion SCH-1 and the Boss CE-1 and CE-2¹².

The Emperor line continued after the original pedal. The Emperor V2 followed in 2018, and JHS has since built an Emperor 500, a 500 series lunchbox module version usable on keys, drums, guitar, bass, vocals, or anything run through it³⁴. The Emperor V2 was discontinued as of June 2026³.

A bucket brigade chorus and pitch vibrato

The Emperor uses bucket brigade circuitry to deliver two modulation types in a single box: chorus and pitch vibrato, selected by a toggle switch⁵. MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen described it as "like a modern version of the Boss CE-1," and found that "Chorus tones are all that you could wish for, with sounds reminiscent of classic 80s pedals"⁵.

A bucket brigade chip passes your signal down a chain of tiny capacitors, step by step, and the slight delay it produces is modulated to create the chorus or vibrato effect. Because that delay is real and analog rather than computed, the character of the 3207 chipset is central to how the Emperor sounds; JHS says it delivers "the warmth of '80s-style analog chorus pedals"³.

The pedal's range runs from subtle sheen to seasick vibrato, and JHS also positions it for Leslie-style organ tones, listing rotary speaker simulation among its features¹³. On the Emperor 500, the maker describes the span as "From sea-sick vibrato to chorus and Leslie organ tones"⁴.

Madison Cunningham is the pedal's best documented player. JHS says she used the Emperor Chorus/Vibrato heavily as her foundational, always-on sound in vibrato mode during the sessions for Who Are You Now⁶. Her later signature pedal, the Artificial Blonde, is a stereo pitch vibrato based on the Emperor Chorus/Vibrato.

The controls

The original Emperor keeps its control set simple: Volume, Tone, Speed, and Depth, which Pedal of the Day's reviewer noted "pretty much tell you what they do from their names"².

The Speed control can also be driven two other ways. The on-board tap tempo footswitch sets the rate directly, and a side jack accepts either a TRS expression pedal or an external tap tempo switch¹³. On the original pedal the selection between expression and tap tempo is made inside the unit; on the V2 a Tap/Exp mini switch on the left side of the pedal controls the side-mounted Tap/Exp TRS jack²³.

With an expression pedal connected, you can ramp the speed in real time, which JHS suggests for realistic rotary speaker sounds, "utilizing an external expression pedal to cop realistic rotary speaker sounds on a blues gig"³. In JHS's own lineup video, Nick demonstrated the waveform selection on the Emperor Chorus/Vibrato, which offers sine, square and triangle waves, and remarked of the triangle wave, "Ooh, that is shimmery"⁷.

The Emperor also runs in stereo. A TRS splitter cable plugged into the main output jack sends the signal to two amps for a true stereo effect, a feature carried from the 2014 launch through the V2¹²³.

Circuit lineage and the V2

The Emperor's circuit traces back to a specific vintage pedal: the Arion SCH-1, a 1980s chorus that JHS calls coveted and hard to find³⁴. The design starts from the SCH-1's chorus topology and uses the 3207 bucket brigade chipset¹⁴. In JHS's own history of legendary chorus pedals, the company writes of the SCH-1: "I designed my Emperor chorus around this. So if you like this, my Emperor Chorus is an updated version"⁸.

The 2014 launch press release framed the pedal's lineage more broadly, citing "vintage Boss VB-2, CE-2, CE-1, as well as the legendary and rare SCH-1" as the territory the Emperor lets you explore¹.

The Emperor V2, released in 2018, is the updated version of the 2014 original³. JHS calls it "a vintage-correct effect that absolutely nails the hard-to-find sound of the Arion SCH-1," and describes it as a do-it-all modulation solution, from subtle sheen to convincing rotary simulation to seasick vibrato³. It adds a high-quality buffer that helps drive long cable runs and larger pedal setups while restoring high-end loss, and an internal switch changes between buffered and true-bypass operation³. The V2 was discontinued as of June 2026, with remaining inventory possibly found at authorized retailers or resale platforms³.

Beyond the V2, the line extends into the 500 series rack world. The Emperor 500 is a lunchbox module built on the same 1980s Arion SCH-1 chorus topology and the same 3207 chipset, with tap tempo, expression foot control and waveform selection, which JHS calls a first for the 500 series world⁴.

For a deeper look at the family, JHS's 2025 lineup video demonstrates the controls, stereo features, waveforms and expression input across its chorus and vibrato pedals, including the Emperor Chorus/Vibrato. In it, Nick, who says he has used the Emperor in the same setting for about four years, typically a high-depth, lower-speed setting always on, concluded: "After playing this a little bit more in depth, it's kind of a miracle"⁷.

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