JHS Double Barrel V4 Settings Guide
The JHS Double Barrel V4 is a dual overdrive pedal combining a Marshall Bluesbreaker circuit (side A) and a Tube Screamer circuit (side B) in a single enclosure with individual footswitches and a Series/Parallel toggle. Running both sides simultaneously in series produces the classic "Bluesbreaker into Tube Screamer" stacking that defines SRV and Texas blues tone. Running in parallel blends both overdrive characters simultaneously for a more complex combined tone.
The best JHS Double Barrel V4 settings start with: Vol A at 6/10, Tone A at 6/10, Drive A at 5/10, Vol B at 6/10, Tone B at 5/10, Drive B at 4/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Texas Blues (Stacked): Vol A 7/10, Tone A 6/10, Drive A 4/10, Vol B 7/10, Tone B 4/10, Drive B 3/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Vol A | 6/10 | Off → Loud |
| Tone A | 6/10 | Dark → Bright |
| Drive A | 5/10 | None → Full |
| Vol B | 6/10 | Off → Loud |
| Tone B | 5/10 | Dark → Bright |
| Drive B | 4/10 | None → Full |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Series mode with both sides engaged — Bluesbreaker first (Side A, moderate Drive) into Tube Screamer (Side B, lower Drive). This is the classic "Bluesbreaker stacked" setup that blues players use for lead boost: the Bluesbreaker provides open, natural overdrive; the TS adds midrange compression and sustain. The stack produces a saturated but dynamic blues lead tone.
Side A (Bluesbreaker) only — the Bluesbreaker circuit produces a warmer, more open overdrive than the Tube Screamer. At Drive A 4 it's pick-sensitive and cleans up with guitar volume. Used for rhythm blues playing where the TS compression would be too present.
Side B (Tube Screamer) only — the TS side for classic midrange-pushing lead boost into a broken-up amp. Drive B at 4 provides moderate TS saturation; Vol B at 7 lifts the solo volume.
Parallel mode blending both circuits simultaneously produces a thicker, more complex saturation than either side alone, without the more compressed character a series stack produces at this much combined drive.
Side A alone at minimum Drive works as a transparent clean boost, pushing a clean amp toward its own natural breakup rather than adding a distinct overdrive character.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The Series/Parallel toggle is the key feature of the Double Barrel — Series runs signal through Side A then Side B (traditional stacking); Parallel runs both sides simultaneously and sums their outputs. Series stacking is more common and produces the traditional overdrive stacking character; Parallel creates a more complex, blended tone that does not sound like either overdrive alone.
- The Bluesbreaker circuit (Side A) has a more open, transparent low end than the Tube Screamer — the two circuits are complementary precisely because the Bluesbreaker adds character while the TS adds compression and midrange. Running them separately and then stacking is the way to understand how each contributes before combining them.
- Individual footswitches for each side mean the pedal can function as two completely separate overdrives on a board, not just a fixed dual-stage unit — useful for songs that need only one flavor of drive.
- When stacking in series, order matters even though both sides are in one enclosure — Side A into Side B (the default signal path) produces a different result than manually reordering pedals would with two separate units, since the internal routing is fixed.
- For players unfamiliar with either circuit individually, auditioning Side A alone and Side B alone before combining them builds a clearer sense of what each stage contributes to the combined stacked tone.
FAQ
JHS Double Barrel V4 — Common Questions
Best starting settings for JHS Double Barrel V4: Vol A at 6/10, Tone A at 6/10, Drive A at 5/10, Vol B at 6/10, Tone B at 5/10, Drive B at 4/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Texas Blues (Stacked): Vol A 7/10, Tone A 6/10, Drive A 4/10, Vol B 7/10, Tone B 4/10, Drive B 3/10. Series mode with both sides engaged — Bluesbreaker first (Side A, moderate Drive) into Tube Screamer (Side B, lower Drive). This is the classic "Bluesbreaker stacked" setup that blues players use for lead boost: the Bluesbreaker provides open, natural overdrive; the TS adds midrange compression and sustain. The stack produces a saturated but dynamic blues lead tone.
For Blues Rhythm (Bluesbreaker only): Vol A 7/10, Tone A 6/10, Drive A 4/10, Vol B 0/10, Tone B 5/10, Drive B 0/10. Side A (Bluesbreaker) only — the Bluesbreaker circuit produces a warmer, more open overdrive than the Tube Screamer. At Drive A 4 it's pick-sensitive and cleans up with guitar volume. Used for rhythm blues playing where the TS compression would be too present.
Vol A: Bluesbreaker side output level (Off to Loud). Tone A: Bluesbreaker side tone (Dark to Bright). Drive A: Bluesbreaker side drive amount (None to Full). Vol B: Tube Screamer side output level (Off to Loud). Tone B: Tube Screamer side tone (Dark to Bright). Drive B: Tube Screamer side drive amount (None to Full)
The Series/Parallel toggle is the key feature of the Double Barrel — Series runs signal through Side A then Side B (traditional stacking); Parallel runs both sides simultaneously and sums their outputs. Series stacking is more common and produces the traditional overdrive stacking character; Parallel creates a more complex, blended tone that does not sound like either overdrive alone. The Bluesbreaker circuit (Side A) has a more open, transparent low end than the Tube Screamer — the two circuits are complementary precisely because the Bluesbreaker adds character while the TS adds compression and midrange. Running them separately and then stacking is the way to understand how each contributes before combining them. Individual footswitches for each side mean the pedal can function as two completely separate overdrives on a board, not just a fixed dual-stage unit — useful for songs that need only one flavor of drive. When stacking in series, order matters even though both sides are in one enclosure — Side A into Side B (the default signal path) produces a different result than manually reordering pedals would with two separate units, since the internal routing is fixed. For players unfamiliar with either circuit individually, auditioning Side A alone and Side B alone before combining them builds a clearer sense of what each stage contributes to the combined stacked tone.
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