JHS Pedals Artificial Blonde Madison Cunningham Vibrato Pedal Overview
Signature Madison Cunningham vibrato pedal that delivers three-dimesnional pitch modulation, stereo outputs, active tilt EQ and two selectable presets.
When Madison recorded her second full-length album, Who You Are Now, her producer Tyler Chester had already contacted us about getting a few modulation pedals to develop her new foundational sound. Madison ended up using the JHS Emperor Vibrato and Unicorn Univibe on that record, which not only became fundamental to her sound. It became a signature sound.
Over the next few years, Madison and Josh became good friends, and he’d often stop by her concerts as an unofficial guitar tech. During a soundcheck in Lawrence, KS, Josh noticed that even though her Emperor was always on and in vibrato mode, Madison kept reaching down to switch the setting to another sound. Sensing an opportunity to make it easier to use during live shows, Josh first modded the pedal and then ended up developing an entirely new stompbox.
Thus, the Artificial Blonde was born.
Madison actually toured with the prototype for a full year (you may recognize it as the black nondescript stompbox labelled “Blonde”), but we’re releasing it officially as the newest member of the JHS lineup and as Madison Cunningham’s signature pedal.
At its core, the Artificial Blonde is a very simplistic approach to Madison’s signature sound: a never-off, always on slightly 3D pitch vibrato sound. The secondary footswitch switches between the two speed/depth preset sections. It’s a true pitch vibrato modulation pedal with two easy-to-access modes for live use. Out of all the signature pedals we’ve done, this is the most signature. Simply put, this is Madison Cunningham in a box: clean Fender-style amp, Jazzmaster electric guitar with flatwound strings tuned down, and a 3D wash of vibrato.
