3 Series Overdrive Pedal Review

A Superb Overdrive at Any Price

I've been playing for nearly 20 years now, I've owned dozens of pedals, and the one kind of pedal I never seem to bond with is overdrive. I can fall in love with just about any fuzz or distortion, but I've always kept a cool distance to OD. Not anymore. I love this thing! This is NOT a Tube Screamer clone, like some people think. It's a clone of a somewhat obscure Dumble-style… read more circuit called the HAO Rumble Drive. It doesn't do the mid hump or the bass rolloff like a screamer, but I wouldn't call it transparent either. It definitely has a color to it, but that color shifts around with the very excellent Body control. The "Gain" switch lets you select between traditional silicon clipping diodes and red LED clipping diodes. When in the UP position, you get a huge volume boost and a less compressed overdrive sound. When I say huge volume boost, I mean it shook my windows out of a 15W practice amp! It stacks incredibly well with everything on my board from my DS-1 to my Foxx Tone Machine clone to my Big Muff. It's dead quiet as well. And finally, this thing is absolutely killer on bass. With the gain switch up, the gain knob dimed, and the body control around 9-o-clock it absolutely nails that pushed Ampeg crunch that's so hard to emulate. This is my first JHS pedal, and I have to say I'm extremely impressed. I love this thing! Get it! Even if OD isn't usually your thing, this just might be!

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American Made! Great O.D. Pedal for a Great price.

This OD pedal is hard to beat. Great tones to a clear boost. The 15% off sale pushed me to finally buy a JHS pedal and I'm glad I did. This pedal is now a permanent fixture on my board...

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Very Happy

The JHS 3 Series Overdrive is delivering everything that the product description and reviews indicate. The two gain structures that are available make for a very versatile device. The low gain mode gives a pleasing growl and warmth that retains the sound and articulation of my guitar and amp combination. The high gain mode gives a smooth, smoldering lead tone that I am finding… read more very addictive. Over the years I have relied on 12AX7 tubes in a Marshall JMP1 or Peavy Rock Master preamp for overdrive/distortion tones. I really prefer the sound of the 3 Series Overdrive over the preamps I have owned. I would like to mention that I am using the 3 Series Overdrive with a single coil Stratocaster into a 15-watt EL84 amp that is set to a mostly clean sound. I'm sure this overdrive would sound nice with any guitar/amp combo though. Lots of adjustment available on this pedal. Thank you Sweetwater and Matt Masek for fast, free shipping and the lowest price I could find anywhere.

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Honest to God!!

Great quality, great sound, great vibe - all for a GREAT PRICE!!

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Dang is this thing good!

so, when jhs announced the "3 series" i was like "oh yeah, this is gonna be good." and when i found out they were only $... i had to cop one!i've been on the search for a good overdrive pedal since i started playing 10 years ago. i've tried everything; amps in a box, tube screamers, klon-type circuits, you name it, and nothing has really done what i wanted it to do. it kind of got… read more to the point where i straight up stopped buying them because after all the trial and error i forgot what it was i was really looking for. until i met this guy...this is, by far, the most useful overdrive pedal i've ever tried. period. it has plenty of gain on tap to run everything from an open clean boost to medium gain, almost distortion overdrive. the body control is a really interesting substitute for a conventional tone control because it doesn't act as a tone control as much as it acts as a resonance or "filter" for your drive signal. and this thing can get LOUD. now, i use an '80s stage lead because it's a great clean platform and i always get my drive from pedals. i never really use drives to push amps into overdrive because it's not my thing. i mainly play indie/ alt rock, but i also dabble in a lot of jazz. i've found that this not only provides an excellent dirty tone for chords and leads, but also sounds pretty juicy when improvising over jazz stuff.and, for those asking, "oh is it a _____ clone?", no. it's not. it's a totally unique and incredibly versatile drive that i really can't recommend enough! do yourself a favor and buy it! it's an awesome first overdrive for folks just getting into pedals, and a great option for seasoned players who are just looking for something other than the same four drive pedals that everyone uses! i LOVE the 3 series and am considering buying the reverb and chorus pedals as well.(also, i want to give a HUGE shoutout to mike conyers for being the best sales rep i've had at sweetwater in my 5+ years of purchasing gear through them. he is an incredible dude and has an excellent knowledge of gear, so much so that i don't even have to tell him what i want, he just knows. it's weird! it's like he can read minds. seriously, if you're reading this, mike you're the best!!!)

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