JHS Collaborates with Jack White's Third Man Hardware for Signature Troika Mic Delay

This was a strange one for me - not that JHS and Jack White collaborated on a Mic Delay - with Mic Preamp and Balanced XLR Out. But the fact that the vast majority of demos use this as a standard stompbox / pedalboard delay. If I were Black Mountain - who just recently had the Jack White Roto Echo Delay out - in their shoes I would be a little peeved.

As the JHS one - which is principally designed for Jack WHite’s Microphone - is more being promoted as a general delay - in direct competition with the also 3-controls Black Mountain Roto Echo.

So much about the Troika is about enhancing the Microphone’s output - but most of the demos eschew most of that.

When I saw that it was Mic Delay - I kind of dismissed it as not being a proper stompbox - but then we had all those conventional delay demos. It seems a pretty great sounding delay either way - and those slider controls - make manipulating it a lot of fun - in a not altogether dissimilar fashion to the Black Mountain Roto Echo.

If you don’t deploy a Microphone, and already own the Roto Echo - then what rally is the point of the Troika?

Like I said - if I were Black Mountain I would be somewhat aggrieved by this marketing - as it doesn’t state - ’Also delivers conventional pedalboard delay’ but rather kind of leads with that. 

This move will undoubtedly cannibalise the Roto Echo and sort of muddy the waters there. JHS is a much bigger property than Black Mountain - and will no doubt pulverise them on the marketing front.

This launch doesn’t quite sit well with me - while I do admire the technology - and indeed wouldn’t mind if I had one of those. I do have a Mic Stand after all - but really don’t use it much besides with the RC-600 Looper - which is currently off the board.

External Controls - Repeats, Volume, Distance (Delay Time = 80ms to 1000ms), Mic Preamp Gain : +20dB > +80dB.

Internal Controls - Input : Mic / Instrument, Trails : On/Off.

Ports - Combined Mic / Instrument Input (Use Internal Switch to Select Input Type), 9V DC [-] mA, Balanced Output (Dry Signal Only When Echo Output is Used), SIDE } Dry / Wet Output (Dry Signal Only When Echo Output is Used), Echo Output.

It has a simple but still fairly potent control topology - and Myriad Ports for different inputs and outputs - with some further internal mode switches too.

The Troika [Mic] Delay goes for $349 and equivalent on the JHS Pedal Webstore. The Yellow limited edition version was only available via Reverb.com. While I dithered on the article a touch - and those limited editions are all sold by now.

It makes perfect sense if you want to deploy some cool vocal effects. I assume there are elements here from JHS’s Digital Flight Time Delay. Makes a lot more since if you don’t already have the Black Mountain Roto Echo. A little less sense if you do - especially if you don’t intend to deploy it with a Microphone.

It’s a beautifully engineered wedge-shape device - so I have no qualms about the quality of side. Just find the marketing a little odd - especially in regard to the Roto Echo - it doesn’t quite seem fair?