Visual Sound JH1 Jekyll & Hyde Ultimate Overdrive

Overdrive/Booster stomp-box. 2 pedals in one box. You can use 'em seperate or together. The Jekyll half is a "better-than-the-original" TubeScreamer TS808 clone (Volume, Drive, Tone-Knobs), the Hyde half is a "turbo-version" of the Jekyll. In addition to Tone, Volume and Drive, Hyde has a EQ control (to scoop/add mids) and a sharp/blunt-switch (bright/piercing to fat/bottomended overdrive). The box comes with a short feauture list and some example settings to get startet. Very useful, but it's not hard to find good settings. Ah, the box seems to have a hard bypass the signal is not colored, nevertheless if I plug out power the signal brakes up!?

I'm running a Ibanez RG505 (with EMG 81s) --> crybaby --> JH-1 --> Korg ds104 --> ENGL Blackmore signature Tube Head with Marshall 4x12" JCM800 cabs. And this box sounds incredible. The TS808 clone (Jekyll) is really good, smooth and warm. From slightly soiled boost to crips cruch, Jekyll does it all :-) They should not have named (puhh.. correct tense?) it Jekyll, Toni Iommi fits better. OK, I know Tony used the TS9 but it sounds very accurate. Very silent. The Hyde half is more... wow... much more overdrive/distortion very bottomended than the Hyde part. You can get much sounds out of it. Metallica, Megadeth, AC/DC, Blues... etc. And it's really easy to find the sound you want. And I can tell you: This box LOVES my CryBaby (standard)! Never heard that before, you know the wahwah-solo-sound of Kirk Hammet? With a crybaby and JH-1 you get it. Both halfs together? Full power! It knock's me out of my socks. Sustained harmonics and really fat distortion. Ok there is noise if you use both halfs together and turn up both dirive controls to max. But only when you don't play a chord. In gerneral this Box is very silent, not as silent as the Korg ds104 (it has a noisegate), but more silent than other boxes I testet.

Full metal jacket :-) Solid as rock.

Never dealt with them.
A remark for all guys in germany: I really had problems to get this box the local stores didn't even know that the pedal exists. One week later they told me there is no importer I should order it directly in the US. Finally I found only one store which sells this box: www.musik-produktiv.de

Puh, payed 130 bucks (Deutschmarks 228,-) for that baby, and it's worth every penny. I testet different overdrive/distortion boxes (Boss, Danelectro, Zoom, Nobles, DOD) this is imho one of the best. My rating is 9 because I always assume that there is a better one out there, but for the money this is the best buy. I also use the Korg ds104 all you can't get out of JH-1 is in the Korg box, but it takes much time to find good settings. Especially with my tubeamp JH-1 sounds great, but with solid state it's ok too. In general this box is not only 2 in 1, it's Motorhead, Metallica, Megadeth and Black Sabbath in a box ;-)

This thing has a lot of knobs but all of them are useful. The Tone and EQ knobs are especially good; the latter is similar to Contour knob, dialing in more or less mids and accenting highs and lows. Manual is OK. It's easy to get a good sound, and you get a lot of good sounds, from SRV to Metallica!

The sound quality for this price range is fantastic. There are other effects that cost more but sound worse. This thing has a lot of good tones in it. SRV on Jeckyll seems like its basic sound! Turn down gain for more basic Chicago blues w/ your neck pickup, dial in more gain for dirty Texas blues w/ your bridge pickup. It's only noisy when Hyde's gain is turned full up.
I'm using this with a Fender Blues Jr. and Jester Oahu (a great blues amp!). It's a tone-feast! Admittedly, I am sometimes overwhelmed by the wide range of controls. I just go back to my Klon to get more of what I already love in my amps!
Compared to a Fulldrive 2, this is even more transparent! The Fulldrive is probably more versatile functionally but the one best tone is in this unit. The Fulldrive 2 has a lot more toneful sounds for blues tho, IMHO.

Seems reliable... ain't dead yet. Folded sheet metal.

I can't dream of customer support since I'm so far away. But Elderly Instruments is customer heaven. They are super to deal with. The promised to refund the Prescription Electronics Dual-Tone that I'm returning because I didn't like it. That's unbeatable, man!

I've been playing blues and occasional rock for 12 years. This baby delivers, and then some. I would buy it again if stolen or lost. It holds up well against the Fulldrive (altho the Klon a different thing altogether). It inspires me to play. It merits a 10 because it's a fantastic value -- bang for the buck, baby!!!

It has like a zillion knobs on it but don't be fooled. It's still simple to operate and use. The manual is a good attempt/base for showing off some it's sounds. However, you'll probably prefer your own created settings once you get going.

This is by far THE best overdrive pedal I have ever, and I mean ever, used. Over the years, I have had over 40 distortion/overdrive (mostly OD) pedals and this one makes those look and sound like s**t. And, yes, I have owned TS-808s, TS-9s, TS-5s, TS-10s, Ibanez TK999 Tube King, as well as many others including linear power boosters (LPB-1), etc. It has some (but not much) noise involved in the tone. Compared to other pedals it's not near as bad. The tone is the shit! I can get Hendrix-like OD tones, Cream, Led Zeppelin, the Who, the Stones, Van Halen, Satch, Vai, Malmsteen, and SO many others.
This pedal seems to love my Voodoo Lab Micro Vibe phase/chorus pedal. Hell, the JH-1 loves everything I've got! You can go from clean boost to raging, floor grinding overdrive any day of the week with this baby. It sounds equally good on my Fender amp and my Marshall.
It gets a 9 only b/c it has SOME noise, well maybe a 9.5.

I have never had any problem whatsoever with it and I use it regularly. It can and will take abuse. I can depend on it more than I can depend on Bill Clinton NOT keeping his schlong in his pants.

Never had to contact them...

This pedal is GOD in a box.

The pedal is easy to use. There is a cool manual that comes with it and lets you know certain dialing for certain sounds.

I am using a strat with texas specials pick ups and running through a two fender amps, twin reverb and super. I play heavy guage strings ala SRV. I compared this pedal to the fulltone fulldrive and the original ts808. And my facts are the following, First this pedal definitely blows away the fulldrive. The fulldrive pedal sucks when it comes to sustain and cleaning up for warm overdrive,( turning the overdrive dial at 7 oclock or so to get that little wing srv tone. The ts808 portion of this pedal sounds the same however it doesn't have the sustain that the original has and doesn't clean up on the drive dial like the oringinal. I turn the drive all the way down on the J & H and the damm thing still is dirty, like a 808 drive dial quarter the way up. There is nothing compared to the original 808. There is a difference. THe J & H does have the same identical chip JRC4558 however there are other factors that make them different. So when someone says that this is an 808 clone, I say listen real close and compare and there are not alike. THe hyde portion is definitely cool too. Little too much transparency though. But if you hit the Jeckll and hyde together and dial in everthing right, its a cool sound.
I can't get the sound that SRV tone. Because SRV used an 808. But you can get a close Hendrix semi clean tone out of it. The unit is quiet and claims to have true bypass but thats a joke too. I called the company and they told me that they put a patented switch thats called virtual bypass. It supposed to sound like it true bypass but its not. Listen real close and you know what I am talking about. True bypass effects can be checked if you take the battery out and hit the switch. If it bypasses , its true. You take the battery out of the J&H and theres no sound, anyway you can hear it is not true bypass. YOu can definitely get your own sound with this pedal though and it sounds great, actually better than anything made today. THe ts 808 is worth $300. It sounds like no other and its the best in my opinion and I don't even own one yet because they cost too damm much.

Definitly reliable. built like a tank.

NA

Even my wife could figure it out

2 channels. Jekyll-Ts-808 clone,3 knobs same as ts 808. This effect alone is worth the $110.00 alone. If your looking for the srv sound this is it. Forget the fulldrive 2, I had one and this pedal sounds better. Plus its $60.00 dollars cheaper Hyde- 90's metal that sounds good? Yes its true this side is for the metal heads. This has a scooped mid sound wth tons of bass. 4 knobs, 2 for eq for the mids Combined setting. Can get more sounds, wasnt crazy about this setting. Not bad sounding but not my cup of tea.

Only had it a week

Wow, I cant believe everybody doesnt own one. Try this out before anything you wont be disapointed

No question here. Okay, it has seven nobs, two pedals and a switch, but it is simplcity. It comes with some great suggestions and only a little bit of fiddling produces the sound you want.

Dr. Henry Jeckyll - Smooth overdrive, a bit like Slash in "Sweet Child of Mine". The sound is perfect and so smooth you could use it as quality quilted toilet paper
Mr. Edward Hyde - a little more difficult to get the sounds you really want (squeeling roaring death) but with some twiddling and scooping out all the middle (on your amp as well) the sound is classic machine head.
I play a Pacifica 812W with a humbucker Seymour Duncan 59er (I think) in the bridge and the sound is just perfect, but especially so for the Overdrive.

This is made from metal. The swtiches are metal. The nobs are plastic but still pretty heavy. If you can break this you have severe problems and should seek remedial help. Maybe the electronic could short - they haven't for me, that's for sure but there isn't even any paint to chip or coloured bits to scratch. Breaking it is like trying to break nails - you'll need a hammer or a saw to get anywhere.

Never dealt with them. Their website looks quite friendly though ...

Okay. Expensive yes. Value for money? Yes - you really get two classic pedals in one - each could be sold seperately for #65 (especially the overdrive).
Let me tell you this - I was no lover of drive. For me it was the metal roar or maybe slightly punky sounds with the odd joking widdle. This pedal has converrted me - I now love both. This pedal really does receive straight tens because it is so good. It costs a fair bit, yes. I would like it to have a three band eq for each side rather than just a tone, but it doesn't matter all that much and it would become complicated if it did. Besides, I only want three bands to suck out the middle for Mr. Hyde and the EQ does that very well (turn it up to full and you get no middle). I will never loose it becuase I sleep with it. No, I would replace it becuase it is perfect (slurp slurp slurp). Well, actually the Hyde part could sound more metal and that's the only improvement, but the Overdrive is just pure Tubescreamer - in fact it's better than that.
I had an 0S-2. It was good, great value for money. But it did not have two switches and could not even come close to the beauty that is this pedal. I don't like Boss, Dod and Zoom that much now because they all look the same and they really are nothing special because everyone has something. This stands out from the crowd in its (I think) shagadelic looks and superb sounds. It is different and Visual Sound are almost unheard of. But that just makes me love it even more. Go to whatever impossible lengths you have to to get one - it is worth it.
I know this submission form says at the top that "Nothing is Perfect" I guess they never played this. Just buy it.

Read previous review.

Read previous review.

Yes, I can depend on it now that the circuit board is replaced.

Read 'Overall'.

This is a follow-up to my earlier review of the Jekyll & Hyde. The one I got had the original circuit board without electronic switching, so my 'Hyde' footswitch and the Sharp/Blunt started working intermittently. I called Visual Sound on their 1-800 number (every self-respecting pedal company should have one!), the rep was super-nice and told me after I got my pedal back, that it had one of the original circuit boards from when they first made them. It didn't have electronic switching so he told me to ship the pedal to them and they'd fix it, no problem. Listen to this: I shipped it out on Friday,it got there on the following Wednesday, they replaced the circuit board, sent it back in the mail on Thursday, it got to my house on Monday. All in all, I was without it for about a week. I hope these guys make some more, different, pedals because they have ample courtesy to back up any problems. This, plus the great sound and price of this pedal warrant a 10. Period.

At first it looks intimidating because of all of the knobs. But, it is really two pedals in one. One side is an overdrive (think Tube Screamer), the other is a very useable heavier distortion. The first three knobs are for the Overdrive, the other four are for the distortion. The distortion also has a "Sharp/Blunt" switch. Each side activated by independant footswitches. It is a well thought out setup.

Here is what really counts....this thing is awesome. The overdrive side nails the TS-9 sound...and actually sounds a little better. I A-B'ed this side by side with my TS-9 and it is really hard to tell the difference. The Distortion side is equally impressive. There is a nice big bottom without sounding boomy. In the "Blunt" mode it has a nice smoothness that is not at all grainy or harsh. In the "Sharp" mode there is plenty of bite with some tasteful fuzz. In the bypass mode there is very little if any coloration of the guitar's sound. I am not rally sure if this is a hard bypass, but it sounds like one. I play mainly an G&L S-500, Strats, and an Ibanez AV200 (ES335 copy) with Fender,Princeton Reverbs, BF Super Rev, BF Pro Rev, and Dual Showman Reverb...and the tone of each guitar/amp rig comes through. I like this thing so much that I am thinking about buying anotherfor my living room practice rig. This is definately a "Best Buy". I wish that there was something bad to say about this box, but there isn't. One interesting note, nowhere in the manual, on the box, or on the unit does it say where it is made. I am going to email them to ask the question.

Looks to be built pretty well. But, only time will tell.

Never called them.

I have been playing on and off since '76. I currently am playing in a band that falls in the Blues/Rock catagory. The reason I submitted this is that I am truely impressed with the performance and value. I own lots of gear...But, this JH-1 was worthy of letting other people know about.

It's got 2 sides(obviously) and each one has an on/off footswitch. Controls are simple: Jekyll has drive, tone and volume. Hyde has drive, tone, eq and volume. The eq on the Hyde changes the ratio of mids to bass to get the scooped-mid sound. No Phd's in electrical engineering needed to get a good sound.

I'm a little biased on the '10' rating because I really like this pedal. I played the Jekyll side back to back with an original 808 Tubescreamer and you couldn't tell the difference. If anything, the Jekyll sounded better. Hyde is a great distortion that YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE!! I've got a Metal Zone that chunks low-end grind really well, but the mids are a bit too metal. The Hyde can do metal or Led Zep rock if you want. I'm using a modded Tele(active preamp) and a stock Am. Std. Strat through a great Hot Rod Deville 4x10. The pedal sounds a bit more natural through my 'rig' than the Metal Zone. (Don't get me wrong, the Metal Zone is at the top of its class for what it does.)

I've noticed some minor shortings out of the sharp/blunt switch when I've used it. Other than that, I'd play hockey with the darn thing.

N/A

I play blues, rock, metal, jazz and alternative. This pedal can cover a lot of bases. I've been playing for eight years and have had a few distortion pedals. This is by far the most versatile one I've seen in a while. I love the fact that you have the footswitch option for each channel. What's the point of having a versatile pedal if you have to stop playing and tweak the knobs? The only thing I would change is give it a pinch more gain to ALMOST the Metal Zone capacity. The mids sound better on the Jekyll&Hyde though. Listen to one yourself. For the money, it's VERY useful. You can't get a used 808 for as much.

Is a simple and easy to use. The settings off the manual, for my setup didn't sound the best. But that's not importante, because if you cannot dial a good sound with this pedal, let me tell you, that you will not like the TS808 or the Tube King.

The sound quality is the best. I mean, just as good if not better sounding than "the TS808". Guys I own a TS808, TS9, TS5 and a vintage TS9 with TS808 MOD. Non of this 3 last pedals sound like the TS808. The most similar is the TS5, but the JEKYLL is not similar is exactly like a TS808 you want be able to tell them apart, comparing them side by side, I think the JEKYLL is, more full, more drive and overall even better sounding. If you are looking for a TS808, do not look any further, this pedal sale price was $125. Plus when you turn the Hyde on, will make the pedal more agressive and for any kind of sound, this pedal the best around.

No problems, the only request that I have is: make a better battery cover, maybe more like the RAT, metal I mean.

Great and helpfull.

I play the BLUES, but this pedal goes any place you wanna go and more importante will make your sound really great. Quite and great variation on drive. I hope soon, they can separate this two and sell Mr JEKYLL for $75. Guys let me know if that happens. WHAT GREAT PEDAL