If you’re chasing that fabulously gritty fuzz that’s equal parts nostalgia and novelty, the JHS Cheese Ball might just be the secret sauce your rig’s been craving. It’s the kind of fuzz that doesn’t just fill the room — it takes over the room. Plug it in, and suddenly you’re transported to a place where 90’s alt rock, shoegaze walls of sound, and raw garage chaos all live in perfect harmony.

The Cheese Ball doesn’t just fuzz — it chews up your signal and spits it back in glorious, harmonically rich waves. It’s not polite. It’s not refined. It’s fun. And the best part? Every time you click it on, it feels like you’re unwrapping a sonic snack you know you probably shouldn’t eat before dinner, but you’re going to anyway because it’s just that good.

Origins & Build Quality

Born as a loving nod to the rare — and wallet-meltingly expensive — Lovetone Big Cheese of the ’90s, the Cheese Ball captures that cult-classic fuzz/distortion circuit in a way that feels both reverent and refreshingly modern. The original Big Cheese has become a collector’s holy grail, selling for silly amounts on the used market. JHS, in true JHS fashion, decided that great tone shouldn’t require auction-level bidding wars, and brought the magic back in a pedal you can actually find and afford.

Construction-wise, the Cheese Ball means business. Housed in a rugged, all-metal enclosure that feels ready to survive the kind of tour where you’re playing on beer-sticky club stages one night and in someone’s garage the next, it’s built for the real world. The true-bypass switching ensures your clean tone stays pristine when the pedal’s off, while the stomp switch itself feels satisfyingly solid underfoot.

The knobs have that perfect amount of resistance — not so loose they’ll shift when you accidentally bump them, but smooth enough to dial in micro adjustments mid-rehearsal. Side-mounted jacks keep the footprint tight for pedalboard efficiency, and the graphic — an unapologetically bold wedge of cartoon cheese — makes it stand out in a sea of black and grey boxes. You can tell JHS wanted to capture the personality of the original while giving it modern pedalboard manners.

Tone Modes: Four Ways to Melt Your Ears

Here’s where the Cheese Ball really earns its keep. The four-position rotary knob doesn’t just tweak EQ — it completely shifts the personality of the pedal. Each mode feels like you’re stepping into a different practice space, jamming with a different band entirely:

1. OFF – Don’t be fooled by the name. This setting disables the tone circuit, unleashing a raw, bright, open fuzz/distortion that feels alive under your fingers. It’s trashy in the best possible way, jangly yet controllable, and perfect for cutting through a dense mix.

2. Position 1 – The mid-scooped, Big Muff–esque voice. Big, booming lows, smoothed-out highs, and that slightly hollow midrange that screams ‘90s grunge and shoegaze swells. Great for power chords that need to feel huge without stepping on the bass player.

3. Position 2 – Mid-forward aggression. This is the one for solos that demand attention or riffs that need to punch through a wall of sound. It adds a grind and presence that sits right in the middle of the frequency spectrum, making it feel almost amp-like in its authority.

4. Position 3 – The “chaos mode.” A gated, spitty, sputtering fuzz that borders on synth-like in its glitchy unpredictability. Perfect for experimental intros, noise interludes, or just making your bandmates turn around and say, “What the hell was that?”

The beauty here is that you’re not stuck with one flavor of fuzz. This pedal’s like a cheese platter — a little something for everyone, depending on what you’re in the mood for.

Real Player Opinions

The pedal community has shown a lot of love for this little wedge of tone. Here are a few standout reactions:

“Love this pedal. Really enjoy the tone control on it and being able to round things off or scoop out the mids.”

“The mode selector… OFF mode is bright and open, setting 1 is mid-scooped grunge, setting 2 brings mids and gain, and setting 3 is a gated fuzz beast—experience is mandatory.”

Another player called the build “solid as JHS gets” and praised the pedal’s footprint — it’s compact but packed with personality. There’s also a shared appreciation for how faithfully it channels the vibe of the original Big Cheese without feeling like a museum piece.

Pros & Cons at a Glance

What’s Great:

• Four distinct fuzz personalities in a single pedal = serious utility and creativity.

• Historic pedigree without the “sell a kidney” price tag.

• Rugged, road-ready build with true-bypass simplicity.

• Faithful to the original Big Cheese while adding modern pedalboard practicality.

What to Watch:

• Some players report lower overall output than expected — you might need to adjust your gain staging or add a boost pedal for certain live setups.

• The gain knob can be a little touchy, going from mild grit to “face-melting fuzz” very quickly. A light touch is your friend here.

Conclusion: Is It Worth the Slice?

Absolutely. The JHS Cheese Ball is a flavorful, versatile fuzz that plays nice with others, bucks the “one-trick pedal” stereotype, and brings vintage spice with modern heat. It’s great for creative players who want a range of textures — from smooth scoops to glitchy sputter — without cluttering their board.

It’s weird, bold, and totally musical. And sometimes, that’s exactly what your tone needs.