FreeTheToneRed JasperRJ-1V £239
High-qualityoverdrivewithamp-apingtones
CONTACT: Guitar XS PHONE: 01227 832558 WEB: www.freethetone.com
Billedas FreeTheTone’sfirst ‘low-gainoverdrive’,theRed Jasperissimilarinsizetoits HeatBlasterHB-2distortion withafairlywide100mmdiecast findwhattheJapaneseeffects makercallsitsHolisticTonal Solutioncircuitry,whichruns offa9-voltcentre-negative PSUorbattery,whilecurrent drawisafairlyhungry15mA.
Fortheuninitiated,FreeThe TonesaysHTScombinesthe bestaspectsoftruebypassand bufferedcircuits.Inbrief,the circuitfiltersoutnoisefrom redundantfrequenciesinthe inputsignalandalsofeaturesa noiselesson-offswitch.Italso ensuresthattheoutput impedanceoftheRedJasper remainsconstantwhenitis switchedonandoff.Control layoutissimplicityitselfwith Level,Hi-CutandGaindials theonlytweakables.
Sounds
DesignerYukiHayashitoldus thatboththenaturaloverdrive ofcrankedvalveampsand Klon’sCentaurinspiredthe pedal’ssound–althoughwe’d saytheRedJasperislessglassy
Verdict
andtoppythansomeKloninspired anextremelymusical,flattering characterallitsown.Itseemsto workbestpluggedintosmallish EL84-basedamps,producinga detaileddrivetonewithan incisiveedgebutanopenand airybloom.
Pluggingintoa6L6-powered ampwithmoreheadroom accentuatedsofterfuzz-tonesat thecostofsomebiteand definition.Wegotthebest resultsherebyusingtheJasper asacleanboost,withgainlow andlevelhigh,tosweetenand lifttheamp’snaturaltonerather thanasafull-outoverdrive. Ifyouwantanoverdrivepedal thatthinksit’sagoodamp,this couldbeforyou:warm,naturalsounding suitblues,jazz-fusionand classicrocktoatee. [JD]
GUITARIST RATING:
Guitaristsays: Thispedalisn’t cheap,butthere’snosnake-oil here:oneofthemore sophisticatedandcharacterful overdriveswe’vetried