After sharing several teasers over the past week hinting at the identity of a mysterious new stompbox, JHS Pedals has unveiled the 424 Gain Stage, a preamp pedal designed to recreate the lo-fi tones of a vintage multitrack cassette recorder: the Tascam Portastudio 424.
Billed as a "historically accurate" recreation of the Portastudio, the pedal replicates the tape machine's circuits using the original UPC4570 and NJM4565 op-amps that contribute to its sought-after sonic character. The 424 Gain Stage's controls also mirror the Tascam's mixer section with a pared-back layout consisting of knobs for Volume, Bass, Treble, Gain 1 and Gain 2, along with a single footswitch.
Four-track recorders like the Tascam 424, relied upon by DIY artists and bedroom musicians throughout the '80s and '90s, can also be heard on hit records such as Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska and Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang. But the 424 has been repurposed in recent years by another boundary-pushing artist, not as a recording device but a tone-shaping accessory: Mk.gee.
In place of an amp, Mk.gee has been known to run his guitar directly into a Tascam Portastudio 424, pushing the preamp section hard to create a dynamic and unmistakeable tone that's captivated listeners and since become the subject of countless YouTube tutorials. JHS claims that the 424 Gain Stage delivers the same "unparalleled gooey texture and lo-fi fuzz" produced by Mk.gee's unconventional set-up, without the faff of incorporating a Portastudio into your rig.
"In 2024 an artist named Mk.gee released an awesome record called Two Star and the Dream Police and the guitar world exploded," JHS's Josh Scott says in a video demo for the Gain Stage. "Tone-chasers everywhere had to know how he was getting this really incredible and unique sound. Then we all realized, he's not using a guitar amp... he's using a Tascam 424."
"This Mk.gee thing comes along, and it's really new and fresh and different. It's not the classic thing, it's this really interesting new way of using this sound to create guitar parts that really we haven't heard before," Scott continues. "That really pushed me over the edge of wanting those sounds that I remember, those sounds that are classic, and then these newer sounds."
On the connectivity front, the 424 Gain Stage bolsters its 1/4" in and out with a balanced XLR output with ground lift, providing a handy DI output for additional studio flexibility.
JHS Pedals' 424 Gain Stage is available now for $249.
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