The New JHS NOTAKLON pedal kit is going crazy

Fizz

Fizz

Well-known member
Anyone seen the new JHS Notaklon? I had posted a similar thread here about the Mojotone pedal kit but this one has sold out of the first 3000 kits and now being sold as a preorder. People are now selling their new ones for $250 on reverb.. it's just crazy IMO.. they need to come here and build a real pedal kit.
 
I'd be out of a hobby if people knew how easy it was to build a Kliche Mini with actual germanium for under $40. I think it's mostly just novelty and scalpers driving this. Say what you will about JHS products, but the guy's a marketing genius.
 
There's a couple of threads going on this already, but you've got an interesting point about whether some of the people who build these will "get the bug", go deeper down the rabbit hole, and end up here. The last update I saw said they had sold 20,000 NotaKlons in a few days. I bet some of those buyers turn into full fledged DIY builders.

Like @synthesiserror at first I wondered how all these kits going out into the world would affect the demand for DIY built Klones. I bet the "Klon Brand" getting bigger ultimately means Robert sells more Kliche boards.

I have a nephew who's a lego nut and recently started taking guitar lessons. I might grab him a notaklon at some point.
 
synthesiserror said:
but the guy's a marketing genius.
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Did you hear that from him?…

All JHS is good at marketing is hipster hype…a totally legitimate product. Pedal-wise…eh. For example; the new Ross pedals should be $99, the whole thing with that DOD OD that no one cares about anymore, the Lizard Queen thing…that no one cares about. How many people are taking about the Rat Pack?…

As a pedal company, JHS makes average effects at boutique prices. As a “brand,” JHS is very good at marketing the hype. But you can only do that for so long. Eventually you run out if things to hype (look at the latest iPhone)…
 
Coda said:
Did you hear that from him?…

All JHS is good at marketing is hipster hype…a totally legitimate product. Pedal-wise…eh. For example; the new Ross pedals should be $99, the whole thing with that DOD OD that no one cares about anymore, the Lizard Queen thing…that no one cares about. How many people are taking about the Rat Pack?…

As a pedal company, JHS makes average effects at boutique prices. As a “brand,” JHS is very good at marketing the hype. But you can only do that for so long. Eventually you run out if things to hype (look at the latest iPhone)…
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Don't get me wrong, I agree with you on all counts.

But I think they are more popular with guitarists in general than you think.
 
Coda said:
Did you hear that from him?…

All JHS is good at marketing is hipster hype…
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There are a lotta hipsters with disposable income. And he's got a pretty solid carve of pedal sales. Just looking at Reverb's best selling of 2022 he has at least two items on that list.

Just saying that I'm not gonna bet against him keeping this going. Someone who can spin something meh and make it a big deal... There's lots of meh stuff out there to spin.
 
Coda said:
All JHS is good at marketing is hipster hype
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I don't think JHS is marketing to 'hipsters' (—has that been a thing since 2012?). Their products are mass-marketed effects that have the sheen of 'boutique' (ref. EQD, Walrus, etc.), but for the terminally online that think his self-aware schtick is charming and believe he's truly giving an insider look behind the curtain with his infomercials.
Fama said:
But I think they are more popular with guitarists in general than you think.
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They have very developed brand recognition, a solid distribution network, fast scaling that can cope with huge initial demand (i.e., before people get bored of it), and ubiquitous product presence.

Most consumers don't spend hours a day in the world of guitar effects. They are a very visible brand and their products are easy to buy. It doesn't matter whether they are the best, most fairly priced, most capable, or whatever else—they are a known (and trusted) name with a very easy-to-buy product.

If there are countless YATS and other YA[insert whatever], maybe it doesn't matter which one you choose.
 
I haven't found a JHS pedal I like, nearly all of his pedals are clones with some extra mod that usually makes it sound worse.
How much does it cost for that whole NOTAKLON surface mount PCB.
It's the same quality as what's coming out of China fully built for $30.00!
I have built 2 JHS clones & don't care for either of them!
I own a lot of OEM pedals & not one JHS.
His milked the Angry Charles & all the spinoffs & it's a bad mod of the original MI Audio Crunch Boxes!
 
It might surprise you how many guitarists I know (locally, not online) who aren't familiar with the hype or controversy surrounding JHS.

They don't know who Josh is, and they don't care. Most of em have never even heard of the Klon or Dumble.
 
Robert said:
It might surprise you how many guitarists I know (locally, not online) who aren't familiar with the hype or controversy surrounding JHS.

They don't know who Josh is, and they don't care. Most of em have never even heard of the Klon or Dumble.
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I'm sure that describes the vast majority of guitarists. Pedals are, as a base function, tools.
 
benny_profane said:
I'm sure that describes the vast majority of guitarists. Pedals are, as a base function, tools.
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I was reading an interview with CAKE's guitarist, Xan McCurdy, and they were asking him about his guitar, amp, and effects, and he was so nonchalant about his gear. He was like "Yeah, I just use one pedal when I play live, it's a Rat or something I think. And my amp is some DeVille or something, I played one as a backline once and liked it."

The dude found his setup in like 1991 and hasn't thought about it since.
 
Coda said:
Did you hear that from him?…

All JHS is good at marketing is hipster hype…a totally legitimate product. Pedal-wise…eh.
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He took a circuit everyone and their mother already owns, and within days persuaded tens of thousands of people to buy another one. There's a sucker born every minute, and he's got too many suckers subscribed to his YouTube channel to be pigeon-holed in the hipster category.
 
peccary said:
The dude found his setup in like 1991 and hasn't thought about it since.
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then there's QotSA levels of propriety…


A friend sent me an Angry Driver and the only part of it I somewhat like is the Blues Driver half. Also, they cram the sh*t out of those pedals. The board was bent to the point where it only operates on battery. Although that's on Boss…
https://imgur.com/dnx1MOR

Other than that I haven't used his products, so I can't comment on them. Regarding this Klon situation, though, it's… He's a good marketeer. I think I said something along those lines in another thread, but it's the same reason a film would make or break: marketing. Social media presence, YouTube video production value, storytelling and historical compilations (however wholly original or not), he's got something, and sales don't lie.

After reading (IDK maybe I'm delusional) comments about working something out with Finnegan to not make klones, or what not, this all is either some genius profit share for him, or is a big d*ckslap to the face. I can't tell. But again, I might be misremembering.
 
jessenator said:
then there's QotSA levels of propriety…


A friend sent me an Angry Driver and the only part of it I somewhat like is the Blues Driver half. Also, they cram the sh*t out of those pedals. The board was bent to the point where it only operates on battery. Although that's on Boss…
https://imgur.com/dnx1MOR

Other than that I haven't used his products, so I can't comment on them. Regarding this Klon situation, though, it's… He's a good marketeer. I think I said something along those lines in another thread, but it's the same reason a film would make or break: marketing. Social media presence, YouTube video production value, storytelling and historical compilations (however wholly original or not), he's got something, and sales don't lie.

After reading (IDK maybe I'm delusional) comments about working something out with Finnegan to not make klones, or what not, this all is either some genius profit share for him, or is a big d*ckslap to the face. I can't tell. But again, I might be misremembering.
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Does that give it the Curve for the EQ Section?
 
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