JangleBox JangleBox

I'm a Byrds fan and use a Rickenbacker 12-string for live work (as might be expected). I have been trying, in vain, to nail Roger McGuinn's tone for years, and now, I have it down with the Janglebox. I did a lot of research, talked to other guitarists and listened to tons of sound samples before deciding on the Janglebox. This is the best sounding compressor I have ever heard or used. The Keeley is real close, but the Janglebox beats it. To answer the first question, it is extremely easy to use.

Simply put, the JB is amazing. It's not an "in your face" compressor that pinches and constricts your tone to death, but more of a transparent sound enhancer, that is made purposely to nail the jangle sound of The Byrds, Tom Petty, The Beatles, Searchers, and others. It does what it does perfectly. I disagree with the guy who said don't turn the gain or attack past 11:00 or whatever. His ears either don't work right, or he's on drugs. My Rickenbacker sounds great with the JB's controls on full. You can roll off a little treble on the guitar if necessary. If McGuinn likes his controls all the way up, that's fine by me. I play a Hot Rod Deluxe amp, and so far, have use thed Janglebox strictly with the Rick 12 and nothing else. I never use compression on a 6-string, but I'll have to try the JB with my Tele or Strat. I have an old Dyna-Comp that I started with that never gets used, and a Boss CS-3 that I just sold to buy the JB. Neither one got me the sounds I wanted.

I haven't used it yet live, but I know Steve Lasko will handle any questions, issues or problems I might have. I expect none.

Steve answers all emails and has been very helpful. I trust him. He has a great rep.

I play lots of sixties rock and blues. I've been playing for over thirty years. If my JB was stolen, I'd buy another immediately. Finally, after years of trying to get McGuinn's sound, I have it nailed with the Janglebox. The Byrds have always been my favorite band, so I feel I have achieved a lifelong goal. The Janglebox is just perfect.

OK, very easy to use - BUT - DO NOT follow the set up instructions. Running this pedal with the knobs set at 2 o'clock is way off. If you try this setting you will be selling it on ebay, for sure. In another review someone says they talked to RMc about his settings? Gain @ 100%@ and Attack @3 o'clock? Are you kidding me? I cannot believe that RMc could be that stupid, sorry dude.

If you have owned and used a Keeley Comp, and I have for two years, you will find that, just like the Keeley unit, the sweet spot and LESS HISSY position is with both knobs @ 11 o'clock or close to it. It may bother some buyers to discover that the pedal has a one trick mentality to it, but there it is, love it or move on. Sorry, guys, I don't give a rat about who or what you think you know about compressor pedals...

No pedal is perfect, I suppose. Yes, this is the best sounding Compressor pedal out there, hands down. It has less coloration than the Keeley (which I rate at #2 in the field), is quieter that the Compulator (#3), and is quieter still that the Comprossor (#4). I have owned all three. All are good sounding pedals, but the JBox has that 'bright' switch thing that takes it to a whole different level. In any of its three tone positions, 'dark/normal/bright', it has a transparency that none of the others have. I dig the Keeley unit, don't misunderstand, but the Keeley colors things a bit and is darker overall. In fact, I would say that the 'normal' position on the JBox is just a shade brighter than the Keeley, placing the Keeley between the 'dark' and 'normal' positions of the JBox. Well, whatever your tastes, consider that having the option to go to the 'bright' position is like a free ride to strange and exotic country. There are records from the '60's that are waiting to be recorded with the 'bright' switch on this pedal engaged. It just bogles the senses if you are into '60's Pop.

I don't know, too new. I made a battery eliminator cable for this pedal by cutting and reversing a DCBrick cable. The electrical hookup thing is a weak point and Steve L told me he had something coming up on the website about it. ? I told him he should supply a cable at least as I don't even know of a solo supply that is being made like this. ?

Steve Lasko has been here for me on this pedal. He has returned 4 emails, all to the point and helpful. He also explained that the 90 day warranty is something the company's lawyer suggested, and that, in practice, the Jbox people are very interested in keeping their pedals performing as they were intended. I get this. Too, the pedal is solid, performing in the studio and all night like it should without any weirdness. YMMV, but this pedal is working very well for me, so much so, in fact, that I sold my Keeley.

I give this a 9 rating because I think they should supply a DC cable if they are going to offer such an odd hookup configuration. Sorry Steve, this is for making me bugger a good cable....

I run a Clyde wah into the JBox>MojoVibe>LTD>Pedalracks TB>EchoPark> amp. Amps:AC30, Tweed Bassman, Tweed Deluxe, Marshall 50watt Plexi, BFSR, Fender Super-Sonic, Silvertone Silver Medalist, BJr, Tweed Champ, etc... I have been playing for 25+ years, so what, and I dig a great gtr sound. This pedal is a total blast and a must have for all the right reasons - get one.

Gtrs: Pretty much all Fralin pups in 'newer' Strats, Teles, LesPauls and a Jazzbox or two, Laravee OM9 acoustic with a B-band pup. No, not a collector, I cannot afford $18,000 for a vintage Strat.

OK, a 9, but you will not find anything better out there. Make yourself a cable or buy one, turn the knobs to 11 o'clock and have at it. This compressor pedal does its job very well, thank you JBox Company!! Maybe one of the better investments I have made for studio or live play.

This couldn't be more simple. Just plug in and go. You'll find a great sound in 5-10 minutes, depending on what other effects you got.

Damn near perfect. I love the dead-on Byrds/Beatles/Petty sound I get on my Ric-12, but you can get a lot more sounds than that with other guitars. As they say, it won't make a Les Paul sound like a Ricky, but it will give all your guitars a really even tone and tons of sustain.

The guy who makes them says they use an industrial grade die-cast aluminum enclosure that's been powder coated and screen printed, not just painted. You can tell the quality.

They answered all my e-mails o.k., but it took six weeks to get. They don't build these things very quickly, but that actually might kind of a plus since they are hand made. A friend of mine who turned me on to the JBox sent his back for a repair after two years and they fixed it free of charge with no questions, so I think the 90-day warranty is "flexible".

I have a bunch of compressors, some of which I really like, but there's nothing else like the Jbox on the market. This is a keeper.

This unit is extremely easy to use, just two knobs, gain and attack, with a toggle switch for dark, normal, or bright. It is really easy to "dial in" the amount of compression or sustain that you want

The sound with single coils is fantastic; I can really nail that Beatle/Byrds chime with my Rickenbacker 12's, and it sounds great with my American Strat or my Stratosonic with the Black Dove P90's. Put it at the front of your signal chain before your other effects, and the noise is minimal. Make sure you are using good quality cables. I am using it with my Deluxe Reverb amp, a DOD chorus, and Realtube pedal.

The pedal is very well constructed, metal housing, and switch. I definitely would and do gig with it without a backup.

Steve Lasko is one of the best, friendly, and helpful company CEO's I have encountered in the music business. He is very quick to respond to e-mails; whether with questions about the Janglebox itself, or other topics. He is a regular member of the RickResource Forum, and comments fairly frequently there as well.

I have been playing classic rock for nearly 40 years; and gigging semi-regularly for the past 12 years. I own more guitars than I need; several strats, a tele, 3 Rics, a Les Paul Deluxe, etc., and a few fine acoustics. The Janglebox works well with all of them. In fact, I now use it with my Ric 370/12 RM instead of the built in compressor it has, because it sounds much better. You can definitely nail Roger Mcguinn's sound, and a host of others as well. I would definitely buy it again if it were lost or stolen. I bought mine used only because the pedals are hand made, and there was a bit of a backlog on ordering them from Janglebox. There is nothing it lacks except an AC adapter, which you can find at Walmart for $10.00. One great pedal!

Controls were easy to understand and adjust. Comes with instructions.

I couldn't get the Jangle thing going. I am an amateur player and I admit the Janglebox folks caution that is just a compression box...but I had high hopes my Les Paul and Strat would have some Jangle with this (after reading all the reviews), but it didn't happen for me. I tried over and over for several days, adjusted the box, the guitars, the amp, but all that happened when I activated the effect was a clearer, sharper sound; more treble, and maybe a hint of chorus. That's all I could get. Tested it in front of other folks; they agreed with me. Seems to me that, if you aren't playing a Rickenbacher with this, then you just bought a super clean boost pedal. Just my opinion-I don't intend here to be mean about it and I have nothing against the Janglebox folks, but I was really disappointed.

Beautifully built. Very solid and shows quality.

It took 2 months to get and they were responsive in emails during that period. Obviously a carefully well made piece by a small company.

I play older rock, pop, blues and country. Been playing 30 years. Have excellent pro guitars and amps. I have always thought that it would be so cool to get the RIC sound in a pedal and was hoping this one would do it for me, but it didn't. As I said, I think you need a Rickenbacker guitar to get the sound, ultimately. That's my opinion after using this effect for several days. I sold my Janglebox to someone else.

Pretty easy. Gain controls the volume and compression, Attack the intensity of the compression. I set the Gain control to unity (2 o'clock was a fairly substantial boost in my case), and the Attack to around the suggested setting of 2 o'clock. The compression begins to kick in at around the halfway mark on the guitar volume, getting steadily stronger as you increase the volume.

The fact that the effect is positively grounded but uses a 2.1mm barrel plug is annoying, as you can't use one of those 1-spot 1/8" positive plug extensions for old DOD effects and the like. I don't have the confidence to build my own extension (which in any case will still need its own power supply) so I'm stuck using a battery. I also think it might have been better to put the title under the "J" and have the footswitch closer to the bottom of the pedal. It's pretty close to the controls, and an casual stomp could move the knobs or worse break them or the tone switch off.

Delightful. I play humbuckers with flatwound 12s so have a very mellow tone, and picked this unit up principally to widen the tonal possibilities of the instrument. I'm not gassing for a Tele anymore. It really does make your instrument chime like the guitars on early 60s Beatles records and I'm using a Godin into a Fender Blues Jr. I can only imagine how much more authentic it would sound between a Ric and an AC30.

The unit is not excessively noisy but it does hiss a bit, moreso in bright mode. Perhaps due to the flatwounds, I've found the dark setting to be rather useless. It sounds more or less like I've rolled the tone knob fully down.

Seems well built. The casing is solid, the wiring looks ok.

Nice website, but Janglebox has the worst guarantee policy of any boutique builder I've encountered. Zachary Vex guarantees his handbuilt pedals for life, as do Frostwave. Many other builders at least give you a 3 year guarantee. Janglebox only warrant their pedal for 90 days. I don't know what that says about their confidence in their product, but for a US$215 compressor it's a pretty poor warrantly in my opinion.

A cool little unit. It has really added another 'voice' to my guitar. I'd been eyeing them for a year or two but felt the new price of US$215 (plus shipping) was a little expensive, so when a used one appeared on the local ebay I didn't hesitate. After the fact I'm still not entirely sure I'd pay the new price (which, after shipping, would be approx AUD$330 here), though I suppose that's still a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a second guitar. From what I've read around the place there's nothing else on the market like it. Any Beatles fan, or fans of music from that era, would no doubt appreciate the Janglebox.

The controls on the JangleBox are very straightforward.It doesn't get much easier than this to get a great tone from this product.Setting the gain and attack at 2 o'clock as per instructions with the toggle on the bright setting gives the foundation for all tones Byrd and Beatles.

Although the JangleBox sounds amazing with any 6 string guitar,it is absolutely INCREDIBLE with a 12 string.I play various styles of music and the JangleBox greatly enhances them all.I run my 1968 Ric 360/12 through a 1965 Fender Princeton Reverb,a Marshall DSL 100 with a Marshall 4x12 cabinet containing 4 pre-Rola 25 watt greenbacks and directly into the board for recording, all using my JangleBox.This box is exceptionally quiet as well.With the Ric 360/12 it NAILS Roger McGuinn's and George Harrison's jangly tones as no other compressor can.When playing my Tele through it, the sustain is amazing(as it is with my Ric 12 string) and it imparts an evenness of tone and even greater musical voice.

This product is built extremely well due to the fact that it is hand assembled.You'd have to beat on it with a 10 pound sledge hammer to get it to malfunction.I have no hesitation using it on a live gig knowing that this is the last piece of equipment I'd have to worry about.

I've corresponded with Steve Lasko,whose firm manufactures the JangleBox,several times.He has answered my questions in a very courteous and timely manner.

It doesn't matter what style of music that you play because JangleBox will elevate your sound to levels you might not have thought possible, especially with a 12 string.I've been playing for about 43 years now and this is one of the most amazing products I've ever seen.If you want to replicate "THE SOUND" of The Byrds and The Beatles then by all means look no farther.This is the "Holy Grail" that we have tried to find for so long.It is also rewarding to find a firm with the professionalism to care about the quality of their product and the satisfaction of their customers.Thanks Steve.

This is a simple straightforward layout in a typical stompbox.
There is a contol for the attack and one for sustain.
There is a three way toggle sitch giving you dark normal and bright combinations.

So you have bought your Rickenbacker 12 string (or like me you have searched for the best copy you can find without remortgaging the house!) but it still lacks that defining elusive jingly jangly chime that you hear on all the Byrds, Beatles, Beachboys, Bangles and REM songs.
Well your search is over! THIS is it. This is that defining sound you are looking for. No it's not a multi-effects pedal it is designed specifically to replicate this particular sound.
It chimes, it jangles and shimmers and it sounds awesome. To be honest you do not have to won a Rickenbacker 12 string (or six string) to create that beautiful sound.
This pedal allows that sweet sustain and chime without compromising on hiss or noise and for that I believe what it does is unique.
I used a Rockingbetter (Tokai) 12 string with a Valvetronix 15 watt AND no other effects.
Mr. Tambourine Man,Ticket to Ride, There she goes (The La's)you can nail them all with this.
Check out the website listed at the end of this review and sample the sounds for yourself.

I have only had this pedal about a week.
They are handbuilt in Virginia in the USA so the downside is that there is a waiting list of approximately 6 weeks.
It comes with a twelve month guarantee.Shipping only took four days.

Steve Lasko who owns the company is one of the most reliable guys I have ever dealt with and easy to get hold of either by phone or email.

I have been playing for over 30 years and have a wide tast in music. I particularly love the sixties since I grew up with that music. I love the Byrds, Beatles, Hollies etc. I won a range of guitars including Epiphone J160E (John Lennon) and an Epiphone Texan (Paul McCartney)
Some will say that it is a 'one-trick-pony' but if you never tire of that sound you will not be disappointed I promise you. If I lost this I would definately replace it. This has really helped to enhance the sound I have been looking for. Roger McGuin himself uses it what better endorsement is that??

This is a quite simple to use effect box.
It's a compressor/sustain stomp box and works like a treble booster.
It's the onboards electronic that Roger Mcguinn of The Byrds used in his legendary 60's Rickenbacker 12 String. For all those who can't afford this Ric, now the electronic parts are available in this stomp box.
There are two sockets (input and output) for the guitar cable, one switch (dark/bright) and two pots (gain and attack). Of course it has an on/off switch and a socket for the power cable, but you can use it with a battery too.

The sound is bright and ok, but there are some negatives:

First there are massive feedback problems. You can't use it, in front of the amp.
Second, it's a bit noisy.

It's built ultra-solid. It's all metal, no plastic.
If you throw it, nothing will break.

The guy who sells it, on the homepage is really very kind and helpfull.

Well, it's hard to rate it.
I use it mainly with my 330 Ric and a Vox AC 30 and it works really good. I like this box, but I use it not very often, as I need some other effects too (Reverb, Chorus).
For those, who only want to have the ultimate Rickenbacker 12-String-Sound, this box is heaven. For all other it's maybe much too expensive.

10- Very easy to use. I used to talk via email to Roger McGuinn who endorses the Janglebox. He doesnt use his onboard in his Rickenbacker 370/12RM anymore. I asked where he usually has his settings. Gain set @ 100%
Attack @3 O'clock. The toggle switch depending how much ring and chime you want, either at normal or bright. I prefer the bright setting as my personal preference. It makes my Rickenbacker 360/12VP ring and chime like you wouldn't believe. And by the way it makes my Martin D-12-28 sound really cool too. It's a great addition for any acoustic guitar for that matter.

10 Actually for my solo 12 string acoustic and electric guitar & vocal act I'm using a Behringer PMX Europower 2000 and running it directly into the power amp mixer. I add just a touch of chorus + reverb along with it. It is hardly noisy at all. I used to use a Boss CS-3 Compression/Sustain pedal and it was nothing more than a volume pedal and caused a lot of uncontrollable feedback. The janglebox does neither. Step back into that wonderful 60's sound again. The last set of the night I end it with a tribute to Roger McGuinn/The Byrds. The Janglebox comes thru for me to get that vintage sound everyone is counting on.

No problems so far. been very reliable. It has been my experience that you make sure you are using a reliable 9V battery and it is in good charge shape otherwise it will like any stomp box give a weak signal and break up in your speakers.

Steve Lasko owner/inventor of the Janglebox has given me great support and stands behind his product.

I play mostly 60's & 70's folk, folk rock styles. And Roger McGuinn and Leo Kottke are my mentors as far as 12 string guitar players go.
I started playing guitar at age 13(1965)and in 1977 made the transition over to all 12 string guitars. The 6 string simply became boring to me and I needed to be challenged. I own 3 12 string guitars at present. A 1984 Martin D-12-28(I'm the original owner), a 2003 Martin J1216GT, a 2004 Rickenbacker 360/12VP. If my Janglebox were lost or stolen would I replace it? Dumb ? Without a doubt I would have it replaced asap. My last comment here. I've tried every brand you can think of to get good compression and sustain. The Janglebox is in a class all of its own, there is no comparison. Yes, they are pricey. But you get what you pay for. And the Janglebox delivers 150%. And Janglebox is all American made. Not mass produced by the thousands in some sweat shop in Taiwan or China or Mexico. It is a kitchen table operation so to speak and only 10 at a time are hand assembled. Which I think says a lot about this company.