JHS Pedals Volture Voltage Sag Utility

Quick Product Summary

The JHS Pedals Volture is a compact voltage sag utility designed to recreate the sound and response of an analogue pedal running from a dying battery. Place it between your pedalboard power supply and a compatible analogue effect, then reduce the voltage to explore increasingly compressed, gated, sputtery and unstable sounds.

Originally developed with vintage-style fuzz circuits in mind, the Volture can also produce interesting results with compatible analogue overdrive and distortion pedals. Instead of repeatedly draining batteries or relying on guesswork, its single control lets you dial in the amount of voltage sag and return to useful settings quickly.

For fuzz players, experimental pedalboard builders and anyone who enjoys pushing analogue circuits outside their normal operating range, the Volture is a simple utility capable of producing surprisingly dramatic tonal changes.

At A Glance

Feature	Details
Brand	JHS Pedals
Model	Volture
Condition	New
Product Type	Voltage sag utility
Main Function	Simulates dying-battery voltage
Input Voltage	9V–18V DC centre negative
Adjustable Output	1.25V–7.5V DC centre negative
Compatible Pedals	Fully analogue pedals drawing less than 50mA
Best For	Vintage-style fuzz, analogue overdrive, distortion and experimental sounds

What's Included?

• ✓ 1 x JHS Pedals Volture Voltage Sag Utility

Important Compatibility Information

The Volture is designed for fully analogue pedals drawing less than 50mA.

It should not be used with digital pedals or effects containing digital/logic-based circuitry. Supplying inadequate voltage to digital electronics can result in incorrect operation and risks damaging the pedal being powered.

Always confirm that the effect you intend to use is fully analogue and within the required current limit before connecting it to the Volture.

Fair Deal Quality Control Assessment

New pedalboard utilities supplied by Fair Deal Music are checked with practical use in mind, including control operation, power connections and general functionality.

Because the Volture sits within your pedal's power path rather than the audio signal path, correct power compatibility is particularly important. Always check the requirements of the pedal being powered before experimenting with reduced voltage.

Why Choose The JHS Volture?

Recreate The Dying-Battery Fuzz Trick

Old analogue fuzz circuits can respond dramatically as their supply voltage falls. The Volture gives you control over that behaviour without deliberately running batteries flat.

Adjustable From Subtle Sag To Extreme Sounds

The output can be reduced from 7.5V down to 1.25V, allowing you to explore everything from subtle changes in compression and response through to heavily gated, sputtering and glitch-like textures.

Works With More Than Fuzz

Although designed primarily around vintage-style fuzz circuits, the Volture can be experimented with using compatible fully analogue overdrive and distortion pedals too.

Tiny Pedalboard Footprint

At approximately 3.6" x 1.5" x 1", the Volture takes up very little room and can be integrated into a pedalboard without sacrificing the space required by a conventional effects pedal.

JHS Volture vs Other Ways To Create Voltage Sag

JHS Volture vs A Dying 9V Battery

A genuinely dying battery can create excellent fuzz sounds, but reproducing the same voltage consistently is inconvenient. The Volture lets you reduce voltage with a knob, making your preferred sag setting much easier to find again.

JHS Volture vs A Variable-Voltage Power Supply

Some pedalboard power supplies provide adjustable outputs, but the Volture puts voltage control immediately beside the effect and offers a much wider deliberately under-powered range for compatible analogue circuits.

JHS Volture vs A Fuzz Pedal With A Bias Control

Bias and voltage sag can both produce gated or sputtering sounds, but they alter different parts of a circuit. The Volture changes the actual supply voltage reaching a compatible pedal, meaning you can experiment with pedals that do not already have their own sag control.

Who Is The JHS Volture For?

The Volture is particularly useful for:

• Fuzz enthusiasts chasing dying-battery textures

• Players using vintage-inspired analogue fuzz pedals

• Experimental guitarists creating gated and sputtering sounds

• Pedal collectors who want to explore different responses from existing analogue effects

• Studio musicians looking for unusual gain textures

• Players who want repeatable voltage-sag sounds without draining batteries

Looking for advice on fuzz pedals, pedalboard power or whether a particular analogue effect is suitable for voltage sag? Our experienced team of musicians can help by phone, online or in our Birmingham showroom.

Why Does Lower Voltage Change A Fuzz Pedal's Sound?

Simple analogue fuzz circuits can be highly sensitive to changes in supply voltage. When the available voltage drops, the circuit has less headroom and its transistors or other gain stages operate differently.

The result can include extra compression, weaker sustain, gated note decay, unusual attack characteristics and eventually broken, sputtery fuzz. Exactly how a pedal reacts depends on its circuit, which is why experimenting with the Volture can produce dramatically different results from one analogue effect to another.

Story & Context

The idea behind the Volture comes from a long-standing guitar trick: deliberately using a partially discharged battery in a fuzz pedal to alter its response.

Rather than asking players to collect and measure old batteries, JHS developed the Volture as a practical way to reproduce the effect. It sits between the power supply and the pedal, allowing the guitarist to reduce the supplied voltage gradually and find the point where a particular analogue circuit starts behaving in interesting ways.

Technical Specifications

Specification	Details
Brand	JHS Pedals
Model	Volture
Type	Voltage sag utility
Input Voltage	9V–18V DC
Input Polarity	Centre negative
Output Voltage Range	1.25V–7.5V DC
Output Polarity	Centre negative
Compatible Current Draw	Pedals below 50mA
Power Connections	Industry-standard 2.1mm pedal power connections
Volture Current Consumption	12mA
Dimensions	3.6" x 1.5" x 1"

Power Requirements

The Volture accepts a 9V, 12V or 18V DC centre-negative input and provides an adjustable 1.25V–7.5V DC centre-negative output to the connected analogue pedal.

The effect being powered must be fully analogue and draw less than 50mA.

Important

Do not connect the Volture to digital or logic-based effects.

The Volture deliberately reduces supply voltage, and digital circuitry is not designed to operate this way.

Fair Deal Music Verdict 🎵

★★★★★ 5/5

The JHS Volture is a brilliantly simple utility for anyone who enjoys the unpredictable side of analogue fuzz. It takes the old dying-battery trick and turns it into something controllable, repeatable and considerably more practical.

It is a specialised product rather than an everyday necessity, but for the right fuzz collection it can unlock sounds you may not have realised were already hiding inside your pedals.

Best suited for: Fuzz enthusiasts and experimental players using fully analogue effects.

Customers usually upgrade from: Experimenting with partially discharged 9V batteries or fixed-voltage power-supply settings.

Most commonly paired with: Low-current analogue fuzz, overdrive and distortion pedals.

Our tip: Start at the highest output voltage and reduce it gradually while playing. Listen to how the attack, sustain and note decay change rather than immediately turning the Volture to minimum.

Showroom feedback: Different analogue pedals can react very differently to voltage sag, so experimentation is the whole point. Some produce subtle compression changes while others quickly move into extreme gated fuzz.

Why Buy From Fair Deal Music?

When you buy from Fair Deal Music, you're choosing one of the UK's most established, independent family run music retailers since 1987.

Our Birmingham showroom and knowledgeable musician-led team give you access to friendly, practical advice before and after your purchase. Whether you're building your first pedalboard, experimenting with analogue fuzz or working out the right way to power your effects, we're happy to help.

When you shop with Fair Deal Music, you can buy with confidence thanks to:

• Expert advice from knowledgeable musicians

• Carefully checked new, used, pre-owned and ex-display equipment

• Competitive prices on leading music brands

• Secure online ordering

• UK-wide delivery

• Friendly support before and after your purchase

• Decades of experience with new and pre-owned musical equipment

• A large Birmingham showroom where you can speak directly with our team

Trade In. Trade Up. Save More.

Thinking about upgrading? Your next piece of gear could cost less than you think.

We're always happy to consider part exchanges and trade-ins on a wide range of musical instruments and equipment. Your existing gear could help reduce the cost of your next purchase.

Simply get in touch with our team for a no-obligation valuation, and we'll be happy to discuss the options available.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the JHS Volture do?

The Volture reduces the supply voltage reaching a compatible analogue pedal, recreating the behaviour associated with powering effects from a dying battery.

Is the Volture itself a fuzz pedal?

No. It does not process your guitar's audio signal. It changes the power supplied to another compatible analogue effect.

Can I use the JHS Volture with digital pedals?

No. It should not be used with digital or logic-based circuitry because deliberately reducing the voltage can cause incorrect operation and risks damaging the connected pedal.

What pedals work best with the Volture?

Low-current fully analogue fuzz circuits are the obvious starting point. Compatible analogue overdrives and distortions can also produce interesting results.

What is the maximum current draw for a pedal connected to the Volture?

JHS specifies that the connected pedal should draw less than 50mA.

How low can the Volture reduce the voltage?

Its adjustable output range runs from approximately 7.5V down to 1.25V DC.

Does the LED change as I reduce the voltage?

Yes. The Volture's LED becomes dimmer as the output voltage is reduced, providing a useful visual indication of the sag effect.

Can I use a 12V or 18V supply to power the Volture?

Yes. The Volture accepts 9V, 12V or 18V DC centre-negative input, while its output to the connected pedal remains adjustable between 1.25V and 7.5V.