Premier Guitar's reviewer described the result as "Superior bucket brigade analog circuitry delivers warm and lush echoes and unusually thick modulation flavors," and noted that the pedal "clearly sets out to explore the terrain mapped by the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man"1. Pedal of the Day called it "a BIG, bold, fat-sounding, lush delay pedal" in a massive silver box2.
A bucket brigade analog delay with tape-style modulation
A bucket brigade delay passes your signal through a chain of capacitor "buckets" inside chips, in this case 3205 bucket brigade chip sets, which gives repeats the darker, warmer character players associate with analog delay3. Pedal of the Day made the point plainly: "Being a true Bucket Brigade delay like the Panther is, you get sounds and tones that are hard to replicate elsewhere"2.
On top of the repeats sits an entire modulation section, with Speed and Depth controls that Pedal of the Day said give you "as much or as little tape delay warble and wackiness as you can handle"2. This is the tape-emulation part of the design: instead of a clean, static repeat, the echoes wobble like a tape machine whose speed drifts.
The controls: Time, Feedback, Mix, Speed, Depth and Ratio
The Panther's knob layout, as announced, runs left to right: Feedback, Mix, Time, Mod Speed, Mod Depth and a Ratio control3. Pedal of the Day grouped Feedback, Mix and Time as the core delay controls, with the modulation knobs alongside2.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Time | Sets the delay time, up to one full second2 |
| Feedback | Sets the number of repeats; "will get pretty wicked when cranked up"2 |
| Mix | Blends the delayed signal with your dry signal2 |
| Mod Speed | Sets the rate of the tape-style modulation32 |
| Mod Depth | Sets how deep the warble goes32 |
| Ratio Control | Subdivision control for tap tempo3 |
| Chirp toggle | Chooses between bright and chirpy delays, or dark and more in-the-background echoes2 |
The Ratio control is the subdivision side of tap tempo: it sets how the tapped tempo translates into delay time3. The Chirp toggle is a simple voicing switch, bright versus dark repeats2.
Tap tempo and MIDI clock sync
The Panther has an onboard tap-tempo switch, and on-board and external tap tempo functionality that Pedal of the Day said makes "setting your delay time a cinch"2. There are also jacks for an assignable expression pedal and an external tap-tempo pedal, plus a Dry Output for splitting your unaffected signal1.
One detail Premier Guitar's reviewer highlighted: "The tap-tempo control can also be used with modulation without affecting delay time," so you can tap in modulation movement independently of where your repeats sit1.
The tap input jack also opens a route to tempo sync. Molten Voltage documented the Panther among pedals with a tap input jack that can sync together, and its index of pedals that sync to MIDI clock lists the Panther as able to do so using Molten Voltage's CTL-Sync system56. This is not a MIDI port: the sync arrives through the tap jack.
The Panther and the Panther Cub
The Panther family grew and shrank over time. Two years after the original Panther Analog Delay, JHS announced the Panther Cub, a condensed version4. The Cub then went through its own revision: Pedal of the Day reported that the Panther Cub V2 is half the size of the half-sized Panther Cub 1/1.5, taking "everything we knew and loved about the original Panther Delay and condensed it," along with a couple more features7.
| Panther | Panther Cub V2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit | 3205 bucket brigade chip sets, 100% analog3 | Four 3205 bucket brigade chips, 100% analog7 |
| Max delay | One full second21 | 1,000ms (one full second)7 |
| Tap tempo | Onboard switch, external jack21 | Onboard Tap Tempo switch, side jack for external tap7 |
| Modulation | Speed and Depth knobs32 | On/Off switch on the side, plus Slow/Fast speed switch7 |
| Extra controls | Chirp toggle, Ratio control23 | Active EQ knob, Volume knob, Feedback tuned for smoother oscillation and run-away repeats when maxed7 |
| Layout | Massive silver box2 | Top-mounted jacks, pedalboard-friendly, true bypass7 |
The Cub V2 keeps the same one-second maximum delay time as the full-size Panther but moves modulation to side switches and adds an active EQ and a Volume control for overall output level7. Pedal of the Day's verdict on the smaller pedal: "the Panther Cub V2 really takes everything you love about all your analog delays, and crams it into a tight, comfortable and exciting package"7.
Both the Panther and the Panther Cub V2 are discontinued. The Panther was reported as no longer in production in 2017, and the Cub V2 is no longer made as of 2018, so both are used-market finds28.
How it compares to a Memory Man
Premier Guitar's reviewer placed the Panther directly in the Deluxe Memory Man's territory, crediting it with unusually thick modulation flavors1. Pedal of the Day went further on the modulation character:
"It's like having an upgraded Memory Man right at your fingertips."
The practical difference for a player comparing the two: the Panther adds onboard tap tempo, a Ratio subdivision control, an expression pedal jack and an external tap jack, none of which the vintage Memory Man design carries31. The trade-off is the one-second ceiling, which Premier Guitar noted the pedal "maxes out at"1.
Power
The Panther runs on simple 9V power, which Pedal of the Day pointed out means "you can use just about any power supply"2.
Videos
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Questions
Is the JHS Panther still made?
No. The Panther Analog Delay is no longer in production, and the smaller Panther Cub V2 is no longer made either. Both appear on the used market. JHS Pedals continues to build delays, including its 3 Series delay pedals and the Third Man + JHS Troika Delay collaboration.
What is the maximum delay time on the JHS Panther?
Up to one full second, or 1,000ms. Pedal of the Day noted that a full second of delay time is not common in analog delays, and the Panther Cub V2 carries the same 1,000ms maximum. Premier Guitar's reviewer confirmed the Panther maxes out at a single second of delay time.
Can the JHS Panther sync to MIDI?
Yes, in a specific way. The Panther can sync to MIDI clock using Molten Voltage's CTL-Sync system through its tap input jack, rather than through a dedicated MIDI port. It also has onboard tap tempo and a jack for an external tap-tempo pedal.
How does the JHS Panther compare to a Memory Man?
Premier Guitar's reviewer said the Panther clearly sets out to explore the terrain mapped by the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, with bucket brigade analog circuitry and unusually thick modulation flavors. Pedal of the Day put it more simply: it is like having an upgraded Memory Man at your fingertips.
What power does the JHS Panther need?
It runs on simple 9V power, so just about any standard pedal power supply works, as Pedal of the Day pointed out. No current draw or polarity figure is documented for this pedal.
Sources (8)
- JHS Panther Analog Delay Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2012-10-02
- JHS Pedals Panther Analog Delay, Pedal of the Day (www.pedal-of-the-day.com), 2017-10-31
- New JHS Panther Analog Delay Pedal with Tap Tempo, Premier Guitar, 2012-01-18
- JHS Pedals Announces Panther Cub Delay, Premier Guitar, 2013-12-04
- MIDI PedalBoard Devices: 28 Effects that can sync to MIDI Clock with CTL-Sync, Molten Voltage (blog.moltenvoltage.com), 2014-06-12
- MIDI PedalBoard Devices: Guitar Effect Pedals that Sync to MIDI Clock, Molten Voltage (blog.moltenvoltage.com), 2014-10-07
- JHS Pedals Panther Cub Analog Delay V2, Pedal of the Day, 2019-03-14
- Origin Effects Revival Drive, That Pedal Show, 2018-08-17
