German brand JCA Pedals has recently arrived at Andertons

Stefan Jahn’s JCA Pedals brand has found its way to Andertons somehow. It’s not a brand I’m particularly familiar with - in fact the Instagram page only goes back to March 11th. The JCA Pedal and Amps website states that this brand has been going for some years already (YouTube indicates 8 years at least) - while I’m pretty sure relatively few are aware of its existence! Also - not to be confused with the UK’s JSA Pedals!

Currently the product range features one really smart 2 x EL84 20W Twenty II Amp with smart ’PowerDimmer’ attenuation - which takes the output down to just 1/2 a watt with no loss of dynamics or flavour. And you then have the 3 pedals which are all available at Andertons - the 45 (JTM45), Texas Flood S.E. (SRV TS9+), and the Machine Head (Marshall Major).

• 45 (JTM45) - £199
• Texas Flood S.E. (SRV TS9) - £219
• Machine Head (Marshall Major) - £219

There’s nothing new or seemingly particularly innovative here - and we already have notable editions for each of those pedals from some fairly significant brands.

We already have the J Rockett .45 Caliber, and Zvex Box of Rock - as notable examples of the JTM45. There are around a dozen ’Texas Flood’ variants already out there including ones by Cast Engineering, and the UK’s Pedal Pawn Cowboy King. Finally, for the Marshall Major we already have the killer Menatone Pig, and Skreddy Major. So coverage of those pedal variants is already very significant.

I’m not disputing the quality or output of the JCA ones - which I see somewhat most adjacent to J Rockett in terms of overall appeal. I’m just saying that there is at least superficially nothing new here - and we already have numerous options for those 3 pedal types.

The Texas Flood S.E. is probably the most attractive / appealing of the 3 - which are all priced at the typical boutique pedal price - just south of or north of the £200 mark. In fact JCA’s Stefan contacted me with the following update which I include verbatim :

"Hi, I’d like to clarify that my Texas Flood pedal isn’t just another clone of the T808 or T909. That would be unnecessary, as there are already thousands of variations of these. My pedal simulates the entire SRV signal chain and enables a very authentic sound. You can hear it in various videos on YouTube. Many thanks and best regards, Stefan from JCA"

I don’t specifically have a Texas Flood type to date - so that one is the most interesting one for me personally. I’m not sure the brand cachet here is particularly strong - but these are undoubtedly pretty decent pedals - even though there are a number of similar ones already out there. I’m not sure that JCA has done enough here to sufficiently distinguish itself from its many competitors. I still really like the tone-on-tone look of the Texas Flood - which would be my pick of the bunch.

Reviewers seem particularly keen on the Machine Head here. I personally am always happy to see new brands in the mix. And it will be interesting to see how this one fares within those dynamics and contexts!

Further details on each below!