JHS Pedals Kilt 10 Limited Edition

After ten years, the 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 we launched the ultimate dirt pedal with Stu G (legendary guitarist, writer, producer, and founding member of UK band Delirious?), and we 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 our best-selling overdrive/distortion pedals year after year.

THE EVOLUTION OF OVERDRIVE

The original Kilt carved out its own space in a crowded field by focusing on clarity, versatility and musical responsiveness. But over the years, we 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 every one of these requests while maintaining the DNA that made you fall in love with the Kilt in the first place. It's what you love but better.

WHAT'S NEW FOR 2025

An Updated Look – The finish returns to polished aluminum as a tribute to the original Kilt V1, now paired with classic Expandora-style knobs. It’s wrapped up with a refreshed Kilt icon that cleverly nods to both the Scottish flag and the Roman numeral “X” to represent ten years.  

Improved Gain Control: The gain knob now offers a far more usable range from 0-25%, unlocking articulate, low-gain textures that weren't previously accessible. No more dead zones — just smooth, musical breakup from whisper-quiet to full saturation.

Enhanced High-End Clarity: We've refined the top end to help the pedal cut through a mix with greater definition, which is especially noticeable in live band settings where every bit of clarity counts.

Increased Volume Headroom: More output on tap translates into a more responsive tone across your entire rig, adding dimension and feel whether you're hitting a clean amp or stacking with other drives.

Refined Toggle Switches: The gain toggles have been tweaked for more usable gain parameters while keeping the pedals original feel and settings. The Low-Cut toggle is now far more amp-friendly, working well across a wider range of amplifiers (including amp modeler pedals and software).

Diode Choice Enhancement: A new clipping circuit adds more touch-sensitive feel and nuance without departing from the pedal's core identity. It has slightly more compression, distortion on tap, and a smoother attack. Think Kilt V2 but bigger. From the first chord you play, you will love how it feels. 

HOW TO USE IT

The beauty of the Kilt 10  is that it functions exactly like the Kilt V2. With G1 down and G2 up, it acts like a higher gain stage boost—perfect for pushing your amp's front end or stacking with fuzz. Flip both toggles up and you get that massive wall of saturated British overdrive that made the original famous. The improved gain sweep means you can dial in everything from edge-of-breakup rhythm tones to singing lead saturation to all out gated spitting fuzz.

The enhanced headroom and clarity make this version particularly suited for complex chord work and intricate picking patterns that would get lost in lesser overdrives.

And don't forget—the Kilt comes equipped with proprietary JHS Red Remote circuitry that allows you to switch the gain toggle on-the-fly for instant changes between overdrive and distortion, or distortion and fuzz!