Product Review-JOYO JF-01 Vintage Overdrive

Since I am constantly on the lookout for bargain gear, I happen across all sorts of things that you won't find at your local chain music store. I've been hearing a lot about JOYO brand pedals lately. The word on the street is that they were making shockingly good clones of classic pedals for around $40! With a rep like that I had to give one a try for myself. I did some research and discovered the most popular JOYO  pedal is a Maxon/Ibanez Tube Screamer clone. This suits me just fine-as a gigging blues and classic rock player I love the sound of a Fender Stratocaster through a Tube Screamer pushing a clean tube amp.  I ordered the JF-01 Vintage Overdrive and risked a whopping $35. 

The pedal itself is essentially a TS-808/OD-808 clone. The circuit is accurate down to the period correct JRC4588 chip used in the original.  The JF-01 has the standard Tube Screamer format knobs for Tone, Volume and Drive. Input and output jacks, 9V power supply jack and the classic "latch" style pedal switch complete the feature set. The pedal itself is wrapped in the expected seasick green paint with contrasting yellow knobs so there is no mistaking that this is a Tube Screamer clone. 

The housing of the unit feels pretty substantial. The switch and the jacks felt substantial as well. The plastic knobs felt a bit cheap to me-but they are attached firmly-and those can always be easily replaced if need be. I've put this thing to the test at a gig and I've used it extensively in rehearsals. The foot switch engages with no issues-and this thing just works.  

All right folks...this is where the boutique pedal "cork sniffer" types need to turn away. If you're the type that won't look at a pedal because it isn't a certain brand you are officially in the wrong place. The JF-01 sounds great. I don't mean "great for $40..." I mean actually great. You can A/B this thing against a genuine TS-808 and it produces nearly identical tone with only slight variations in the knob settings. You read that right. It took almost no work to get this thing making a nearly identical sound to the venerable TS-808. 

I rolled off the tone knob and it got creamier. I cranked the tone knob and got that "bite" I was expecting. I turned the drive down and tried it as a clean boost for extra volume. I dialed in more grit for an SRV approved tone. In all cases it worked exactly as I expected. The sound is smooth at all levels. I did find this unit to have slightly less bass response at the same tone settings as a TS-808, but this can be dialed in closer with a subtle knob tweak. I actually prefer the slightly less bassy tone in this pedal as it makes my guitar cut in the mix better. 

What can I say folks. I'm wholeheartedly endorsing a $40 Chinese Tube Screamer clone. Get one while they're still cheap. You can check out the whole JOYO line at www.cheaperpedals.com  I'm planning on trying some other JOYO pedals as well-so stay tuned!