Jetter Gear GS124

Der GS124 hat in 2014 in den USA seit seinem Release für extreme Furore gesorgt und ist mit Sicherheit eine der heißesten Neuerscheinigungen 2014.

Based on its name, one might imagine that Jetter Gear’s GS124 is some exotic time-travel circuit or plant varietal that fictional scientists might chase across time and space. In reality, it’s a rugged overdrive pedal that will reproduce the pleasing electric sizzle of an overdriven amp. In its own way, then, GS124 will take musicians on their own escapades, albeit across the sonic spectrum rather than the space-time continuum.

The pedal, like others, is simple to control. Jetter Gear gives the user just three parameters to control: Level, Drive, and Contour. Level, of course, controls the output volume of the effected signal. Drive and Contour adjust both the amount of overdrive and its tonal qualities, respectively.

The GS124 produces a wide range of overdrive, from the subtle to the not-so-subtle. The pedal’s “sweet spot” for complex chording is between 11 o’clock and 2 o’clock on the Drive knob. At these moderate settings, this user could strum jazzy chords like the famous E major flat seven sharp nine and make out the individual notes. However, above two o’clock the unit became so overdriven that the distortion worked best for power chord-type riffing or single-note phrases. But who plays a complex chord like E flat 7 sharp nine at full distortion? Okay, so maybe Jimi Hendrix did, but probably not with a totally overdriven amplifier. In actuality, the GS124 could also produce a pleasingly “round,” slightly fuzzy sound that mimicked Hendrix’s tone as heard in “All Along the Watchtower.”

The more adventurous nomads in the land of overdrive will be happy to learn that when it comes to an all-out sonic assault, the GS124 will rock as hard as the Marty McFlys of the world want it to rock. Indeed, the GS124 surprised this user with the sheer quantity of overdrive that it could produce. At the Drive knob’s highest setting of 5 o’clock, Nirvana’s “Breed” sounded almost like the recording from Nevermind, complete with a bit of compression. Yet the pedal never buzzed or made this writer’s poor technique too apparent. Marty can rest assured that he’ll rock the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance without fear of incidental string noise or noisy pick attack.

The GS124 sounded like a unit designed more for the higher end of the sonic spectrum than the lower end. Despite the ample room the Contour knob gives for lower-frequency overdrive—the neutral setting is not at noon, but instead, 1 o’clock—the higher settings struck one’s ear as somehow more musical and useable. It is not that the low end was muddled. Rather, it’s a matter of character, and the GS124’s character seemed such that its overdrive really sang when the pedal was adjusted for a more trebly profile.

With smooth and uniform overdrive, Jetter’s GS124 overdrive is a worthy contender for the buy-curious musician. From Nirvana’s noise-pop to Hendrix’s blues-rock, this pedal can overdrive in whichever way the player wants. Oh, and no need for a thunderstorm or Mr. Fusion—this baby runs on the standard nine volts with a relatively low draw, not 1.21 gigawatts.