JHS Charlie Brown V4 Channel Drive Pedal

The JHS Charlie Brown V4 is an amp-in-a-box overdrive designed to put the thick, chewy character of a classic Marshall JTM45 onto your pedalboard. Built around vintage British crunch rather than modern high-gain distortion, the Charlie Brown covers everything from lower-gain '60s-style breakup to thicker, more saturated rock tones while retaining the dynamic response of a cranked tube amplifier.

Volume and Drive are designed to interact much like the master volume and gain controls of an amplifier. Turn up the Drive for more grit and saturation, or back off your guitar's volume control to clean up the sound without sacrificing clarity. This amp-like response also makes the Charlie Brown a strong foundation for stacking with additional overdrive, boost, and fuzz pedals.

The V4 adds a full Marshall-style three-band tone stack with independent Bass, Middle, and Treble controls. Unlike simple passive tone controls, all three EQ controls are active, allowing you to boost or cut their respective frequency ranges. This gives the Charlie Brown considerably more flexibility for matching different guitars, pickups, amplifiers, and speaker combinations.

Version 4 also introduced the Charlie Brown's current yellow enclosure, five-control layout, and U-shaped knob arrangement. Compared with earlier versions, the V4 combines the core JTM45-inspired drive circuit with much more detailed tone shaping while retaining the straightforward feel of a traditional amplifier channel.

Key Features

• JTM45-inspired amp-in-a-box overdrive
• Vintage British-style crunch and overdrive
• Wide Drive range from light breakup to thick, saturated rock tones
• Volume and Drive controls interact similarly to an amplifier's gain and master volume
• Responds dynamically to changes in guitar volume
• Full Marshall-style three-band EQ
• Active Bass, Middle, and Treble controls provide boost and cut
• Works well as a standalone drive or stacked with other overdrive pedals
• V4 yellow enclosure and five-control U-shaped layout

Specifications

• Effect Type: Overdrive / Amp-in-a-Box
• Controls: Volume, Drive, Bass, Middle, Treble
• Power: Standard 9V DC, center-negative
• Current Draw: 9mA
• Dimensions: 2.6" x 4.8" x 1.6"
• Power Supply: Sold separately