The JHS Pink Panther Delay is a digital delay pedal released in 2017 as a reissue and continuation of the original Pink Panther, JHS's first delay pedal, which dated back to 2007 to 200812. Where the original was quirky and unreliable, as JHS itself puts it, the 2017 version brought the design back in a small compact footprint with up to one second of delay time, tape and digital modes, modulation, and an external tap tempo jack13.
The pedal is no longer made under this name. JHS later renamed the design the Lucky Cat, and the Pink Panther name now refers to a discontinued pedal34.
What it does to your sound
The Pink Panther is a digital delay, but it does not commit to one repeat character. A hidden Digital/Tape switch on the side of the pedal chooses between a clean digital delay and a vintage tape echo mode5. Premier Guitar's launch coverage described the design as taking "a different approach: unashamed digital processing"1.
Delicious Audio heard the pedal as looking back to early digital units rather than to tape machines, writing that the Pink Panther "tips its hat" to delays like the Boss DD-5, Ibanez DE7, DDL and the DOD DFX92. On the darker end, the Dark knob moves the repeats away from clean: as That Pedal Show's Dan put it while demoing it, "the more it goes round to the right the more trouble you get on the repeats"6.
A MOD toggle adds modulation to the repeats in two strengths: Mod 1 for a lighter, more subtle modulation, and Mod 2 for a deeper, more intense warble and shimmer5.
Controls and connections
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Time | Sets delay time, from short slapback echoes up to one full second15 |
| Repeats | Adjusts the number of echoes5 |
| Dark | Darkens the repeats; more clockwise adds lo-fi artifacts and trouble to the echoes56 |
| MOD toggle | Mod 1 for light, subtle modulation; Mod 2 for deeper, more intense warbles and shimmers5 |
| Digital/Tape switch | Hidden side switch choosing clean digital or vintage tape echo modes5 |
| Tap tempo jack | Side jack for an external tap switch to control tempo remotely15 |
One behavior worth knowing from the launch description: the Time control is a digital delay's stepped control, not a smoothly sweeping analog one. Premier Guitar's spec list noted the pedal gives "digital delay with no smooth oscillations when turning the time control"1. Players who like to crank a delay's time knob into self-oscillation will not find that here.
Where it came from
The Pink Panther name goes back to the beginning of JHS's delay line. JHS's own product page for the Lucky Cat states: "In 2007, we released our very first delay pedal, the Pink Panther"3. That original pedal, released in 2007 to 2008 or so, was rare and discontinued in its original form, and JHS described it as quirky and unreliable, "as early designs tend to be"53.
The design did not stop there. JHS's Josh Scott has written that "it actually got as far as version 2" before the name change4. The 2017 Pink Panther Delay was the reissue that, in Pedal of the Day's words, took "everything that is cherished from the original model, updating it and making it WAY more affordable"5. Premier Guitar's launch coverage framed the new pedal as "the continuation of our delay line"1.
The name then changed again. Josh Scott has said "my new release had to change its name to the Lucky Cat"4, and That Pedal Show's video database lists the Pink Panther as "Now the Lucky Cat"7.
"In 2007, we released our very first delay pedal, the Pink Panther."
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day reviewed the 2017 reissue in August 2017 and called it "an excellent digital delay" that "doesn't seek to be anything else," praising its up to one full second of crystal clear delay time with darker lo-fi repeats available through the Dark knob5.
On That Pedal Show's tape delay comparison, the hosts demoed the pedal's analog-flavored character, with Dan noting "that's the analog bit up to one second of delay"6. Mick's verdict on the pedal was blunt:
"the pink panther is amazing that really has a voice"
Guitar World's rig rundown of Live's Chad Taylor, published in 2020, listed a JHS Pink Panther among his delays, describing it as "a good analogue-sounding delay"8. Note that the publication called it an analog delay even though the pedal's processing is digital, which reflects how the tape mode and Dark knob can make the repeats sound vintage rather than clean.
That Pedal Show's tape delay episode, which includes the Pink Panther among the pedals compared against a Fulltone TTE, covers how the pedal's tape mode holds up next to a real tape echo6:
Where it sits in the JHS delay line
The Pink Panther Delay is one point in a long JHS delay history. The original 2007 to 2008 pedal started the line32, the 2017 reissue continued it247, and the design now lives on as the Lucky Cat47. JHS's current delay range also includes the JHS Panther Delay, the JHS Panther Cub 500, the JHS Panther Analog Tap Tempo Delay, and the 3 Series delays such as the JHS 3 Series Tape Delay and JHS 3 Series Oil Can Delay, plus the collaboration JHS Troika Delay.
Videos
ProGuitarShopDemos
Sweetwater
JHS Pedals
Questions
Is the JHS Pink Panther Delay still made?
No. The Pink Panther Delay is no longer being made, and JHS later renamed the design the Lucky Cat. The original Pink Panther from 2007 to 2008 was also quirky and unreliable, as JHS itself describes early designs, and the pedal went through a version 2 before the name change.
Is the Pink Panther analog or digital?
The Pink Panther Delay is a digital pedal. Premier Guitar's launch coverage described it as using unashamed digital processing, and Pedal of the Day called it an excellent digital delay. A hidden side switch lets you choose between a clean digital mode and a vintage tape echo mode, and a Mod toggle adds modulation.
How long is the Pink Panther's delay time?
Up to one full second of delay time, set by the Time knob. The range runs from short slapback echoes to that one second maximum. On That Pedal Show, the hosts described the analog-flavored side of the pedal as giving up to one second of delay.
What power does the Pink Panther use?
It runs on standard 9V DC negative power, the same center-negative supply used by most modern pedals. No current draw figure was published in the launch coverage, so it is worth assuming a typical isolated 9V output will run it without trouble.
Why was the Pink Panther renamed Lucky Cat?
JHS's Josh Scott has said the release had to change its name to the Lucky Cat. The Pink Panther name carried history: the original 2007 to 2008 pedal was JHS's first delay and was quirky and unreliable, and the design reached version 2 before the rename. That Pedal Show lists the Pink Panther as now the Lucky Cat.
Does the Pink Panther have tap tempo?
Yes, through an external tap tempo jack on the side of the pedal. You plug in an external tap switch to control the tempo remotely. The Time knob still gives manual control over repeat speed, from slapback up to one second.
Sources (8)
- JHS Pedals Introduces the Pink Panther Delay, Premier Guitar, 2017-06-12
- New At The BK SBE 2017: JHS Pedals Pink Panther Delay, Delicious Audio, 2017-09-08
- LUCKY CAT DELAY, JHS Pedals
- WORST JHS PEDALS EVER MADE, JHS Pedals
- JHS Pedals Pink Panther Digital Delay, Pedal of the Day, 2017-08-07
- TPS Pick'N'Mix, That Pedal Show (YouTube), 2017-10-23
- Great Tape Delay Tones Part 2: Fulltone TTE vs Pedals, That Pedal Show, 2020-04-10
- Rig tour: Live's resident "fuzz junkie", Chad Taylor, Guitar World, 2020-01-09
