JHS Colour Box V2 Preamp Pedal - 10th Anniversary Edition

Celebrate ten years of the JHS Colour Box with the Colour Box V2 10th Anniversary Edition, also known by JHS as the Colour Box 10. Finished in a special pro-audio-inspired blue colorway with red, blue, and gray controls, this anniversary version delivers the full studio-grade preamp, EQ, overdrive, distortion, fuzz, and DI functionality of the standard Colour Box V2 in a distinctive commemorative enclosure.

The original Colour Box grew out of JHS's goal of recreating the sound of plugging an instrument directly into a vintage studio console and pushing the preamp into saturation. The result is a flexible analog tone-shaping tool that can move from clean studio preamp sounds to compressed overdrive, distortion, and fuzz. It isn't limited to electric guitar either—the Colour Box can be used with acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards, microphones, drums, synths, re-amping setups, and other studio or live sources.

The red Gain section uses Master, Pre-Vol, and Step controls. Master sets the overall output level, while Pre-Vol controls the gain between the two internal preamp stages and determines how hard the circuit is driven. Step provides five fixed gain stages of +18dB, +23dB, +28dB, +33dB, and +39dB. A Hi/Lo switch changes the available headroom: Lo is designed for cleaner preamp and EQ work, while Hi allows the circuit to break up much more readily for overdrive, distortion, and fuzz.

The V2's expanded EQ section pairs conventional Treble, Middle, and Bass boost/cut controls with three Shift controls that move the frequency range affected by each band. Treble provides ±15dB with an adjustable 2kHz–30kHz range, Middle provides ±10dB across 150Hz–2.4kHz, and Bass provides ±15dB across 20Hz–440Hz. This makes the Colour Box substantially more flexible than a conventional three-band guitar EQ and allows it to function as a detailed recording and mixing-style tone shaper.

A switchable second-order high-pass filter provides a 12dB-per-octave slope with an adjustable cutoff from 160Hz to 650Hz. For microphone use, the Colour Box V2 includes a combination XLR/1/4" input, an INST/XLR selector, and a -20dB pad for controlling hotter microphone signals. It can also safely pass 48V phantom power supplied by a connected console or audio interface through to a condenser microphone; the Colour Box itself does not generate phantom power.

Version 2 also adds an output transformer, expanded clean headroom, silent switching, and compatibility with standard pedalboard power. The result is a pedal that can serve as a clean studio preamp and DI, a highly adjustable EQ, or a source of increasingly saturated preamp drive depending on how it is configured.

Key Features

• Special 10th Anniversary pro-audio-inspired colorway
• Studio-grade preamp, EQ, overdrive, distortion, fuzz, and DI functionality
• Master, Pre-Vol, and five-position Step gain controls
• Step gain settings of +18dB, +23dB, +28dB, +33dB, and +39dB
• Hi/Lo switch for clean headroom or increased saturation
• Treble, Middle, and Bass boost/cut controls
• Independent Treble Shift, Mid Shift, and Bass Shift frequency controls
• Treble EQ: ±15dB, adjustable from 2kHz–30kHz
• Middle EQ: ±10dB, adjustable from 150Hz–2.4kHz
• Bass EQ: ±15dB, adjustable from 20Hz–440Hz
• Switchable 12dB/octave high-pass filter adjustable from 160Hz–650Hz
• Combination XLR and 1/4" input for microphones or instruments
• INST/XLR input selector
• -20dB pad for high-output microphone sources
• Safely passes externally supplied 48V phantom power to condenser microphones
• Output transformer
• Silent switching
• Suitable for guitar, bass, acoustic instruments, microphones, keyboards, synths, drums, re-amping, and other sources

Specifications

• Effect Types: Preamp / EQ / Overdrive / Distortion / Fuzz / DI Box
• Controls: Master, Pre-Vol, Step, Hi Pass, Treble, Middle, Bass, Treble Shift, Mid Shift, Bass Shift
• Switches: Hi Pass On/Off, Hi/Lo, -20dB Pad, INST/XLR
• Input: Combination XLR / 1/4"
• Outputs: 1/4" and XLR
• Phantom Power: Passes externally supplied 48V phantom power
• Power: Standard 9V DC, center-negative only
• Dimensions: 5.7" x 3.75" x 1.85"
• Important: Do not power the Colour Box V2 with anything greater than 9V DC.