WHEN TRANSPARENT OVERDRIVE ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH

We took our most legendary overdrive to a new level and redefined what it means to be transparent. Clearer pick attack, improved low end, and more versatile gain stacking. This is the ultimate first-stage overdrive pedal.

IT STARTED AT SOUND CHECK

I watched Julian Lage dial in his tone at a soundcheck in Chicago: vintage Fender amp, Collings semi-hollow guitar, adjusting pickup heights and moving positions on stage for the perfect balance. He’s used a Morning Glory for years — a big reason it ended up on jazz pedalboards worldwide. After the soundcheck, we discussed what he looked for in an overdrive, and one thing led to another. Ideas for improving the Morning Glory started forming.

THE PROBLEM WITH TRANSPARENT

Any type of clipping, even in transparent overdrives, compresses pick attack, narrows dynamics, and shapes frequency response. So we did something no one else has done: rebuilt the Morning Glory (Bluesbreaker-style topology) around a studio-grade parallel clean blend. Not just a modification — a complete redesign.

The parallel clean allows you to retain all the character and harmonics of the overdrive while dialing the natural low end back in — nothing compromised, all tone preserved.

THIS ISN'T A CLEAN KNOB SLAPPED ON

The Clean control uses a dual-gang potentiometer, scaling clean gain proportionally with the drive signal for seamless blending across all gain settings. Most clean blends are afterthoughts, but here both signals track perfectly: no volume jumps, no phase issues.

The pedal runs on a ±9V dual supply, providing higher headroom than the original V1 or other Bluesbreaker-style pedals. The Tone control affects only the overdrive path, leaving the clean signal untouched — the most sophisticated Morning Glory we've built.

ENDLESS HEADROOM, ANY VOLUME

Massive clean guitar sounds at any volume — the Clean control adds back wattage, clarity, and punch, emulating a high-wattage amp at breakup without earplugs.

IT GOES ON EVERYTHING

Stack it before distortion to open sustain, or after delay for new textures. First-stage overdrive? This is the best Morning Glory ever built. Works beautifully in front of amp modelers like Kemper, Quad Cortex, UAD, or Helix. Bassists will appreciate the clean blend’s low-end retention, making this possibly the best bass overdrive JHS has made.

WHO THIS ISN'T FOR

If you want a wild new sound or tons of tweaks, this pedal isn’t for you. It’s designed to do less while giving more: no bad sounds, immediate gratification, and seamless operation.

CONTROLS

• Volume — Adjusts overall volume in conjunction with Drive and Clean.
• Clean — Full left: original Morning Glory; full right: pure clean signal. Start with Clean and Drive maxed, then dial Clean back to find your perfect balance.
• Drive — Controls saturation. Use in tandem with Clean for balance.
• Tone — Classic Morning Glory tone stack affecting only the drive path. Back for warmth, forward for clarity.
• Clean Boost Pro Tip — Set Clean to 100% and increase Drive. In this mode, Drive acts as a pure clean volume boost with no clipping.