JHS Bonsai

In the late 1970's the overdrive pedal was arguably perfected when Japanese engineers designed the sound that we now know as the heart and soul of so many of our favorite artists, recordings and sounds. Players ranging from The Edge, Trey Anastasio, Buddy Guy, Kirk Hammett, John Mayer, SRV, Carlos Santana and thousands more from every possible genre have utilized and depended on this classic iconic green box. If a single effect pedal was chosen to board a Voyager 3 mission and be solely responsible for showing the universe the sound of overdrive, it would undoubtedly be Tube Screamer.  It is probably the most produced and sold pedal in the history of guitar pedals!   The Bonsai is our tribute to one of the greatest pedals ever created.

Following in the steps of our Muffuletta (released 2015), the Bonsai utilizes a simple rotary knob to switch through nine classic, vintage, rare, or hard to find variations of the Screamer.  Creating the Bonsai became an archeological dig of sorts that sent us deep into the history of this circuit by examining dozens of versions, variations and replications.  At the end of it all, Josh chose nine of his personal and favorite units and we painstakingly replicated every nuance and aspect of each pedal.  One of the most challenging parts of this project was accounting for component drift as many of these pedals were decades old and the internal components had strayed from their original values. Each pedal was individually replicated using our Audio Precision analyzer and various other methods that allowed us to perfectly replicate every aspect of the sound and feel of the unit. It's important to know that the Bonsai is not a "box of mods," it is exact replications of these nine units all housed in one box!  The Bonsai is an exact replication, not emulation.  When you choose a mode on the Bonsai rotary, you are actually activating components specific to each mode and playing the unit that Josh chose along with all the quirks, drift, vintage mojo, and individuality that a vintage pedal has.

Let's take a look at the 9 modes of the Bonsai based on the 9 pedals we have chosen...

OD-1 - 1977
An overall brighter and slightly higher gain mode that does not utilize the Tone knob. This mode also inverts signal just like the original and has symmetrical clipping. The OD-1 is magical at boosting other drives or amps into singing saturation.

TS-808 - 1979
The classic low gain with that signature pronounced mid range.

TS-9 - 1982
Nearly identical to the TS-808 but with a slightly more pushed low-mid range.

MSL, Power or L Series - 1985
Though metal is in the name, this sound doesn,t quite inspire the modern metal djent we think of.  Still it has a higher gain sound with a more low end and an overall more gooey feel.

TS-10 - 1986
Made famous by John Mayer, this model is a slight upgrade from the TS9 for the late ,80s. Bluesy, crisp, more low end roll off and low gain.

Exar OD-1 1989
The EXAR is a Polish made TS-style pedal that has a slightly different drive character with a little more gain than the classic screamers as well as a slightly more transparent feel.

TS-7 (+mode) - 1999
The hot mode on this version gives you the highest gain sound in the Bonsai. More low end and dirt fill out the tone to have you shredding away.

Keeley Mod Plus - 2002
Robert Keeley,s classic mod tightens up the tone on the original giving you smoother mid range and high frequencies, and increased bass response.

JHS Strong Mod - 2008
Our own mod we,ve been doing since 2008 is much cleaner and overall more powerful. The mode has more pronounced higher and low end drop offs.

With the JHS Pedals, Bonsai, you can get the classic sounds of nine Tubescreamers in one pedal. Let the Bonsai help you find your overdrive zen.

This pedal requires standard 9V DC Negative power, consumes less than 100mA, and measures 2.2"x4.8"x1.6".

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!

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