The JHS Bonsai Overdrive is a deep dive into one of the most iconic overdrive circuits in guitar history: the Tube Screamer. Rather than offering a single flavor of TS-style interpretation, the Bonsai uses a 9-way rotary selector to house nine fully-recreated classic, vintage, and rare Tube Screamer variants under one hood. Each position on the selector isn’t a digital emulation or preset; they're true analog replications of the original circuits—complete with the subtle quirks and component drift that give each vintage pedal its character. The Bonsai draws from units across decades, from the early OD-1 and TS-808 circuits to boutique mods like the Keeley Mod Plus and of course JHS's own TS—the Strong Mod. The Bonsai gives players a remarkable palette of overdrive tones in one compact pedal.
Beyond the selector knob, the traditional Volume, Drive, and Tone controls let you shape output level, gain intensity, and frequency balance to taste. Whether you’re chasing the warm, smooth mid-range of a classic 808, a more articulate TS-10-style blues crunch, or a higher-gain TS-7 hot mode with extra push, the Bonsai lets you explore each classic tone without swapping pedals. Built with JHS’ attention to analog feel and USA quality, this toolkit of Screamer heritage will be useful in the studio, on the stage, and the music room just the same.
This gently-used Bonsai was made in 2018. The previous owner installed velcro on the bottom, and it shows some minor signs of play use (see photos). But it functions as it should and sounds fantastic! It includes its original box and paperwork. The Bonsai is a great pedal—all the TS you could ever need!