The JHS 3 Series line of pedals is designed for players on a budget who are looking for boutique sound quality and vibe at a more affordable price point. Playing with the Heavy Water’s two distinct boosts against a tube amp makes for the most of its fun factor. Running it into a 30-watt tweed combo, we found it only took the lightest push from the clean boost circuit to tip the amp into full-on overdrive – and with the lows control at midday, it sounded every bit as pure and transparent as we remembered from the right-hand side of The Dane.

They are particularly useful for players who prefer the sound of their guitar and amp but want a little something extra for solos or to push their amp into overdrive territory.Whichever one you opt for, and however you’re using it, an overdrive pedal will give you a bit more of what you’ve already got, with some added grit and volume that can help you play with more feeling and expression. Generally, it's best to place the overdrive pedal before any time-based effects (such as delay or reverb) in your effects chain. This ensures that the overdrive pedal's sound is not altered by other effects.

Finally a mini-format version of one of the greatest boost/overdrives ever created. Paul Cochrane developed something wonderful and all together different with the Tim/Timmy. I spent a while with the tone controls at noon and the volumes matched trying to get them to sound the same. They're close, but the original is a little thinner and lets the original guitar sound through a bit better. The MXR seems to have a little extra low mids happening compared to the original. Bottom line, they sound very close, but still a bit different. I found myself liking the original more more than not, although on a couple of settings I liked the MXR better. Hand-built using top-of-the-line components in Hudson Electronics’ Yorkshire workshop, the Broadcast might look like it’s come straight out of a 1960s recording studio, but the ideas displayed within are innovative and original.So what I’ve been doing is using the MXR Timmy to give me a light overdrive sound, straight into the Origin 20H. By modern tastes, it probably still counts as a clean tone, but I think it’s really sweet. How Does It Compare To The Original Timmy v2? My Origin 20H doesn’t really break up on its own. The preamp will distort (in a horrible way) at extreme settings. The power amp section will overdrive if I gun it hard enough, but the sweet spot is quite small. It’s very easy to turn it into mush. The Santa Ana is a FET-based circuit, which means tons of dynamics and articulacy no matter how much gain you pump into it. It features a 4-band EQ for a wide tonal palette, separate gain and boost functions, and an A/B (American/British) switch that can be variously combined for a huge range of overdrive sounds.

I put this line-up against any for having a LEGIT guitar tone that covers many genres. I find that, even at low volumes - I can get into MESA territory.....Marshall tones can be dialed-in to cover different era Marshall heads. Not only is it a great-sounding, faithful reproduction of the most unobtainium overdrive in the business, it's also housed in a small-form-factor, 1590A-sized enclosure, meaning it doesn't take up much pedalboard real estate at all. It just doesn’t make sense for me to chase another Timmy v2. Not when this pedal from MXR is widely available. What Is A Timmy Pedal?The 3 Series Overdrive offers exactly this, featuring the build quality and great tone that JHS is known for, in a simple stripped-down chassis with basic controls that's super easy to use and sounds awesome. There are a lot of great overdrive pedals that feature circuits modeled after classic pedals and amps that can be had for a fraction of the price of the originals. Depending on what you're looking for, you can get the amazing sound of some really rare gear for a low price. I can't say whether it compares to a "real" Timmy, as it has been a long time since I had a Cochrane Timmy on the board. I used that one as a light overdrive and never maxed the eq, so it's not apples to apples. If you’re looking for the best overdrive pedal for you, then there are a few things to consider beforehand. Firstly, what are you looking to get out of it? Are you looking to use it as a boost for solos? Do you want one as the basis of your main sound? Are you using it to push an already driven amp? Thinking about the application will help you figure out what you need in an overdrive pedal. What's the difference between overdrive and distortion?