In the late 1970s, the overdrive pedal was arguably perfected as Japanese engineers designed the sound we now know as the heart and soul of so many of our favorite artists, recordings and sounds. Players ranging from The Edge, Trey Anastasio, Buddy Guy, Kirk Hammett, John Mayer, SRV, Carlos Santana and thousands more from every possible genre have used and depended on this classic iconic green box. If only one effects pedal was chosen to embark on a Voyager 3 mission and be solely responsible for showing the universe the sound of overdrive, it would undoubtedly be Tube Screamer. It's probably the most produced and best-selling pedal in the history of guitar pedals! The Bonsai is our homage to one of the greatest pedals ever created.
Following the steps of our Muffuletta (released in 2015), the Bonsai uses a simple rotary knob to cycle through nine classic, vintage, rare or hard-to-find variations of the Screamer. The creation of the bonsai became a kind of archaeological dig that immersed us in the history of this circuit by examining dozens of versions, variations and replications. At the end of it all, Josh chose nine of his personal, favorite units and we painstakingly replicated every nuance and aspect of each pedal. One of the most difficult parts of this project was accounting for component drift, as many of these pedals were decades old and the internal components had drifted away from their original values. Each pedal was individually replicated using our Audio Precision analyzer and various other methods that allowed us to perfectly reproduce every aspect of the unit's sound and feel. It's important to know that the Bonsai is not a "box of mods", they are exact replicas of these nine units all housed in one box! The bonsai is an exact replica, not an emulation. When you choose a mode on the Bonsai rotary knob, you actually activate components specific to each mode and play the unit Josh has chosen with all the quirks, drifts, vintage mojo and individuality of a vintage pedal.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE 9 BONSAI MODES BASED ON THE 9 PEDALS WE CHOSE...
OD-1 - 1977
An overall brighter and slightly higher gain mode that does not use the Tone knob. This mode also inverts the signal like the original and has asymmetrical clipping. The OD-1 is magical for boosting other records or amps into singing saturation.
TS-808 - 1979
Classic low gain with that pronounced midrange signature.
TS-9 - 1982
Almost identical to the TS-808 but with a slightly deeper low-mid range.
MSL, POWER OR L SERIES - 1985
Although metal is in the name, this sound doesn't quite inspire the modern metal djent we think of. Still, it has a higher gain sound with lower bass and an overall slimier feel.
TS-10 - 1986
Made famous by John Mayer, this model is a slight upgrade from the TS9 of the late 80s. Bluesy, crunchy, more low end and low gain.
EXAR OD-1 1989
The EXAR is a Polish-made TS style pedal that has a slightly different drive character with a little more gain than classic screamers as well as a slightly more transparent feel.
TS-7 (+MODE) - 1999
The warm mode of this version gives you the highest gain sound of the Bonsai. More low end and dirt fills the tone to make you shred.
KEELEY MOD PLUS - 2002
Robert Keeley's classic mod tightens up the tone of the original giving you smoother mid and high frequencies, and increased bass response.
JHS FORT MOD - 2008
Our own mod that we've been making since 2008 is much cleaner and overall more powerful. The mode has more pronounced drops in the highs and lows.
With JHS Pedals' Bonsai, you can get the classic sounds of nine Tubescreamers in one pedal. Let Bonsai help you find your Zen overdrive.
THIS PEDAL REQUIRES A STANDARD 9V DC NEGATIVE POWER SUPPLY, CONSUMES 20MA AND MEASURES 2.6"X4.8"X1.6".
THE WORDS IBANEZ, BOSS, ROLAND, TUBESCREAMER, TS9, 808, EXAR AND KEELEY, AUDIO PRECISION MAY BE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS. THE JHS PEDALS BONSAI IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED OR ENDORSED BY IBANEZ, BOSS, ROLAND, TUBESCREAMER, TS9, 808, EXAR, KEELEY AND AUDIO PRECISION.
CONTROLS
BONSAI
Nine of the most iconic green overdrive versions in one pedal. Let Bonsai help you find your Zen overdrive.
VOLUME - Controls the output volume. Left is less volume, right is more.
TONE - Controls the tone of the pedal. The right is lighter, the left is darker. The tone control is disabled on the OD-1 setting. DRIVE - Controls the amount of overdrive. Right is more, left is less.
VERSION SELECTOR - This button selects between the 9 different versions.
VERSION
OD1 - Overall a brighter, slightly higher gain mode that doesn't use the Tone knob. This mode inverts the signal like the original, and it has asymmetrical clipping. The OD-1 is magical for boosting other records or amps into singing saturation.
808 - Classic low gain with that pronounced midrange signature.
TS9 - Almost identical to the TS-808, but with a slightly lower midrange.
MSL - Although metal is in the name, it doesn't quite inspire the modern metal/djent sound you'd expect. Still, it has a higher gain sound with more low end and an overall gooier feel.
TS10 - Made famous by John Mayer, this late 80s model is a slight improvement on the TS9. Bluesy and crisp, it has more low-frequency roll-off and low gain.
The
TS7 - The warm mode of this version gives you the highest gain sound of the Bonsai. More low end and dirt fills the tone. You are now free to shred.
KEELEY MOD PLUS - Robert Keeley's classic mod boosts the tone of the original, giving you smoother mids, highs and increased bass response.
JHS STRONG MOD - Our own mod that we have been making since 2008, it is much cleaner and overall more powerful. The mode has more pronounced high and low end dips.
POWER - Uses center negative 9V DC. Do not use more than 9V DC. Your warranty will be voided. 100mA max consumption.