Tera-pies

The Marshall JVM isn't exactly the most sought after amp in the history of guitar amplification, let alone the history of high gain amplification. But it is, at least to me, an underrated workhorse, allowing any guitarists to dial a myriad of guitar tones on the fly; from passable cleans to heavy downtuned metal, and almost everything in between.

Right off the bat, you'll be happy to note that the Weehbo JVM Drive comes with a 3-band eq. I feel that any so-called high gain or amp-replacement pedal should at least have separate knobs for bass, middle and treble; it just makes it easier to fine tune and sculpt tones than with a single tone knob. The eq knobs on this pedal is quite responsive though. I hate to use this cliche, but it does feel amp-like in terms of how it responds. This could work as the perfect backup rig, or on gigs where you can't get a particular high gain amp that you like.

There are quite a few interesting features on here as well. The first is a 9v-18v dynamic internal supply voltage switch. This essentially adjusts the amount of headroom the pedal would be able to dish out, thus changing the overall feel and sound being produced;

9v setting;

The keywords here are compressed, squashed, focused, tight, and modern. This setting is perfect for the "modern" sounding distortion dwellers like yours truly, or if you're the type of person who plays in low volume.

18v setting;

This adds more headroom and definition to the distortion. Think of a more open and classic-rock inspired sound. It's also perfect if you need your sound to cut through a mix, without being too shrill or piercy.

Then there's the input knob. I've never really had experience with input knobs with other distortion pedals before, so it was a first for me. What this knob does, is essentially controlling the level of impedance, and according to the website, "amount of bass". "So there's basically two bass knobs?", you're thinking. Not quite. I think the input knob adjusts the "sag" of the distortion, which I guess does affect how "bassy" your tone would sound. It's a lot easier to understand when you twiddle this knob around when playing palm muted riffs. It's that extra "thunk" you get when you palm mute.

Let's not forget that this is a 2 channel pedal! The easiest way for me to differentiate the two channels is that channel 1 would be your rhythm channel, while 2 is for your lead, as it's got more compression and more bite. In channel 2 you basically get more sizzle, but lose some of the chunk. Perfect for leads. It's also good for thrash. But I personally wouldn't use channel 2 for modern metal riffing. The better route for that would be to pair channel 1 with another overdrive or eq pedal(I used a Xotic BB Preamp for this demo, which did wonders!). In terms of gain, channel 1 starts of at Green Day/Billy Talent like overdrive-distortion, and cranking it all the way towards the end, and you can get up to modern rock/post hardcore territory, minus the mud and over-fizziness.

So to recap; a handbuilt J-rock/modern rock in a box pedal from Germany, with super responsive, amp-like distortion and tonal shaping. Is it worth the price? That's up to you to decide.