JOYO DARK FLAME R-17
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| $80.00 USD |
Some argue they only make clones but unlike the past they are no more clones then for example the Rat style pedals brought out by the big players like JHS and Wampler or indeed most of the small but well known Gourmet, hand wired makers.
In short Joyo are more like the MXR of China then an entry level pedal maker. It isn't rocket science to note that the new pedals literally although cheap by Western standards are charging double what they charged in the past on new pedals. In short if MXR wanted $160.00 for a pedal Joy does an equivalent quality pedal for $80.00. They still make the popular older pedals for $35.00 but these are very old designs built with dumbed down cheap parts with many compromises. The new stuff has
German, Japanese and American branded parts where needed.
CONCLUSION
There are excellent pedals and crap at any price point. Some kinds of pedals need expensive high tech or have to use traditional but very high end parts to make a pedal. A good Metal Pedal does not need crazy priced parts to sound good. Metal sounds do not have subtle detail in the tone unless they are trying to clone a real amp. The ENGL Powerball is cloning their own Powerball amp and nails it so one expects to pay more. The Joyo is about having a generic one size fits all sound. In short it's EQ and voicing has to be within a certain range. It may be the average of several Metal Pedals or amps put not exact.
It does a damn good job of nailing a Modern Metal sound with more than enough control to make it do so with anyones rig. I have the ENGL and enjoy the luxury but I admit I could just as easily get different but just as Pro sounding noises from this.
the fine print
Hey Paul.
ReplyDeleteThe R series continues to shine but I would say they are still cloning and thats not a bad thing. They have excelled at it from day 1.
The Dark Flame is an obvious rip of the Revv G series pedal. King of Kings is a KoT as we all know.
This is whybzi started coming to this page many years ago. For the steals. And Joyo is still knocking it out of the park
Would you be able to do a writeup of the best KoT clones? (68 Pedals, DemonFx, Joyo)
Thanks
I had the REVV and this does not sound at all like it. All the REVV pedals have a noticeable Marshall vibe. The Joyo does not. The Joyo sounds very American not Brit. I need to see the circuit but I would not be surprised if the Joyo uses an OpAmp with the Boss SD-1 approach. The REVV is all about copying their own amps so it has to use JFET's. Cloning a KOT is not hard, the devil is in the detail. I got a chance to hear the 68 beside a real KOT. The difference was negligible. In short you had to listen over and over to hear it. The 68 is a nano bit brighter. Note I said nano!!!I bought and used the 68 for a year. Compared to other pedals that are a Bluesbreaker in a box the KOT is just plain muddy. It has no serious cut. I have noted that several reviewers that once had them on their board have pulled them off and put on things like the Browne, the Tone King or the Cornerstone's. I have the small Browne ..the Carbon as it is a single Bluesbreaker, I do not need or want 2 of them. The guys that put the KOT on the map are old school usually doing a Blues,Americana,Indy or Alt type thing and want a single OD teamed with a classic Fender amp. Younger guys coming up are on the whole like more dirt and definitely some aggression in their tone. A KOT is NOT aggressive. But if it fits your gig I would et the 68. It is easy to sell. I got $20 more than I paid for it. Personally if I could only have one peda (god forbid) it would be the Columbo Audio Electronics Plexi Breed. It has all 3 classic Plexi's in one box. It is NOT a hot rodded MIAB ...99% are. It is a perfect clone of all 3 the real amps. Real Plexi's are really 'Crunch" amps. Guys that used then put boosters and Fuzz pedals.In short those classic recordings were seldom ever just the amp. Another thing is a JCM 800 is NOT a Plexi. Guys confuse this. An 800 is far more aggressive. I have a few, lol. But for actually doing tunes where one is really backing vocals with chords and a riff or two the real Plexi sound is bullet proof. It's fat and punchy but does not compete with the vocals.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul. Always appreciate the insight.
ReplyDelete