"I bought a guitar and joined a music club — first practice at the studio, let's go!"

"Huh, this amp barely breaks up at all... how am I supposed to use it...?"

Sound familiar?

The JC-120, the amp you'll find in nearly every rehearsal studio. (*1)

Compared to classic amps like Marshall, it just won't distort, and a lot of players give up on dialing in a tone. Call it the "F chord" of tone-shaping.

*1 [Tips!] What kind of amp is the JC-120?
A standard amp you'll find set up in almost every rehearsal studio.
Guitar amps typically use vacuum tubes, but the JC-120 uses transistors instead, giving it very stable operation and a pure, mostly uncolored tone.

Why is it hard to dial in a tone on the JC-120?

The JC-120's defining trait is a very honest, uncolored sound. But that honesty can also come across as "lacking something" or "cold."

That's where a pedal with a strong midrange push comes in handy. A tone where the midrange is prominent reads as "warm," and that solves the exact sticking point people hit with the JC-120.

But then a different problem shows up. TS-type pedals (*2), known for their strong midrange, tend to have a narrow gain range or cut too much of the high end, which almost always ends up sounding "vintage."

"If only there were a pedal that emphasized the midrange while still keeping the highs intact..."

That ideal pedal is the PPSE'79 — Cullate's answer to the problem.

Here are three situation-based recipes that bring out the best in the PPSE'79.

*2 [Tips!] What is "TS-type"?
A classic style of overdrive that moderately cuts the lows and highs and emphasizes the midrange — arguably the lead role in a guitar's tone.
The name comes from the Ibanez Tube Screamer.

01. The center setting is actually the "correct" tone

◽︎Setting: All Center

When you get a new pedal, don't you just want to crank every knob to the extreme?

But hold on a second.

My first recommendation is to set every knob to 12 o'clock. That's because "12 o'clock is the sound that defines a pedal." Most pedals are actually designed to sound good — and reveal their character — right at the center.

Start by turning the PPSE'79 on with everything at 12 o'clock.

Depending on how hard you play, you'll get anything from an energetic drive sound to a beautiful crunch — the JC-120's hardness gets wrapped in an easy-on-the-ears midrange, and what comes out should sound almost like a tube amp.

◽︎Pick: atmos 0.75mm

If playing dynamics change the impression of the tone, it follows that pick thickness and material can drastically change the impression of a phrase too — that's the fun part.

For a thick lead phrase, use a thick pick for a bold, cutting tone; for light backing, strum with a thin pick. This setting sits at a perfectly neutral position, so starting your tone-shaping from here is the shortest path to the sound you're after.

02. How to bring out grown-up sensuality.

◽︎Setting: Gain↓ / Tone↓

A grown-up who can play a sweet tone with room to spare also leaves some room in their gain and tone.

So next is the low-gain setting. What defines this setting, above all, is grown-up sensuality. Lowering the tone along with the gain gives you a soft, warm sound that's perfect for relaxed chord playing.

But it's not just warm — the PPSE'79 still cuts through cleanly on cutting rhythm parts and fast phrases too. It's a TS-type pedal that still holds onto a clarity all its own.

◽︎Pick: mineral 0.5mm

What I like is using a thin, soft pick. The attack unique to this pick blends with the PPSE'79's transparent midrange, and whether you're playing fast phrases or chords, you get a sensuous tone where a pleasant sparkle and warmth coexist. Playing guitar alone late at night — there's no better answer than this.

03. Tonight, I'm the lead!

◽︎Setting：Gain↑ / Tone↑

There's a rumor that "the JC-120 doesn't play well with distortion." Here's a setting that blows that idea away and puts you front and center in a guitar rock band.

Push the gain up to emphasize the low-mids, then raise the tone to balance out the highs. Once the JC-120's hardness mixes with the PPSE'79's warmth, you can handle anything from raw chord backing like a J-rock chorus to a lead phrase that pushes to the front.

What's worth noting is that a tube amp can't produce this tone. The JC-120 and the PPSE'79 bring out the best in each other, and a genuinely distinctive sound is born from that pairing.

◽︎Pick：atmos 1.2mm

Personally, I recommend strumming with a thicker pick. Normally a thick pick makes the attack stand out too much, but with the PPSE'79's high-gain setting, that attack doesn't stick out awkwardly — instead it adds roughness and a more powerful tone.

It has real lead-role presence. Switch to a thin pick like the atmos 0.5mm for chords, on the other hand, and the tone instantly steps back into a more supportive, rhythm-guitar feel — as if to say "my time in the spotlight is over," making room for the other instruments.

Not just letting a pedal end at being "gear."

The PPSE'79 is sold at a surprisingly reasonable price, in the low ten-thousand-yen range. Behind it is a near-obsessive resolve from its maker, Miyazaki, who wanted students to be able to pick it up without hesitation — and we have no intention of selling that as mere "gear."

Playing through an amp you once thought was impossible to dial in becomes fun. You start wanting to switch picks depending on your mood. We hope experiences like that spread, even just a little, starting with this pedal.

Strengthening the connection between you and music in everyday life — as one option toward that, the PPSE'79 is about as perfect a candidate as you'll find.

(Writer:nanase)