Joyo American Sound vs UA Dream ’65 - Can a $40 Amp Pedal really compare?

[@jackodonnell3463]

One of the most comprehensive demos I've seen. I like how you really dived into each knob and how they interact

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I appreciate that, Jack. Thanks for watching!

[@mr.d.572]

Yes the UA Dream '65 is a nice machine and I'd like to have one. But as a long-time hobby player, I can say that for the first time ever, I finally have a tone that's pleasing to my ears. It's a 1999 Fender Squire into a cheap compressor and into a Peavey Bandit 112 with a Joyo American sound in the effects loop. Sure I could do better but right now I'm just happy hearing the sounds I can create with this setup 😉

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Totally! Sounds like a great little setup you've got there. :)

[@onionheadguy7094]

Love those bandits! My old 90s bandit had a "thrash" button that chugged so damn good!

[@swardmusic]

bandits are sick

[@trampasnewberry2626]

Sorry for the late chime in question. Do you have the compressor running into the the front end of the joyo?

[@mr.d.572]

@@trampasnewberry2626 Here is my typical set-up (I change it up a lot but this is an average): Guitar > Tuner > > Compressor > Overdrive > Reverb or Delay > Peavey Bandit amp. The Joyo is sitting on top of the amp and plugs directly into the amp's effects loop. The effects loop (if your amp has one) will typically consist of 2 jack inputs in the back of the amp labelled "send" and "return." You'll need 2 extra patch cords (I use 12" ones for this). Connect the Send jack to the input of the effects pedal, and the Return to the output. Hope that helps.

[@ottoburgelin9162]

Finally a useful review, without endless shredding. Very good!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Haha, glad you enjoyed it :)

[@marting.official]

Been using the joyo for almost 3 years. I just turn the drive knob to 0. I didn't know that the voice knob is an IR. Thanks for the video !

[@jackcrook4435]

Its not an IR it swaps between a blackface sound and a tweed sound.

[@7171jay]

@jackcrook The Voice Control isn't some magic tweed/blackface knob, it's simply low mid eq that is pre gainstage (unlike the Low/Mid/High tone controls which are post). Because the Voice knob is before the gainstage turning it not only boosts the low mid frequencies but it can provide some additional overdrive type gain in that frequency range depending on your guitar's output and also how you happen to set the Drive knob. As a blackface Fender is more mid scooped than a tweed Fender and cleaner the pre-gain low-mid eq Voice knob does sort of offer somewhat of a tweed/blackface choice of sounds. Well maybe it is somewhat magic ;) but that's how it actually operates and knowing this can help in getting the kind of sounds you might be after. If clean sounds are what you are after don't be afraid to have the Drive really low (like practically off) and just crank the Level to 100% if necessary to compensate which allows cleaner sounds even with the Voice turned up a bit so you can get somewhat less mid scooped cleans. The pedal is really a tweakers delight or nightmare as rather small adjustments can change the sound considerably and there is some interaction between controls especially the Voice and Drive. I'm not a fan of the pedals more distorted sounds but from clean to slight breakup it's a lot of value for very little money.

[@Jinballify]

Proud owner of an American Sound (well, actually if I get it back from a former guitarist!). In my experience the "----- sound" pedals tend to work best on clean platforms, if part of a traditional amp setup. Especially with gain sounds on my Blackstar culb 40 the gainier sounds either mud up fast, sharpen up to an edge or start having phase issues. in fact I'd rather recommend using these for tone shaping on a transistor setup whose sound you might not be entirely happy with. Also, quick note on that fuzz tone. To me it sounded like the Dream while not very mid-toned on it's own, lets massive amounts of mids through, which allowed the fuzz to maintain all the rich low mids and bottom end. I'd try to either open the voice to... about ten-eleven o'-clock and giving slight boost to mids, maybe nine or ten o'-clock. That will take you to the edge of breakup, so might need to compensate with drive a bit. The mid knob is literally a boost/cut feature, so for fuzzes to work good you need to let some through. Also as a side note, this pedal in particular is awesome for bass setups! And apparently favored even by people with usually much more expensive pedals on board. For a long time it was a centerpiece of my bass setup to add a bit of edge to my tone, until it disappeared with a guitarist and is on that journey still. Currently I use California sound from same series for the job, which also works very, very well.

[@robertbrown2728]

I think the Joyo pedal does sound pretty good when used with my Joyo Cab Box IR loader. I know it is meant to have a speaker emulation built-in but I think the Cab Box improves it if I tweak it to my taste.. I expect eventually I will buy a Dream 65 and in the meantime I may well have a go at disconnecting the built-in speaker emulation in the American Sound. However I've done a number of recordings with the existing set up and I think it sounds very good even if not as good as the Dream

[@mattgilbert7347]

I totally agree. Imo it *needs* some sort of IR or decent cab em. The one in the American is not very good.

[@darwinsaye]

The way the Joyo (and the Tech 21 Character pedals) work is that the bass, middle, and treble controls are post gain, and the voice/character knob is another mid eq control, but placed before the gain stage. And, according to someone who has taken a deep dive into the circuitry, all the character series pedals are exactly the same all except for the character mids control which is voiced differently in each pedal to best emulate whichever model of amp the particular pedal is emulating, so the American character knob is voiced to make a Fender style tone, the British character knob is voiced to make a Marshall style tone, etc. And I’m willing to bet if you put an eq in front of, and another behind the Joyo, and experiment with adding/ subtracting some of the frequencies *between* the ones that the bass, mids, and treble controls on the pedal are affecting, you could probably get it to sound almost identical to the UA.

[@DevoT]

This. While there is a mod floating around the internet that allows you to disable the cab ir, from what I've read and experienced you can cancel out the speaker cab effect by playing with the EQ in the mid range. I have used it with multiple ir pedals and it does the job better than far more expensive choices.

[@raimundolanas4273]

Hello Andew, great demo. I tried the Joyo with a Mesa Boogie cab IR from York audio loaded into my Valeton GP200lt, and it sounded incredible to my ears, at least much better than going straight from the Joyo to the PA. Cheers

[@archeryandstuffwithstevela3423]

I use a Joyo American and a Joyo British on my board. Basically they are set up as left and right channels. I feel that you could have done more with the EQ on the Joyo to get a lot closer sound to the Dream. The pedals on my board set up very nicely with these amp sims. I run them through my audio interface, and work out all of my presets using in ear monitors, and VU meters on my DAW. I have no desire to upgrade, this meets all of my needs admirably, especially in a mix with the rest of the band. I doubt you could spot a difference in a blindfold test. Cheers nice comparison!

[@Slimnot2024]

Does it improve if i added custom ir after joyo pedal?

[@SandalwoodBros]

@@Slimnot2024 No, the IR (really just an EQ because it's not digital) is built into the Joyo. You can't turn it off and you don't need to add an IR after.

[@tlstechtalk]

I use my American Sound as an always on clean sound and only change settings when change guitars. This $40 pedal will get you so close blackface tones. I agree, the real value is in the clean side. The voice and drive never go past 11 o’clock on my board.

[@MitchellSpille]

The joyo is really good for the money! I bought one as a backup for my then iridium, now dream and ruby. I've found the joyo reacts more like a drive pedal that happens to be voiced like an amp than an actual amp. The joyo doesn't compress correctly, but for $20, this thing is ridiculously good. You can always put a light compressor before the joyo to get it to react more like an amp to stacking drives. Also, you can bypass the cab sim, but you have to open it up and remove one of the wires from the circuit. Really good out of the box though, and an insane deal for $40. Also, for whatever reason, I love OCD type overdrives in front of the joyo. Not usually my go to drive, but works very well with the joyo.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Nice! I just picked up an OCD, so I'll have to give it a shot. Cheers!

[@cameron_schafer]

This demo was so good and so helpful. Thanks for covering the aspects most demo videos don’t cover

[@stormsofevermore]

Great video! I bought the American and British about 7 years ago and they are great!

[@luisfguitar]

I started using the Joyo for home playing and also with an aby box (straight to desk live with my tube amps when there was no mike) . Now i got a shure sm57 to mike the amps but i never leave the joyo at home. Its my permanent backup amp and It sounds fucking awesome, having already saved me when I had a tube failure live. Worth every fucking penny and more. I also modded mine to use with irs and the power amp plugin tpa1 by ignite. Now i can have a lot of different sounds at home and it sounds way closer to some amps than some famous plugins i tried.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

That is so cool!

[@lowrencemayfield4271]

Great video, i really love the Joyo but i have to say that if you put an IR pedal after it improves a lot, i use a simple Nux Mini Studio with some 3rd party IR and it sounds great, of course i'm talking about playing straight into PA.

[@obeliskavp2945]

Thats exactly how I use the Joyo with the nux mini studio and it indeed sounds way better this way.

[@mattgilbert7347]

Same. I use either my NUX Solid Studio or my GFI Cabzeus Stereo. The Solid Studio is great! But the GFI does some stereo voodoo i can't explain. Best $300 i ever spent on a Cab/Speaker/Mic etc emulator unit. It's actually based on proprietary algorithms, not IRs. The Solid Studio is for when i want a bit of Power Amp sim and my Own Hammer IRs. The American is not a good cab emulator. Excellent preamp, bad cab em.

[@XyronETI]

Another alternative to consider is the Flamma FS06, I own all 4 Joyo preamps, but switched to the Flamma recently to have many amp sounds from one pedal. Also a budget pedal, more expensive than one Joyo, but cheaper than 4 Joyos

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Will check it out! Thanks.

[@taurushamilton2739]

Yes the Flamma Amp and cab sim pedal is great🤘🏾

[@mattgilbert7347]

+1 on the Flamma pedals. I have the FS-7 Stereo IR unit and it's fantastic! Only cost me $120. I'm considering the preamp you mentioned, can get that for around $115 (Australian dollars in both cases)

[@mrmeeks85]

Obviously way more money to invest than the American, but the Dream is actually a deceptively good value when you factor in the three distinct boosts, the "vibrato", and the really stellar spring reverb, especially since you can change what the foot switches do. I really hope UA updates the pedal to let you load your own IRs though.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I agree. And if you compare it to even an entry level all-tube amp it's still a great value. Being able to load your own IRs would be cool, but IMO the IRs in the Dream are already outstanding. It doesn't suffer the same stock IR issues as the Iridium.

[@justinhayes3434]

If you want a saturated Bassman sound on the American (ala Social Distortion) turn the voice knob to about 4 o’ clock and the gain to about 11. Put a mild overdrive in front of it, e.g., a Klon clone. And going into Garage Band, use the 1x10 tweed cab. It’s my favorite tone with that pedal-a fantastic punk/rock and roll sound.

[@justinhayes3434]

Also, it cleans up with the volume knob on your guitar like an amp would.

[@mattgilbert7347]

The Bassman sounds you can coax from the American are friggin awesome!

[@Dani-El.]

I think you could have matched the tone better on the American Sound to compare with the Dream. The Joyo lacks a lot of lows and mids comparatively. Still a very detailed and helpful video though, so thanks.

[@scott.hanson]

The Dream seemed louder in this video. It sounded fuller for sure - the Joyo here sounds like it would cut through a mix though.

[@komobabo]

The main difference to my ears is definition. The Dream sounds super Hi-Fi and real while the Joyo sounds like a pedal box. I would not call it muddy, but the articulation is really the main difference. Both are completely usable I would say if you can't get a UA. I would definitely use the Joyo on my board if UA was not an option financially.

[@nicholas-fuller]

that is partially the cab sim circuit in the Joyo - modding it takes a blanket off

[@mattgilbert7347]

The Joyo does a really decent Bassman tone. I've had one on both my boards for years. Fantastic preamp for going direct sans amp, into my IR looader or my GFI Cabzeus Stereo. The GFI does not use IRs but rather proprietary algorithms - but what algorithms! Glorious emulator of mono or (and this is the magic of the GFI) stereo cabs/speakers/mics. American>Cabzeus Stereo & my pedalboard is my best setup. I disagree regarding not running IRs or cab ems after the American. It totally works. The onboard cab sim in the American sounds like s**t imho. Horses for courses, tho. YMMV. Great demo/comparison.

[@MrCacciLLo]

CORRECTION: The Joyo American Sound doesn't have any speaker "IR" (impulse response), it has a simple analog Cabinet Simulation circuit that sound good but it's not any IR like it's said in the Video

[@quiksilver78]

I think the 'better' comparison is the Joyo American Sound and the UAFX Woodrow. Both pedals are modeled after the '57 Tweed Deluxe

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

True! It's definitely more "tweedy". Just had a lot of people ask for a comparison of these two. Thanks for watching. :)

[@yourguitarpal]

I payed 25 euros for the Thomann version and it's truly remarkable. If you dial it right it soundas really good!

[@BrianVallotton]

Listening to this vid on my home stereo the number one thing that strikes me is the difference in the tonality of the two. No matter what or how the Dream has better tonality. Is it worth 10 times more? It depends. I had the Dream and sent it back... not because I did not like it, but because I bought a Neural Quad Cortex which sounds as good as anything I have ever heard. It is awesome that we have so many choices on what to use and how to use it! Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I am a new subscriber now. :-)

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thanks so much! I'd love to try a Quad Cortex some day. So many killer options on the market these days. Cheers!

[@mattgilbert7347]

Agreed. That cab em in rhe American is the weak link. It's especially apparent when using a Fuzz or full range overdrive in front. The Dream is a bit overpriced tho.

[@LeBoun64]

The Joyo is indeed very impressive for the price. Probably less convincing with drive pedals, but may be with some more adjustment with mids, would be nicer ? Thanks for the test

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

There's a lot you can do with the mid/voice controls, but to me, they sounded best at this setting.

[@Nickshreds890]

This is exactly what I was looking for ! :) thank you so much !

[@SonicCartography]

I've seen this video twice. The first time I watched it, I didn't hear a big difference between the two. The second time, I did. What changed? I realized I was wearing two different sets of headphones-which I guess just goes to show: you can only hear the sounds your ears are given!

[@matewansid]

I keep trying to replace my Joyo with much more expensive amp simulator pedals. The TC Electronic 65 Combo Deluxe had a wonderful reverb but no vibrato and the breakup was unpleasant. It didn't have the clean headroom I expected either so I returned it. I tried the Walrus ACS1 and liked it but the footswitch broke after just a few uses. I also tried a Tech 21 and it's cheaper Palmer clone and really didn't care for the overdrive character of either. So the $40 Joyo just won't go away. I think it is just more flexible and has a super useful and musical voice and EQ setup too.

[@ferox965]

I've got the Joyo. It punches WAY above its weight class. I use it for cleans only. My Orange OR 15 does the rest.

[@marce211275]

Joyo still amaze me. Everyone one should buy one used for 18 dollars. Best cheap purchase ever!!!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I bring one to every gig as my backup! Such a great little investment.

[@TheDilligan]

What I am attracted to by the dream is the fact that it has spring reverb and tremelo. So when I want to go ampless, I could replace the Strymon Flint with the dream on a small board.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

It’s so nice to have those onboard! It’s a great pedal.

[@TheDilligan]

@@andrewclarkeguitar If I'm in a situation where I have an amp, is it possible for the UA Dream be used solely as a reverb on my board? Like can you use the spring reverb without using the amp simulation?

[@mr.d.572]

@@TheDilligan That's a great question, I'd like to know also.

[@TheDilligan]

@@mr.d.572 Well I got it for Christmas and the answer is no. You need to have the amp on to use the reverb or trem.

[@mr.d.572]

@@TheDilligan That's what I thought the answer would be. Phooey, but I'm not surprised. Hope you like it otherwise though.

[@SuperReverbious]

The UA Dream just blows the Joyo away, unsurprisingly. I’m surprised they don’t put a switch on it for killing the hardwired “IR”/cab sim so an IR loader can be used after it when going into a DI & mixer/PA. But that would add the cost of the switch. When targeting $40 retail price, I guess ya gotta take out everything you can. To me it doesn’t sound like it’s in the same ballpark.

[@sparkyguitar0058]

I got the California pedal. A Boogie style sound. Also have a Boogie S O B. Amazing thing about getting the Joyo pedal was winning a bid on Ebay that was 5 pedals and a Donner power unit. For $66 shipped. So I got mine for $11. No matter how good or bad it's great. But wasn't even the best pedal in this group. That would be the Joyo vintage overdrive. It's green with yellow knobs. And the pwr unit had everything with and I use it to try different pedals together. O K getting back to California pedal. It's not my Boogie but it has sounds like the Boogie when knobs are turned that way. Neither of these made my board but they're fun to use with certain practice amps. When it comes to Fender sounds I also have a pro tube Twin that's just too loud to compare anything to. And a Hotone Mojo Diamond head into a 12" Celesion speaker cabinet. That's Fender Tweed copy sound. This thing is awesome for $60. The cab I got free.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Wow! That's such a steal. I'll have to check out more of the Hotone stuff.

[@jasonlee8497]

On a cheap pedal buying binge I bought the JOYO British Sound. I like it so much I bought the real thing, the Tech 21 British. Strange but I ended up preferring the JOYO.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Very interesting! The Joyo stuff definitely punches well-beyond its weight class.

[@Dwoed]

Same here. Have the Blonde but prefer the Joyo( harley benton) I use it as a preamp.

[@jasonlee8497]

@@Dwoed yeah a preamp is what I think they really are.

[@mr.d.572]

Do any of you think that because the Tech 21 Blonde is older technology that the Joyo just figured a way to improve on it?

[@nikolaki]

Thanks for doing this. It sounds similar to my own comparisons between a Caline Americana vs TC Electronic Deluxe '65. The TC pedal has the benefit of a mid EQ. The Joyo and clones do not have that high frequency sparkle of the more expensive digital pedal sims. I think the TC electronic is a great in between pedals pricewise. Sounds as good as the UA 65 in this video.

[@John-mq8qv]

using IRs after the Joyo series isnt that bad. York are fine with with the British, American an Oxford. i wish they had a bypass switch though.

[@ramingr]

I'm on a super tight budget and have ordered an american sound and a di box to get independent of venues' amps. Watching this, it seems I made a lucky, pretty decent decision😊

[@cuatro336]

I had the Joyo American Sound for years before upgrading to the Dream '65. I will forever sing the praises of the American Sound to anyone who will listen. BUT, the Dream '65 has features and functions that the Joyo doesn't that at this point. That said, if you only have $40, buy the Joyo, it will do it's job. If you have $315, buy the Dream. I have both.

[@meleinmusica]

According to my experience you're missing the swiss knife of the Joyo: the mid control. It changes all the tone in a good way. I'm actually using it as a tone shaper direct into a digital amp set with flat eq and just a little bit of delay and reverb.

[@pastorkev777]

The Joyo is tough to eq on the fly, but you can get it a little better. It doesn't really shine with drives IMHO, it always makes them dark and compressed.

[@joshdeal575]

I want to preface by saying this is a great video that answers a lot of questions, but you should definitely try the Joyo stuff into an IR or some external cab sim. Whatever "cab sim" is in these pedals is just bare bones enough that you don't hear any weird overlap or phasing. It only helps and doesn't hurt in anyway (speaking from using both the American Sound and AC Tone and cycling through IR after IR). I won't go back, now that I've added an IR loader to the end of my pedal chain. I normally just disregard these sorts of discrepancies, but what you say on this video doesn't seem to indicate personal experience with this specific product used in this way, but rather conventional head knowledge that a certain thing "ought to be" a certain way. If you had said, "I've tried it and it wasn't for me", that would have been at least credible according to your experience and personal taste. I heartily recommend that you or anyone else try an IR with the Joyo stuff. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Watch the Budget Pedal Chap uploads for an example of how an external cab sim brings extra "life" and removes some sterility from the sound.

[@ButternoteBackingTracks]

I use the Joyo DI into my audio interface for all guitar on my backing tracks. Works for me! 😊🙌

[@Cmoth040]

I don't recall the channel name, but I attempted to buy a Harley-Benton "Extreme Metal" guitar effects pedal after watching the review. I was impressed with the potential range in the sound and the "chug" so to speak. When I went to look for it, I found the same pedal but with the JOYO brand name on it instead. I assumed JOYO is probably the actual manufacturer of the Harley-Benton product. Regardless, it was at a really good price so I wasn't going to lose much. After receiving it I'm glad I bought it. Great sound and the wide range of adjustments that I was looking for. It has convinced me to take the JOYO brand more seriously as far as their quality.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I believe there was a rebranding of these at some point, yeah

[@toddashley407]

The Sansamp stuff (the Joyo is the Sansamp Blonde pedal) is king. That said the 65 is nice and legit. But I wouldn't call it better - I haven't actually used it myself. I will say this well designed analog stuff can't be beat for overall a true amp like response. The problem with the digital stuff is that at the end of the day it is simplified interpretation of literal sound which itself can be limitlessly complex.

[@urbanmuchacho]

I love the American Sound, sounds great especially the way you're playing it. BTW, I use the British Sound on bass as a simple alternative to a SansAmp, and it sounds absolutely great, very Ampeg-ish.

[@TheGuitarEffect]

Great video mate. Very interesting where the fundamental difference lies between the two. I think the dream sounds better on the whole. But it does sound more like a digital amp emulation. Not to say the American sound doesn’t sound real. But it kinda sounds more analog. Which is a very ethereal and subjective thing to say. Beautiful pedalboard. Subscribed. Nice one.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thank you very much!

[@dustyowl8070]

From my experience (I Just tested both of them) Joyo is more analog sounding and better cut THRU, Dream sound like recorded AMP. Both are great

[@trentberry4081]

Yes in fact the Joyo is a clone of the Tech 21 which is 100 percent analog. Although the Dream does a better job of emulating an exact amp model, I think it- and many of these devices- Strymon/Mooer which I own- sound cold and clinical. The other thing is in a band situation- the analog absolutely cuts through and sounds rounded and fuller. To me a lot of these digital pedals are great for bedroom but in real deal live scenarios the analog wins convincingly.

[@TheGuitarEffect]

g @trentberry4081 Thats a really interesting point. I keep coming back to the American sound, specifically for that reason. It just sounds really immediate and full. Straight out of the gate. I currently use the IR200 when I'm going direct but that's mainly because i can switch with MIDI from the HX effects. I may look at using the American sound and the British sound instead. Also the new TC pedals are analog I think.

[@ishancooper]

The Dream 65 sounds really nice!!!

[@fastacesus8499]

Have the Joyo. Its sounds great with my pedals direct into the PA. I find the speaker sim to be perfectly fine. Its my back up for my live rig. Probably get used once in a blue moon, cost £30 so so-what if it doesn't. Its the one piece of gear I own which punches above its weight.

[@gianlucab.9837]

Another fair comparison it will be dream 65 vs plugins (schuffman, neural..). For a soundcard use only, I'm not sure it will be an upgrade.. You?

[@jimhaley7318]

Nice comparison. I like the way you set the Joyo to give a better comparison about sounding like a Fender amp. I have both pedals, and use one channel of my Twin Reverb as a pedal platform amp. Both pedals are worth a lot more than they cost, IMO. First off, they are amps that do a good job of emulating an amp that would cost much more than either of these pedals. The Joyo is only okay in a head-to-head comparison to the Dream, on the question of which one is better at emulating a Fender '65 Reverb. But the Joyo has that voice dial which lets you push it toward a Tweed sound. That's a valuable extra, in this context. The Dream is great as you buy it. But if you use the mobile app with it, you get a lot more. So both of these pedals exceed cost/value expectations for me, by quite a lot.

[@ronpal101]

the thought of comparing a $40 pedal to a $400 is enough reason to buy a Joyo Amerecan.. thanks for the great review!

[@zhulfianherwanto]

in my opinion u must try to bring up the middle on Joyo, that's will make fair comparison with UA Dream

[@flingar]

I have the joyo, it’s ok but all the times I tried to use it as an amp in a box / pedal platform I found out that It had a very limited headroom, so not useful for me. The Dream has a 3 dimensional sound that pushes it to the next level, I’d love to have one.

[@mattgilbert7347]

I had exactly the same experience UNTIL i added a separate cab em/IR loader unit after the American. Then - holy smokes! It came to life and now it's a core feature of my "Ampless" rig. I use a NUX Solid Studio for IRs and Power Amp Sim and a GFI Cabzeus Stereo for my stereo or wet/dry rig (American Sound & Mooer UK Gold 002 micro preamp as my left and right preamps before hitting my stereo odulations, delays, reverbs, and the Cabzeus Stereo). The Solid Studio is not expensive. The GFI is pretty pricey tho. I got mine used for $280AUD.

[@mattgilbert7347]

Instead of paying like $600 for the Dream why not try a NUX Mini Studio IR loader or maybe the Flamma FS-7 Stereo IR pedal. I have the Flamma as a backup and it's only $120AUD (that's what i paid, anyway) NUX have a couple of really good, affordable IR pedals. Check out the demos on YT, maybe you don't need a Dream, and maybe you can make that American work for you without taking out a damn mortgage lol!!

[@fernandes5986]

Very good and honest video. I have the Joyo but the UAD 65 has a better clarity. You get what you pay for.

[@althewicked]

Nice one! Thanks man. But the mids from the Jojo was too scooped. If you turned the mids up to 12 o clock the result would be much closer because the sound of the Dream ain't so scooped if you maybe think. How about the noise level? Is there a difference between the two pedals?

[@amberwoodstudio]

Agreed

[@suprbird]

I wish the joyo had a headphones out but for $40 cant complain!

[@dbreardon]

I think you needed to put some mids on the joyo. You have it basically "off". I don't know of an amp that sounds good with no mids at all. I think it would have sounded better and closer to the dream with a bit of mid tossed in. And just because the dream doesn't have a mid dial doesn't mean it's not emitting any mids. With no mids/turned way, way down, the joyo sounded a bit tinny. At least that is my thought on the matter. I own the American and prefer it with a bit more mids so I turn the dial up a little bit more than you had it in your review. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the review and it really shows have far these inexpensive pedals have come. And it give the home player who can't afford a suhr and $400 dollar pedal to have the option to use a pedal board if they so choose.....which is where I am at as well as a relative newbie as far as guitar playing.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thanks for watching! And I appreciate the feedback. I'll kind of explain my thought process with the EQ a little bit... When choosing these EQ settings, I used the EQ inside my DAW to look at the mid frequency response of the American Sound and the Dream. Here's what I found... I found that the Dream has a pretty significant scoop in and around 800Hz-2k and a boost in the lower mids around 200-500hz. It also has a very aggresive high-pass filter that allows almost no frequencies below 70Hz through. With the American Sound, there was a lot of boominess coming through below 70Hz regardless of where the Lows were set. With the midrange, bringing it up thickened the tone of the pedal for sure, but it ALSO boosted that 1-2k range making it sound nothing like the Dream. I'll be making a follow-up video on the American Sound very soon and I'll be sure to explore tones with more mids. Thanks again :)

[@richardclark.]

Most people have said the obvious about dream being fuller and why. For a starting player at home I wouldn't look any further than the joyo. I am lucky enough to have a hand wired 5e3 at my disposal so I don't have a need for either one. I really just wanted to let you know I loved the review style and you have gained a subscriber. Thanks.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thanks a lot man! Oh yeah, a handwired 5e3 is one of the greatest amps on the planet. Very cool.

[@DTension]

I had no idea this was supposed to be a cab sim. It's such an old pedal (9 years at least) that I feel like the tech wasn't "there" yet. I use it as an overdrive into the front of my amp with no issue. Usually an amp sim would have to be turned off or it sounds weird into the front end. Now I am curious about going direct with it.

[@pipotherium]

Great review

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thank you!

[@fernandes5986]

As I expected the the Dream 65 has a muche clearer sound, due to better components for sure.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Better components, but also a much better algorithm, which is really what you're paying for.

[@fernandes5986]

@@andrewclarkeguitar For sure.

[@je7647]

The joyo doesn’t have any algorithm, it’s analog The best value for these type of pedals is a humblolt simplifier clone on Ali express for 70 dollars or so. Kinda shady if you want to support the original designer though

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

@@je7647 good point! The Joyo isn’t DSP based.

[@JohnW335andTele]

Thanks for the comparison! Could you do the same with the Ruby vs the Joyo AC Tone? Also, should a direct box be used after the American Sound or is it sufficient as it is?

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Only if I can get my hands on both here then I definitely will. You'll need a DI box or a Line Isolator to plug into in most scenarios. Cheers!

[@bb_lz9790]

Thanks for sharing!!! To my ears (headphones, KZbin processing, etc.) the Dream sounded way better. I have an American Sound and just receive a TC Electronic Combo Deluxe 65'. The Deluxe 65' sound harsh, but I've only spent an hour with it though. I never even knew the Dream existed until the other day. I want to use which ever one I keep to cause a non-Fender amp (Crate XT65R) to sound more Fendery. With speaker emulation hard wired, that's a problem with the Joyo. I should probably just either just stick with my ancient (Paul Rivera designed) Yamaha G100-212 II or get a Deluxe Reverb Tone Master and stop trying to force the poor little Crate into something it's not.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thanks for watching! Unfortunately, these amp sim pedals aren't designed to be run into an amp. That's why they tend to sound thin or harsh. Even with the cab simulation portion bypassed, they're filterning your signal as if you have no amplifier whatsoever. If you're trying to re-voice your amp to sound more Fender-y, then you're better off looking into an overdrive or preamp voiced like a Fender. I do know some folks have mentioned getting usable sounds while running the American Sound into an amp, but in my experience, it just didn't sound great. Hope that's somewhat helpful!

[@bb_lz9790]

@@andrewclarkeguitar Thanks! I tried some other configurations with the TC Deluxe 65' today (into the effects return of my Crate and into the clean channel of my Yamaha set "flat" (for a typical Fender/Western Electric tone stack is something like 2-10-4 for Treble, Middle, Bass). Still sounded harsh and brittle.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

@@bb_lz9790 Is it still harsh and brittle when you run it directly into an audio interface and listen to the recording?

[@bb_lz9790]

@@andrewclarkeguitar I don't have any recording gear/audio interface, etc. so I didn't try that.

[@michaelliddicoat29]

I enjoyed the video, but I notice that the Joyo was always thinner and quieter than the Dream. Shouldn't you have tried to get them as close as possible for a good comparison?

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I actually made sure to match the dB perfectly between each pedal in every comparison clip in Logic after recording the video. This is because they both take input volume differently. So if they're set to the same volume when clean, adding any sort of OD or Fuzz in front made one louder than the other. Any volume differences you hear have nothing to do with "volume", they'll just be with how the EQ/tonal differences come through in the video. The Joyo can't be made to sound any "thicker" because the Low and Mid control don't give you access to the frequencies to make it sound as thick as the Dream. For example, the Low control on the Joyo specifically boosts and cuts around 100 Hz, where the Bass control on the Dream has more of an effect on 200-300Hz. I spent a considerable amount of time with both pedals, and no matter how I set it, the Joyo always sounded "thinner". Volume-wise you can get them to be in the same ballpark, but no matter how hard you try, the Joyo will never sound exactly like the Dream, and vice versa.

[@starshineraiser6729]

I learned an expensive lesson with UA, I hate pedals with secondary functions and presets. I’ve got to hit a switch so I can zero the reverb, I try another setting, reverb is back. These pedals can sound like the second coming of your favorite pedal, but they’re no fun to play. I had the Ruby and their modulation pedal. And, they don’t sound better than my favorite singular pedals. I’d rather it be x2 the size and have more knobs.

[@StaticTeaz]

surprised you didn't mention one is analog and the other, digital

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

True! Forgot to mention that in the video. Thanks.

[@thomascleveland]

Thanks for the best comparison vid of these two on youtube. Sorry if I am the 900th person to ask you this But can we see a comparison with the Joyo British and the new UAFX Lion (Marshall)

[@peteleoni9665]

You certainly did not match up the tone controls as well as possible. This negates the comparison. I heard one point as you were turning up the middle control on the Joyo, where they were nearly matched. Thanks though.

[@coqbofunk]

El dream trae simulador de parlante por lo que se siente ese aire, pero si al joyo le sumamos un mooer radar creo que sonarian muy similares y por la mitad de precio, gracias por el video

[@hermespadilla]

Lo mismo estaba pensando, hasta que leí aquí en los comentarios y varía gente dice que joyo trae simulador de gabinete. Y que hay que abrirlo para quitarle esa opción. La verdad no creo que sea el caso, pero si es verdad, usualmente cuando conectas un cab sim a otro cab sim suena horrible

[@GNeuman]

Great playing and a comprehensive comparison, thanks! I've got the Joyo American Sound and I really find it very uninspiring. Breaks up very quickly, sounds nothing like playing through a tube amp, waste of time really. I'm intrigued by the Dream 65 though, but will I end up being mega disappointed because it's not 10 times better? It sounds way better on your video but does it really feel like playing through a tube amp? I go through a peddleboard then into a Mackie desk then audio interface into DAW. The speakers are a pair of self powered KrKs and a KrK subwoofer. The synths, drum machines etc all sound excellent but to my ears, compared to my Fender Hotrod tube amp, the guitar sounds rubbish going through the pedal board etc set up

[@zaidontheguitar]

I use joyo and seriously it is better than any other option in the market... Never judge the pedal by its looks😹🤘

[@brianpark492]

I own a vintage overdrive and my other guitar player finally got his Ibanez TS back.I honestly liked the joyo better.

[@PabloMartinez-xc6ln]

i use the joyo as a backup solution, always in my backpack when i play live

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

That's exactly how I plan to use mine.

[@BartoszXIV]

what I am missing here is comparing dry guitar signal to the both "amps" set to clean tone

[@rschelyoung8705]

Two notes in and the dream has won. I've had the joyo and it's ok for the cash

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

The Dream is just so good.

[@stephanewelti8816]

i tried American joyo in front of IR200 in which i removed the amp sim while keeping sim cab and reverb. In front of american joyo I put angry charlie: well that sounds very good, better than with JC120 amp sim of IR200

[@7171jay]

Really excellent review of this cheap but somewhat useful box. I agree that keeping the Joyo clean and putting your other pedals in front of it is certainly the best use of it. I crank the output of the Joyo and then bring the gain up just enough that it comes in with a solid clear sound, this is usually a bit below the nine o'clock position depending on your eq settings. The only thing I would disagree with a bit is using it with other cab Sims. For direct recording I think the Joyo mates up with the ADA GCS5 cabsim DI pedal really well, neither pedal on it's own sounds as good as the two together.

[@JongHwaKim78]

Thanks for the comparison video. However, I guess JoYo has middle scooped too much. You could make it more similar to UA?

[@robshrock-shirakbari1862]

I think you could have landed on a Joyo setting that better matched the Dream before jumping into the pedals. The American was quieter, less bassy and also less bright; ie. the Voice knob was set too high. If you had carved out the Joyo a bit more and matched levels it would have been a more fair comparison. Thanks, though.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thanks for the comment. I experimented with bringing the mids and voice knobs down to make the EQ more similar to the Dream, but it just sounded bad. Could just need to spend more time with them though! As for EQ, bringing the low end and high end of the Joyo up affected different frequencies than the dream. So there just wasn't a way to get the EQs to sound identical. If I scooped out more mids and brought the highs and lows up it just sounded shrill, boomy, and thin. I appreciate the feedback, though. And will keep that in mind for future comparisons. Cheers!

[@josephanthonymusic5737]

I wish you would do a review comparison between the UA dream and the TC electronic Amp worx 65. Please!

[@czulynarrator]

Thanks a lot!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

You're welcome!

[@EasyHeat]

Great content man. Liked, Sub'd, and hit the bell! ✌

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I appreciate that so much man thank you 🙌🏻

[@Impractical_Engineer]

Immediately knew which one was the Dream and Joyo. Joyo sounds good, passable for that Fullerton sound. The dream had depth and harmonics that the joyo just didn't have. Gets that fender treble and bass out of phase sound and does it well.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

The Dream is really hard to beat if price isn't an obstacle.

[@freeskierdav]

I can't hear 360$ difference

[@Ren-X]

Through KZbin, the joyo just sounded quieter

[@mr.d.572]

It can get pretty noisy.

[@andrzejomes8923]

To be honest you should keep mids between 10-11 o'clock in Joyo. Otherwise the test is fail. It can be hear midhump in UA and terryfing midscoop in Joyo just becouse of that.

[@stephanemignot100]

There is mod to bypass the IR Sim, I suck with soldering iron, not for me

[@wahwahwells]

The way you have the American Sound set here is like a Twin Reverb with the mids scooped out, which is a horrid sound in the real world and an ugly pedal platform. You need to bring the Voice control up to around 11-12 o'clock to be closer to the sound of a Deluxe and the mids up around 12 o'clock, to bring the richness back to the tonality. It's then that your natural bias toward the UA would be called into question, because there would be very little difference between them.

[@vince8081]

I think Joyo has to add a blackface pedal to the collection, i love my american but it's a tweed mod... come on Joyo !

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

It's definitely more Tweedy. Hopefully, someday they do!

[@cameron_schafer]

Do you have any recommendations on whether or not to use this strictly as a drive pedal on your board?

[@pradiptones]

Can this pedal be used straight to the board/interface without a di box? I'm still not sure what the di box does tbh.

[@Ones_Complement]

Putting an IR after it would be like micing a cab and then playing that through another cab. Not surprised it'd sound like shit lol.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Yeah, exactly

[@fluorophoremusic3679]

Still in a live setting I don't want to go into a DI box. I want to be able to use some sort of like amp like pedal into my totally clean tube amp, to use the pedal as my dirty channel so to speak...and my tube amp clean as my clean amp. It seems no one does this or explains the utility or feasibility of this. Could you help me out?

[@andmoreagain]

the joyo sounds like ∂ss on anything besides clean, also it doesnt really sound like you level matched the two pedals very well

[@DavidShepard-ke9su]

Hey, so what do you think about using the Joyo as a preamp for a Powerstage 170?

[@smooth_jazz_escola]

If Joyo launches an American with a reverb option and turns off the Cab, it will be unbeatable, as professionals like pedals that are easy to achieve tone in a live show, which the UAD does not offer, it is a difficult pedal to equalize quickly for the untrained.

[@what1864]

the joyo sounds thin because that is how it is eq'ed in this video , tried the same settings and as expected sounded horrible , i realize pickups rooms speakers mics can make a difference , just sayin with those settings i get the same thin sound ...

[@Gvecchi]

Very cool your review, but I've played with these 2 pedals and with the right equalization, Joyo manages to sound almost like Dream, or like a real blackface. For some reason you tuned the Joyo without the mid frequencies and it clearly sounded inferior, thin and lifeless. The Joyo is an excellent pedal in my opinion. Cheers

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

The Joyo is a remarkable pedal. When choosing these EQ settings, I used the EQ inside my DAW to look at the mid frequency response of the American Sound and the Dream. Here's what I found... I found that the Dream has a pretty significant scoop in and around 800Hz-2k and a boost in the lower mids around 200-500hz. It also has a very aggresive high-pass filter that allows almost no frequencies below 70Hz through. With the American Sound, there was a lot of boominess coming through below 70Hz regardless of where the Lows were set. With the midrange, bringing it up thickened the tone of the pedal for sure, but it ALSO boosted that 1-2k range making it sound nothing like the Dream. That's why I EQ'd it like I did. My goal with the video was to put them head to head trying to get similar tones. I plan on making a follow-up video that focuses solely on getting the best tone out of the Joyo, and I won't be giving myself those same restrictions. I really appreciate the feedback, and I hope my explanation kinda made sense. Cheers!

[@Gvecchi]

​@@andrewclarkeguitar Thanks for the information. I already subscribed to your channel, I really liked your reviews!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

@@Gvecchi Thank you so much :)

[@redbird726]

@@andrewclarkeguitar I especially appreciate you sharing this deep dive into the frequency patterns! It's let me understand my Joyo even better (smarter) and explains why the Dream sounded more full. I get why you EQ'd the Joyo how you did. The sound was essentially the same, but the post pedal EQ curve was different. In a mix, I'd likely EQ the Dream channel to sound like the Joyo without post EQ unless a solo instrumental.

[@guitarsfunmods3986]

I don't feel that ua is better than Joyo. It's like just two different amp, matter of taste... And when the king of tone kicks in, I'm soooo shocked how the Joyo took the pedal, I did love it soon much more than how the ua took the king of tone

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Well, there ya go! Sounds like you found your winner. :)

[@sfgylk34u_57]

Hello . Thank you very much! Is Joyo pedal fully analogue or digital?

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I believe it's fully analog.