After ten years, the JHS Kilt gets a refreshed voice and reimagined aesthetic. An updated clipping section delivers more headroom, smoother attack and a richer, more dynamically useful drive range than ever before.

Where It Began

In 2015 JHS launched the ultimate dirt pedal with Stu G (legendary guitarist, writer, producer and founding member of UK band Delirious?), and never looked back. He wanted a pedal that could cover any ground he needed for his studio work and extensive touring gigs across the globe. From that request, the Kilt was born — and ever since, it has been one of JHS's best-selling overdrive/distortion pedals year after year.

The Evolution of Overdrive

The original JHS Kilt carved out its own space in a crowded field by focusing on clarity, versatility and musical responsiveness. But over the years, JHS kept hearing the same requests: more headroom for cleaner tones, more audible effect from the flat/cut toggle and more control over the low-gain textures.
The Kilt 10 addresses all of these while maintaining the DNA that made players fall in love with the original. It’s everything you loved — only better.

What’s New for 2025

• Updated look: Polished aluminium finish returning to the aesthetic of the original Kilt V1, now paired with classic Expandora-style knobs. Completed with a refreshed Kilt icon that nods to both the Scottish flag and the Roman numeral “X” for ten years.

• Improved gain control: A far more usable range from 0–25%, unlocking articulate low-gain textures that weren’t previously accessible. No dead zones — just smooth, musical breakup from subtle to fully saturated.

• Enhanced high-end clarity: Refined top-end response for better mix-cutting definition, especially in live settings where clarity matters.

• Increased volume headroom: More output on tap for improved responsiveness across any rig, whether hitting a clean amp or stacking with other drives.

• Refined toggle switches: Gain toggles adjusted for more usable gain parameters while maintaining the original feel. The Low-Cut toggle is now far more amp-friendly and works well across a wider range of amps, modelers and software.

• Diode choice enhancement: A new clipping circuit that adds touch sensitivity, nuance and a smoother attack. Slightly more compression and distortion available, while staying true to the Kilt identity. Think Kilt V2 — but bigger.

How to Use It

The JHS Kilt 10 functions exactly like the Kilt V2. With G1 down and G2 up, it behaves like a higher-gain stage boost — ideal for pushing an amp’s front end or stacking with fuzz. Flip both toggles up for the massive wall of saturated British overdrive the original became known for.

The improved gain sweep lets you dial everything from edge-of-breakup rhythm tones, to singing lead sustain, to full-on gated, spitting fuzz. The expanded headroom and clarity also make it especially suited to complex chords and intricate picking patterns that easily get lost on lesser drives.

The Kilt 10 also includes proprietary JHS Red Remote circuitry, allowing you to switch the gain toggle on the fly — perfect for instant changes between overdrive and distortion, or distortion and fuzz.

Key Features: