JHS 424 Gain Stage

The 424 Gain Stage gives all the elastic, lo-fi tone you get from plugging a guitar rig straight into a TASCAM® Portastudio® 424. Now in pedal form, you can easily integrate the rubbery clean tones, high head room, and smashed out fuzz that’s being repopularized by today’s emerging guitarists.   

The original Portastudios® were made famous in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and gave us the ability to bring our songs to life from the comfort of our cluttered bedrooms. These multi-track recorders meant for home studios found their way onto hit records like Springsteen’s Nebraska, the Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang, and Spoon’s Gimme Fiction. Many of the vocal parts and fuzzy guitar tracks on Gimme Fiction – a huge inspiration for the creation of the Colour Box – were actually recorded on a Portastudio®. Since hearing those recordings, the 424 Gain Stage has been brewing in the background, and now we’re proud to bring it to you.

In this historically accurate recreation, we perfectly replicated the original 424 MKI® circuit using the original UPC4570 and NJM4565 op-amps and all the original controls, which is crucial for recreating the unique character that makes the old units sound so good.  The Portastudio’s® gain controls–trim, channel volume, & master volume–all work in tandem for dialing up your desired tone and can be further refined with the Low and High EQ settings. In addition, our unit offers a ¼” output alongside a balanced XLR output (DI out) for ultimate flexibility in any situation, live or studio.

The 424 Gain Stage as a DI

Going DI will give you the exact same unparalleled gooey texture and lo-fi fuzz you get when plugging directly into a 424® without the hassle of dragging around your beloved Portastudio®. Leave it on your recording desk for easy access. If you want to get fancy,  you can toss an Active A/B/Y switcher at the end of your rig and send the A output to your amp and the B output to the JHS 424 Gain Stage input, then XLR output of the pedal directly into your mixer or interface. This way, you can flip between your amp and the 424 Gain Stage easily or play through both at the same time. Give it a try! 

The 424 Gain Stage with an Amp

Plugging a Portastudio® into your amp is quite a feat. In this pedal format, you can easily integrate the tone of the 424 with the saturation of your favorite amp. This adds a whole new quality to the tone and gives the ability to stack it with your other pedals. Use it as a gain stage to boost your signal, a unique and colorful new overdrive sound, or push the gain knobs into full-on overloaded and broken fuzz. 

VOLUME (Corresponds to Portastudio® Master) - Controls the output volume. Left is less, right is more.  On the Portastudio 424, this is the MASTER fader. 

GAIN 1 (TRIM) - Sets how much preamplification will be added to the input signal.  On the Portastudio 424, this is the TRIM control.

GAIN 2 (CHANNEL) - Sets the volume level of the second gain stage. On the Portastudio 424, this is the CHANNEL fader.

BASS - Cuts or boosts bass frequencies. Left is less, right is more. 

TREBLE - Cuts or boosts the treble frequencies. Left is less, right is more.

INPUT - Top ¼” right jack.

OUTPUT - Top ¼” left jack.

XLR OUTPUT - XLR jack on the left side of the pedal. This is a balanced output which can be used as a direct-out straight into a mixer or interface. The 1/4” output and XLR output can be used simultaneously.

GROUND LIFT - Dip switch on the left side of the pedal. If you experience a hum/buzz while using the XLR output, use this switch to lift the ground.

POWER - Requires 9VDC center negative power and consumes 50mA. 

The 424 Gain Stage is silent, soft touch switching with a buffered bypass.

THIS PEDAL MEASURES 2.6” X 4.8” X 1.6” AND CONSUMES 50MA. DO NOT USE MORE THAN 9VDC. DAMAGE MAY OCCUR AND YOUR WARRANTY WILL BE VOIDED.

THE JHS PEDALS 424 GAIN STAGE IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH OR ENDORSED BY TASCAM®

TASCAM AND PORTASTUDIO ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS.

Warranty & Returns

All New products are covered by the manufacturers new warranty. Please check their website for the length of warranty and warranty conditions. If an item you receive is faulty get in touch with us ASAP. Second Hand products come with a 4 week warranty from us. If there is an issue let us know ASAP! This covers normal use and does not cover accidental damage, misuse, wrong power plugged into it, modding, water damage or any other damage caused by mistreatment. Just treat it nice and all will be good!

Shipping

We send A LOT of packages every week so don't worry about the shipping side of things!

We've never lost a thing and your awesome new gear will be packed up really well to avoid any damage in transit.

If your order comes in before 2pm we will ship it same day. Most of the time we pack things up all the way to 4pm so just call if you need it to leave same day after 2pm.

We ship mainly with Australia Post but may use a courier depending on location and size of the package.

Free Post ships with Australia Post standard and expected shipping times are between 4-6 business days depending on location. It will be longer to outside of metro and rural areas.

Express Post will usually be with you next business day in metro areas of QLD, NSW, SA, VIC and TAS. WA will take 2 days to metro and extra days after that to out side metro and rural areas.

Everything we ship has a tracking number with the exception of some power cables and smaller envelope packages. You will be emailed tracking once your order has been shipped!