JHS SuperBolt V2 - Valco Supro Amp Tones

When we released the Superbolt in 2012, we never dreamed that it would become one of the most recognized and distinguished pedals in our history. With V2, we have kept everything that has made it a go-to drive pedal across the globe and simply expanded its reach of versatility and options. Let's take a look at what it offers.

From the inception of the Supro Company in 1935 until its closing in 1968, no other brand of amplifier has had such a fascinating, mysterious, and legendary story. The Supro® amps deliver the voice of rock and roll, from Jimmy Page’s legendary Led Zeppelin recordings or Brian Setzer’s early Stray Cat tracks, to the raging rhythm tones of Switchfoot’s Drew Shirley. If you have ever played one of these vintage amps, then you know nothing sounds the same. No matter how high you take the volume, the amp delivers the same smooth but cutting tone that has shaped countless recordings over its 75+year history.

The JHS SuperBolt overdrive pedal, at its heart, is a discreet circuit designed to emulate the tone and character of the 1960’s-era Supro® amps. From its touch-sensitivity to the way the pedal sags with tube rectifier color at higher gain settings, the SuperBolt will give any guitar rig a versatile and useful new set of tones, reminiscent of some of the greatest sounds ever recorded. With three simple knob controls named Volume, Tone, Drive and a Gain toggle, you will have the ability to make any guitar rig drip with vintage soul and attitude.

To understand how the SuperBolt operates, let’s begin with the Drive knob. As you turn up the Drive, it’s like turning the volume knob on one of these small-box vintage amps; the more you turn it up, the dirtier it gets. Next, the Volume knob acts like what some would call a master volume. None of the vintage Supro® amps had this control, but it works perfectly for letting the SuperBolt get the dirty cranked-volume tones with the Drive knob and then backing down the loudness factor with the Volume knob. The V2 has an improved taper with a wider "sweet spot" for adjusting the best volume. The third knob is the Tone control, fairly true to the designs in many of these vintage amps. Our Tone control will serve as a breath of fresh air to all of you who are tired of the unusable and treble-ridden tone controls out there. All the way up, it is a biting and sharp tone that is extremely usable and easy on the ears; all the way back, you will find a dark but well-focused range of tones useful for jazz and more subtle styles.

The Gain toggle switch lets you toggle between two gain settings, much like the High/Low input jacks found on many of the amplifiers of the 50’s and 60’s. In the down position, the cleanest sounds are available and a slightly darker and more mellow tone is on tap. In the up position, you’ll find huge amounts of headroom, more upper mids, more available dirt, and the most rock and roll that the pedal can offer. When the Gain toggle is activated the status LED changes to Red. The Gain toggle is remotely switchable using the 1/4" jack on the top right side of the pedal. Set your normal SB setting and switch instantly using the Red Remote for an on-the-fly secondary tone without using hardly any extra space on your board at all.

The SuperBolt runs on a basic 9v supply, but internally it converts that 9v to 18v for massive punch, headroom, and its overall powerful character.  Do not attempt to power the SuperBolt with an 18v power supply.

You will notice that the overall tone is open and full without the compression found in many overdrives on the market. It will compliment a more compressed drive beautifully, and it stacks well with everything we have tried — and we’ve tried a lot. If you love boosting your amp into natural overdrive, you have never heard anything do this like the SuperBolt. It will make any amp into a fire-breathing dirt machine. If you want a classic tool for your guitar rig that can handle any style you throw at it, the SuperBolt is for you. We believe this is a truly unique pedal in a world full of overdrives… get a taste of something different today!

This pedal requires standard 9V DC Negative power, consumes less than 100mA, and measures 2.2"x4.3"x1.5".

 










“The SuperBolt is the result of me becoming slightly obsessed with old Supro/Valco amps from the 60’s. Years ago, I was working with an artist that had a Super at the heart of his live rig and I fell in love with the overdrive/distortion that sounded so old but somehow fit perfectly in any style of music. I remember, during a sound check, strumming a chord through that amp with the volume on 8 and being floored by the biggest rock tone I had ever heard, coming from a 1 knob amp with an 8” speaker. I started collecting Supros and other Valco amps like the Gretsch, National, Airline and Vega, finding them all over the country and building a modest collection that allowed me to understand the brand and designs as a whole. From my Thunderbolt, that I found in a Mississippi barn loft and totally restored, to my Supreme, which I saved from a garage sale in Kansas, I gathered about 10 of these amplifiers in a 2 year period. My goal was simple: I wanted to create an overdrive pedal that recreated this tone and feel in any amp.” 
–Josh Scott/Owner of JHS