The VS Audio JangleMaster is an analog preamp pedal from the Greek maker VS Audio, built around the top boost channel of a Vox AC30, with a second boost circuit that can run as either a clean boost or a Rangemaster-style treble booster12. It arrived in July 2024 as VS Audio's simplified, compact take on the AC30 Top Boost style preamp3, and it sits in the growing family of preamp pedals that put a whole amp's front end on a pedalboard.
What it does to your sound
The pedal pairs two circuits. The AC30 side, marked in purple on the enclosure, carries the preamp itself, and the yellow side carries the boost. Delicious Audio frames the whole thing as replicating a pedal and amp combination that was all the rage in the rock and pop of the '60s, the treble booster into a cranked AC30 pairing12. That pairing has history behind it: British Pedal Company's history of the Dallas Rangemaster notes that in the mid-1960s amps like the Vox AC30 tended to produce a slightly dark, muddy sound when overdriven, particularly with humbucking pickups, which is what made treble boosters such a staple6.
On the boost side, the pedal's Boost Type switch selects between Treble Boost and Clean Boost4. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson, who installed the Jangle Master in his own pedal chain, found the boost section mainly adds harmonics and texture rather than volume, somewhat tamed compared to other Rangemaster-style boost sections2. The circuit also carries an onboard Triad Magnetics MIL-T-27E audio transformer, which Karlsson said does much to add further dynamics to the output profile2.
"So I have the core saturated Brian May sound that I so love"
The controls
The pedal splits its controls between the two circuits, with a footswitch for each41.
| Section | Controls |
|---|---|
| Top Boost (purple AC30 side) | Gain, Bass, Treble, Boost footswitch12 |
| Boost type | Treble Boost / Clean Boost switch4 |
| Master | Volume, High Cut, main bypass footswitch, plus an internal Presence trim pot set to minimum (fully counterclockwise) by default7 |
Delicious Audio describes the purple AC30 side as carrying a 3-band EQ with Bass, Cut and Treble knobs that allow significant tone sculpting152. The Cut control itself lives on the yellow boost side and functions as a high-cut knob; it also affects the pedal's dynamic response and high frequencies, so it shapes feel as well as tone15.
One control deserves a note for pedalboard planning. The Sparkle control, placed further down the pedal chain, is described by Delicious Audio as conferring that unmistakable, jangly AC30 character, with a saturation range running from sparkly clean to fully cranked12.
What reviewers said
Guitar Pedal X's verdict was warm but not uncritical. In his July 2024 write-up, Karlsson called it a perfectly calibrated, super versatile British AC style preamp with top boost2, and found the transformer added real dynamics to the output2. By December 2024, in the site's buying guide to the year's boost and overdrive pedals, he was more measured: he always felt the Jangle Master could do with more output volume, noting it has considerably less than VS Audio's own Platinum Preamp, and said he would place both the ROY and the Menatone TBIAC above it overall7.
The Rangemaster connection
The treble boost mode is a deliberate nod to the Dallas Rangemaster, the unit that British Pedal Company credits with answering the dark overdrive of mid-1960s British tube amps like the AC306. Players who want more on that lineage can compare the JangleMaster against dedicated boost pedals or the broader field of overdrive pedals built around British amp voicings.
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Questions
Is the VS Audio JangleMaster analog or digital?
The JangleMaster is an analog pedal. Guitar Pedal X described it on its release as a Vox style analog preamp with top boost, and the circuit includes an onboard Triad Magnetics MIL-T-27E audio transformer, which the reviewer said adds dynamics to the output profile. There is no digital modeling or DSP involved in the tone path.
How much does the VS Audio JangleMaster cost?
At its July 2024 release, Guitar Pedal X listed the Jangle Master at 239 euros or 239 US dollars, and the same $239 figure appeared in the site's December 2024 buying guide. Delicious Audio's late 2024 guide to Vox-style pedals put it at around $250.
What does the Cut knob do on the JangleMaster?
The Cut control sits on the yellow boost side of the pedal and works as a high-cut knob. Delicious Audio notes that it also affects the pedal's dynamic response and high frequencies, so it shapes feel as well as tone.
Can the JangleMaster sound like a Rangemaster treble booster?
Yes, by design. Delicious Audio describes the boost circuit as able to sound either like a clean boost or a Rangemaster treble booster, selected with a Boost Type switch. Guitar Pedal X found the boost section mainly adds harmonics and texture rather than volume, somewhat tamed compared to other Rangemaster-style boosts.
Does the JangleMaster have a footswitch for the boost?
Yes. The Top Boost section has its own Boost footswitch, separate from the main bypass footswitch on the master section, so you can switch the boost in and out while the preamp stays on.
Which Vox amp is the JangleMaster based on?
The JangleMaster is based on the Vox AC30's Top Boost channel. Guitar Pedal X lists it as a British AC type preamp modeled on the Vox AC30 Top Boost, and Delicious Audio calls it a Vox AC30-style amp-in-a-box.
Sources (7)
- New Pedal: VS Audio JangleMaster Overdrive+ Boost, Delicious Audio, 2024-07-02
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-07-12
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2026-04-23
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-07-02
- The 20 Best Vox-Style Pedals & Vox-In-a-Box Overdrives In 2024, Delicious Audio, 2024-12-02
- Dallas Rangemaster History, British Pedal Company, 1960
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-12-16
