EarthQuaker Devices Plumes vs JHS Morning Glory V4

Aug 18, 2026

Plumes vs Morning Glory is one of the overdrive questions I get asked most, and it makes sense: both sit in the same low to medium gain territory, both get called transparent, and neither of them really is. The widget above plays them through the same loop, the same chain and the same room at three gain settings, so you can hear what separates them before you read a word about it.

EarthQuaker Devices Plumes

The Plumes is EQD’s take on the Tube Screamer, except they swapped the classic 4558 op-amp and BJT buffers for JFET operational amplifiers and convert the 9V supply to a bipolar rail internally. That extra headroom is the whole reason it never sounds congested.

The three-way Mode toggle is where its personality lives. Position 1 is symmetrical LED clipping, the crunchiest and most compressed of the three, with a full grind that translates well into a clean amp. Position 2 pulls the clipping diodes out entirely and runs straight op-amp drive, so even with the Gain cranked you’re getting light, open saturation that works beautifully as a boost. Position 3 is asymmetrical silicon, the closest thing here to a stock Screamer, but with more clarity and a lot more output on tap.

The Tone control is worth a mention too. It isn’t just a treble filter: it reshapes the whole voice from dark and round to bright and aggressive, and it stays usable across the full sweep. There’s much more of it in the full Plumes demo.

Tone quest ends here

Treat yo' self

Upgrade your noise

Buy through these links and support Loopy Demos at no extra cost to you.

JHS Morning Glory V4

The Morning Glory comes from the other side of the family tree, a Marshall Bluesbreaker derivative, and it’s far more opinionated about frequencies. There’s a noticeable mid hump, not as pronounced as a Klon or a Screamer but definitely present, and a significant bass cut baked into the circuit.

That combination is what makes it carve. It sits in front of a mix rather than underneath it, which is why it works so well as a lead boost or for cutting rhythm parts, though you’re getting a shaped voice rather than a neutral one. Switch between the two on the Light preset and you’ll hear the low end drop away immediately.

The gain toggle is effectively a second pedal sharing the enclosure: flip it, the LED goes from blue to red, and the saturation jumps meaningfully. On the side there’s a high-cut switch that trims the top-end edge, subtle but genuinely useful if your rig is already bright. The full Morning Glory demo walks through the Drive sweep and both high-cut positions.

Impulse buy here

Buy now, brag later

Buy through these links and support Loopy Demos at no extra cost to you.

Get This One If…

Get the Plumes if you want the overdrive to stay out of the way. It has the headroom to sit in front of an already-good amp tone without rearranging it, and between the three clipping modes you get a clean boost, a Screamer and a crunchier LED-clipped voice in one enclosure. It’s also the safer pick if you play with a bassist and want your low end left intact.

Get the Morning Glory if you need to be heard. The bass cut and mid push are a feature rather than a compromise: in a loud band with a second guitar player, this is the one that stays audible without turning up. It’s also the more straightforward box if you’d rather have one great sound and a hotter version of it than three modes to choose between.