The JHS Angry Charlie is a JHS Pedals overdrive pedal. Close alternatives include the Carl Martin Rock Drive and the Keeley KA-Orange. It pairs well with the Vox AC15CH Custom 15W Head and the Marshall Silver Jubilee 25/55 100W Amp Head.
JHS Angry Charlie
JHS Pedals · pedal
The JHS Angry Charlie is a Marshall JCM800-voiced overdrive built around a 3-band tone stack just like the amp it emulates, convincingly reproducing that amp's warm yet searing character and boundless sustain into any rig. With the gain rolled back it turns surprisingly bluesy and vintage-sounding, and as gain increases it covers everything from Hendrix-style crunch through AC/DC-style rock grind to Van Halen-esque heavy saturation, staying full and defined throughout the frequency spectrum. It ranges from edge-of-breakup tones to alt-rock and grunge-approved heavier gain, retaining clarity and touch sensitivity even at aggressive settings. It suits rock, blues, and hard rock players wanting a genuinely amp-like, JCM800-in-a-box overdrive.
- gain
- distortion
- rock
- crunch
- overdrive
- clarity
- hard rock
- frequency
Genres the JHS Angry Charlie is commonly used in
Amps that pair well with the JHS Angry Charlie
Vox AC15CH Custom 15W Head
Vox
132% matchThe AC15's sweet, shimmering breakup gives the Angry Charlie's hot-rodded gain a chiming amp voice to push into.
Marshall Silver Jubilee 25/55 100W Amp Head
amplifier
80% matchThe Angry Charlie's high-gain crunch stacks naturally on the Jubilee's already-hot channel for thicker rock and grunge tones.
Vox MV50-CE Rock
Vox
36% matchPush the MV50's tight, direct-recording crunch with the Angry Charlie's hot-rodded gain and the two rock voicings just compound.
Swart Star-Base 1
Swart
34% matchThe Star-Base 1's vintage, lush bass tone stacks under Angry Charlie's crunchy, clarity-forward distortion for a driven bass rig.
Park P45H
Park
33% matchPark P45H's warm, British breakup stacks well under Angry Charlie's own crunchy, high-clarity distortion channel.
Blackstar HT-20R MkII
Blackstar
32% matchPush the HT-20R's British mids with the Angry Charlie's hard-rock crunch and the two gain stages stack into something bigger.
Laney Digbeth Foundry DBF50 Bass Combo
Laney
27% matchWhere this leans warm, JHS Angry Charlie answers back bright
Marshall JMP 1959 Super Lead 100-Watt
Marshall
27% matchJHS Angry Charlie leans toward crunchy, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Pedals that stack with the JHS Angry Charlie
Ibanez Tube Screamer
Ibanez
31% matchThe Angry Charlie's hot-rodded gain pushes the Screamer's mid-forward boost into much heavier territory.
Systech Harmonic Energizer
Systech
28% matchJHS Angry Charlie leans bright right where the warm tone needs it
Dunlop Echoplex Preamp
Dunlop
28% matchWhere this leans warm, JHS Angry Charlie answers back bright
Electro-Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff
Electro-Harmonix
27% matchThe Green Russian's dark, smooth fuzz is a rawer gain than the Angry Charlie's own rock crunch offers on its own.
Electro-Harmonix Nano Memory Toy
Electro-Harmonix
26% matchJHS Angry Charlie leans bright right where the warm tone needs it — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Eventide Rose Modulated Digital Delay
Eventide
25% matchWhat JHS Angry Charlie brings here leans toward crunchy — that's worth building a pairing around — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Providence ADC-4 Anadime Analog Chorus
Providence
25% matchWhere this leans warm, JHS Angry Charlie answers back bright
Spaceman Explorer 6-Stage Phaser
Spaceman
24% matchJHS Angry Charlie's own crunchy character is the real reason this is worth trying
Alternativessee all similar tone character →
Carl Martin Rock Drive
Carl Martin
72% similarityShared character: tone_control, higher_gain, presence
Keeley KA-Orange
Keeley
70% similarity“combining the Angry Charlie JCM800-inspired high-gain distortion and Orange amplifier-inspired overdrive character in a compact format.”
Wampler Plexi Drive
Wampler
70% similarity“I tried several pedals of the genre: JHS Angry Charlie, Xotic SL drive, J.Rocket 45 Caliber and therefore, this one, which I preferred”
MXR M193 GT-OD Overdrive
MXR
69% similarityShared character: controls, higher_gain, hard_rock
Boss DS-1 Distortion (Japan, 1980s)
pedal
69% similarityShared character: hard_rock, crunch, distortion
Boss BD-2W Blues Driver Waza Craft
Boss
69% similarityShared character: crunch, amp, distortion
Suhr Riot
Suhr
69% similarityShared character: tone_control, hard_rock, crunch
Friedman BE-OD
Friedman
69% similarityShared character: higher_gain, presence, hard_rock
Maxon OD808
Maxon
68% similarityShared character: hard_rock, crunch, distortion
JHS Pedals Kilt 10th Anniversary
JHS Pedals
68% similarityShared character: higher_gain, crunch, distortion
Caline CP-14 English Man Distortion
Caline
95% similaritysimilar tone character
Black Country Customs Monolith
Black Country Customs
95% similaritysimilar tone character
See all alternatives to the JHS Angry Charlie (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the JHS Angry Charlie?+
The closest matches in character are the Carl Martin Rock Drive, the Keeley KA-Orange, the Wampler Plexi Drive.
What pairs well with the JHS Angry Charlie?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Vox AC15CH Custom 15W Head, Marshall Silver Jubilee 25/55 100W Amp Head, Vox MV50-CE Rock — The AC15's sweet, shimmering breakup gives the Angry Charlie's hot-rodded gain a chiming amp voice to push into..