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Official Joyo Club Part 2: Beyond Thunderclone

#1,241
My Joyo compressor came in a few days ago and the American Sound arrived today! Have to say this is probably the best $59.34 I have ever spent (total for both pedals)! The comp is subtle and virtually noise free. The American is just fantastic! Does everything from slight tube OD tone to full on dirt while maintaining full low end. It really fattens up the tone nicely.
 
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#1,243
California vs. American:

I've had the California for a while now but, after all the good press the American has been getting, I decided to pick one up and give it a try. Here is What I found in a side by side comparison. First I'm using a GK 400RB-III 2X10 (Practice Amp) and bypassing the preamp by going direct into the effects return. This is so I don't color the characteristics of the pedals. I'm using a Fender Jazz Bass with Duncan Quarter Pound pickups and a Gotoh 201B high mass bridge. I also have a fresh set of standard gauge round wounds on it.

California:
Overall the pedal has a darker tone to it which I find preserves the low end really well. It's louder than the American too. Maximum distortion is just over the top on the pedal. But, that's pretty much expected since it's emulating a Boogie guitar amp. I can dial in quite a bit of different tones between the three band EQ and the drive, level and voice settings. There is so much distortion, it can get to the point where it's pretty much unusable if you just crank it. But, if you are somewhat conservative you can get a nice punchy sound that preserves the low end. It feels like there's lots of head room too.

American:
Noticeably brighter than the California. You can get most of the low end back by dealing with the EQ so, not too much of a problem. Overall volume is generally lower than the Cali. Some of the low end is sacrificed a bit when you crank the voice and drive. BUT, that is not necessarily a bad thing since it adds nice clarity to the tone of the distortion. Like the Cali, you can get some nice tone out of this pedal. But, I did not find it to be as punchy and "big" as the Cali when you roll the distortion back.

So, with that said, I tried one more thing. I combined the distortion from the American by neutralizing the EQ and cranking the distortion. Next, I used the EQ from the Cali and got an entirely different tone! This was quite a lot of fun I have to say! If I tweaked the level and voice on the cali it was absolutely crazy!

Summary:
Which one is better? Well, I think both are very usable on Bass, it depends on what your going for. Both have incredible sustain and harmonics ring out clear as a bell. I have to say I liked the tone of the distortion on the American but, found that I wished the EQ was closer to the Cali. I liked the Cali for the punchy sound with the low end intact. The head room was nice too. I can see both ending up on a board depending on what the style of music is. In the end, I don't think you can go wrong with either. And since they are so cheap, why not just grab both?!

I hope this helps, if anyone has questions, fire away.
 
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#1,245
California Sound was the big winner for me. Phat, warm and ballsy!

Set up Carvin LB50 w EMG HB PUPS, California Sound, Lo|Fat, Zoom B2.1u (bassman sim), GK MB 500, 1x15. The natural sound of the rig is clear and punchy rock tone, Cali added balls and growl and played very well with the Lo|Fat. Responsive to pickup changes and playing style fingers or pick. Combining the Cali and Lo|Fat gave me a smooth and controllable feedback.

Next will have to try the British Sound or the Ultimate Drive.
 
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#1,247
Exciting turn of events: Just got myself a Markbass F1 amplifier. I have previously complained about the Joyo Dyna Compressor being slightly muddy in its sound. But it may be that it actually is the interacton with certain amplifiers that do that. The Markbass F1 seems to be a much better match. The Markbass F1 is very clean sounding and has a very dynamic and punchy response. The compination of this and he Markbass is great, and I got a lot of praise from my bandmates for the new sound (mostly for th F1), but before I kicked that in, the guitar player thought it was too much.

I set the Attack at 12 o'clock, the sustain at 3 o'clock (almost cranked), and the volume to perceived unity, which is around 10-11 o'clock in this setting.
 
#1,248
Just because there's nothing going on in this thread, my homemade pedalboard with 5 joyo's on it:
IMAG0058.jpg




I've been running all of my dirt into the British set low-gain and somewhat neutral. It does an amazing job of smoothing everything and somehow making it sound better. I can't even describe it well, but it just rounds everything out so well. If you haven't tried it you should. :)


I have found however the British clean doesn't work so well with the American. It just sounds like a wall of mush. No trouble though because the American sounds awesome on its own! Still really wanting to try a California.......
 
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#1,252
kleinenenten said:
Anyone have feedback on a Joyo flange and/or envelope filter? Looking for some good flange/filter tones, but it's just for minor parts of songs, so don't want to drop tons of cash. If Joyo is capable, I'm interested!
Click to expand...
Here is what JohnK says:
"Joyo JF07 Classic Flanger: For about $36 shipped, there's NO WAY to beat the value of this flanger. It's basically a clone of the vintage dark gray box AC powered MXR 117 flanger (which were great flangers!), this true bypass analog flanger sounds great with a guitar or bass and I highly recommend it if you're looking for an inexpensive flanger that rivals many boutique ones."
Other-Pedals
 
#1,253
nogoodwithnames said:
Just because there's nothing going on in this thread, my homemade pedalboard with 5 joyo's on it:
View attachment 584261



I've been running all of my dirt into the British set low-gain and somewhat neutral. It does an amazing job of smoothing everything and somehow making it sound better. I can't even describe it well, but it just rounds everything out so well. If you haven't tried it you should. :)


I have found however the British clean doesn't work so well with the American. It just sounds like a wall of mush. No trouble though because the American sounds awesome on its own! Still really wanting to try a California.......
Click to expand...

Sorry, no Joyo in this post, oh wait, I just said "Joyo" and now there is... My question has no Joyo though-yo.

Q) Who makes the "Guv'nor Bass" on your board, is that a genuine Marshall Guv'nor?

Tank ewe berry mush,
FF
 
#1,256
Feral Feline said:
Sorry, no Joyo in this post, oh wait, I just said "Joyo" and now there is... My question has no Joyo though-yo.

Q) Who makes the "Guv'nor Bass" on your board, is that a genuine Marshall Guv'nor?

Tank ewe berry mush,
FF
Click to expand...

That pedal is based on the Marshall Guv'nor, with many improvements including a clean blend, 3 band eq, phase switch and selectable clipping modes. I had johnk make it for me. Absolutely killer pedal.
 
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#1,259
AndreasK said:
Here is what JohnK says:
"Joyo JF07 Classic Flanger: For about $36 shipped, there's NO WAY to beat the value of this flanger. It's basically a clone of the vintage dark gray box AC powered MXR 117 flanger (which were great flangers!), this true bypass analog flanger sounds great with a guitar or bass and I highly recommend it if you're looking for an inexpensive flanger that rivals many boutique ones."
Other-Pedals
Click to expand...
What, and I'm supposed to trust JohnK? Pffft. Like HE has any pedal knowledge... ;) In other words, guess that probably solves my flanger question.

Actually, he also really likes the MXR Bass Envelope Filter, which was/is leading my filter race. The Source Audio is also quite tempting, and according to him it's the only one that has beaten MXR.
 
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#1,260
Wow, SA's stuff is a bit pricey, even used! Anyone have any input on whether or not SA or MXR makes the more distortion friendly filter? I'll be using this after OD and fuzz, so that's kind of a big thing. I like almost all filters I've heard solo, but some get real harsh with the OD/fuzz. Not wanting that!
 

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