Visual Sound JH1 Jekyll & Hyde Ultimate Overdrive

Pretty simple to use- all the other reviews really explain it well. 2 channels - Tone, overdrive and volume on Jekyll: T, O, V and EQ on Hyde with a Sharp / Blunt switch.

Killer... thats all I can say. I run a 75 Tele dlx through a 74 Twin - pedal board consists of original KIng Vox Wah, Boss CS3, MXR Phase 45, Danelectro Cool Cat and a Boss DD-6 delay. Needless to say, the board is a little noisy... so I was afraid that the Jekyll and Hyde would put the noise a little overborad, but it is VERY quiet. I was shocked especially since I am using SC pickups. The pedal sounds great once you get it tweaked out. The Jekyll chanell took me all of 2 minutes to get my sound. Simple enough - Drive, volume, and a "tone" control that acts as a mid-range boost. The Jekyll chanell took a little more work to get a good tone going.. working with the "sharp / blunt" is the key. But after a few minutes messing with it, I dialed in what I wanted. I play everything from the Police to Govt. Mule, so I was looking for something that would have the range. The Jekyll sounds like an old AC30 - i am getting that great "Mike Campbell" tone. The Hyde sounds like a Marshall stack if you dial it in just right. Perrrrrfect for the Warren Haynes / Santana solos... only caution is running the 2 channels together... too much drive on either channel will cause uncontrollable feedback.

So far so good.....

Never dealt with them....

Trying to find an OD that suits a Fender Twin is difficult if you ask me. I've had everything from Danelectro Daddy O's (gooood pedal) to Maxon OD's... some sounded as good, but this gives me the most versatility. I've only had it for a few weeks, but I feel that I am going to fly with this pedal for a looooong while. Definitley worth the cash...

No problem at all: 2 OD's one with vol/tone/gain the other with vol/tone/eq/gain and a blunt/sharp switch.
extremely simple, no worries about finding a good sound

I play an Epiphone SG (brute, classic rock, and warm cleans) and a Pacifica (more modern sound, with capababilities of wonderful wimpish pop tones) then the J&H, then into a H&H V-S Musician 100 or a Fender Eighty-Five.
Green Light gives a nice overdriven tone that works very well using a Rhythm pickup, and is good for strumming some open chords on. A bit weak if you want to play some scorching leads, which i'm fine with as i am a rhythm player. To get the best tone out of it, you would need to crank your amp up, so dont worry if it sounds a bit wimpy when you're in your room.
Red Light is pretty much for anyone. Tones available are some bluesy stuff, britpop, indie rock, and heavy metal/hardcore punk. Nothing to fault for this, but make sure you dont crank up the treble way too high if you paly live, and use chords, and they kind of dont standout too well, unlike the Green OD.
Both Together is standout my favourite tone, being a Hardcore/noise rock fan. turn the amp up, and it is quite impossible for it to stop feedbacking, unless you cut off your guitar. play it through a Solid State amp (like Black Flag) and you really do get some raging sound that will be suited for DIY/Lo-Fi kinda rock.
This is Pretty much suited to anything and everything, but may need tweaking when moving from your bedroom to a Stage.

All Metal Chassis, indestructible the way i treat it. only quip is that you need to remember to unplug your power pack to let the electricity drain off or else the pedal will lose alot of it's power. haven't tried it with a battery.

I bought Mine 2nd hand, so i dont know anything aobut customer support.

I play in a rock band that basically needs all types of overdrive, from smooth bluesy, to 70's rock, to 80's hardcore to modern indie rock, and i can safely say that it will cater for pretty much everything. The Jekyll and Hyde is my first OD pedal, and i havent had a craving for another pedal (except possibly an extra J&H for my live setup)
seriously, anyone with 120 quid or can find a 2nd hand one, consider this as a companion for any type of rock music

The Jekyll side is real easy to use...3 knobs just like a tubescreames. Hyde took a little tweaking. I messed with it for a few days before finding the right sound for me. It's a very versatile piece of equipment...to the point where at first finding the right sound can be a little overwhelming.

My setup: Fat Strat Texas Special > Analogman Chorus > Phase 90 > Jekyll & Hyde > Twin Reverb '65 RI
Jekyll sounds alot like my old tubescreamer...maybe even a little sweeter. Hyde gives me a decent marshall/mesa type sound.
Using them together is where this thing really shines. I get a nice crunchy lead tone with lots of harmonics.
Jekyll is nice and quiet. Hyde gets a little noisy when you crank the drive up real high, but that's to be expected, and it's not bad.
I'm resisting giving this a 10 because nothing is perfect.

Haven't owned it very long so I couldn't tell you. Maybe if I gig I'll throw my TS-9 in the car just in case. But it sure is built solid...the only possible weak spot may be the switches. Time will tell.

Haven't dealt with them but I hear they're good.

I was using a TS-9 for my overdrive...and as great as it sounded, it's a very tame pedal. I play alot of funk and bluesy rock and it was great for that but I wanted the option of a much heavier overdrive, and I NEEDED more for really smoking leads. I thought of putting a Rat or even a SECOND TS-9 in my chain. Then I started hearing about the Jekyll & Hyde and found this one on ebay for $89.00. I figured TWO overdrives in one pedal means less cables, less signal loss, less batteries or wall warts...etc. The guy said it was new...and it seemed like it was.
It turned out to be just what I was looking for. I still get my tubescreamer sound, PLUS I have my heavier crunch, PLUS I can run them together and get great sustain & harmonics.
If stolen I'd replace it ASAP.

7 knobs 2 footswitches a sharp/blunt switch... 2 pedals in one easy package... love the metal buttons, tight rubber knobs and heavy duty look... wicked!!!

i use my custom made lespaul type copy thru my jeckyll n hyde thru a peavey classic 30 (great affordable tube amp) great sounds with this pedal lots of versatility and most of the settings are very usable... the od sides gain control is usable at all settings and is very warm and transparent, one of the best i've tried... cuts a bit of bass but it still sounds great thru the clean and dirty channels of my amp... it could use a bit more output for that clean boost... the hyde channel is extremely versatile... it can copy the sounds of the ds1, proco rat and metal zone, maybe even slightly better... the sharp/blunt switch along with the powerful eq and tone knob gives this lil monster the edge above the rest... another plus is that its very transparent... from classic rock to scooped metal the guitar sound still comes through, it hardly colors your tone... i dont give effects a 10 rating coz nothing is perfect... this gets a 9.5

2 years spit on stomped on dropped and puked on... no backup no problems... stomp on it!!!

i duuno about the company but i never had to deal with em

i play punk blues classic rock and some metal... black crowes, acdc, razorback, ramones, rancid, zztop, black label society, metallica, ozzy, sabbath etc. this pedal can do it all with great quality... if you can find one of these grab it!!! i guarantee that you will stop buying other overdrive/distortion pedals.... well maybe for a while at least :)

easy to get god sounds out of jeckly side, hyde has more range so was a bit harder to get "my sound"

Flying V with EMG's- crybaby-jeckyl and hyde- fender hot rod deluxe. not too noisy, but with emgs, you get alot of output which equals more noise. it sounds pretty darn good to my ears. i can get just about any tone out of it, from classic to new.

i thought it was pretty solid until it stopped functioning properly, it is currently producing slight distortion while switched off which is a huge problem. i am in process of contacting the company, and with what i have heard, a repair should be quick and cheaply performed by the company.

i hope they are good

good sounds, not too relaiable, hopefully a fluke. well suited for styles fromblues to rock to punk to that new crap if you play that.

It's a 2 channel pedal. Each one has it's one tone, gain and volume. The Hyde has an EQ knob. You shouldn't need a manual for simple stompboxes like these. Just turn it on and start playing with knobs. Kinda like a woman.

My rig is a '02 Les Paul, '03 Strat into a Marshall Plexi. I'm running a dunlop wah, boss tu2, boss flanger, boss phaser, boss dd3. I have a Dan-o Spring King and Pro Co Rat I haven't taken the time to configure in to my pedal lineup. The J/H sits at the end after the delay. My sound is dependent on my mood, but I mostly go for medium to heavy overdrive. I try to retain some clarity for solos and funny chords. I got this pedal for the overdrive when the Plexi is broken up at higher volumes, and the distortion for quieter playing. Anyway, the overdrive is blase at lower volumes on the plexi. Turning on the sharp setting ups the treble and makes it brighter, but not much. When I turn it up the overdrive sounds a lot better. The distortion is really versatile. I got pretty much everything from blackface sounds to muddy, mesa type stuff. It's a well-rounded pedal. Since there's so many knobs on it, I still like to twist them around and see what else it can do. I only took off one point for the "eh" vibe I got from the overdrive at low volume.

The thing lets well built. I'd gig with it. I've only had it for a week though.

Haven't had to deal with Visual Sound.

I'd say this will do everything except high gain metal. You can get a Mesa-type sound from it, so if you're into something bassy and thick you can get it. But anyone into Opeth should probably try elsewhere.

Two overdrives in one pedal .
If you don't understand how this pedal works then you must be a drummer :-).
Suggested settings in the manual are a welcome addition though.
Controls for the "Jekyll" side are drive, tone, volume.
Controls for the "Hyde" side are drive, tone, EQ, volume.
One mini switch for sharp or blunt (darker and more compressed)
Two footswitches allow you to select both drives separately or together.

I'm currently playing a standard mexican Strat and a Cort M600, plugged into a Marshall VS100r.
I've been playing 20 years or so and have been through quite a lot of different overdrive units (Boss SD1, Zoom Driver, Marshall drivemaster, Boss Metal Zone, Pearl Overdrive, my amp's ownoverdrive channels...) all of which failed to convince me in the long run as they sounded too harsh for my likings.I was looking for an smoother sounding overdrive .
Jekyll's drive remains politically correct and is supposed to emulate the now much sought after TS808. I never owned one and probably never will, given the bonkers money you must now for out to get hold of one. Visual Sound say they used the same operational amplifier, but I'm not going to open up the stompbox and check if it's true, since all settings on this side sound great and really make sense. Full arks for Jekyl's drive.
Just in case you would be deaf a red led indicates the Hyde overdrive is on. Plenty of gain. Great tone control that never make s your sound muddy or harsh. Eq control lets you boost or cust the mids so as to obtain a "classic" or "metal" distortion. I personally let the "sharp/blunt" switch on "blunt". As far as noise goes,yes there's hiss when you set everything on "10" but any hard pushed amp also hisses, so this is not really a problem. Besides you don't need to go for extreme settings to get a good sound.
Switch both drives together and you're rewarded with a volume boost and controllable feedback.Great.

Seems ruggedly made and able to widthstand the knocks of life on the road. As I've just bought it, only time wille tell. If it fails I will have to use my amp's own overdrive channels.

Never had to deal with them, so I can't tell.

I play heavy pop/rock and this unit really fills my needs. It's not one of those multi fx boxes with just one or two interesting sounds and all the others barely useable. I live in Belgium and purchased it on the web from Musik Produktiv.com (Germany) who were able to deliver fast and at a better price. Full marks for this company. I doubt it will ever get lost or stolen since I always keep an eye on our band's gear. Should this happen (and provided I'm am not taken to court for murdering the culprit) I would certainly buy another one.

Two footswitches, a handful of knobs, and one switch. It can be a bit intimidating, but once you realize it's two pedals in one, it's pretty easy. No funky lables here, i.e., "cheese=tone, beef=drive, etc." it just says "tone, scoop, drive," and so on.

You can set everything at about 12 o'clock and get a good sound out of both sides. The manual is brief but provides some good settings (really, for a stompbox, you shouldn't need more than a "set the dials here for a good sound" instruction).

I run a fender strat with texas special pickups and a Epi Sheraton with Alan Holdsworth pickups through this, occasionally run other fx, and either amp it through a Behringer V-Amp or an old Peavey Classic tube amp. The tone is very transparent, so if you have a good guitar and a good amp, the pedal will make it sound like your amp's natural overdrive.

Its two pedals are the Jekyll side, which mimics the Ibanez Tube screamer, and the Hyde side, which has more controls, a bit heavier of an overdrive, and can capture some more metal/hard rock tones.

Two cool features: 1, its "enhanced bypass" mode, which even when no effect is on, it modestly boosts your tone so that other effects don't drain it (it works on my Vox wah), and 2, the dual distortion effect. You can turn both OD's on at the same time to take your solos over the edge, and the footswitches are close enough that a single stomp can turn both on, both off, or switch between the two.

One downside, the pedal is a bit heavy on the high ends, even when you EQ them out at the pedal. BUT the easy solution to this is to roll your tone knob(s) on your guitar back a touch if it really bothers you.

It's got a steel chassis and the footswitches are pretty heavy-duty. My first JH toured with me for 2 years of daily playing in lots of hot, outdoor settings, and other than getting a lot of "character marks," or scratches, the only things that went wrong with it were the op-amp chip (which VS sent me a new one at no charge), and a shorted-out input jack, which was easy to repair. It is dependable and I would use it without a backup.

A lot of users complain about the battery setup, but Bob Weil, president of Visual Sound, claims that the setup is safe, and I've never had a problem with it.

Another aspect of reliability is its ease of repair. The JH is a bit time-consuming to disassemble and reassemble due to the large number of knobs, but anyone with basic soldering skills should be able to open this puppy up and fix it.

It's a small company with great customer support. I can't say enough good things about them; basically if you have a problem, they will do their best to repair their product or help you out, usually at a minimal cost to you.

I play mostly contemporary Christian stuff, which means everything from country to metal, though usually just straightforward rock. The JH gets a lot of different sounds, but they are all very good and very practical.

This is the whole reason I'm writing this review--my first JH was stolen AND I am replacing it. That's how good of a pedal it is.

3 knobs for the Kejyll side, 4 for the Hyde and 7 together..Extremely simple.

Awesome, marvelous, perfect, great crunch, the best overdrive i never heard. The two sides used at the same time, simply kicks all the other dist/drive pedals around the world. Perfect for brit-rock, garage, punk, grunge, hard rock, etc etc... Nick Valensi from Strokes uses it.
I have a Boss SD-2 Dual Overdrive and a Ds-2 Turbo distortion too, but this pedal ROCKS!

NO PROBLEM

Never dealt with

I play from Rolling Stones to AC/DC,,,Beatles to Oasis, Strokes to Smashing Pumpkins... it's a fantastic match.
If it were stolen or lost i'd buy it again and again.

This thing is easy as pie to get great sound out of. There is no "patch editing", which is why I got it to begin with. 3 knobs on the Jeckyl side, and 4 knobs plus a sharp/blunt switch on the hyde side. The manual is a sheet of paper with some starter settings to get you going.

The Jeckyl side of the pedal is a TS808 clone that really gets it right IMHO. I play Fender guitars (Strats, Tele) through Fender amps (DRRI & Blues Junior) and I can nail any sound you can name using this combination. The Hyde side gets you the "harder edged" sounds you may crave and makes even my classic rock/blues leaning rig sound as scooped as it gets. As a true child of the 70's, this guitar->pedal->amp gives me the sounds I remember so well.

This is my second Visual Sound pedal, the other being the Liquid Chorus and Echo (which is also superior). These pedals are well engineered with a truly silent bypass that neither adds nor subtracts any tone that I can detect. It is not a true bypass design, but according to Bob Weil (the company president), the "pure tone" bypass actually improves the signal quality in a long signal chain. I don't know about all that because I only have 5 pedals, but I can tell you that this pedal does not suck tone at all and it is built like a tank.

How many comapnies have you called via a toll free number, and gotten the company president? Bob Weil seems to be a genuinely good person, and I have little doubt that he would do whatever it takes to make anything that might go wrong right again.

As I said, I am a classic rock/blues fanatic with a shmatering of jazz throw in these past few years. I have been playing for nearly 32 years now and I am very particular about my sound. This pedal does exactly what I want it to do -- gives me a good solid-state (yet not digital) tube screamer tone. The Hyde side is a bonus for me and it feeds my dark side quite nicely when I want to headbang. I also own a Tonebone Classic Tube Distortion pedal that I just love too, and this pedal compliments that one beautifully. I also have a Carl Martin compressor, MXR Phase 90 RI and a Visual Sound Liquid CHorus and Echo pedal in my chain.

Jeckyll-side, three knobs, drive, tone, volume, simple huh?
Hyde-side, four knobs, drive, tone, EQ, volume...
pretty easy to twist to a good sound.

I use a handmade Patrick Eggle Berlin Plus, Epiphone Gibson SG, Ibanez Artcore AM73T into a JH-1 wah into the Jeckyl&Hyde that goes to a Boss NS-2, CE-2, DD-5 into amp.
When I use my cheap Vector transistoramp it sounds like shit. When plugged into my London City DEA130 MK5, it produces such sounds like Zakk Wylde's to SRV, it RULES!!
I use Hyde-side the most and when I kick in the Jeckyll it adds a boost for solos! Alone, the Jeckyll gives subtle soft overdrive.
Hyde channel is certainly capable for deathmetal gainiacs, when you use the right amps.

Worth your money! Two distortions in one box!

Very easy to use and dial in great tones

I was very impressed with this unit, I had read both good and bad reviews on this site, let me start off saying I play mostly originals in a Bowie/ Beatles/ Aerosmith style, and also do alot of covers and I think this pedal is great, I have been playing for 22 years and think this one of the nicest sounding, natural distortions I have ever played. Now, I'll note that some reviews said this unit is too trebly, but in my case I'm playing fenders and gibsons through a mesa rectoverb, which as we all know are very bassy and muddy sounding amps, and I did not like the gain on the Mesa, I think of it as harsh with not enough clarity and sustain, so I got this pedal on Ebay and tried it yesterday at rehearsal and loved it, I set my mesa to the clean channel w/ a little bit of gain (think petty or the stones), and set the jeckyll (overdrive side) with the gain on half so when I kicked it on it took me to an Aerosmith, Zeppelin type of clear gain, then I set the Hyde side on full gain and used this for lead work which sounded incredible (very clear note definition and sustain for days), I currently just use this pedal and a boss delay dd5 but plan on getting a compressor unit and EQ as well and did not find this unit to be noisy

seems to be built well

I think it is a very transparent unit capable of getting a wide variety of OD/ Distortion sounds that are smooth and not harsh like rats or some of the boss pedals

Just two devices in one case - very easy to set up when a friend plays guitar and I turn the knobs.
For me the eq (off) and the switch (blunt) are both useless.
The tone controls are not good enough and the lower half of the eq brings no further change.

I wanted two sounds:
One really bluesy overdriven sound suitable for chords and single notes. Jekyll is able to deliver this sound but even with the tone off it is a little too bright. Drive at 10h, tone off, vol on 5.
My Vox Valvetone responds better to dynamics.
The second sound I searched was a big fat solo sound - and yes, I found it within Hyde.
Drive 12-14, tone off, eq off, vol on 12.
Even with tone and eq off it is a little too bright.
Extra bonus: Both parts together produce a creamy solosound -
Now this is it for me !
This device will get noisy with extreme settings !
I used relatively low settings - so it works for me.

I play blues, rock, funk, pop and independant music.
J&H is good for blues and rock, but for funk I prefer my Vox Valvetone.
I compared many Overdrives and the J&H is really one of the best.
It does NOT fulfil my dreams but I think I will use it for a while.
I will continue my search.

It is STUPID simple. Two channels. Tow sets of controls (treat them as two separate pedals and you're off to the races...

This is where the pedal shines. Although I primarily use the pedal with full "Drive" I have fooled around with other settings. All dials noticably affect the sound (unlike some pedals)

Although I have only had the Jekyll & Hyde for a week, I also own the Visual Sound H20 and Route 66 for a year or so and have had NO problems so I don't anticipate anything less with the Jekyll & Hyde..

Never dealt with.....

Love it... Love the series... Nice short & sweet manual with examples.

Each section of the pedal was fairly easy to use, but as it combines two pedals into one, it requires that you know how to operate both individually as well as in tandem (in order to make full use of the pedal). There are, overall, some eight or nine different controls / switches.

The sound quality of this pedal is described most aptly by its name. It has both some really fantastic sounds available (The Jekyl side set for a semi-dirty tone) and some rather unimpressive ones as well (just about any setting with the Hyde side in 'blunt' mode). I used this pedal through two different amps, a 100w Fender Dual Showman ('89 'red-knob' head) and a Reverend Hellhound (amazing). For guitars I used a stock American Series Stratocaster, a '71 Hagstrom H2N, and a Guild Bluesbird.
No matter which guitar or amp combination I used, the characteristics of the pedal remained pretty consistant. The Jekyl side produced every thing from a mild clean boost to strong, medium-gain tones that remained clear, if a bit compressed. The tone knob was equally useful in mellowing out a brighter tone as it was adding clarity and bite to the humbucker equipted guitars. However, with the tone knob turned all the way up, the treble frequencies tended to sound a little artificial. Though really, it's a smooth-sounding versatile overdrive in it's own right, and probably worth the price of the pedal alone.
Now for the Hyde side. Despite the versatility and musicality of the Jekyl side of the pedal, I simply could not find a tone I really liked with the Hyde mode. No matter what the EQ setting and reguardless of weither or not it was set to 'Blunt' or 'Sharp' mode, the Hyde section of the pedal sounded artificial and seemed to lack any complexity. It sounded as though the amp was rapped in tinfoil, and while it produced tons of gain, never really seemed to very punchy or full. What's more, the when the Hyde section was combined with Jekyl side, the tones seemed to become even less natural and distinct, while the background hiss rose dramatically. The only use I could find for having both modes engaged was producing feedback, but even that sounded metalic and not very musical (rats!)

I can't really give an acurate estimate of the reliablility of this pedal, as I only kept it for a couple of months, but, from the looks of the thick metal housing and well-seated rubber knobs and switches, it ought to be pretty sturdy.

There are two ways to consider this pedal. One is to think of it as a solid, versatile overdriver / booster (Jekly) with the added ability of making some pretty over-the-top(if somewhat uninspiring)sounds (Hyde). Seen that way, it's probably well worth the price. Alternatly, the Jekyl & Hyde can be seen as a pedal that makes a promise of being an all-in-one distortion machine that delivers both blistering grind as well mellow overdrive and boost, but seems to fall a bit short of the mark. Thus, in deciding if the Jekyl & Hyde is the right overdriver for you, it would make sense to consider if you are looking for something that is the best of both worlds, or simply an tube-screamer-esq overdriver with a little something extra. For me, I was hoping to knock-out the distortion / overdriver problem in one shot, and found myself a little disappointed.

This thing is two pedals in one and it is set up like two pedals sitting next to each other. Easy... yes. The controlls are very basic and effective. One side is a lighter to medium gain. The other is a medium to high gain. There is also a blunt/sharp switch which is a good and bad thing. Which I'll explain under the sound and overall chunks. Each side has drive, tone, and volume knobs. The high gain side also has an EQ knob.
Only one compliant. That is the battery compartment is the worst design idea I have ever seen. Its on the bottom and the lid is a piece of plastic that swivels open on a screw. Even worse then that is the fact that the circuit board is what holds the battery in. Either I'm pessimistic or thats mojo gone bad comin' right at ya. Hence the 9 rating.

Well I play a Epi Les Pual custom with a Duncan JB in the bridge. Amp is a Red Bear MK120 Lead head into some old Ampeg 4x12(which by the way is really big!! As in size and sound.)loaded celestions. Effects in order of guitar to amp are Vox wah,Ibanez DL-5 delay,Ibanez FL99 analog flanger,Ibanez PH99 analog phaser,Vox V830 distortion booster, and the J&H.
First the lighter distortion side or the "tube screamer" side. Astounding would be a good word to use. It sounds just like some old tube screamers I played with. Even the tone knob reacted the same. Good for pop,country,blues,funk, or any time a half clean half dirty sound is needed. Soooooo tubey.... it had me playing for hours. I now like the lighter driven sounds I now get.
Now for the high gain side. What else can I say but this is so far the thickest, ballsiest, well defined distortion tone I've ever heard. This side of the pedal is amazingly versitle and clear. The magic is in the EQ knob and blunt/sharp switch. Once again its sooooo tubey. It resonates like no other pedal.
Use the two together and bam your instantly the lead guitar guy! Yeah three cheese blend baby!

Well the only other pedal I got from this company crapped out on me. So the store gave me a replacement and that one broke too!!! So if you see a Visual Volume pedal anywhere do not buy it. But this one is a much more solid unit. So far its been fine. Although I've only had it for 4 months

Haven't ever dealt with them.

I've been playing for... 11 years... I think. I play all forms of music but, I mainly play a darker,odd chorded, odd timed hard rock. The notes I play come out crystal! Everything is heard and beautiful.
If it were stolen I would find them and do not so nice things to them. I would get a back if I could afford it. Even though its probably not needed.
Now the compliant about the blunt/sharp switch. Another arosol huffing moment for the designers... its attached to the circiut board! If it gets stepped on in a bad aim miss happ it will crack the board and buh bah crunch box.
Still kick ass sound!!!

The pedal is pretty straight forward. There are two sides and a set of control knobs for each side.
Jeckyl:
Drive, Tone, and Volume
Hyde:
Drive, Tone, EQ, and Volume
They could train a monkey to use this pedal.

I'm running the pedal through an 80s model Fender Blues DeVille with an Epiphone Dot guitar or my Fender Squier. The sound is awesome. The pedal even turns my Epiphone into a monster. My band plays punk, blues, and straight ahead rock, so I need versatile gear, and that's what this pedal gives to me. I can get a SRV sound and a Jimi sound, and the next second get a sound like Angus Young. I'm sure this pedal can do a lot more than that, but that's all I've really used it for.

It's pretty solid and I've gigged without a backup for this bad boy.

Haven't used it yet

I've been playing for about 6 years now and this is, by far, the best pedal I've owned. If someone stole it from me, I'd buy another one. If versatility is what you've been looking for, this is the pedal for you.

This thing is simple enough for beginner to expert to use, with only 7 knobs and one switch (for comp. on the hyde side), and EXTREME versatility of overdrive/distortion sounds, it has just enough knobs for nearly anyone's sound.

This is only the second review I have felt so inclined to post. This pedal is AMAZING. The dude at Visual Sound really knows what he's doing... I'd say that it must be God-thing for him to design such a wonderful sounding gizmo.

On the left side (green), of course, one has the Jekyl, a very tube-screamer sounding channel only it DOES NOT suck out low end and is a bit less compressed (or just compressed differently). TOTALLY smooth and creamy from chords to subtle single notes. The tone control is superb... You can get extreme mellowness to extreme high end bite around 2-4 kHz.
The Hyde side (red) is a totally different story. It is stricly heavier than the prior. MUCH more crunch and growl to it. Definately more heavy rock, marshall, vox/mesa (sort of) sounding... The EQ knob. Ha! What a suprize. It's only got ONE EQ knob. But you just wait and see (or go stinkin' try it)... That knob will take you from beautiful rich and punchy drive to almost COMPLETELY SWEPT out midrange for the more hard core sound. Also on this channel are the tone knob and compression switch. They work hand in hand. You want compression? Turn up your tone. You don't want it? Turn down the tone.

This is, though not by far, one of the best overdrive/distortion pedals I have ever used. I mean, anyone who has used a variety of pedals KNOWS that every overdrive and/or distortion pedal has its own unique qualities and characteristics. The thing is, this one covers quite a few of them (or REALLY DARN close to them) VERY well, and well... It just has this very 3D sweet spot all over it (especially on the Jekyl side). Let's put it this way... For the Jekyl alone, I would buy this pedal. The Hyde (even when you run them both at once and balance them nicely) is just a HUGE bonus.

My great thanks and appreciation to Mr. Visual Sound... Everyone I have talked to (several friends/professionals/etc...) loves your Ultimate Overdrive, and I feel that it is a title WELL deserved. Why this pedal is so cheap, I have NO idea. I know it's not completely true bypass, but really, for this baby, I don't care. Thanks.

YES. It's rugged. Hard-core switches. Today is my birthday. I've had the Jekyl for about 11 months now. No worries about it breaking, but if it did, Mr. Visual Sound (I have no doubts) would save my day.

I've spoken with him once via email. A gentleman and an electronically inclined poet. Shalom to him. Haven't had a breakdown of any pedal yet, so I only give it a 9.

Any person seeking a wonderful overdrive pedal should get this. I am VERY impressed, and I recommend this to everyone I talk to -well, everyone who plays guitar worth anything. Shalom to all.

Great manual with cool suggested settings
Very easy to get a good sound

Not too noisy
Makes a great sound (sounded huge on volume 4 on a small Fender combo)
Great variety for all three switching settings

I would definately depend on it
I would use it in a gig without a backup (mainly because I'm skint)

Their website seems quite informative

Good for all styles
I would buy a new one if it were stolen or lost
I bought it due to the good reviews on the site and all the good things that I heard are true

I play bass and guitar, the guitar sounds great at almost any setting, BASS takes some noodling, but it pays off when using the distortion side, Jack Bruce or Tool type tone with good bass production. I use the OD side as a signal boost for solos or to give major distorto bass tone combined.

On Bass I use an modulus Fretless 4 into EBS BassIQ envelope filter, then Jeckyl/Hyde into a DBX 166 compressor then to SWR Bass 750 and Eden 4x10 speaker. Great bypass, I'm a true bypass weenie. Boss sucks! Pretty good grit like Geezer or Jack Bruce, Justin Chancellor, and Claypool big distorto tones for dynamic surges are great too. The perfect distortion is a raging Ampeg tube amp, so I have to give a 9.

Been gigged and "spilt upon" for 6 months, good on battery life too. I don't use a backup at all, never failed.

No failures. Friends use the rt 66 for bass too, no problems ever, he's addicted to it (rt 66)

I play Funk and Jazz, Sabbath and improvisational music. Great for short bursts of grinding texture or to add grit when needed. When used with the envelope filter it can do some cool triggering type effects for soloing. I've played for 17 years, great match for my style and would be very cool for metal players too. I'd replace it again and again, I tried many distortions and this gets the nod for subtlety and the in your face super gain too. I love it, it says "blunt" as one of it's settings (compressor), what more can you ask?

Couldn't be any simpler! All the controls do exactly what they say, with a nice smooth transition from each end of their scale to the other. I've just been fiddling about with mine, and with a bit of patience, you can get nearly any driven sound you want - right from a slightly driven jazz tone to full-on fuzz and thrashy tones. I find that combining the two channels and making use of the sharp/blunt slider is the best way to call up different tones. Also, the fact that there are dual volume pots means that you can use them more as mix controls when both channels are on, giving even more tonal flexibility.

I use a dual humbucker Tanglewood and homemade strat with high output Kent Armstrong single coils, sometimes a Les Paul special, into a Laney HCM65R, with a Korg multi-effects unit giving some occasional modulation, and I always find I get a great sound from this pedal.

With the drive from the pedal switched off, there's no true bypass, but I can't detect any colouration to the tone of my guitars.

Kicking in the Jeckyll side, you can get pretty much anything between a nice, twangy country tone through to a Keith Richards-ish, overdriven vintage amp tone. One thing I would say about this side of the pedal is it's a little too trebly for my taste sometimes, and I can't really fill it out with extra mids or bass with the pedal itself (I have to use my amp's EQ) but that's mostly personal preference. I tend to use this side to supplement the Hyde channel - it's great for boosting gain and knocking off a bit of fizz if you've got the Hyde running in 'Sharp' mode.

Moving on to the Hyde, there's much more scope for different tones. I play medium to heavy rock in my band, and I never need to use anything but this side of this pedal for rhythm playing. There's a great range of gain, and its worth experimenting with different settings on the EQ, tone and Sharp/Blunt controls to find great tones for different styles. Again, it's extremely versatile.

The only overall comment I'd make about the sound is that it doesn't really do very bassy tones - the only sound I struggle to get out of it is a really warm, Slash-style sounds, or modern high-gain, rectified stuff, although you can get close by combining both channels, and you can still get fuzzy, thrashy stuff out of it.

If it wasn't for that one complaint, it'd get a rating of 10 for tone.

I've had this pedal for about 2 years now, and I had one brief problem with the power socket (it's a bit flimsy), but the shop I bought it from replaced it easily.

It's all contained in a solid metal case, the switches, pots and jack sockets are build like fekkin' rocks, it gets gigged a fair bit, and I've got total confidence in it. More than my shitty Korg...

No idea!

This pedal does pretty much everything I want it to, and for the price it was a bargain, although it was supposed to be #120-ish (I think). That said, it'd still be a bargain at full price.

I think they're pretty rare, so if you see this pedal, buy it. Could be a classic for the future.

Very straightfoward dual stomp box, which can yeild a lot of different sounds, without being complicated to use. Left side is OD, right side is distortion, with a bright (sharp)/ duller (blunt) voicing switch for the distortion pedal. Just turn the knobs and go for it. I was able to find a useable sound from both sides in less than a day

This pedal can definetely fill gaps. I own a Carvin Legacy amp, and it has a smooth high gain sound, similar to say a Mesa Boogie Mark or an amp in that realm. With the od side, I can get a slightly broken up sound, perfect for a bluesy sound. I don't have any guitars with single coil pickups, but I imagine it would sound wonderful with say a strat. Of course it also sounds great with a humbucker equipped guitar. I set the distortion to sharp, and I can get a very sizzly soldano-ish high gain sound, with a good bit of clarity. I would advise against setting the gain too high on this pedal, the sound tends to get mushy with the gain jacked up. I set the distortion gain at 10 oclock, and the od gain at 8 oclock, and that is working for the sound I want out of it. For the money its a great pedal to put infront of a single channal amp. Just set the amp to clean and let this thing do the dirty work. Its a nice cheap alternative to a Fulltone Fulldrive, or a Tonebone, or any of those more expensive pedals.

I just got it, so I can't just tell yet. The switching is pretty silent, and the "virtual bypass" is alright. Its not as good as true bypass, but its ok. First time I bought a Visual Sound pedal, I received a defective h20 chorus/echo. I exchanged it for another one, and I have been loving that unit ever since. I like these Visual Sound pedals.

I have never dealt with Visual Sound, but it seems like a reputable company, and I like their product

I traded an MXR dynacomp for this thing, and I think its well worth it. Its a good looking pedal, that sounds great, and doesn't need to be tinkered with.

7 knobs, 1 sharp/blunt switch 2 on/off switches for each side, easy!!
Most if not all the settings in this mean looking box is very usable although it took me quite a while to figure out how to get a good sound with both sides turned on

I use a custom made guitar(mahogany body set neck dual buckers and a les paul bridge)->boss tu-12 tuner->jeckyll n hyde->boss ph-2 phaser->fender bassman 10

this box can really kick! It turns my clean sounding amp into a fuckin' marshall stack with just a single stomp!

jeckyll:
a mellow overdrive that is great for driving a tube amp. they say that it uses the same parts as a ts-9 but i never had a chance to compare the two. this is a very warm sounding overdrive that will not color your tone. i think it will satisfy tone freaks and gear snobs out there that are very picky with their overdrive. it's perfect for rock and blues when i crank the volume and just add a tiny bit of gain and tone thru my bassman 10. I get srv, clapton, ccr when i use it this way. with more gain i get classic rock sound(led zeppelin, black crowes, jimi hendrix etc.)

hyde:
has great bass and sounds great at any setting from distorted crunchy sounds to no holds barred metal, and it is very natural sounding but makes a bit of noise in high gain (it's high gain distortion duh!). I set this thing in many different ways, gain:10-12 o'clock, tone:zero or just a lil' bit, eq:10-2, volume: 12-3 set to sharp for a standard distorted tone. when i want a warmer effect i just put it on blunt and i raise the tone somewhere between 10-3. these settings are great for your standard hard rock/grunge distorted tone(acdc, black sabbath, soundgarden, razorback, collective soul etc.)
for metal this hing kicks ass! eq 3o'clock to max( i usually use 3 coz it has more definition this way) tone cranked set on blunt to get that mid scoop kick ass palm muting metallica sound.

both sides together:
two words... Marshall stack!! activate both sides together and keep the tone pretty low both sides, gain and volume set close to each other but don't crank it coz it will be noisy, set on sharp. use eq to shape desired tone and voila! Marshall stack type GRRROWL hehe:) were talking wild animal growl here not muddy toneless distortion.

I do gig with it without a backup. got it used but in great condition with the manual and box. its made of metal with metal switches and sturdy rubber knobs. never failed me before but the plastic sharp blunt switch scares me

never tried

I play rock, blues, classic rock and metal(not that slipknot korn shit i play sabbath, ozzy, metallica)
Amazing box!! the guy who sold it to me switched from guitar playing to bass and I got a great bargain P3000. you can play any distortion sound you want with it blues, metal and everything in between. both sides on and i'm talking growl with a unique voice that has given my guitar playing a unique voice. This is surely designed by guitar players for guitar players, they thought of everything. they set the switches close enough so you can manipulate both sides simultaneously, rubber knobs, metal chassis, heavy duty switch, never gets muddy sounding, 2 fx in one but uses 1 9v battery and it lasts pretty long plus it looks wicked!! too good to be true? believe it! I'd give this a 10 rating overall if it had true bypass on it and a metal sharp/blunt switch but I think thats askin for too much

it's about as easy as analog knobs can get.
very straight forward.
10

i play 6-string bass through a Hartke 3500 w/ 4-10's & 1-15.
rack mounted compressor/gate, 31 band eq, & a sonic maximiser in the head
boss octaver, crybaby wah, jekyll & hyde u.o., boss chorus ensembal & a
zoom mult-effects processor for special f.x. on the floor

i set the jekyll side pretty light as to get a smooth and creamy bite and mixes
well with the guitarists fucking heavy distortion as well as the cleaner stuff

but when i want to cut through the rhythm for a solo or exentuate our low-b-of-
doom death grind, i kick on the hyde side which i set the opposite from the jekyll side for extreme bottom-heavy fuzz that really screams bloody murder
10

ive had this for a year, so i cant really say for sure how reliable it is, but its built
like a tank, so im sure itll last for many years to come
10

i got no manual.took 10 minutes to get good sound

using a 1969 fender jazzmaster and a rehearsal peavey amp that sounded like it was gonna blow up once the hyde kicked in.i like guided by voices,sleater kinney.jim o rourke.i had the best gat sound i have ever had last night,i like the psychocandy sound on occasion. this is more of a strokes sounding pedal-the tone is good too.pretty vicious hyde action .big sound .i live in seoul so am at mercy of whatever amp is the house amp so this is my saviour.i freakin hate marshall solid state jcms and while i am at it ,why the hell cant fender make amps like they did in the 1960s with a warm overdrive that comes on when the volume gets loud to a point.out of the states ya never see old vintage fender amps.

id steal one if i saw one.sure. ihad a danelectro overdrive box that i never used anymore.this rules over it.