JHS Pedals JHS Little Black Amp Box Signal Converter

I was surprised with this device. JHS typically makes high quality guitar effects pedals but I wasn't sure how well this utility pedal was going to work.I did a lot of of research and watched videos where people demoed this attached to their amp. I am skeptical sometimes because you need to often try it for yourself to see how well it works.This was the most simple and cost effective solution I have found to reduce the sound of a very loud tube amp. This allows me to use my Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue 40 watt amp in my bedroom. Some of these Tube Driven Fenders are known to be extremely loud while trying to practice with it in your home. You normally need to play with the volume and try to find a spot between 1 and 2 that is just right. When you do this though you lose a lot of the warmth or natural distortion of an overdriven tube amp.For this product you just need to place it in the effects loop on the amp and you can crank up your amp's volume or drive to get those warm or distorted tube sounds without the extreme volumes.One volume knob on the Little Black Amp Box allows you to dial in the volume you need. Couldn't be more simple and works great!!! If you are not professionally recording with your amp or something skip the expensive power attenuator options and get one of these instead.

Just bought a Hot Rod Deluxe which is notorious for its linear volume knob. I popped this baby in the effects loop and now I can play at reasonable levels while still pushing the preamp tubes. I guess there’s a few important things to know if you’re interested in this so I’ll get info as much as I can think of...This is a passive volume pedal. It’s pretty much the same as having a passive volume pedal in your effects loop except you control volume with a knob instead of a rocker pedal. It doesn’t need a power supply and uses a knob instead of a rocker. Technically you could just use a volume pedal if you don’t want to spend the money on this.This pedal basically adds a master volume control to your amp which will let you get your preamp tubes cooking but not the power tubes. I like preamp distortion but if you’re looking for power tube distortion you absolutely cannot get it with this. Only a load box or attenuator will allow you to get power amp distortion from your amp. This is absolutely not a substitute for an attenuator or load box.All that said, I love it. I’ve got a 10 month old baby and a wife who (like most wives) isn’t a big fan of hearing my amp echo through the house when I play. I would say I play at bedroom levels but everyone’s definition of that is different. My bedroom level is slightly louder than what my 17 year old self would consider bedroom levels. Either way, I’m able to play at a reasonable level and the amp sounds great. I’m able to turn the amp up to between 6 and 8 which is my sweet spot for the Hot Rod Deluxe and I have this pedal set at about 2 and it’s a great balance between being able to hear the amp’s tone and having the level at a point where my wife can still hear it but it’s low enough for her to tune it out and watch Twilight or whatever Harry Potter marathon is playing on TV.This is also a great tool for recording. A lot of people think that you can just send a line out from the effects loop to your interface and use an IR to record loud guitars but that’s only half the story. Even your interface can be overwhelmed if your signal is too hot and you’ll get clipping. If you’re in a situation like that then this box will work regardless of whether you’re using a tube amp or solid state.Bottom line: awesome for tube amps or amps without a master volume. This is a really easy circuit to build yourself like everyone says but forget that. I’m happy to pay less than $40 to have it done for me by a reputable company and delivered within a day or two.

Don't waste your money on a crazy expensive attenuator. This thing is freaking awesome! My rig has never sounded so good. No longer has that choked feel to it. Highs are bright and shimmering and the low end kicks some butt at bedroom volume. Every guitar player should own one.

Amazing little gadget, works like a charm on high gain amps, lower gain you loose a little bit of gritt when you turn the volume down on the JHS pedal. Otherwise i would have given it 5stars, it's worth 5stars. Very economic and compact, no power source needed.I can play my Marshall DSL 100W amp at bedroom levels with the amp volume at 7 through a 4×2 Marshall cab! That would normally blow your roof off!Pleasantly pleased. A must have for a guitarist with kids in the house

The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is a staple amp for me. The clean channel, especially when driven hard, is one of the best clean sounds I’ve heard at any price range. (To my ears... it’s all subjective, but I am not alone here.) But the amp has a major flaw: The volume pot is awful. Turn it just a hair up past zero, and it’s already too loud to play indoors. Turn it to 2 and it’s deafening. Go beyond 2 and it sounds amazing, but it is deafening.Enter the JHS little amp box. The always on (and series) nature of the Hot Rod Deluxe effect loop is a perfect match for the little amp box. Plug it in, set volume very low on the JHS, crank the amp volume to get the preamp tubes “happy” and slowly add in volume with the JHS box. Nice breakup, nice warm tone, and all at a usable volume.Does it sound as good as when fully cranked? No. The speaker won’t be stressed nor will the power amp, but warming up the preamp stage sounds great.An EQ pedal could have the same effect (and more) in the loop, BTW. Mine is being used with a different amp, however, and the little black amp box was a cheaper solution. Very effective and sounds great.

I recently bought the Soldano SLO Mino 30-watt Solid State Amp Head. I was worried about not being able to play at bedroom level and at night. I was also having a problem dialing in a clean sound from the Hi Gain SLO Mini. With the JHS Little Black Amp Box I can play cleaner with less noise and really crank the gain to get some amazing tone! So worth it. Works for solid state amps too. It can change the way your time-based pedals sound if they are also in the FX loop too but it's doable. Especially if you have an EQ pedal in the loop to tweak things.

Works as should. I use it with a Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue and now have a master volume for my clean channel for a great added bonus AND can tame the overall drive channel.