Pettyjohn Pedals Explained

[@RatBastardDan]

Audiophiles: the tone is in the high-quality component$. Guitarists: the tone is in the enclosure rust.

[@thekramer1097]

I've always wondered how audiophiles feel when they realize their equipment sometimes cost more than the rig of the band they're listening

[@benmcdowell1784]

@@thekramer1097 watching rig rundown dude is like "haven't changed my strings in 5 years" audiophiles "i can hear the flakes"

[@mytorment]

Tonality explicitly refers to the key of music and tonal modality means how a composer moves from key to key, I think they'd call what we call tone today - witchcraft

[@lescouse]

I love my hifi, never ever wondered if it cost more than the rigs of the bands I listen to and hardly ever (10 years) change strings.

[@thomaslthomas1506]

Perfect!

[@davidborg1136]

Did anyone else die laughing when we heard the ROUS switch was labeled "swamp/fire" Love how he went all out in the princess bride reference! So funny!

[@patrickconnelly2904]

As you wish.

[@therewasascene]

Yeah it’s hilarious - none of the demoers mention the reference it’s all in the comments

[@misterzed]

@@therewasascene Inconceivable!

[@prestongeorge5011]

Stephen Pettyjohn rules! He mastered some of our music! Great guy

[@MrBradHendrickson]

LOVE my Pettyjohn compressor, can't wait to see the MKII

[@jonkerrmusic]

LOL "Let's do some AC/DC - but you know, NOT, 'cause we don't wanna get flagged" You are a hero - keep up the fantastic work!

[@davidbowen169]

I have three: Iron Mk. 2; Chime Mk. 1 and the compressor. All are spectacularly good. The compressor is particularly good, although I no longer see it on his website. It’s great you feature other great pedal builders. That is incredibly generous of you, Josh. JHS pedals are fantastic.

[@jamesswift580]

Sitting down with a bowl of cereal and watching the JHS show is my Friday ritual now

[@Ndlanding]

Real men eat porridge.

[@Rogueguitarshop]

Loved this video. I've known Stephen since he was in high school. Such a quality guy making innovative gear. A great combination for sure.

[@disfibulator]

Ok ok ok ok ok - I was already on board, but then the ODI, and then the R.O.U.S. as a Rat clone. This guy is clearly someone I would be friends with, and his pedals sound amazing. JHS, you are doing a great service by bringing this to my attention.

[@jimmyaka]

I asked, and I got it! Thanks so much guys! Big up Pettyjohn!

[@Jdarasick]

I love my Pettyjohn Lift. Perfect Buffer/freq cut/clean boost with tons of headroom on board. Not sure I could live without it.

[@erichufschmid5730]

Stephen makes some of the best pedals on the market and is a SUPER knowledgeable and just a really nice guy. The Predrive was my first pettyjohn pedal and still rocking it today! Killer! The predrive is my favorite looking pedal of all time :-)

[@fectino7634]

I agree Pettyjohn makes great stuffs. The Predrive is both great sound and look.

[@michaelbast8250]

Josh you are the best ambassador of Tone I know. Your deference to others is downright biblical.

[@jezmez68]

I think you guys need to do a series where you pick a JHS pedal and maybe do some of your favorite settings for guitar, bass and drums. Please start with the Unicorn.

[@tylerbrassington6448]

Last year Stephen mastered my band's single and needless to say he is nothing less than brilliant. I look forward to seeing what he does in the future, these pedals sound killer!

[@todddammit4628]

Cruise Control needs to be a real song. That was fire. And I am 100% going to get a ROUS this year. Last year I bought the RAIL and love it.

[@sonidojamon]

I just commented the same thing. I already have an idea, and I might Involve Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas if they're up to it!

[@ryersondodge1998]

I totally agree, amazing sounding song, but listen again and tell me do you hear Us and Them (Pink Floyd) in it?

[@Joe-ho5gc]

check out "wormwood" the track, by Moe. it has a very similar feel and im sure it will scratch that itch. Cheers!

[@deemadden2238]

These guys are in Sisters! That’s just a little over a stone’s throw from Portland in Eastern Oregon. Rad! I like supporting local makers whenever they’ve got something I’m into.

[@A1Cpadilla]

I’ve spent almost all of 2019-2020 on the road and away from home. That intro track, “Time Spent in Los Angeles” hits hard on so many levels. Thank you for introducing me to Dawes. I look forward to Record Time every video!

[@aarondennis2285]

Your “AC/DC” style riffage in the beginning had The Darkness written all over it! 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@TheFeelButton]

Love this series Josh! Thanks for your deep dives!!

[@clivemcdaid8817]

Addison’ s playing and tone are fantastic. Unsung hero of these jams. Thoroughly nice bloke too. 🍻

[@reinhardbothma5798]

I got an Iron(Mk1) in a trade recently. It is amazing. Very versatile. The argument for using studio-grade components is valid- to me it's audible in my wet/dry rig setup. Really happy with this pedal. Can't see me swopping it out anytime soon.

[@johnnydeck3497]

the ROUS are giant rats the protagonists encounter in the Fire Swamp in the movie "the Princess Bride"...

[@stanislavmigra]

Im really shocked, he had not seen Princess Bride.

[@joermnyc]

@@stanislavmigra inconceivable!

[@jordandelr]

“No more rhymes now i mean it!”

[@stanislavmigra]

@@joermnyc I dont think it means what you think it means

[@41DegreesSouth]

@@stanislavmigra maybe he has, but he has forgotten... "Fezzik- jog his memory!"

[@mikeblue385]

i bought a rous. it meant that i couldn't buy a morning glory but sometimes you have to make sacrifices. i'm digging it though.

[@NatePerdomo]

My favorite Pettyjohn trivia tidbit: Stephen was once an ice-road trucker.

[@FartCoffinStudios]

I love your channel. The passion you have for pedals is infectious. Your jams are always great. Killer musicians. Thanks for doing what you do!

[@krishermstad]

When can we expect a JHS Pedals album? Your jams are always so good!

[@jmfreeland]

Original PreDrive Handwired and Filter are mainstays for me. The low pass/high pass, inductor EQ, and boost with a touch of extra harmonics are in constant use. Favorites here.

[@karabinerstudios]

That was one of the best demos of the ROUS that I've heard.

[@professor_hoi]

I've never bought a pedal faster than I just did the Chime MKII - 10 seconds in and I'm like, "Yup, that's my tone." I've been searching far and wide for something like my old Red Knob Evil Twin. Been through the OCD, Ryra Klone, TS Mini, Morning Glory V4 (Sorry Josh), Xotic RC V2 - all of these are now going on Reverb (except maybe the OCD?). Plus, it's made in Oregon!

[@ricardofigueiras6453]

You are a breath of fresh air when it comes to playing the guitar. So tired of watching all KZbin videos with blues and metal riffs. You have that indie scene. Nice!

[@lynyrddeville]

Well,my vote is in. The Pettyjohn Gold sounded flat out mean. Maybe its all of the voltage running around inside, but that was one of very few pedals that does truly sound like an ancient tube amp ready to blow. It sounded dangerous. I might need to get one.

[@jspic4907]

A first rate demo of competitors products? What you do is awesome. On a side note: the low tuned snare drum sound you use is worth a million dollars in of itself. Cheers.

[@rottalmusik6563]

I have the PettyJohn Filter EQ almost two years now. Got it to an incredible Deal new. At that time I needed a very good and noisless eq, so I looked at the higher price Ende and found the Filter. Its absolutly awesome. Does what it should in a very easy and understabdable way with no noisfloor at all! I saw and heard pettyjohn the first time on Pete Thorns channel🤘 I plan to get the rous. Thanks For the reminder!

[@jmfreeland]

The filter is killer, as is the predrive. Sad that the inductor manufacturer stopped making them, as inductor EQs are amazing.

[@fectino7634]

I run PJE Predrive + Filter and Lift at the end of the chain. These Studio great tools giving me a really incredible result!! I highly recommend Pettyjohn.

[@jmfreeland]

@@fectino7634 Keep an eye out for a filter. There is magic in those inductors and it’s all about the midrange. You could even do the Pultec trick with your Predrvie by rolling off some low end and then boosting with the shelf. Not sure it even makes sense on the guitar, but when has that stopped us?

[@fectino7634]

@@jmfreeland That actually makes lots of sense. Thank you for sharing the trick.

[@jimb2577]

The chime was my favorite. I love the dynamics. I would have like to see more rat sounds from the rous.

[@claytonmurrayguitar]

The Iron MkII, Chime, and ODI are some of my favorite pedals on the planet. Love Stephen to death!

[@bruiserbrawler8054]

I have a ROUS. I really love it.

[@bruiserbrawler8054]

I've had it for about two or three months now. Got that along with something from Siren Pedals from Nashville. New last year as a company. Two guys. Totally the feel good story for me of 2020. WWW.SIRENPEDALS.COM

[@paultravis352]

VFE pedals uses tilt EQ all over the place. One of my favorite companies, hope someone takes over their designs.

[@LeviBulger]

You took the words out of my mouth. I was literally about to type that a lot of Pettyjohns circuits are almost identical to what VFE was doing years ago. I would not be surprised if that is what inspired most of these designs. It's insane to me that more people aren't into VFE or maybe just don't know about them. I collect them anytime I see em pop up on local ads. The Alpha Dog is probably the one that most people that do know about them would mention as it was considered to be one of the best Rats for a time in the early 2000s. This ROUS pedal seems to be very similar, although I'm sure the Alpha Dog is still more complex.

[@paultravis352]

@@LeviBulgerVery similar mentality of "let's make lots of useful controls on older pedal designs and other cool things inspired by studio gear", but pettyjohn is doing a lot more with higher voltage conversions. That said, I'd love it if VFE ended up selling the designs to Pettyjohn and stayed on as a consultant. Peter Rutter is one of my favorite people in the pedal industry, and I'd love to see him continue with it in some way.

[@LeviBulger]

@@paultravis352 If I remember correctly, Peter just ended up giving away all his schematics online to anyone that wanted them when he retired. Pretty sure you can still download them somewhere out there. But yeah, he is a great guy.

[@wainwalker]

I bought a Pettyjohn vk which is their v1 pedal with “Klon” diodes. Also went with all the custom shop upgrades. This was a limited edition which was #2 of 5 made, signed by Stephen. It cost $275 but I’m very happy with the pedal.

[@therewasascene]

Sounds killer!

[@jordanbrazinski8260]

Just finished a pedalboard build for a fella with the PJ Lift. I was surprised at how good it sounded! Lot's of options and loads of sounds can come from it.

[@dt9r]

Petty John makes some really good sounding pedals, it's a fact

[@tonehustler767]

I have owned numerous Pettyjohn pedals. My favorite is the pettydrive v2

[@lucaszembrzuski]

My favourite was the fuzz, it sounds magnificent!

[@BobMaulucci]

“Insect Overlord’! That was amazing. Great fuzz, too.

[@halvach1998]

Josh makes it sound sweet

[@timothyvanburen3431]

I love the Chime MKII and also one you didn't feature - the Lift MKII. The Lift is the only boost/EQ/drive pedal I've found that uses just HPF/LPF for tone shaping which can really help clean things up at both the beginning or end of the chain (and the Lift's optional subtle amount of drive is just wonderful). That said, I also love the Chime (and your Crayon) and wish more pedal makers would use Tilt EQ as well! Honestly in love with the fact that his pedals use HPF/LPF, Tilt, or Pre-drive Bass - hands down my favorite EQ approaches.

[@DoobTube71]

6:40 to 7:20. Old. School. Clean. TONE. MAFIA! Thank you, Josh “King Tone Corleone” Scott & Pettyjohn! Thank you.

[@homerdomer73]

Great episode. I stumbled into the Iron awhile ago and it ended my search for that gritty JCM/AC/DC tone.

[@brandonbussell5544]

Man these are great... and i was surprised they werent more expensive after the explanation of components

[@seekeroftheways]

"You're not gonna find a better tool" nuff said... Thank you Pedal Grandpa for another great episode :)

[@stevenoneya2318]

can you make a video of what the process is like, when you have an idea for a new pedal, through the design and build process, and then manufacturing bringing git all to life? i would love to see how you go from an idea, to something tangible. thanks! love your stuff. -Steve

[@model_number_band]

Quality Epi... Have a good weekend, and thank your drummer for demo foundational magic. Nick for the win.

[@Felipe-pb9gu]

I had a Gold MKI, I remember the first time I turned it on and compared it to my TS, the clarity and string separation was way superior, I don't have it anymore but it was my main OD for a long time, the mid control with a frequency selector is a great tool. Great pedals for sure and very high quality.

[@jloiben12]

What a dope company making some dope pedals

[@centraliowamusiclab]

"North Hills" is my favorite Dawes album as it got me through cancer treatment, but "Nothing Is Wrong" is also really fantastic, in my opinion.

[@terryconnell]

As always, enjoyable, creative descriptions, and impressive little jams you guys all seem to pull out of nowhere. Compliments! I noticed some new depth in the drum tones and mix, too... Sounds REALLY good!

[@benprojectrock]

Thanks for the advice on Dawes. I cannot believe that i had missed this gem.

[@kendutchess]

2021 the year of the JHS bands best new album? Seriously Josh, you guys rock!

[@Guitar_Ted]

Woo! I was wondering if you'd ever do a Pettyjohn episode. I first came across Pettyjohn via a Pete Thorn demo of the Gold. Too spendy for me at the time, but when I heard about the Rail I jumped on and I also have the Odi. The rail is the fisrt fuzz I have ever gotten along with after trying several. Great pedals. Thanks for this episode.

[@JoeMcMusic]

this video is crazy to me because i have serial number 32 of the first run of the predrive. Stephen is a great guy

[@kosmicwizard]

I also LOVE the chime side of my pettydrive, Josh!

[@CL_Audio_Tuning]

The ROUS is a dream come true, i dont care what anybody says, that has got to be the greatest pedal in the world, in history! Just on the name references alone! But it sounds fantastic!!

[@engelsjn]

The ROUS pedal might have to make it into my collection! Thank you for sharing!

[@paulcowart3174]

Thank you Josh for opening my eyes to this builder Digging the Chime and Rell

[@williamknell864]

Loved that "Dad's Day Off" groove! Also, Dawes is great. "A Little Bit Of Everything" is probably my favorite Dawes song. Excellent songwriting,

[@stephonwilliams8890]

Always wanted one but never heard too many people talk about them. Thanks for this!

[@Xyzl181]

Really thinking about pulling the trigger on the Gold. Josh's endorsement of other pedal brands is so cool!

[@jaredsteinfeld2971]

Some of the finest tones I have heard on this channel (or any other). Definitely going to check these out.

[@joshlikesbikes]

We're all gonna live - love how they change up a lot of the arrangements for this live album

[@nickbenjamin6527]

Everything that usually irritates me about most dirt pedals is solved by the pregain lows (variable hpf) control on the core(?) series: it's basically a build your own drive control. I have the Rail: it's much more than a fuzz: great clean boost in lowest gain setting, specially with 18V. I use it to hit other things with a completely tweakable mid bump by turning back the lows and highs to just the right spots for a super sustaining fat lead sound. Great pedal...

[@wakjob961]

The drum mix sounds amazing too!

[@welmoeloraculo]

Pettyjohn are definitely one of the most original pedals out there. I have the audiophile Pre Drive and Pettydrive, and also the Pettydrive II and Lift. Totally awesome pedals

[@uunostearns6831]

Thank you! I am looking forward to owning Pettyjohn. Starting with a Crush

[@klokmedia]

Dad’s day off - hmmm, probs cook bacon for breakfast, read news, might wander around outside and move pots and things around while thinking about the lawn, read the news - ‘honey can you believe the idiot politician?!’, hmmm might go to bunnings (Australian) and get some drill bits, sausage on bread for lunch, snooze, read news, wander around the yard again, read news, dinner, law and order, bed time...... great day!

[@soulsideout3732]

I have been using pettyjohn pedals for a few use. I have an early foundry Iron that stays on my board. And its the pedal that I am most likely to keep on all the time. I like how it does a light compression low drive thing, that blends perfect with all other pedals.

[@PhinnOz]

Favorite Dawes song is all your favorite bands (stay together), makes me sad every time

[@jezmez68]

Yeah, that one stands out, as does "A Little Bit of Everything" for how clever it is. And yes, I'm using clever the same way The Hold Steady does.

[@wallsdownstudios4112]

Roll With The Punches for me. Beautiful tune!

[@thebluespeter]

I owne the pettydrive v2, why did you forgot to mention it ? I saw the iron and I thing , there is a must have for an equal tool to kick it into more, if there is more needed 😀. Peter from Germany

[@DaleBoyle]

Great overview Josh! I love my Pettyjohn pedals! :)

[@jeremiahlewis700]

The "Rodent Of Unusual Size" sounded amazing!!!

[@MiriusTube]

That album is one of my favourites of all time! - All your Favorite Bands is hard to beat but my #1 Dawes record is We're All Going to Live album, it's mixed so well and hearing them live makes it even more special, plus you get Lee Pardini on the old stuff which is mind blowing.

[@jamesswift580]

get em while you can guys they're still as low as $130 used on reverb

[@taviswardlaw]

Not shown was the Crush - their compressor. I’ve not heard a pedal compressor that gets close to it in terms of studio quality, and I’ve played A LOT of compressors. Also a user of the V1 petty drive and the chime. I run the iron side into the chime on the V1 with the iron doing a medium gain thing and the chime more as a tone shaper/boost that’s cutting the low end a bit. The V2 chime pedal I actually run with the gain set quite high. It’s dynamic range is still really broad when it’s being used like that, which is the thing I enjoy most about Pettyjohn pedals.

[@wrayven]

His concept about equalization is pretty cool. Super usable for guitar with great clarity. I haven't tried any of the new pedals, but it's cool that you're exploring a competitors new pedal offerings.

[@kosmicwizard]

I wonder what he's going to do in the future? As an owner of the Pettydrive deluxe, I'm personally not a fan of the single effects, or the limited runs, but the quality of the drive I have from Steven is top notch, and it keeps me watching for a pedal that I love!

[@kosmicwizard]

Lol, buying the Pettydrive Deluxe was a gateway drug for me, a month later and I now own the Gold V1 and the Lift V1, I like the Lift better at the end of my chain than the Colourbox V2 I was using there before. The Coppersound Strategy V2 is the always on I use in front of the Pettydrive, and that's my Porta-board. Just unreal quality and they all stack together and just sound incredible (especially at 18V being internally doubled to nearly 36V). Thank you, Steven!

[@ZonkerRoberts]

I've wondered for years why pedal makers didn't step up the internal voltage beyond 9V (though the Klon Centaur and its clones did do that to some extent). Glad to see someone is doing it now.

[@tonyz4292]

Josh killin it with the song names

[@siryba]

Never heard of this gent or his pedals. I must check these out. Many thanks to Josh and crew for highlighting these really cool selection of stomps.

[@ianfait170]

I've been waiting for my Petty John pedal to sell on reverb for a minute now, thanks Josh!

[@ryersondodge1998]

Cruise Control sounds so melodic and should be explored further. Has so much of a Pink Floyd vibe, Us and Them, sound familiar, and I really appreciate it. Hell I'm gonna jam to it today too. Thanks J

[@Dogsrule777]

Where have I been? The Dawes are just awesome man. This record is sweet. (especially when you live in LA) BTW the tone with the Rat-Style pedal and the backwards delay are beauteous.

[@Adamhauk22]

That's funny I built a Rat clone with 6 dif clipping options about 4 years ago and called it the ROUS as a obvious salute to "The Princess Bride" in the fire Swamp. That's absolutely awesome that I've got something in common with PettyJohn in terms of thought process. I'm flattered & intrigued

[@JimRivers1179]

It’s great you always give credit to others when you’re equally or even more talented! 🙏🏽🎸

[@DaveAtonal]

I'm blown away by these pedals just as much as the creativity that went into the titles of the jams. EPIC \m/ =)

[@clubstone1]

I think Nick is my favorite drummer.

[@xanhteps648]

You are a gentleman and a scholar. Us gear nerds will be at the nerdory nerding up and nerding down until question marks. Seriously you always got the hook up on stuff I've heard about but not played too expensive to imagine being mine and it's not all snobby gear.. Budget stuff too. My wife probably never wants to hear the word circuit ever again.

[@sessionswithjeff]

So, so, so, so, so glad you did a Dawes Record Time!!! Easily one of my favourite band of the last decade! 'Stories Don't End' would be my first choice of their albums but it's tough as all their albums are truly great! I'm looking forward to checking out some Pettyjohn pedals the 'Chime" & 'ROUS' were of particular interest.

[@danielroach7469]

I’m surprised it took this long to mention Dawes too! When I hear the jams you put together to showcase different pedals I almost always think of Dawes. My favorite album has to be All your Favorite Bands. These guys are the kings of tone (no pun intended) and are such great song writers.

[@benrothschild6074]

Would be great to see Josh do a feature on Henretta Engineering, a small one man operation that makes some really tiny knob less circuits, standard sized pedals with very interesting sounding circuits, and various custom things as well. Their Chord Blaster pedal is ridiculously versatile and unique

[@427viper]

As an SG owner I don’t how I feel about the pink colour but then again I kinda like it. We need more SGs in different colours !

[@wolfnstrings]

Just listened to that Dawes Album through the magic of their KZbin channel. Thanks for a new to me listening experience that is raw and poetic. I came to hear what you think about Petty John pedals because I am a fan, but left a fan of the Dawes as well.

[@jmfreeland]

You should get some Effectrode stuff on the show! LA-1A is another always on for me. Anyone who’s slogan is ‘Guitar tone IS rocket science’ fits the mold.