JHS PEDALS
RUBY RED
REVIEW BY SAM HILL
STREET PRICE $249.00
The Ruby Red is a
collaboration between
legendary guitarist Butch
Walker and JHS Pedals,
bringing the two together
to create his very own
signature overdrive.
Based on the popular JHS
Superbolt pedal, the Ruby
Red takes it a step further,
adding additional flexibility
with a separate boost
channel and some additional
gain control. A quick note
on the Superbolt: the
original pedal was based
on the tones emulating a
vintage Supro amp being
driven hard. Think a small,
low-watt class-A amp
design, cranked up to give
you that really raw, gritty
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GEAR REVIEW
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old-school vibe—that’s the
Ruby Red.
The controls are pretty
basic: Volume, Tone and
Drive, while the boost side
has a dedicated Volume
control and footswitch.
The boost channel is a new
design for JHS—a clean
two-stage booster. It’s
designed to really push your
amp, or the Superbolt side
of this pedal, whichever you
prefer. Thankfully, the Boost
can be used independently
of the gain channel. Another
great feature is you can
choose the order—have
it go first, so it drives the
Superbolt, with the effect of
adding more gain, or have it
come after the drive stage,
JHS Pedals Ruby Red
where it works more as a
volume boost. There’s no
right or wrong way; try both
and see which you prefer. In
a way, you’re really getting
two pedals in one with the
Ruby Red.
And if having the additional
Boost feature is not enough,
there is another small
toggle giving you even
more gain. In the normal
setting, the Superbolt goes
from almost-clean, to a
medium overdrive, but with
the additional gain mode,
you move from medium
gain to a heavier “the-ampis-about-ready-to-explode”
type of gain. Yet, the
Ruby Red doesn’t have a
compressed, modern feel to