JAM RetroVibe

128 Guitarist March 2015
JAM PEDALS £165-£255
PEDAL ROUND-UP
JAM Rattler
PRICE: £169
ORIGIN: Greece
TYPE: Distortion pedal
FEATURES: True-bypass
CONTROLS: Level,
tone, gain
CONNECTIONS: Standard
input, standard output
POWER: 9V battery or 9V
DC supply (6mA)
DIMENSIONS:
60 (w) x
111 (d) x 32mm (h)
A
nyone wondering where the
inspiration for the Rattler came
from should check out the first
three letters of its name. Yep, it’s based
on a vintage Pro Co RAT pedal. Featuring
the rare NOS LM308N chip and an
asymmetrical clipping circuit, the
Rattler offers a range of sounds from a
clean boost, through various driven amp
scenarios to an all-out distortion with a
fuzzy edge. This is all delivered via a tone
knob with a huge strident top-end
presence fully clockwise that reduces as
you wind it back to a mellower, although
never dull, vibe. It’s no bad thing that the
Rattler can pretty much nail the sound of
a vintage RAT (we checked it against our
1980s model), but we reckon that its
wide range of harmonically-rich
distortion tones, combined with
dynamic responsiveness, make it a great
asset for anyone’s pedalboard.
Verdict
It might be a RAT-inspired pedal, but the
Rattler proves itself to be a distortion for
most occasions.
GUITARIST RATING
Guitarist says: Who said you should never
step on a rattler?
JAM Big Chill
PRICE: £229
ORIGIN: Greece
TYPE: Tremolo pedal
FEATURES: True-bypass
CONTROLS: Level, depth,
speed 1, speed 2, square/
sine/triangle switch,
2x internal trimmer (CHOP
effect level, speed 2 level),
CHOP footswitch
CONNECTIONS: Standard
input, standard output,
2x expression pedal input
POWER: 9V battery or 9V
DC supply (15mA)
DIMENSIONS: 120 (w) x
94 (d) x 30mm (h)
T
he Big Chill offers vintage-style
sounds with a range of practical
features. You can choose from
three tremolo waveforms — sine, triangle
and square — and have the option of two
speeds, selectable by a second
footswitch. Each speed is set with its
own knob, while there’s an internal
control to set the second speed quieter or
louder than the first. There’s also a knob
for tremolo depth and one for the output
volume that offers a useful boost (set the
trem depth to zero for boost only); you
can also use external expression pedals
to control tremolo depth and the second
tremolo speed. A third footswitch brings
in the CHOP effect, a more brutal square
wave on/off tremolo that chops the
audio into segments. The classy range of
sounds, including vintage Fender, should
suit most players’ tremolo needs, but it’s
the switching and control that set this
apart from other pedals.
Verdict
While the vintage tone hits the spot,
versatility is the key word here.
GUITARIST RATING
Guitarist says: A practical feature set
makes this a great trem for live work
GIT391.rev_ped1.indd 128 22/01/2015 14:55