The JHS Colour Box V2 Preamp Pedal started life as an idea to create a Neve studio console in a pedal to achieve sounds of 'direct in' electric guitar recordings (used by bands like the Beatles and Steely Dan) it became a fully fledged studio grade preamplifier, DI box, EQ and distortion generator with multi instrument compatibility.

The Colour Box V2 has expanded on the functionality of the V1 with some great additions including an output transformer and ability to pass 48 V phantom power to your condenser mics, EQ Shift knobs for precision EQ control, Hi/Lo gain switch for ultra clean headroom, 100% available clean signal even on acoustic guitar, silent no pop switching and also now runs on standard 9 V DC Neg power.

The Gain section in red has three controls Master, Pre-Vol and Step, the Master controls the overall volume of the unit, the Pre-Vol controls the amount of gain between the two internal gain stages acting as a drive or gain control adding more grit, distortion and even fuzz as you increase the gain and the Step rotary switch increases the gain of the two preamp stages in five steps as follows: 1st is +18 dB, 2nd is +23 dB, 3rd is +28 dB, 4th is +33 dB, 5th is +39 dB. The Hi / Lo gain switch controls the amount of clean headroom you have available, in the Lo mode (low gain) you will easily be able to get ultra clean sounds without breakup, excellent for tone shaping when distortion is not needed, in the Hi mode it will distort much more readily, giving you a broad spectrum of overdrive, distortion and fuzz sounds. In addition to the Hi / Lo gain switch there is a -20 dB pad switch on the right side of the pedal to prevent clipping with high output microphones (only works in XLR input mode).

The EQ section in blue has three new Shift controls that adjust the range of frequencies the Treble, Middle and Bass knobs control. The centre frequencies for the Shift knobs are Treble: 10 kHz, Middle: 1 kHz and Bass: 120 Hz and the Treble, Middle and Bass knobs boost or cut by +/- 17 dB. So for example if you want to boost high mid frequencies, turn the Mid Shift knob to 3 o'clock or above and increase the Middle knob above 12 o'clock or if you want to cut upper treble frequencies, turn the Treble Shift knob to 3 o'clock or above and set the Treble knob below 12 o'clock. The Shift knobs give you precision control over the EQ for anything you put through the Colour Box V2. The frequencies controlled by Shift Knobs are Treble: 1 kHz - 15 kHz +/- 15 dB, Mid: 160 Hz - 2.5 kHz +/- 10 dB, Bass: 20 Hz - 400 Hz +/-15 dB, HPF 160 Hz - 650 Hz 3 dB per octave filter. The Hi Pass section is enabled by the toggle switch below the Hi Pass knob, just flip it up to engage the control knob which spans from 60 Hz to 800 Hz with a 6 dB per octave slope.

The JHS Colour Box V2 has a combination XLR and 1/4" input jack to use with either an instrument or microphone, just select your input with the switch on the right side of the pedal labelled INST/XLR. The 1/4" mono output and XLR output are independent and allow you to run parallel outputs to two destinations e.g. run the 1/4" mono out into your guitar amplifier and at the same time run the XLR output to the front of house mixing board or for use when tracking amp tones and the 'direct in' sound of your performance onto two separate tracks.

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