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JOYO Amp! How does it compare to other name brands?

#21
Pippy said:
That is very helpful.

I am looking at a few amps now, the one I like thus far (from reviews) is the Blackstar combo amp (fly3bass) $80
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I have that one! It won’t blow you away—but it won’t blow your neighbors away, either! Perfectly good for what it is, and probably a good fit for your situation. I would recommend getting the stereo setup with two speakers and a power cable if you go this route unless you’ve got a good way to keep a lot of charged AA batteries around. Generally speaking playing bass through guitar speakers is a BAD idea; but in this case the wattage, speakers, and boxes are identical; I actually prefer the guitar version for bass in my case, but I like a bright, clanky sound.

You might also look into the Positive Grid Spark mentioned earlier. I have no personal experience with that one but I have only heard good things about them. Good for guitar as well if you decide to switch up or branch out.
 
#22
Pippy said:
SWEET! I'll totally be looking into the Peavey Rage and Positive Grid Spark. Thank you
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Just want to make sure you understood the Rage is a guitar amp and probably not all that great for bass; I've never tried it though. I simply used it as an example of what you could find inexpensively second hand, so you could likely find something similarly good in a bass combo for a good price on epay, CL, FB marketplace, classifieds here etc.
 
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#23
Riff Ranger said:
I can’t speak to the quality of Joyo products (thankfully we’ve already heard from someone who can). But if you would like, I can speak to what might work in your situation (and many others here can speak with greater authority than me). If you want more than just a specific answer to “how does Joyo compare?” I suggest starting a thread titled something like “what amp works best in a dorm room?” If that’s what you really want to know, I have two thoughts to start:

•Which amp did you just sell? How did you like that one? We can make better recommendations if we know more about what you like.

•Bass frequencies travel through walls almost like they’re not even there, and you’ll have a lot of very close neighbors. Dorm residents shouldn’t expect a super quiet living situation, but playing bass through even a small setup will, ahem, get you noticed. (Ask me how I know, haha!) I strongly encourage you to look into either a dedicated headphone amp or a conventional amp with a quality headphone out. A good DI pedal (I use a Tech 21 NYC SansAmp Para Driver, for example, but you’ve got A LOT of options) into a recording interface with a headphone out would also work.
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Why does he need a DI to play thru a interface? He can plug straight in. It's designed for that. I never understand this advice on TB.
 
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#24
Riff Ranger said:
I have that one! It won’t blow you away—but it won’t blow your neighbors away, either! Perfectly good for what it is, and probably a good fit for your situation. I would recommend getting the stereo setup with two speakers and a power cable if you go this route unless you’ve got a good way to keep a lot of charged AA batteries around. Generally speaking playing bass through guitar speakers is a BAD idea; but in this case the wattage, speakers, and boxes are identical; I actually prefer the guitar version for bass in my case, but I like a bright, clanky sound.

You might also look into the Spark mentioned earlier. I have no personal experience with that one but I have only heard good things about them.
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The spark is roughly the same price as a Fender Rumble 40. It's out of the stated budget.

Anyone got an old functional combo they could ship her? I'd be happy to chip in on the shipping cost. Let's help her out!
 
#25
Riff Ranger said:
I have that one! It won’t blow you away—but it won’t blow your neighbors away, either! Perfectly good for what it is, and probably a good fit for your situation. I would recommend getting the stereo setup with two speakers and a power cable if you go this route unless you’ve got a good way to keep a lot of charged AA batteries around. Generally speaking playing bass through guitar speakers is a BAD idea; but in this case the wattage, speakers, and boxes are identical; I actually prefer the guitar version for bass in my case, but I like a bright, clanky sound.

You might also look into the Positive Grid Spark mentioned earlier. I have no personal experience with that one but I have only heard good things about them. Good for guitar as well if you decide to switch up or branch out.
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The Positive Grid Spark definitely has my attention, I think it's worth looking to find a used one.

What about a Fender Frontman 10G? Also $80 (seems to have better review too)
 
#26
matante said:
Why does he need a DI to play thru a interface? He can plug straight in. It's designed for that. I never understand this advice on TB.
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1) he’s a she. 2) if you run the interface into a DAW and EQ everything there, or if the interface has some EQ, I suppose you don’t absolutely need a DI; but if you want to use the interface without the DAW essentially as a pure headphone amp, and you want any tone shaping capabilities, you want a DI.

edit: as @matante points out, I mean “preamp” when I say “DI” here, and they’re not the same thing.
 
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#27
A9X said:
Just want to make sure you understood the Rage is a guitar amp and probably not all that great for bass; I've never tried it though. I simply used it as an example of what you could find inexpensively second hand, so you could likely find something similarly good in a bass combo for a good price on epay, CL, FB marketplace, classifieds here etc.
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Okay, yeah. I understand, and that is where I am headed to haha.
 
#29
Riff Ranger said:
1
1) he’s a she. 2) if you run the interface into a DAW and EQ everything there, or if the interface has some EQ, I suppose you don’t absolutely need a DI; but if you want to use the interface without the DAW essentially as a pure headphone amp, and you want any tone shaping capabilities, you want a DI.
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A "DI" is a simple box with an XLR out. You're talking about a preamp with a DI output. Telling her her she needs a DI could lead her to buy a Radial JDI because she thinks it's necessary. I've seen tons of people on Talkbass make this mistake. Seems rampant.
 
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#32
matante said:
A "DI" is a simple box with an XLR out. You're talking about a preamp with a DI output. Telling her her she needs a DI could lead her to buy a Radial JDI because she thinks it's necessary. I've seen tons of people on Talkbass make this mistake. Seems rampant.
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Ah, gotcha. That’s why I said DI pedal, at least when I first brought it up. Yes, a Radial JDI would be a bit much for this application :laugh: you’re right: the preamp is the point, not the DI.
 
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#34
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Acoust...MIzcDrmaPz8QIVknxvBB3S6QOUEAQYCiABEgLr2_D_BwE

I though these were pretty darn good for what they were - you could probably walk into a local GC and play one tomorrow. Used ones go for around $50. Just as a other option. They are super light and don’t take much space. You would not be able to gig with this - no way! But good enough for bedroom practice.

The Fender Rumble stuff is great too, I use a larger Rumble and love it.

Best of luck at college!
 
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