The JHS Double Dragon is a celebration of everything unpredictable, gritty and musical about vintage analog octave dividers. Instead of chasing modern digital precision, it looks back to the circuits that defined the sound of early octave effects: the MXR Blue Box, Boss OC-2, DOD Octoplus, Ibanez OT10, the Electro-Harmonix Micro-Synth and the synth-inspired designs that shaped them. This is pre-DSP, pre-perfection, all-analog warmth and character.

At its core, the Double Dragon is a monophonic octave-down and octave-up device. The lower octave is thick, weighty and unmistakably analog, with the quirks and behaviour that made classic octave circuits legendary. The upper octave is a bonus layer of attitude, delivering an octave-up distortion that sits somewhere between an Octavia and a Superfuzz. It is gritty, aggressive and full of midrange bite that cuts through a mix.

Play single notes and the pedal becomes a riff machine. Play chords and the circuit starts to stutter, jump and fight itself, creating new textures as it tries to track your playing. It is not trying to replicate your signal perfectly. It is trying to play along with you. It feels alive.

The Double Dragon is also a milestone for JHS: their first true octave device. After years of experimenting with octave fuzz, they finally landed on a sub-octave circuit that felt at home in their lineup. Weird, wild and proudly lo-fi, it rewards players who want a collaborator rather than a clinical tool.

The controls are simple and musical. Volume sets the overall output with extra boost available. Dry blends your clean signal with the octave voices, from fully wet synth-like chaos to a balanced mix that retains clarity. OCT- controls the sub-octave level, while OCT+ controls the octave-up distortion, activated by the right footswitch. The left footswitch engages the main effect. For octave-up only, engage the pedal and turn OCT- down.

The Double Dragon pairs beautifully with overdrive or fuzz placed after it, and pitch vibrato can push it into even more synth-like territory. Its tracking quirks become part of the instrument, opening up new creative spaces for guitarists and bassists alike.