Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
JHS Pedals collaborates with The Beach Boys and Sweetwater to deliver 2 facets of their legendary signature sound - a Wrecking Crew style Bass Rig, and a Classic Photocell Uni-Vibe
Josh Scott goes back to early Shine-Ei and Univox for his inspiration for the aesthetic of his duo of Beach Boys inspired pedals. Using a very streamlined Black and White format - which is nicely punctuated with period-correct Orange Amp knobs!
I rather prefer Keeley’s take on Beach Boy inspired pedals - but wholly understand how Josh arrived at this endpoint - which is most definitely period-correct versus its source origins - but still not particularly aesthetically inspiring.
As a guitar player I don’t have any particular interest in Bass Pedals or Rigs, and while I love how the Good Vibrations Uni-Vibe sounds, I don’t find that pedal’s form factor or looks particularly inspiring - a little bit oversized and nondescript for me!
These are limited edition pedals (only 1,000 of each I believe), and only available courtesy of Sweetwater’s Beach Boys Studio Effects Collection.
Here follow the individual pedal details :
Good Vibrations Classic Photocell Uni-Vibe - $299
Controls - Mode : Chorus / Vibrato, Volume, Intensity, Speed.
A very faithful take on the original Photocell Uni-Vibe types, fairly large format, but not quite so large as the Univox originals. Josh Scott pretty much stripped down his own Unicorn circuit and started again - to deliver the most authentic sound possible.
This pedal certainly sounds the part, while I'm not sure it particularly looks the part for my preferences. I kind of prefer the Keeley approach to the brief - while I can totally understand how Josh arrived at this resolution. He needed to sort of lean into the Univox original - which determined the format and orientation to a large degree - I would have preferred it in the white Keeley Beach Boys enclosure - but realise that would mean that it wasn't properly authentic to the originals!
So I like it, but not enough to acquire one. It's a little plain looking, and slightly larger than what I would be comfortable with.
Still a really great sounding Uni-Vibe - which is really good value at this price point!
Punchline Wrecking Crew style Bass Station - $499
Controls - COMPRESSOR } Comp Ratio, Threshold, Gain, Position : Comp Pre / Comp Post; DRIVE } Volume, Drive, Tone, Clean-Blend; AMP SIM } Volume, Gain, Switch : Amp On / Amp Off, Presence, EQ } Master Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Compressor On/Off Footswitch, Drive On/Off Footswitch.
Really cool all-in-one 60's style Bass Rig - with Compressor, Drive with Clean Blend, Amp Sim, and 3-Band EQ.
This is mostly analogue I believe with possibly some DSP assistance on the Amp Sim section but perhaps not - perhaps it is all-analog - not 100% sure though.
If you're looking for a period-correct 1960's Bass Rig - then this cleverly combines all the essentials into one box. It's a little imposing, but very much self-contained. As mentioned in the intro Josh Scott leans here into a 1960's Japanese aesthetic here - reminiscent of brands like Shin-Ei and Univox.
Featuring also a smart use of classic Orange amp knobs - which also originated in that 1960's era.
This is most definitely inspired by the Tech 21 NYC Sansamp and Fly-Rig pedals!
If you're looking to specifically recreate 1960's Bass sounds - then this Punchline Bass Rig is a quite brilliant all-in-one solution.
