EliasMooseblaster Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 As opposed to the old-fashioned process of buy amp -> fiddle with sound -> get frustrated at gigs -> sell amp to fund purchase of a new one which you're sure will sound better, I see a few companies now have a line in preamp and/or amp simulator pedals. Certainly, I remember being impressed by the sounds that a friend achieved years ago by turning up with just a Boss FDR-1 and plugging that into the PA, but I see the various models from Donner, Joyo, etc are at a price point where I could take a punt on one or two and not feel like it was too much wasted investment if they were a disappointment. So: who else has tried these? Any particularly good or terrible models to watch out for? Do they play nicely with other pedals* ? And are they a good option for going amp-free, and/or silent recording at home? *I play a lot of Blues, and Blues-Rock, so of course I already have a Tubescreamer clone and Tremolo pedal... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Saint Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Line 6 have some pretty good pedals, but not in my price range. This unit has had some good write ups, at that price I think I may be tempted... https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_dnafx_git.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted September 19, 2020 Author Share Posted September 19, 2020 On 15/09/2020 at 17:14, The Saint said: Line 6 have some pretty good pedals, but not in my price range. This unit has had some good write ups, at that price I think I may be tempted... https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_dnafx_git.htm Thank you! I've been in two minds about Line6, as I was quite impressed with the POD Farm amp sim package...but fairly horrified by some of the Spider amps I've played through on "toilet circuit" gigs. I decided to plump for simplicity and try one of the Joyo preamps, so now I'm sporting an American Sound pedal, which I must admit is giving my real amp a run for its money! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Saint Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) I've had a Line 6 Firehawk FX for a while now. Not gigged with it but very impressed when using it at home Edited September 20, 2020 by The Saint spelling 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Just get the Joyo JF14 American Sound, it's fantastic. I have the JF15 California Sound too and into a desk it's really thick sounding, very nice. But into a signal chain stacked with other gain pedals it can tend to be a bit dark. I couldn't rely on it for my main sound. I also have a Line 6 M5 modelling pedal and Joyo Fender vs Line 6 Fender setting, the Joyo is way richer and more credible. Fwiw I actually replaced my Effectrode PC2A valve comp with the Joyo Dyna comp last week, too. The PC2A is better suited to bright guitars like my hitmaker strat or a tele than my two main axes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 On 20/09/2020 at 15:21, Kiwi said: Just get the Joyo JF14 American Sound, it's fantastic. I couldn't agree more. I dare suggest I like the tone better than that from my "real" amp! I took my JF14 its first "gig" last Friday: livestreaming on my FB page via a small powered mixer. Previously I was taking a feed from my amp's "Emulated Output & Headphones" socket; I felt like it was much easier to get a satisfying sound from the Joyo. The only thing missing was a little reverb, but I could easily get a pedal to cover that job. It may just be that Blackstar (my "real" amp) isn't quite the sound for me: I still quite like its tone, but it seems to work best for people who like a clear demarcation between "properly clean" and "obviously overdriven." Whereas I think what I was really after was an amp I could run close to breakup, and then kick a bit harder with a Tubescreamer. But Fender didn't offer a tiny 1W valve-hybrid for home use, so the Joyo is filling that niche quite nicely. Thanks also for the comparison with the Line 6 equivalent. I tend towards the philosophy that I'd rather have a bit of kit that did one job well, so it's good to know I've not missed out on too much by going down this route! Now, before common sense and my credit card catch up with me: anybody know how well the Joyo British Sound does for a '60s Marshall sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 On 20/09/2020 at 08:49, The Saint said: I've had a Line 6 Firehawk FX for a while now. Not gigged with it but very impressed when using it at home I've been using the HD500x for years, brilliant unit with some really great, usable sounds in there. Use it at home, for recording and gigging, though it still amuses me when the sound guys insist on using the Amp's DI instead of the HD's DI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 On 21/09/2020 at 23:37, EliasMooseblaster said: Now, before common sense and my credit card catch up with me: anybody know how well the Joyo British Sound does for a '60s Marshall sound? It's not bad, you can definitely get Richie Blackmore sounds out of it. I wouldn't say it's high gain either - more medium gain with fuzzy tendencies. The voice control will take you into more modern territory as well (which is what I'm after) but it really needs a TS type pedal (I'm using the Mosky Silver Horse) in front of it to kick things squarely into the 80's. I got it to see whether I could get the Def Leppard thing happening, which it does after a boost from the Mosky. BTW my first JF14, which I've had for about 6 years, has developed a persistent scream at extreme settings. So there may be a shelf life to the op amps they use but I'm far away from anyone who could tell me for sure. It was actually cheaper (given they're 13 quid each where I am) for me to get another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 On 07/01/2021 at 01:45, Kiwi said: It's not bad, you can definitely get Richie Blackmore sounds out of it. I wouldn't say it's high gain either - more medium gain with fuzzy tendencies. The voice control will take you into more modern territory as well (which is what I'm after) but it really needs a TS type pedal (I'm using the Mosky Silver Horse) in front of it to kick things squarely into the 80's. I got it to see whether I could get the Def Leppard thing happening, which it does after a boost from the Mosky. BTW my first JF14, which I've had for about 6 years, has developed a persistent scream at extreme settings. So there may be a shelf life to the op amps they use but I'm far away from anyone who could tell me for sure. It was actually cheaper (given they're 13 quid each where I am) for me to get another. So I went and got myself a British Sound as well. Rather nice, isn't it? Whilst I'm mostly interested in coaxing a '60s Bluesbreaker-type tone out of it, I can see how the right twiddle of the knobs could start to take you towards "Hair Metal" territory! On the note, does anyone know what the Voice control actually does on this pedal? From a bit of judicial googling, I see it's basically a mid-shape control on the American Sound, allowing you to move between Blackface (mid-scoop) and Tweed (mid-boost) tones. Is it doing something similar on the British Sound, or is it more like a Presence control? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 I think it tightens up the low end and boosts the midst a little. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
