“Am I a number or am I a name?” JHS Pedals has teased a huge new drop with a riddle – and some gear fans think they’ve cracked the code

JHS Pedals has been drip-feeding some cryptic teasers ahead of a major release slated for next Monday (August 11) – and it has sent gear hounds into an absolute frenzy.

At the start of this week, JHS posted the first of four teasers, each of which added an additional line to a head-scratching riddle that now reads in full: “Forward or back, I am still the same. 5 knobs to command 3 layers of gain. Born in Japan. Built for your play. Am I a number, or am I a name?”

Pedal fans, naturally, flocked to the comments section, with many picking apart the riddle line by line in order to decipher what exactly JHS has got planned for its upcoming launch.

Some have picked up on the fact that the pedal will presumably play on a palindrome (“Forward or back, I am still the same”), leading some to predict some form of 808 overdrive pedal or DOD clone is on the cards.

“Born in Japan” plays into the 808 theory, since Ibanez is based in Japan, sure, but seemingly pours cold water on the DOD angle (its owner, Cor-Tek, is headquartered in South Korea).

So another TS seems like a safe bet, but perhaps one that doesn’t warrant such an elusive roll-out. Plus, JHS already has a Tube Screamer clone on its books in the form of the Bonsai – so what else is there to go on?

Some more resourceful players have looked at the wider JHS Instagram for clues. The two posts prior to the riddle are particularly telling, with the first containing a grid of nine multi-track recorders. The second asks, “What’s your favorite home recorded album,” apparently playing into the DIY recording vibe.

Then, a clip captioned “POV: You’re an unreleased pedal being built” was soundtracked by Spoon’s They Never Got You. Interesting, because Britt Daniel is a well-known fan of multi-track recorders such as the Tascam Portastudio 424 – an all-in-one mixer and recorder that revolutionized, yep, home recording.

Likewise, the description reads, “Imagine waking up after 30 years and seeing this”. Most likely a huge coincidence, but a version of the Tascam Portastudio 424 was launched in the mid 1990s – in other words, around 30 years ago. You can probably see where this trail leads.

As such, theorists are purporting that this mystery JHS stompbox could be a cassette preamp-style pedal inspired by the Tascam 424 – a piece of gear that has exploded in popularity in recent years thanks to everyone’s favorite new guitar hero, Mk.gee.

Famously, Mk.gee has used the Tascam to form the foundation of his lo-fi, retro-futuristic guitar tones that have since become the muse of guitar fans the world over. His work has made fans of the likes of Eric Clapton, and his debut album was widely heralded as one of 2024’s best records.

The multi-track’s status in contemporary pop culture aside – and ignoring the fact a pedal based on the Tascam 424 would be an instant hit – this particular piece of equipment seemingly fits the riddle.

424? A palindrome that is the same forward as it is backward. Tascam? A Japanese company. Granted, we’re struggling to see how the rest of the riddle fits – five knobs seems a bit sparse for a multitrack pedal – but we’re going to brush over that owing to the fact we really, really want this to be a Tascam pedal.

Not only that, JHS’ credentials in replicating direct-to-desk tones are well accounted for. After all, its hugely popular Colour Box preamp/EQ/overdrive/distortion/fuzz/DI box is based on a Neve studio console, and (again) was in part inspired by Spoon.

If you needed further convincing, that POV clip from before implies there will be an XLR jack on this as-yet-unreleased pedal, something the Colour Box – and any other DI-style pedal – will need.

This is the conclusion that many players on social media and Reddit are running with, and we’re going to run with them. A Tascam-inspired pedal that taps into Mk.gee-esque tones is definitely something we'd want to see.

Of course, we all could be barking up the wrong tree and will be looking very silly indeed if all this speculation has been totally wide of the mark. Another strong theory is that this will be a take on the Ibanez Tube King TK999 – a palindromic Japanese pedal, which has five knobs and an actual tube built in. Not quite as exciting, mind.

Whatever the case, JHS will reveal all on Monday (August 11) when it officially unveils the mystery pedal.

Keep an eye on the JHS Instagram account until then for more teasers.