The Story Of ROSS Pedals (Full Documentary)
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- Опубліковано 14 сер 2023
- The influence of ROSS Pedals spans nearly five decades, but it all started with a guy named Bud. This comprehensive documentary shows how a small-town musician became one of the most successful amp manufacturers in music history, and how those amps inspired the stompboxes we know today as ROSS Pedals.
Here's looking at you, Bud.
Follow @ross_electronics on social media!
www.rosselectronics.com/
www.thejhsshow.com/
www.jhspedals.info/
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1:00 - Reviving ROSS
2:18 - Bud Ross's Early Days
5:48 - Beginning of Kustom Amps
10:36 - Bud sells Kustom
12:13 - Era 1 Colorado (ROSS Pedals is born)
14:38 - Era 2 Chanute Kansas (ROSS gets redesigned)
15:56 - The new look (John Mayer, Butch Walker, Robert Keeley)
18:01 - John Mayer's first ROSS Pedal (the Phaser + Distortion)
18:48 - The ROSS Compressor
19:34 - Bud sells ROSS to IMC
21:18 - Era 3 (Texas / Taiwan)
22:07 - Butch Walkers first ROSS Pedals
23:17 - Era 4 Cameron Ross (Chicago)
24:00 - Josh Scott contacts Cameron Ross
24:53 - JHS relaunches ROSS
26:42 - Era 5 Pedal line up (Kansas City)
27:56 - Josh Scott reflects on relaunching ROSS
28:56 - Reflecting on Bud Ross's life
thejhsshow.comthejhsshow.com
ROSSelectronics.com
So Sick, Sir.
I already want the fuzz and/or compressor.. but I’m really needing a chorus.
Mister JHS, Jimmy at Guitar Center in North Alabama may be right about you. Lol
Thank You!
Next time I head back home to Colorado, I may risk Kansas City to visit!
Ross black distortion and black chorus into a Marshall been my sound for 30 years 🔥
You're making so much history 😭🫡
I know we don't see Nick featured in this episode, but huge props to him for all the production work he does behind the scenes for something like this! Beautifully done!
No, say it it ain't so. I love Nick
@@ItsAllFake1username checks out
We see his hands placing the placards on the wall!
@@ItsAllFake1 Belle said it was her or Nick. KDH video incoming.
@@ItsAllFake1 Addison left since he moved lol
Josh is over here making history by documenting history! 👏🏼
You really, really, REALLY, really, have to really appreciate it
Seeing old blokes getting sentimental gets me every time. Kudos JHS. It's more than just a pedal reboot; it's a legacy.
Snog me pebis, then OY
"If you start believing what people say about you, you become what you think they want you to be" - Bud Ross. Wow. That is a quote worth living by!
Such a sex icon of a man
Bud seemed like a very wise man. And is it just me or do pedal makers share something and are less competitive than people in other industries?
Cam here for the story, stayed for the family smiles. That was epic. You can tell they care and it means so much to them.
Cam here for the story 😎 < that’s cam. He’s here for the story
Josh is a folk hero at this point keep it up man
Sweet! Now I can get a Ross Chorus without having to win the vintage market lottery! Cool idea. Nice to see an old brand resurrected in the right way
Yeah man, it's better than the old dusty ones!....
What a classy group of people. Kind and grateful, willing to help each other and honor those who've gone before. Even on the periphery, as an older and barely intermediate bedroom guitar player, through their humanity I feel an emotional connection to a wonderful and positive world. Thanks, Josh.
I, too, am a barely intermediate bedroom guitar player. I have a Kustom 5h Defender, which I'll keep until death.
If every company were as nice as JHS, the world would be a far better place.
No jokes, no burns, just true fire.
I really appreciate what you guys are doing for the entire community, I mean I doubt you're going to lose money on this, but still, that doesn't make it any less awesome that you guys are preserving this piece of history for all of us to enjoy.... thank you!
JHS is the hero/historian we never knew we needed. Good for you for sharing your passion with the world.
I don’t think I’ve ever got teary over a pedal show before, but here we are.
I’m an old fart._64 yrs. young. I remember Ross and Kustom amplifiers well. Never used them. Great video..!
God, now the 500 dollar Kustom amps are going to the moon.
Im so glad this video exists, out there in the ether of 1's and 0's forever. History like this is so important to document as well as this.
Im also super stoked that the Ross family is seeing their namesake restored to a place of pride. Josh, you're going to go down in history along side guys like Bud just for having your heart in the right place all the time and letting that be your guide.
Considering I still have and use my original Ross pedal board put together in the late 70's I'm finding this to be a pretty cool episode!
Very much enjoyed the Documentary. In 1970 I worked in a music store here in NC, 19 years old and was the service manager. My boss sent me to Chanute to learn to service Kustom (and later Kasino) amps. I stayed with Bob Brinkman, Kustom Service Mgr, at his home for a week. This doc brought back many great memories. I’m still in the audio business where we celebrate 50 years in business August 25, 2023.
While watching this, some ninja came into my study and started chopping onions.
What a well written and extremely respectful documentary.
I honestly could not love this more.
That truly was a fantastic film. Utmost respect to everyone involved, and to the Ross family for letting the story be told. Thank you.
this move with ross has set jhs into the fold of iconic pedal companies..............legendary status .....jhs rocks!
At now 60 years old i just learned that my roads 4x12 was only made one year and its high quality of construction is realized ! Bass player and i went in half each on a ross flanger and it was truly amazing !
The Ross distortion was my first pedal. I grew up poor, and my first guitar was an SG based Sears special with mile high action. This was back in '80 when I was 13. My parents sacrificed a lot to get me that, but couldn't afford the amp. So my Dad took an amp from my old turntable, an old stereo speaker, built a cabinet and that was my first guitar amp.
So I'm learning my power chords and everything, but not sounding anything like the bands I liked (Sabbath, Zeppelin, etc). My uncle told me I needed a "fuzz tone" (which is what he called all kinds of overdrive and distortion). Sometime in '81 or '82 I went to my music store and someone was trying out a Ratt, and boom! That was the sound I was sfter. But I couldn't afford it. I think it was about $60. But there was the Ross for around $30, which I could afford.
Got it home, and I still sounded like crap, and the Ross barely produced any distortion, nothing like what I heard from the Ratt. So, not knowing shit about these things, I thought the Ross just pretty much sucked. It was better than nothing, though. It wasn't until much later I realized I had never truly heard the Ross, and it was likely my janky setup rather than the pedal that was the problem (a janky setup that I love and appreciate because of what my folks did for me and because that's how I initially learned guitar. I only wish I still had that old Sears guitar and the amp Dad made for me).
So I'm glad Ross are back, because it's still a huge nostalgia thing for me, and maybe now I'll have a chance to hear what they really sound like. Though I'm still pretty poor and doubt they're still going for $30. Haha.
You can tell how emotionally invested Josh is at the end. This is an amazing mini-doc. Well done 👍🏻👍🏻
Ross pedals were the ones on display in the music store where I took lessons as a kid. I remember drooling over them, getting a Distortion and later a Phaser. Wish I'd kept 'em (especially the phaser... was anything else that lush?) Guess my pedalboard is gonna grow a phaser :-)
This is a brilliant story and piece of film making - well done all
The Tan Distortion was my first I bought and my uncle gave me a cry baby.
That's all I had gigging in the early 80s. 😢
Honestly, I thought that Wampler, Keeley and JHS were bitter rivals, so I'm a bit surprised to hear KEely outright say that JHS is the perfect company to bring back the ROSS pedal line
not at all! we're all good friends 🙂
Very cool that JHS is resurrecting Ross pedals. I still have my Ross distortion from the 80's and love it!
One of these days I gotta buy another knob for it. 😆
Great story! Once again, Josh and crew unearth and retell the history of pedal industry. And bonus -- Ross pedals are back!
🖤
I love my vintage Ross chorus, and I eventually found a Taiwan made Ross Distortion that sounds great too. Thanks for resurrecting this great brand, and much thanks to Josh for being the pedal historian he has become. It's so great you are preserving all of this information, the history, the mythos, ...the boxes...all of it. History will be (should be, anyway) very kind to Josh Scott. Great work JHS Pedals!
Not kidding: this is touching. I freaking love this documentary and I freaking love JHS as a dude and as a company and I will definitely revisit these classic circuits due to watching this.
Not kidding: this is Kuching. Kuching is my pwnis’ name :)
My first bass amp was a solid state Kustom (100 Watts, I think?) head. The padded "tuck and roll" exterior was a bit weird, but man, it really kicked! When I took it apart (don't worry, I'm a qualified tech!) I was really impressed. Kustom was using heavy duty epoxy glass circuit boards in an era when most others were using flimsy phenolic. The copper traces on the boards were *thick* (I know from cutting them to do modifications). They used way more filter capacitance in the power supply than was common for the time. All the coupling capacitors were Tantalum rather than electrolytic - built to last. Good stuff.
Engineer here and the build quality was top notch. I have had my Kustom 250 for 45 years and still going strong. I replaced the filter caps last year just to be safe.
As a native Kansan who doesn't even play an instrument, it was so cool to see the history here. Family history and tradition is such an integral part of all our lives.
I was born in Chanute in '78. My aunt worked at Kustom in the 90s, making police radar units. Thanks for the great documentary. I'll show my family.
Back in 1986 I got a Ross electric guitar. Still one of my favorite. Has anyone else seen one before?
I hit “like” solely for the old black and white tv being turned on showing Ross logo. Above and beyond visuals - good work.
The pedals are absolutely awesome, and that’s why we’re all here. But let’s not overlook the production quality of these videos. Just wow. 😲 Please keep them coming.
Fun fact: Chanute, KS is named for engineer, aviation pioneer and friend of the Wright Brothers Octave Chanute.
Salute @tonyfdesign Great fact!
His Soaring Machine of 1897 is absolutely beautiful.
Man... you're doing the Lord's Work on these, Josh!
Back around the end of the 1970s was also the time I first set foot in a Nashville studio, while still in high school. So while these were in production, Nashville had its particular Ross faves.
The compressor, interestingly, wasn't huge. MXR's Dynacomp ran the show for a lot of players, to the point that any compressor pedal was just referred to as a "red box".
But the distortion, chorus, and stereo delay? That's different. When guitar players wanted some dirt, that was the role of the Ross distortion. Nashville players found it to be very controllable, especially when a lead needed just a touch of "hair".
The chorus was always neck by neck with the MXR Stereo Chorus (the plug-in variety) and DOD stuff, but it had some serious advocates, especially when guitar pickers wanted "thicker" but NOT "effect-y".
But the stereo delay...now, that's where things got interesting. Pickers didn't have these a lot of the time...but the STUDIOS did! So, right alongside some coveted gear, you'd see one of those Ross stereo delays on top of a rack or sitting on the console bridge, and they often saw action for getting slap effects that had the "grit" like you'd find with tape delay.
Of the new ones, I want to check the fuzz pedal. Kustom amps were infamous for that fuzz circuit, and you can check CCR's stuff (my fave being "Cosmo's Factory") to hear why. So having THAT in a box...yeah, that's right up there with Ryan's astonishing reveal of the Cuvave Fuzz. And while the Cuvaves (yeah, I needed two of 'em) are incredible on mids and up, I need a peek at the new Ross one for lower tone-wrenching.
And really, seriously consider the stereo delay for reissue next. There's something about it that sounds so dirty...it nails the old-skool slap from old Sun releases, for example. Very Americana-capable...not surprising at all that you'd find them on the other side of the glass!
....Josh, been following you & your UA-cam for a few years now & I have to say you're becoming my favorite guy in this area of music gear (pedals). I'm in my 60s now & have been a semi-pro musician for the last 50 years or so & pedals were something I thought I'd never go back to until I discovered your pedals. I now have/use a few of your pedals (Goldenrod OD?, Angry Charlie, Andy Timmons) & I use them on a regular basis... All the gear you cover (or have covered) I've either actually owned or heard of or owned briefly until I moved on to better things. Your attention to detail (historical/otherwise) is impeccable. I love that about you. My memory of Ross pedals, be it earned or unearned, was one of a product that didn't have a solid reputation & quality was sporadic. So I never used them for long. Once I discovered 19" rack FX's in the 80s, that's what I used for a long time till I wanted to "lighten the load" as it were in the 90s (pedals were all digital by then) starting with Boss, MXR, Ibanez, Yamaha. From what I remember of the 70s, pedals were still a new thing & not everyone did it well (breakage, noise, etc). Word of mouth was the best endorsement (musician to musician). When I went on tour in the late 70s early 80-s, my main rigg was a Marshall 1/2 stack & Lab-5. FX's were minimal, a tape echo & chorus unit (a Yamaha analog box unit that had the same footprint as the Maestro)... & a Conn strobe tuner. It was about 1983 or so I started to see digital pedals start to show up on other guitarists' floorboards & "less is more" started to be a thing (we had road crews then, so I didn't make the shift till much later since I liked how durable/quiet/better sounding the 19" stuff was)... Fast forward, I hadn't bought a dist/OD pedal in decades till I saw one of Josh's pedals in the "new gear" section of VG... I was making a changeup in my sound & wanted to go the Tim Pearce way of "edge of breakup + OD pedal" & that's when I dropped the money for my 1st JHS. I got it right on the 1st try & was so impressed with JHS stuff I had to look at the rest of it. My rigg is still Marshall (a 40-C combo) tuner, chorus, echo & JHS OD. Sounds great. I bought a 5 band EQ & buffer, but I don't use those anymore (I keep them JIC). The best feature of the JHS is the foot pedal input jack that can go from blue to red LED (which is the only thing I have on the floor besides the Marshall Ch. switching button) I don't have a pedalboard on the floor with a bunch of things on it. From a distance, it looks like I go straight in (all pedals are on top of my amp) which is the way I like it & I still use a cable. After watching this episode here (on Bud Ross) I have to admit & had a tear in my eye with the way you ended it. Something dignified in these times in a graceless world. I thank you & I'll always be a fan & use your products, because, like you, they're the best.
Nick deserves a raise for this project alone
Josh is just unstoppable. Congratulations
The whole reason why my dad’s family moved to Kansas was so my grandpa could work for Bud (selling radar tech I believe). Crazy to think how both my dad and I are musicians, and never owned a Ross pedal. Looks like we’ll be buying two!
Did you ever feel lied to?
as someone who lives in Overland Park, I had NO IDEA Kustom started here. As always, thanks for the history stories you tell on this channel, mr. josh
When I was in junior high in the late 60s my mother would chaperone the high school dances at my older sisters school, she would take me along to watch the bands as I was just getting into music and guitars and guitar gear. Most of the bands had a Kustom PA and instrument amps, I was in awe watching those bands. I had also just discovered CCR and I became a huge fan. I started cutting school and hanging out at the Sam Ash store on Kings Highway in Brooklyn where they had walls of Kustoms. For a youngster just becoming aware of all the available gear at that time it was an awesome time. 🇺🇸🎸👮🏻♂️
I went from not knowing what Ross pedals are to being fully interested and wanting one. Mission accomplished, I guess.
I'm still rockin the Ross distortion I bought in '79, AND, my first amp was a Kustom tuck-n-roll head and cab!
How come I've never heard of Ross? I've been playing for 30 plus years... I like Ross pedals... I like the the tin man.
...don't bother me - I'm - I'm thinking!
I love the lack of ego from Josh and Co. Didn't put the JHS name on the pedals anywhere. They just wanted it to be done right. They really care about the legacy of the brand and the story. You can see it means the world to the grandson and partner.
I still have a Ross Distortion pedal I got in 1984…
I used to own a ROSS mixer 8x2, I loved the sound of my guitar plugged straight into a channel with the gain pushed to the max, I wish they had made a pedal out of it :)
I wanted badly to correct you for using the word “ironic” incorrectly at 15:49, but you nailed it. You see, I have a pet peeve that “ironic” is so often misused for what is really a coincidence. I hear it misused so often that I’ve come to the realization that the word “ironic” may change to mean a coincidence and not the opposite. The fact that Ross pedals gained a competitive advantage from an action by another in an attempt to reduce their success is truly ironic. Congratulations Josh you win the irony award for the day.
I was at a guitarist friend's house about 1980-82. I heard a cool phase sound coming from the other room. Walked in there and it was an orange Ross phaser, the first time I ever heard a Ross pedal. Being quite impressed, I thought gee, I'll have to get me one of those one day. Cut to 2014 it popped back into my head. Got on eBay and bought a 1979 orange Ross phaser. Sure enough it had that thick yummy chewy sweep that I remember. My fav phaser for sure. I will be checking out demos on all the newly made Ross pedals. Must thank Josh for being the pedal nerd that he is. Hès got our back and won't bullshit us when it comes to gear. My favorite phaser is commin back- I'm picking up a spare!
"Elvis's backing band" was the first great electric inspiration to a young Hendrix.
Wonderful documentation and storytelling. Congratulations to all. 🎉
I remember ALL of these products & used most of them. I even remember in 1980 or81 or82 IMC the people who bought the company opened a ROSS manufacturing & warehouse here in FT. Worth TEXAS where I made some deals for merchandise. WOW, that was over 40 years ago!
What a tremendous job on this documentary by the JHS team. Well written, well executed and a timeless package. ❤
In 1979 I walked into my local music store and bought my very first pedal, The Ross D/P Combination. I still have that pedal, and it still kicks ass.
Damn, you guys got me all emotional about a pedal company!
i love your documentaries. so well done
So well put together
What a nice and really really good tribute. Great quality doc again JHS! Looking allready forward to the next.
Trey Anastasio got me into the Ross brand! Compressor.
Well done guys- outstanding work
As a graphic designer I always admire this design and logo, so classy!
Such a good documentary. Thanks JHS!
That’s awesome, Josh! Great work and I can’t wait to try them out.
A wonderful documentary about pedal. Thanks you for your work!
Just incredible how this shows are amazing. A lot of effort into it for sure. Congrats
Outstanding
Thank you!
Thanks for putting the piece together, great to watch.
Excellent documentary guys! I love the history.
This was an incredible documentary. Very engaging and great storytelling b
this is such an awesome move JHS!
what a great documentary!!! Thanks!!
Great work by the production staff of the video.
great work Nick and Josh.
I want sooo much more of this content. I will be watching this over and over. Thanks JHS
Great documentary! Thank you for putting content like this out!
Love it Josh , well done !
Great story, thanks for sharing!
Excellent work Nick!
Wow ! Thats really an amazing story! Thanks folks!
Great documentary guys !
Such a great piece! Thank you JHS 🤙🏻
Josh, this is awesome. What a journey. Must be such an emotional launch for you - not just resurrecting classics but telling the story too. Love it
This story made me very happy. Thank you.
this was a really good watch!
I love this format for video thanks JHS 👍🏻
I'm so grateful for your brand, your team, and work you do at JHS. We are lucky to have successful businesses like yourself, educate us on the history of some of these pedals, especially ones we never come across. I absolutely love gear, and although Ross sounded familiar to me, I could honestly say it was the first time I was seeing them. After watching this video, I can't wait to give them a try. Thank you for making sure these products keep seeing the light of day, so we can discover/re-discover them. Don't ever stop
Amazing! Good work JHS
What a great story! Thank you.
Years ago, back in the mid-late 80's, I found one of the tan Ross distortion pedals, laying down on the floor, on the back side of a stage of a club one if my bands was playing at. It had no back cover, several wires were hanging, unconnected & the 9 volt battery clip was missing. I didn't think much of it at the time but I grabbed it, took it home and it soon became just another part of my ever-growing, junkyard of broken or retired guitar gear. Sometime in the early 2000's, I was looking for parts to repair an old Thomas Organ Company Crybaby and I noticed the poor Ross dirt box laying there. I started messing around with it and eventually got it working. I'm not sure that the wires were all soldered to the proper spots but it works. I made a cover for the back, put some foam inside to keep the battery still and I've been using the thing ever since. It's got a great sound for old 70's hard rock. Sounds awesome with my old Les Paul Deluxe with P-90s.
Thank you so much for these documentaries! I love the history of all my fav gear over the years
Wow, great story. Thanks for putting that together!
Great story, great video !!
Awesome movie! Thank you so much for this.
Very nice story. Well done JHS and the Ross family.
Love this kind of suff, thanks JHS.
What an incredible documentary! ❤️