Jam Pedals Rattler & Wahcko
In high school, the pedalboard was a ProCo Rat and a Crybaby Wah. In 2022, we're running the JAM Pedals Wahcko Custom Shop and JAM Pedals Rattler into a Benson Amps Vincent. The vibes are the same. Everything else is better. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
JAM Pedals in Athens, Greece sent over a package that triggered some serious nostalgia — and inspired a direct comparison between the gear I played at 17 and what that same idea sounds like when it's done right.
The Wahcko Custom Shop (Point-to-Point version) is as serious as a wah pedal gets. A red Fasel inductor, 0.5W carbon comp resistors, and tropical fish capacitors in a fully point-to-point hand-wired build with an ever-changing custom shop finish. The core Wahcko circuit features a bufferless proprietary design — meaning impedance-sensitive pedals, including germanium fuzz boxes, can sit after the Wahcko with no interaction issues. A 6-position rotary switch adjusts the frequency sweep range, giving you everything from a dark, vocal character to a bright, slicing peak. An internal trimmer adjusts input gain. Nile Rodgers, Steve Lukather, Richie Sambora, Bill Frisell, Sean Ono Lennon, and Dweezil Zappa are among those who've made the Wahcko a permanent fixture. There's a reason.
The JAM Pedals Rattler is a ProCo RAT-style distortion built around the NOS LM308N chip — the same chip found in the original early '80s RAT boxes that defined a generation of rock tone. Asymmetrical clipping circuit, carbon comp resistors, and years of R&D to make it more responsive to picking and fretting nuances than the original. The result is an open, dynamic, overdriven tube-amp character — fat, creamy sustain with genuine sensitivity to how you play. It looks like a piece of modern art and sounds nothing like the $49 Rat I had in high school.
Wah first, distortion second. That's the chain. Through my Frank Brothers Arcade loaded with Lollar P90 pickups, clean and dirty on the Benson Amps Vincent, this is exactly what 16-year-old me was reaching for and couldn't afford.
🎛️ JAM Pedals Wahcko: https://jampedals.com/shop/wahcko/
🎛️ JAM Pedals Rattler: https://jampedals.com/shop/rattler/
🔊 Benson Amps Vincent: https://www.bensonamps.com/amps/vincent
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🎸 Frank Brothers Arcade | Lollar P90 Pickups
🎛️ JAM Pedals Wahcko Custom Shop (Point-to-Point) | Tropical Fish Capacitors | Red Fasel Inductor
🎛️ JAM Pedals Rattler | NOS LM308N Chip
🔊 Benson Amps Vincent
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Royer R121 & SM57 on cab grill | Royer R10 on room
