JHS The Bonsai

The Bonsai is JHS’ tribute to one of the greatest pedals ever created – the Tube Screamer. Following in the steps of their Muffuletta, the Bonsai utilizes a simple rotary knob to switch through nine classic, vintage, rare, or hard to find variations of the Screamer.

The Bonsai is exact replication, not emulation.  When you choose a mode on the Bonsai rotary, you are actually activating components specific to each mode and playing the circuit Josh chose along with all the quirks, drift, vintage mojo, and individuality that a vintage pedal has.

Lets take a look at the 9 modes of the Bonsai based on the 9 pedals

OD-1 – 1977
An overall brighter and slightly higher gain mode that does not utilize the Tone knob. This mode also inverts signal just like the original and has asymmetrical clipping. The OD-1 is magical at boosting other drives or amps into singing saturation.

TS-808 – 1979
The classic low gain with that signature pronounced mid range.

TS-9 – 1982
Nearly identical to the TS-808 but with a slightly more pushed low-mid range.

MSL, Power or L Series – 1985
Though metal is in the name, this sound doesn’t quite inspire the modern metal djent we think of.  Still it has a higher gain sound with a more low end and an overall more gooey feel.

TS-10 – 1986
Made famous by John Mayer, this model is a slight upgrade from the TS9 for the late ’80s. Bluesy, crisp, more low end roll off and low gain.

Exar OD-1 1989
The EXAR is a Polish made TS-style pedal that has a slightly different drive character with a little more gain than the classic screamers as well as a slightly more transparent feel.

TS-7 (+mode) – 1999
The hot mode on this version gives you the highest gain sound in the Bonsai. More low end and dirt fill out the tone to have you shredding away.

Keeley Mod Plus – 2002
Robert Keeley’s classic mod tightens up the tone on the original giving you smoother mid range and high frequencies, and increased bass response.

JHS Strong Mod – 2008
Our own mod we’ve been doing since 2008 is much cleaner and overall more powerful. The mode has more pronounced higher nd low end drop offs.

JHS The Bonsai demo video