JHS Bonsai 9-way Screamer-style Overdrive Pedal Reviews

It really is very interesting to hear all these variants. The YouTube demos usually don't do this pedal justice. Tube Screamers sound best in a mix, and the variants sound pretty different from each other when mixed with other instruments. I think I'd buy this pedal all
over again even if it only had the Keeley modded Tube Screamer and a TS whatever. Really cool pedal.

If you're having a hard time figuring out which overdrive pedal you want, you should get this one simply because it has 9 pedals in 1. Every tone is distinct and unique making it so versatile which is exactly what I was looking for. Huge shoutout to Ryan Murphy for always being extremely helpful throughout the years and hooking it up with the pedal.

Sounds great and I love the variety of choices. I can go from blues to grunge or just simply push a mutron pedal a little for some extra sensitivity.

Deris recommend this pedal to me was looking at something similar,but happy that i listened to the pro ! He has always been there with professional support and makes the transactions easy.A pro in every aspect, thanks again

Josh Scott has done it again!! I dialed in sweet sounding tones in seconds. Special thanks to my sales rep Michael Bryant.

I'll know at Christmas when my daughter Destiny opens it up! I'm sure it will fit the bill! Thanks to Eric my go to guy at Sweetwater!!!

The reviews don't do this pedal justice. I got it this morning, plugged it in, and got lost in the tone feast. Josh at JHS is a magician. He put 9 pedals in one little box and all of them are fantastic. This is not a $ pedal. It is 9 x $ pedals that all fit in one space on a pedal board. Just get one and try it.

This has become my go to overdrive pedal.

This JHS BONSAI pedal has everything I need in a feature featured tube screamer. The KEELEY and TS9&10 seem to be the ones I use the most but I I like to play with all of them from time to time. This is staying on my pedal board, love it. Once again THANK YOU Sweetwater for your prompt service and product you sent me!

This pedal does exactly what it promises: offers different flavors (some subtle, some extreme) of the mythical green family of pedals it's based on. I've owned both an Ibanez reissue TS808 (my Screamer of choice for years until the switch gave out) and their TS mini and found both to be useful (particularly the 808), but it wasn't until I got the Bonsai recently that I became truly excited about the possibilities of this type of overdrive. A good Tube Screamer combines its characteristic sound with an enhanced feel when the effect is engaged, and from the first time I turned the pedal on I knew it was a winner. I'm currently favoring the TS10 setting as a tone-shaping solo boost run after higher gain pedals (primarily a Klon clone and the Wampler Belle) and it helps lift the overall output and round out the sound nicely. Even though it's the newest drive pedal on my board, I've found myself at gigs using it as my primary drive because it's such an excellent complement to my amp ('59 Bassman LTD) and any guitar I've used so far. This pedal is an absolute keeper and has such a variety of useful tones that I am confident that my hunt for the ultimate Screamer ends here and I am completely satisfied.

In YouTube videos, the various TS's sound different, but not hugely so to me. To me, in a mix, the TS's do sound more different and peek out of a mix in different ways. The pedal is worth it for the Keeley and JHS modes alone. I haven't double tracked guitars with this, but I could see that being ideal… pick a different TS for each of the doubled parts and I would guess that would sound great. Also, the Bonsai TS-9 sounds better than my regular TS-9. Hard to describe, but the Bonsai TS-9 sounds less plastic y, if that makes any sense.

...every household in America should have one of these. If you were to buy all 9 of these pedals separately, you would be broke by the end of it. Josh from JHS is a great guy who knows what he's doing and he perfectly replicates the circuits. If you are on the fence, just pick one up. If you don't like it you can always return it, but that won't happen.

...This one kinda covers it.

I am impressed with the sound and usability of the pedal. Very good construction should last me A lifetime. Also frees up room on the pedal board.

I was looking for a flexible tube screamer type pedal and found it in the JHS Bonsai. Nine flavors, some work with a clean amp and others with dirty. Very usable.

I usually do not write reviews about pedals or anything but, I must say I'm very happy with this pedal. I've been searching for that tone for a long time. I also worked in a music stores for about 12 years so I got to try all kinds of different pedals and amps all the time. Ive used lots of different dirt pedals personally,like the OCD, wampler Euphoria, plus I have a Timmy which is a very good pedal.I must say I'm very happy with this one, it keeps surprising me with how much diversity it has, and how each sound is amazing. I really like the TS, keeley mod plus and the XR. The JHS strong Mod is amazing as well, great job at JHS and sweetwater, thank you guys!!

I had the EQD Palisades prior to this, the palisades was awesome, but due to shortage of real estate, I decided to go with the Bonsai. I absolutely love this pedal! So many different options of tube screamer tones, 808 is my favorite but they're all great and great to have different options on such a small pedal compared to palisades.

I wanted to develop an ear for foundational overdrives. I knew Ibanez pedals were iconic but was too afraid to commit to one sound or pedal. Was not disappointed by this pedal.

Simply an awesome versatile overdrive pedal! I can get clean Klon like sounds from the JHS setting and perfect distortion from the Keeley. The TS-10 has an awesome John Mayer vibe to it. It truly does very different things and is not just 9 options of the same ol thing. When you add up the price of all these pedals it's really a bargain and you can't beat the quality JHS puts into its pedals.

Pedal is great. There are subtle differences in the models but I have found use for many of them. Ts9 is my favorite. It does what it is supposed to and it does it really well.

9 Tube Screamers in one enclosure! I love all the different tones that this drive box has to offer. I'm literally exhausted from the amount of choices on tap.
Get one, and crank it!
I do it mostly for the candy that they send with the order

Shout out to my main man AJ Becerra who always hooks it up for us!
AJ is essential to us and makes the process quick and easy!

Much Love and Aloha to AJ Becerra and Sweetwater!!!

This pedal is a bargain given the multiple channels. Each one brings a different tone and has its purpose. Sounds great going into a clean channel on my solid state amp and my 5W tube amp. I'm really happy I got this. Bryan Campbell and Sweetwater have always delivered the highest customer service.

The JHS Bonsai is a FANTASTIC and imo, and end all of the ubiquitous Tube Screamer circuit. I have two on my board and that takes care of all my drive needs. First off, although some of the modes may sound similar they actually differ quite a bit depending on how you use it; gain, mid-boost, volume boost, into a clean amp vs dirty amp, etc. All modes have something unique and useful to offer if you spend the time with it. I use one Bonsai set to the JHS Strong mod and I set that as my rythm/light solo tone. The Strong mod really is what many want from a TS—open, gain, good top and bottom but with that slight mid boost that the really good TS’ do. This pedal alone on this setting takes care of 95% of my gain needs. I use the second Bonsai set in the TS9 mode to boost the other one. The more pronounced mid-hump of the TS9 setting just sets the tone over the top and gives that little xtra oomph for bigger solos and to cut a bit more. That’s how I use mine currently but the TS can be used in many different ways and the Bonsai gives you all the options to explore your tone and fine tune this pedal to your rig. Outstanding pedal.

Loads of Overdrive tones in one pedal! The ability to essentially have 9 pedals-in-one, I don't know why anyone would look elsewhere for an overdrive. Smooth, easy transaction and great customer service as always from the crew at Sweetwater. Love the JHS brand too. Highly recommended.

I expected to hear 1 or 2 good sounds but all the presets are really cool...Thanks Sweetwater!

I have to say this pedal rocks. I love that each of the 9 pedal options are true to the originals. The only thing I wish was that the volume would compensate when they were switched. But because they're all different in circuitry it makes sense it wouldn't. Great job JHS.

Retired my TS10, OCD, Fulldrive, Keeley Luna and Red Dirt. Sounds exactly like the TS10 I've used since the 80's.
This stomp box has so many amazing voices, my pedalboard just got lighter. Think I need another, for my grab and go pedalboard. Thanks Jeff Law!

I decided to give this pedal a shot after months of reading and researching what would be best for me. My search is over. This pedal is amazing! I've been playing through all the different settings and have discovered that the Exar od1 is freaking awesome! I have this thing plugged into a Orange Crush Pro 120 head with 2 /2-12 Orange cabinets with Celestion vintage 30s. This pedal works very well with this setup. Been trying other tube screamers along with a noise suppressor and I get a lot of noise and feedback. This thing is quiet. Hardly no noise. This is my first JHS product. I'm sold on JHS. I'm excited to try other pedals from JHS.

Such a great overdrive! It"s hard to find a favorite setting as each one is very musical and never muddy/mushy sounding ( unless you want it to be). I personally really like the TS 10 setting with the gain and tone set around 10 o"clock and the level around 2-3 o"clock. I often use the guitar volume knob to regulate volume and intensity and it sounds fantastic at every volume level.
Great pedal!

Really, this is a fantastic pedal. My prior experience with JHS has been the v1 Morning Glory, which I love. While the differences between most of the various brands of "tube screamers" appear to be nuanced in the Bonsai, you'll find after working at length with the pedal, that your various guitars will respond very differently to the different pedal selections. Note: these are not emulated variations of tube screamers, this is real circuitry that provides different flavors of this classic pedal.
The Bonsai is a little pricey for a tube screamer, but when you think about the research time that went into this pedal, then it is a real bargain. It is well made. It requires a power supply, not a battery. It is green! I love it. Buy it.

Great pedal! Worth every cent plus! If you love drive pedals a must have. All settings are useable and discernibly different from one to the next. I run it before my Keeley Oxblood Germanium and stacked is sick sick sick. This and the Muffletta are necessary to any Drive/Fuzz lovers collection. Great service. Packed with care and tasty treats. Love me some Sweetwater.

I was never a huge fan of the tubescreamer until JHS. Having used a couple different ones over the ages they seemed to be rather fickle and only worked for certain amps and pedal chain issues.. Along comes the BONSAI and wow what an essential pedal to have!!!
There is just something in here for any application or rig. As soon as I think I have found the 1 or 2 versions I like I flip to another and wow that made a difference. I like all the modes, everyone of them has a purpose for any given time. A must have pedal! Why pay a ton for a single version of the TS when you can get them all in one glorious analog box of wonder??
This is dead on because it is dead on. Those finding differences cannot seem to understand between each pedal there are differences which is why "shootouts" should be ignored as utterly stupid. You have to laugh sometimes when they chain a bunch of buffered platform pedals together and think they are comparing pedals!! Like two Klons, gesssshhh, all components have tolerance variances, every same pedal will be slightly different, cascading buffers is not the same pedal as in a bypass loop switcher, which is common sense people!! But "shootouts", shoot through the side of your head!
I did love the Andertons Chappers/Captain thing where Chap was blind testing 9 TS "clones" and they were all the Bonsai!! He was shocked, and yet his preferences demonstrated how differently many use the TS and how differently you can use it.
I've been told the tone control is "neutral" all the way CCW and bass gets cut CW but I also hear treble going up. Experiment, this is a marvelous tool, spin the controls and try different models you be amazed as I was how you can find that special enhancement that will just put icing on the tone cake! Truly is why the TS circuit is the basis for 85% of all overdrive circuits.

One of a kind pedal! This brings out a good overdrive tone with my Fender Super Champ X2.

Love this overdrive beast!!!! All the settings are great - loving the OD-1, XR and Keeley mod. Pairs perfect with my Klon KTR. Also, thanks to Ben at Sweetwater for keeping me up to date in my order.

I was in the market for a tube screamer when this was announced at NAMM. I'm glad I waited and got the Bonsai, it has every tube screamer in it that I was looking at and more. If you need a tube screamer this is the only one you'll ever need. WORTH THE WAIT!

The search for that ultimate Tubescreamer sound is over!!!!! I have had ts808, ts9, Wamplers, Green Rhinos, Keeley, and even a moonshine and a Jhs strong mod which is also in this pedal, over the last 20 years and this one is the one. Ever thing you would ever need and the most versatile. If you are a fan of that Tubescreamer sound this is a must.

This will be the best selling pedal, of its kind, for a while. It gives you incredible options and a range that will never get tiresome. Every click of the knob can then be dialed in to something that will make you happy. You no longer have to choose which green box you want anymore. What else can you ask for?

Hard to get a bad sound out of it. I have this in front of my Silver Jubilee reissue. May be possible to get a bad sound out of this thing, but I haven't found any yet. Just know that JHS pedals require a 9V power input and do not take batteries.

It's a nice pedal but it seems like anyone who makes pedals or even JHS himself is a little shocked it sells so well. Like the TS9 is $ and within a mix there is no difference of the nuances in dynamics of the 9 modes. That being said the JHS mode is nice because of the output and my Dr Z Cure works well with it as a boost for sure.

I've been switching from a Line 6 Pod HD over to an analog setup. The hardest part was giving up the ability to dial in that exact overdrive tone that I was able to tinker with on the Line 6. This pedal goes a long way to giving me back the ability to get the exact nuance in tone without going through pedal after pedal. I stack it with the Morning Glory to get an even bigger range of tone. If you're starting out trying to figure out which pedal to get first on your board put this in your cart now.

Pros: +It's, like, every Tubescreamer in one pedal.
+Sounds great!

Cons: Awful handling noise.
There's not a whole lot of difference between one TS to the next.
Freakin' expensive for what it is.

Sounds pretty good. My Marshall JVM 205H really sings with this thing in front of it! That said, I'm pretty sure I could get an equally pleasing effect with ANY TS/TS-style pedal for less money. Handling noise is AWFUL. Easily the worst of any pedal I've ever used. Don't touch it, don't even look at it or you'll hear it through your amp. Comes with a nifty pick, button and sticker, so there's that. Mine came with a sticker on the back commemorating the Covid-19 scam, which makes it a collectible I guess. Kinda disappointed I saved for many months for this, TBH.

This pedal sounds absolutely amazing. However, does it sound amazing in 9 different ways? Unfortunately not. At least for me anyway. Out of the 9 modes there is very little difference between most of them. Aside from the gain in the TS7 the only real differences are found in the Keeley and JHS modes. The rest can be set nearly identical. So again, this is a great sounding Tube Screamer and definitely worth it for the Keeley and JHS mods. But there are several cheaper options that will get you "That sound" on just a single mode if you would prefer.

The build quality of this pedal is top notch, but if I'm being honest, I can't hear enough of a difference to justify so many included models, the Keeley and JHS mod (much louder) being the biggest exceptions.

Long story short, this is a big investment unless you are a diehard TS fan - which I'm apparently not.

The differences are very subtle. EXCEPT for volume. It is impossible to use it for a live gig.
The volume for each TS is slightly or radically different.

Even in a studio setting, you would have to spend a lot of time to dial in the volume level.

You would have to spend time to document each Volume and Gain setting and print it out so you can make quick changes.

I knew the first day this was an issue. But, I got wrapped up in life issues for a few months before I had the time to realized the enormity of the problem.
I basically paid $... for a Fin Tube Screamer.