 ‘The Juicy Fruit ($543 retail/street price N/A) is identical in
every aspect to the Hot Tuna, save for its two mini-toggle
switches, which are labeled Vitamin and Protein. The Tonehunter
folks state that this pedal is recommended for fans of
“California juice tone,” and while it’s not exactly clear what
that means, the Juicy Fruit is a more laid back companion to
the Hot Tuna, and is intended for blues players, rockers, and
modern jazzers. The Fruit’s raison d’etre is tube-flavored distortion.
It has lots of output too, and can deliver a hot signal
regardless of where the Burn (gain) control is set. The Voice
control offers plenty of top-end slice, but can also elicit very
buttery tones at lower settings. My favorite way to use this
pedal with a PRS 22 was to put the Voice knob a little south
of halfway, the Burn knob nearly all the way up, and the
Protein switch at its upward setting (for maximum gain and
ballsiness—a configuration that nicely accommodated the
22’s slightly reduced output when using it in split mode.
The Juicy’s lack of super-high-gain capability may be a dealbreaker
to some, but if you like the concept of a tube-style
pedal that doesn’t add a lot of its own color to the sound, then
the Juicy Fruit could be a tasty addition to your tone menu.
—Art Thompson
KUDOS Clear, tube-like distortion. Lots of output.
CONCERNS Very expensive.
CONTACT tonehunterusa.com
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