Tech21 Blonde vs Joyo American Sound

Tech21 vs Joyo American Sound

[@10sassafras]

I have the Joyo and your review is accurate about the sounds you demonstrated - that's how those settings sound. However, they wouldn't be settings I'd use much. The eq is highly responsive and the Voice control gets you close to a wide range of different Fender style amps. It's a really useful pedal.

[@west9534]

I have 2 Joyo Americans, and one went haywire yesterday morning, six hours before a gig. I luckily (EXTREMELY) found a used T21 Blonde a mere 45 min drive away. So I bought it online and drove out. As soon as I strummed through it, I inew it was more what I needed than my Joyos (which I love). I was trying to tamenthe harsh brittle tone of a 2-day-old VOX AC4C1-12, without clipping caps, or swapping speakers. The Joyo American was that solution for a few minutes, until it went crazy. What some people don't like about the T21 BLONDE, is precisely why it works so well with the AC4C1-12. BUT, it doesn't detract from the tone, I can still get great jangle and glassy tone, without going muddy. I didn't find mine overly compressed, and am running an SP Compress and an EP Boost in front of it. I might run bith the Joyo and the T21 on the same board. I gig with several different rigs in a number of different venues, gotta have a very adaptable pedal solution.

[@stevebakerguitar]

sounds like the Joyo has some Dynamics, less compressed, more jangle and breathing room.

[@MarceloDurham]

i had both,.. feel like the joyo has faster response ,...

[@KaneMuir]

@1:03 = Blonde @5:01 = Joyo

[@scottfleming6166]

I’ve got both of these pedals. The joyo is a great pedal but the tech 21 is a better pedal. If you’re on a budget nothing wrong with the joyo

[@hasserl]

IMO the Joyo sounds better, especially with the drive turned up, the Tech 21 was pretty fuzzy, the Joyo sounded more natural, smoother, less fuzz. But even at lower drive levels it sounds better to me. Thanks for the video.

[@CurranLong]

+hasserl I own both - they are very similar but the Blonde is cleaner and quieter. It is by far the quietest overdrive pedal I've ever used, when engaged it barely adds any noise to my signal at all. The American Sound is noisier for sure, but you're right it sounds great

[@CarmonaJohn]

Bro, I'll to buy the Joyo pedal, but I have a question, if I want to connect my pedalboard to my church's mixer where I must to connect the Amp Simulator (Joyo Pedal)? I mean, how I have to make the pedal chain? (Tuner, Wah, OD, Dist, Delay, Reverb... etc) Sorry for my bad english.

[@TriteNight1218]

John Carmona the Joyo should go after the wah, distortion, and OD and before the delays and reverb. Go out from your reverb into a DI box and then to the mixer.

[@brucejoyce9934]

I look at it as the Blonde replaces the amp so I put it last in the chain where the amp would be if used for amp sim. Using as overdrive I put it closer to beginning of chain.

[@vicenteb531]

@@TriteNight1218 or you can go with wah->dist->OD->delays->rerverb->Joyo->mixer if your settings on the Joyo are clean. You would dont need the DI box that way.

[@alexmedia8094]

I use the Joyo American with a Behringer TO800. Covers all the bluesy sounds I could want 👌

[@guitartap]

Same here with all controls on the to800 at 12:00

[@alanshadyvally]

It sounds best with a tele. I love the sizzle it gives you. I don't run the gain more than half into a katana head with a marshall 212 cab. I liked the sg sound you got. Don't have a sg.

[@Tmidiman]

Too bad this wasn't a side by side. I forgot what the Blonde sounded like. Harder to A/B the sounds this way.

[@jonsirola]

It's kind of funny -sorry for the old comment answer- but if you have a hard time comparing the sound they are probably too close, close enough to be almost indistinguishable

[@stratowhore9051]

@@jonsirola Except for the price -- HUGE difference!

[@clintwhite3021]

I have the joyo and my preferred 'voice' settings are for clean @12 o'clock and for the tweedy goodness at about @3-4. Great pedal. Thanks for the vid! :)

[@clintwhite3021]

Ok so I’ve changed my tone preference lol. Bass @12-1, mids @3, treble max Character @min, drive @12 More open and clear and touch sensitive. Takes pedals great.

[@harrisfrankou2368]

I run my Riverside into my American. I run a light crunch on the American and if I roll the pickup down to 8 and split the coils its totally clean. I can use the Riverside boost and the expression pedal for limitless gain options.

[@ZekeMan62]

Both sound good, but the Joyo gets closer to the classic Fender vibe.

[@sergeramic]

click this and jump to the next to clearly hear the difference 0:29 & 5:00 ,tech21 sounds more mids upfront and more compressed?

[@DaveMorrisonMusic]

I've had the Joyo on my board for a year or so. It's at the end of the signal chain. I plug it into an old 1980 Roland Cube 40, with a clean tone. Or I just take it direct into a PA. Either way, it takes my other pedals great and gives me that nice warm Fendery tone. Roll the volume off, and it cleans right up. Just like a real amp. I think I paid $35. I also use the Joyo Sweet Baby to push it for some more overdrive. Those two things together with a little reverb and delay, give me a tone you could almost chew on. (oh ... and my guitar is an SX Tele - their good one with a swamp-ash body and a bound neck etc. That cost me $180 delivered. This is the golden age of cheap tone.

[@drummer4hire12]

...Yes indeed, it IS the age of cheap tone and that is a VERY cool thing!!!!!

[@mattgilbert7347]

Agreed. I was stunned when I added one of these Joyo TrueTone pedals to my DI rig, after my comp/booster/drives going into my NUX Cerberus IR (Joyo in the loop between the Drive side and Mods/Delays/Verb side)>Powered PA. Crunch and high-gain for days.

[@SunTeleLeo]

ah, those old roland cubes! I had one long ago... boy could they make amps - not the digital crap these days... I mean those digital cubes or whtever they call them now.. just order me an american sound joyo to complement my other pedal stuff. cheers!

[@Theweeze100]

Dave Morrison Hey Dave, good to see you on another sight. Love your show, but really love the way you swap out all the guitars in the background. For a musician it’s like guess who’s going to be sitting next to Johnny Carson tonight. You’re right about having the Joyo in your signal chain, who would’ve thought you could buy a “silver face, or black face” tone for a live gig for 25 bucks?

[@guitartap]

That's close to what my set up is as well

[@andreasoberholz]

Nice video much better than mine I think both sound fine. I had the impression the sound does not cuts through the mix in the end. Anyway for practicing and writing much better than all the amp sims... and for 30 bucks someone cant go wrong with the Jojo. Nice review I sub. your channel...

[@michaelinglis8516]

I have the Joyo and I might have bought an original if it wasnt for the terribly placed dc jack lol! I build 90% of the new pedals I have but this would have been a really big Vero project and I'm not set up with the chemicals to make my own boards right now. The joyo is perfectly fine. I immediately modded mine to turn on and off the cab emulation via an on off dpdt switch. I added a cap and resistor in the no cab sim setting to take down the excess highs in that setting (2.2nf cap and I think a 6.8k resistor, I'll have to check the resistor value an come back. But pretty much any value cap an resistor around that value in series should work to tame the highs. Just remember the larger the cap value the more highs are attenuated) works wonderful. I use it mainly through my Marshall DSL100HR through the preamp so I can still use the effects loop pedals without rearranging everything. It also sounds great direct into an interface or direct into a power amp (effect loop in my case). Direct to interface or fx loop tames the highs considerably but the "high" adjustment has more than enough cut to tame it when it's going into an amp.

[@AntwhaleNearfar]

TMI

[@michaelinglis8516]

@@AntwhaleNearfar For you maybe, so why did you waste both of our times commenting? If the comment isnt relevant to you then just keep scrolling like a big boy.

[@AntwhaleNearfar]

@@michaelinglis8516 Or...YOU can be a big boy, stop being defensive, think about the novel you wrote that got one courtesy like and learn to say more with less in the future...sorta like B.B. King instead of Yngwie Malmsteen. Good day sir.

[@michaelinglis8516]

@@AntwhaleNearfar You think THAT was a novel of a comment? You must not be online much. And I'll keep writing my comments on the internet like comments on the fucking internet, shot from the hip as a excerpt of what I was thinking at the time. I write blog posts and do guitar pedal and amp mod/full build tutorials all the time and on those I take the time to make things clear and concise and sure sometimes all I get is a "courtesy like" and other times I get a ton of feedback. Point being I couldnt give two shits if I get any responses. If what I say is of interest to someone that's fantastic but if not who gives a shit? The real problem here is you projecting your insecurities onto random people. Its weird, you should do something about that. In your honor I vow to ramble as much as humanly possible in the future infact. In other words, for all the insecure little guys out there who overthink everything.

[@jamesbarnett726]

Can I get the resistor value you used om this mod ?

[@edwinhernandez9276]

Which is better Sansamp Tech 21 classic or Tech 21 Blonde any one ? 🤔

[@numero6285]

I own each of them, I was surprised to find that they are quite different. I would say that the Blonde objectively sounds better overall: the frequencies seem more balanced and less aggressive. In the extreme settings, the sound remains precise and the noise is minimal. On the other hand with the Joyo, even if the sound is overall a bit messier, it seems to me more open and less compressed. In fact, the frequency response is not the same and we have the possibility to remove muddy frequencies with mid control (wich operate at 400Hz, while on the Blonde this control is unfortunately done at 1000Hz). In the end, I find the Joyo more interesting in clean sound but the Blonde remains more qualitative and more realistic in crunch or saturated sounds. Also note that the settings suggested by Tech21 work extremely well on the Blonde but not at all on the Joyo (some controls do not react the same way). The great paradox is that I think I'll keep the Joyo on my pedalboard while the Blonde is objectively better. Is that in my specific use (clear sound platform to receive several pedals), the Joyo finally seems to me more suitable.

[@harrisfrankou2368]

I prefer my Joyo for clean crunch as well. I got about a 93 model for SansAmp

[@snooze0023]

Does that joyo go direct to your Audio interface? Can you put it straight to a speaker cabinet? Is it 9volt power? If you put to fx loop is that bypassing the amps preamp right? And can you set it to clean in the loop and do you put a overdrive before it in the fx loop?

[@alphanumeric1529]

Are you using a noise gate on the pedals? I know you are on your voice.

[@WebbChannel1]

Bruce, what was that tune you were playing at the end?? One of yours? Really liked it. Where can I hear more of your stuff??

[@brucejoyce9934]

Yes, One of my originals. I have a lot of songs that I need to put out there on KZbin. Thank you for the compliment!

[@WebbChannel1]

@@brucejoyce9934 Bruce, are you signed with a record label? Do you have an an actual CD for sale? Let me know - Really liked the classic rock overtones of your original piece you played on this video.

[@brucejoyce9934]

@@WebbChannel1 I don't have a CD ready to release at this time. I will definitely let you know when I do. Thanks for the interest!

[@WebbChannel1]

@@brucejoyce9934 Definitely do that Bruce - I can give your cd a lot of exposure. I'm a music reviewer for an entertainment magazine.

[@TheMichaelseymour]

thought the joyo drive was much less muddy and very crisp

[@gusdemahendra]

I used to have both of them,when play live(direct to PA)sansamp blonde just feel warmer,and joyo sound steril,specialy when.pairing with overdrive or distortion

[@danielrocha2581]

You can search the video with some guy stacking American sound pedal with TS, ProCo RAT, and boss DS1, the sound that he gets its amazing!!

[@AnggaSyailendra]

Yang paling mendekati fender real amp yang mana bro?

[@vicenteb531]

i have been using the joyo American for about a year and all Catalinbread pedals tend to sound just as what they where supposed to be, since Howard Gee and CB manuals says that their pedals are supposed to be played on a crystal clean amp, just like fender amps. My DLS mkIII sounds amazing paired with the Joyo (Joyo in clean).

[@mattgilbert7347]

Lot of mid-range in both. I like it.

[@lewisbeeman]

Thanks for the review. Might be better to run one at a setting then compare the other to the same setting. Instead of running one in a bunch of different settings then the other. Just a suggestion. It would help us listeners get a better comparison.

[@brucejoyce9089]

Great Idea! Thanks!

[@taylor714bce]

Are you using a direct box after the pedals? Guitar to output, what is your chain?

[@brucejoyce9089]

+Andy Browning . The Chain is guitar, Tech21 or Joyo, straight into ID22 DI input without direct box. No other pedals. I did add reverb and a little post compression in Logic Pro X to keep my signals level.

[@neilwarden]

I record a lot of DI guitar and owned the Joyo for a while. For the money it's great, slightly crunchy but workable. After a few months of good use I found a pre-owned Tech 21 Blonde, a big difference... more headroom and better build quality and you can switch off the speaker sim if using it in front of a guitar amp. I've used the Blonde through a PA and sounded great. Also own a few more Tech 21 products... great gear.

[@neilwarden]

Blonde is way better... with a 335 can get a Robben Ford/Larry Carlton vibe. Great pedal.... AS is good but if you are serious about recording the Blonde is the one for me.

[@vicenteb531]

good to know! i have had the Joyo for about a year and now i am waiting for the blonde to arrive. thanks

[@SuperMarcelloz]

@@vicenteb531 was it worth a change? Thank you

[@vicenteb531]

@@SuperMarcelloz Hi! The Tech21 has more headroom (which means you hear less noise than the Joyo) and is more quiet in terms of noise due to power consumption (power adapter). The stability of the power connector to the pedal is weak in the Joyo, but it´s ok. Also the Tech21 has the ability to turn on/off the cabinet, while the Joyo doesn´t. In terms of sound, they are 98% the same. I can not hear the other 2%, but some other users say they can. I will say that if you are planning to use the pedal in your bedroom you will be absolutely OK with the Joyo and at a fraction of the cost.

[@SuperMarcelloz]

@@vicenteb531 I dedicated my Joyo JF14 to be in front of a clean combo amp (DV Mark Little Jazz) to play jazz in clubs, since I don't like the Polytone-like Jazz tone but rather a more fender-ish tone with a bit of tube breakup. I was trying to understand if the Blonde would be even better for my use, it seems not a lot, though. Thank you!

[@bahiodj5566]

Please, if the both pedals would cost 250 dollars for each, which one would you buy?

[@atmanparajit7458]

joyo win

[@kimmolingonheimo]

hi, Your Tele sounds aawsome, with the Tech 21 knobs 12 very perfect I can hear the Tele, I once had an ES-S one with a humbuck for neck, I have two Tech speakers 100W each..., and two Joyo Amsound pedals, Im tired and reasonbbly happy, mr Bruce Joyce, your tele sounds very good! luv n sleep, Kimmo : )

[@brucejoyce9934]

Thank you! This Tele is my go to recording guitar. It is completely stock and does sound amazing. I love it!

[@evanwilliams8908]

The joy unit sounds better to my ears, but I could be wrong. I've owned a few fender alms and it certainly sounds close to me. A loss of out out isn't hard to fix with either a boost, overdrive or just turning up the amp. Seems like they $47 joyo is the winner in my books. It's really too close to call, so it's worth saving the cash.

[@stoneysdead689]

It matters when you're playing live- then "just turning up the amp" can be a real issue- especially if you're mid-song and need to change effects. You can't be like "Oh, wait, wait- everyone chill for a second, gotta turn up my amp."

[@matthewpuziss5347]

Great video! I have both pedals but no single coil guitars. Sounds fantastic with your Tele! Really nice playing too! QUESTION: Are you using any external cab sim? With the built in cab sim my Joyo sounds very "fizzy" with gain into a QSC CP12 monitor. Thanks! I've subscribed and looking forward to watching more of your vids.

[@brucejoyce9934]

This is pedal direct into my audio interface, no extra cab sim

[@brucejoyce9089]

No extra cab sims, just the pedals

[@KarlSheridan]

I like the tones the joyo puts out, seems to betray the clarity the bit better than the blonde. Putting the price aside and just going on sound, I think I go for the joyo pedal. Great video by the way

[@homonavitus6113]

Both are good. Acording to sound from video, Blonde is a little bit warmer like old boutique small votages amps, Joyo is closer to Vox AC30

[@clintwhite3021]

Sounds to me like the Blonde has a better speaker sim. Has a bit of “thunk” to it. I had the American, regret selling so I bought an “Irin” brand one for $17 and it’s amazing haha. Maybe I should just get the Blonde then…

[@rayhanputra5083]

hey bruce i want to ask about the joyo, is the joyo have much noise? then the blonde tech21

[@brucejoyce9089]

Both are pretty quiet, both about the same.

[@MichaelCoughlanmusic]

Nice tune with the SG!

[@brucejoyce9934]

Thank You!

[@duppykitoon]

Why no A/B comparison of the pedals? Why no Joyo with the SG?

[@SunTeleLeo]

just ordered joyo - holy cow! 45 bucks here vs 125 for blonde.... have also tech21 liverpool (which cost me some 200 or more bucks years ago) - the best in the character series imho

[@johns2969]

Bruce, Its hard to tell on a Utube video. Does the joyo sound less focused, more fizzy?

[@brucejoyce9089]

+john sincavage John, I think the Joyo is slightly thinner and a bit more fizzy sounding than the Tech21 which just sounds "bigger" and seems to have more output. It is only a slight difference though, they are very similar.

[@johns2969]

+Bruce Joyce thanks. You have been very helpful

[@romerdecaracas]

Hello, What about air noise when drive and tone is all up in both pedals? Which one is more noisy?

[@brucejoyce9089]

Both about the same noise

[@empireentertainmentevents1353]

JOYO is a lot noisier at higher gains than the Blonde. I have both, so I can confirm this.

[@resisaputra269]

EMPIRE ENTERTAINMENT & EVENTS hello man.. i rarely use high gain, maybe can you confirm about the clean tone? Are they close enough?

[@empireentertainmentevents1353]

The Blonde is still cleaner and sweeter when played Clean@@resisaputra269

[@PhillyWatts]

Does the Joyo have cabinet simulation?

[@brucejoyce9089]

Yes, very similar to the Blonde.

[@wmfthe5th376]

I have both pedals. I prefer the Joyo bcause the EQ sounds more natural. With the Blonde there's a real problem with the loudness of certain strings being diminished with relatively small amounts of frequency cut - turn the treble down and the high E gets weak, turn the mid down and the D and G get weak. It really got on my nerves. The Blonde is collecting dust now because it was too hard to get it to sound good with all of my guitars. With the Joyo I set it once, and it sounds good with everything.

[@SpaceJockey805]

Joyo for clean, Blonde for crunch. Both great pedals, but the Joyo is a hell of a lot cheaper.

[@harrisfrankou2368]

I have a series one Tech21 sansamp. DI'd it fooled engineers. I lent it out so I bought the American. Plugged in at the end of my board. It sounds amazing. I go Fuzz Wah>MXR Phase 90>Strymon Riverside>RE20 Space Echo. With the EV5 I can go from clean stones to metal. The take boost pedals just great. My fuzz has 16db boost. The Strymon has 6 db boost. Nice Ted sound by the way!!!

[@InGrindWeCrust2010]

Do you have a preference? Did you ever get your Tech21 back?

[@harrisfrankou2368]

I just got this reply now!!! yes I got it back and A/Bed them The Joyo is better clean for SRV Lenny Type stuff@@InGrindWeCrust2010.

[@hermitcrab1543]

I got both. They are different sounding pedals to me. I prefer the tech 21 over all i think, but the joyo for things where the blonde can get muddy. Noise levels are the same on both my units. Not as good as tube amp > mic but not miles off either. Would beat out poor single mic placement i think. cheers

[@numero6285]

Totally agree. I find that the Blonde becomes muddy and difficult to equalize when character is over 12h. So I prefer Joyo American for this setting.

[@Jonathan-L]

What reverb system are you using Bruce?

[@MikeSantis]

Is this review done straight onto a mixer? Or onto a guitar tube amp?

[@brucejoyce9934]

Tech21 straight into interface

[@Williampreza]

This is great if you get one that works. My Joyo arrived DOA from Amazon. :(

[@tonyhayek1086]

Do you think this would make my Engl Ironball which is kind of a dark cleand more sparkly and pristine?

[@ZEGO24x]

Guaranteed...

[@vicenteb531]

absolutely. I have a cheap Marshall amp which is very dark, and man withe the Joyo you got fenderish crystal clean

[@JuxtaCrucem]

Top riff at the end.

[@tjnugent62]

Great Demo.. Thank you!

[@thehound2161]

IMO these Joyo Sound pedals perform well in front and bring what i expect. Great value. I have three. The can be had for $20-$30 and that makes the brain send the good chemicals throughout the body. Nothing like a deal that pays off to feel good all over.

[@lanayajordyn9950]

The Hound hell to ye yeah!!!! I'ma get one

[@gunnslinger7774]

Would the Joyo work the same into a Tascam multirecorder??

[@brockdinbarr]

Yes, but he added some reverb from within Logic

[@jland12]

both have a horrible sound when he's picking hard, like a digital clipping 3:03. Is this unavoidable or does the player need to be more careful with settings?

[@jland12]

@Nobby Heads yes

[@arbitermatt]

I have a boutique valve guitar amp that sounds like that, it's just a characteristic of this kind of voicing. I actually like that quality.

[@grimoire7851]

blonde sounds controlled but not fenderish jojo surprising

[@paulesbrusher]

El blonde suena genial pero el joyo es más fender

[@prekopgyozo]

Nice video, thanks for uploading!

[@drummer4hire12]

Very nice vid......great riff's!!!!

[@brucejoyce9089]

Thanks you!

[@cyprussid]

which pedal are you using at the end with the backing track

[@brucejoyce9089]

+cyprussid Tech21 Blonde

[@jmgmarcus808]

Bruce Joyce No Joyo jam at end? Why no love? Cmon bud.

[@kieronbradley51]

What strings and picks do you use

[@brucejoyce9089]

+Kieron Bradley I use the cheap Musician's Gear Electric 9 Nickel Plated strings and I use the yellow standard medium picks from InTuneGP with my band logo on it. We play a lot of private parties and weddings and I go through a lot of strings.

[@UnsFor]

why is there reverb on your voice?

[@brucejoyce9934]

room ambience?

[@Roddo731]

Who cares

[@guitargeardemo7349]

Nice demo,, helping us

[@welovegoodmusic3922]

Got this Joyo and the Harley Benton version as well. Love them both!

[@stoneysdead689]

Tbh- once pedals get this close, you can't tell a difference listening over KZbin. When you upload something to KZbin- and probably anywhere else- it gets compressed, the eq curve is changed- and if you have two pedals that already sound pretty similar- now they're going to sound even more so. That said- I can tell you from 30 something years of experience dealing with gear- the Tech 21 is going to be a better pedal- it's going to last longer, retain more sound quality over time, and be less prone to tear up on you. It's going to stack better with other effects, it's going to record better through a DI connection, the cab sim is going to be higher quality, etc., etc. That said- if you play at home, and you don't record, you're not gigging so it doesn't matter if a pedal tears up, you're not looking to go DI so the cab sim doesn't even come into play- the Joyo is probably your pedal. The tiny bit of improvement you would get from the Tech 21 doesn't really justify the price.

[@DIYTutorialGuy]

Great review!

[@BrianDupoux]

Cool joyo win.

[@Nazzz65]

Thank you Bruce! Good demo!

[@bigstick5278]

JOYA sounds Anemic.

[@AntwhaleNearfar]

The Joyo is to the Tech 21 what BlueChew is to Viagra.

[@hgostos]

clean 1:36 - 6:25

[@WebbChannel1]

The sound similar BUT the tech 21 definitely has a FULLER tone. & output. BUT THEN AGAIN you are comparing a $30.00 JOYO new, to a $170.00 new Tech 21 Blonde... fair??

[@theonlyrobot]

I've tried two of them, and they both have static popping whether on or off. Disappointing, because as mentioned everywhere, the pedal is otherwise outstanding.

[@kimmolingonheimo]

send them back if theyre falulty!

[@lewisbeeman]

Also, just turn up the voice knob

[@jessebreuer8088]

Hi Bruce, an interesting choice to compare. You do understand that the american is supposed to be a fender sound, and the blonde is supposed to be marshall? The joyo british would have been the marshall version in that line.

[@brucejoyce9089]

No, The Blonde is supposed to mimic the brownface Fender tone and the Joyo American Sound is a copy of the Tech21 Blonde. According to Tech21, "Take the reins and don’t spare the emulated Jensens®, this Blonde is a wild ride through American rock history"

[@TheConvectuoso]

Jesse Breuer yeah sorry Jesse American is fender and so is blonde. Joyo California is mesa, can't remember the British name but that's marshall

[@foxthooot5090]

1:29 6:08

[@Adivaldo50]

o Actone joga muito ruido no amplificador 😎

[@steffenbrix]

The Joyo sounds cheap and horrible in comparison.... Blonde is by far the winner

[@Adivaldo50]

tenho o pedal joyo mas infelizmente ele joga muito ruído no amplificador

[@johnnebauer436]

But be careful,the JoYo are poorly made and eventually fall apart.