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Official Joyo Club Part 2: Beyond Thunderclone

I'm getting this hiss at low volume, with the gain/voice up not too far past noon, definitely before it's anywhere near dimed.

It's not a big deal as it's (obviously) not noticeable while playing, and as I said, the really high gain sounds aren't to my taste anyway - but it's something that's there, and it was one of the first things that jumped out at me, so I thought it fair to mention it. In honesty, with the exception of a cranked Mammoth clone, it's the loudest drive pedal I've owned. I've not seen it mentioned much here, but comments about the hiss do seem to pop up in a few Amazon reviews.

Is it a deal breaker? No. Frankly, I like the clean/mild drive sound enough that I'm in no way disappointed with the purchase, and I'd be surprised if anyone else in the band even noticed it. Plus it cost me just over £26, compared to a Sansamp Blonde at £159. For that price, I can live with a bit of noise :)

Anyone using it as a pre-amp at gigging volume? It's definitely got less headroom than the VT, but I'm hoping it'd have enough to use that way.
 
I'm getting this hiss at low volume, with the gain/voice up not too far past noon, definitely before it's anywhere near dimed.

It's not a big deal as it's (obviously) not noticeable while playing, and as I said, the really high gain sounds aren't to my taste anyway - but it's something that's there, and it was one of the first things that jumped out at me, so I thought it fair to mention it. In honesty, with the exception of a cranked Mammoth clone, it's the loudest drive pedal I've owned. I've not seen it mentioned much here, but comments about the hiss do seem to pop up in a few Amazon reviews.

Is it a deal breaker? No. Frankly, I like the clean/mild drive sound enough that I'm in no way disappointed with the purchase, and I'd be surprised if anyone else in the band even noticed it. Plus it cost me just over £26, compared to a Sansamp Blonde at £159. For that price, I can live with a bit of noise :)

Anyone using it as a pre-amp at gigging volume? It's definitely got less headroom than the VT, but I'm hoping it'd have enough to use that way.

Well, with the 30$ comes the 30$ quality control, maybe you have a slightly faulty unit. It has happened to others. I don't think Joyo has a team testing the specs of all the components they use like some do in a 350$ boutique pedal. Then again, some don't have any QA in 350$ boutique peals either... :)
 
Yeah mine only adds a little hiss when fully cranked and even there it's not real noticeable. What I meant is when it's dimed it's pretty fuzzy and I equate that to pretty much all muff pedals. When you turn on a muff it has that sustained noise that is just part of what the circuit does.

Maybe your unit isn't as built as well or something. I guess I got lucky. If mine was hissing at lower volumes I wouldn't like that much either. Ever try it out by itself with good cables and power to see if the hissing gets any better?
 
Yeah mine only adds a little hiss when fully cranked and even there it's not real noticeable. What I meant is when it's dimed it's pretty fuzzy and I equate that to pretty much all muff pedals. When you turn on a muff it has that sustained noise that is just part of what the circuit does.

Maybe your unit isn't as built as well or something. I guess I got lucky. If mine was hissing at lower volumes I wouldn't like that much either. Ever try it out by itself with good cables and power to see if the hissing gets any better?

Yeah used a couple of different power supplies, different cables, same thing. It's probably a more pronounced problem with my unit, but it doesn't seem to be a one-off looking at a few other reports.

Need to try it in a band situation to really know if its going to be an issue at all, but I'm not expecting it to be.
 
Yeah used a couple of different power supplies, different cables, same thing. It's probably a more pronounced problem with my unit, but it doesn't seem to be a one-off looking at a few other reports.

Need to try it in a band situation to really know if its going to be an issue at all, but I'm not expecting it to be.

Hope it works out for you! My board overall makes very little noise. If anything there might be a very very minimal hum. We just recorded recently too and I didn't have any issues in the studio. Then again I did not have my American Sound at the time but I haven't noticed much of a difference between now and then other than the more pleasing tones I am getting. :):)
 
IME, it's almost impossible to make a high gain boost or dirt pedal that doesn't add some amount of hiss. some have more than others, but having anything but a straight wire is usually going to add some degree of noise.
IMO, expecting a dirt circuit to have zero noise/hiss is unrealistic, especially at high gain settings.
 
Hope it works out for you! My board overall makes very little noise. If anything there might be a very very minimal hum. We just recorded recently too and I didn't have any issues in the studio. Then again I did not have my American Sound at the time but I haven't noticed much of a difference between now and then other than the more pleasing tones I am getting. :):)

It certainly is a nice tone - anything from clean up to mild/medium drive would fit right into any of my current bands, and the heavy drive sounds good too. It's an impressive tone range for a pedal 4 times the price, in all honesty.

IME, it's almost impossible to make a high gain boost or dirt pedal that doesn't add some amount of hiss. some have more than others, but having anything but a straight wire is usually going to add some degree of noise.
IMO, expecting a dirt circuit to have zero noise/hiss is unrealistic, especially at high gain settings.

I completely agree, and I've got no problem with a bit of noise - I never played without some sort of drive, so it's not something I have no experience with. It stood out as something worth mentioning as the AS at just over half gain is noiser than a Blower Box, VT bass or BDPG on high gain/dimed (from my experience playing around this afternoon).

Again, though, it isn't something that's going to be a major issue, just a point to consider for people that would find it unacceptable. As Lethgar says, our guitarist's stack alone will cover up any hiss!
 
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I have one knob on my unit which is scratchy. I have no idea if it's to do with a pot which needs a clean or if it's a circuit design...it's a little annoying but I tend to use my FX's a presets and I rarely adjust as I'm playing (unlike the Meridian video...which sounded amazing as the knobs were turned as the bass line played).
 
Welp, looks like I gotta eat a bit of this...

humblepie-e1288647520854.png


Broke everything down today to see if I could improve the hiss situation, as it started to get worse, and tried every power connection I could. Switching the VT Bass to a different connection, suddenly I noticed that hissing through that pedal too - it's not coming through anywhere near as badly on general drive pedals, could it have something to do with the two problem pedals being dedicated preamps, and thus exposing the noise more?

Either way, I need to rescind my previous statement - while it's by no means a quiet pedal, the AS doesn't appear to be any louder than the VT when run on the exact same power supply connection & using the same leads. If you're going to be using it at high gain, prepare for a high noise level, but at least for now it appears it's pretty quiet when running around noon-3pm on the drive & voicing

This means I only have real quibble left, which is the knob positioning - I'm not a fan of the graphics, but I do quite like the enclosure colour! If you're looking for a good tone shaper, drive, or even just a different flavour on a budget, I'd have to recommend the American Sound :)
 
I stumbled onto this thread while seeking a mild type overdrive and I think you guys have me sold on the American Sound. Hopefully I can place an order soon. I would like to know though, does anyone have experience with either of the Joyo chorus pedals on bass? They are cheap enough that I can grab both and an American (I hope, depends on funds) but I figured I would ask if anyone had experience prior to buying.

Also, a few pages back it was mentioned that you guys have a refinishing technique guide. Any chance I could get this guide?
 
I just ordered the Ultimate Drive pedal from Amazon after reading through the club threads and listening to a few youtube videos. I'm a fan of the Fulltone OCD and look forwars to playing this through my SVT II. I like the low to medium gain sounds and for the price, had to buy it. I also own an Xotic BB Preamp, B3K and a Fuzzrocious Rat King and will be looking to fit the UD in somewhere in the rotation with the other pedals. I also had my eyes on the American pedal for some cool Mesa and Fender tones, but did not feel the need for it with my Ampeg rig.

My GF plays guitar and this pedal may sound good through her 5 watt Vox also. I'll post a review when it arrives.
 
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I just ordered the Ultimate Drive pedal from Amazon after reading through the club threads and listening to a few youtube videos. I'm a fan of the Fulltone OCD and look forwars to playing this through my SVT II. I like the low to medium gain sounds and for the price, had to buy it. I also own an Xotic BB Preamp, B3K and a Fuzzrocious Rat King and will be looking to fit the UD in somewhere in the rotation with the other pedals. I also had my eyes on the American pedal for some cool Mesa and Fender tones, but did not feel the need for it with my Ampeg rig.

My GF plays guitar and this pedal may sound good through her 5 watt Vox also. I'll post a review when it arrives.

This is the Joyo thread. But since I saw you post you're a fan of the OCD, as an I, I thought I'd also tell you about the EHX glove. I just got one today and it is friggen awesome. It's ideal for what I do. I need a drive that cuts through the mix of loud drums and a distorted guitar. The OCD did that for me for a while. The last couple months, I couldn't take the low end loss anymore. I've had the UD for a while now too. Great pedal, better low end retention. Sounds great, responds good. Great price, hard to beat. I had some problems with it cutting through the mix though. For me. It's on my secondary board now. It just didn't work with my band and our sound or the way we mixed. So, I thought I'd give the glove a shot. $50 used on reverb. I couldn't be happier right now. This OD punches and bumps and is tasty as hell. It's pretty much an OCD with awesome low end. It even has a switch on the inside to switch between the pedal running at 9 or 18v and a mid switch on the outside. What a great OCD/tubescreamer/UD type OD/dist.

The reason I just said all that, is because I know a handful of guys on TB who are devoted to the OCD. I'm still one of them. But me being as happy as I am with the glove right now I figured I'd mention it. Now I have yet to get it in the mix, but I'm confident it's going to work out smashingly. I'll be sure to report back when I do. But when I see OCD from now on, it's gonna be hard for me to see/think EHX Glove. Or vice versa. The low end retention with the glove is what pulled me to the glove. And the tonal options of the switches and the tasty drive tone. And the size ;)

glove love done. For now.
 
could someone explain to me how one would hook up the american sound as their preamp or whatever it is you guys are doing?
Run it as clean as possible (to your own taste) and put it in front of the chain. I use mine just bout dirty after my Duality. I use a SFT as a pre in the front of my chain. The American has such a great dirt sound I wanted that as an option.