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Posted by: Alex Feather Nov 29 2011, 10:40 PM

Hey guys! My friend recently got this pedal called Ultimate Drive by Joyo
We compared it to my OCD and it sounds pretty close also seems like it's very well made
And price different is crazy Ultimate Drive cost $40
Have anybody heard about this company?
Here is their website
http://www.joyochina.cn/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/products.html?ProductMultiCategoryPicker210_action=Searchcategory&ProductPicker_action=Searchcategory&CategoryID=c373e923bcdc4e318feace7543413146&time=1322602441545
I have seen them at the NAMM but haven't tried their pedals

Posted by: Todd Simpson Nov 29 2011, 11:08 PM

This is actually a HUGE scandal in the world of Boutique FX pedals just now. It seems this manufacturer/vendor is the real maker of several "Boutique" pedals distributed by companies here in the U.S. as "custom hand made effects pedals" when in fact they are just RePainted/ReBranded JOYO Pedals! Many of the tone snobs who have been suckered in to paying hundreds for "boutique" pedals that are supposed to be hand made in the U.S.A. or elsewhere are finding out they bought pedals that source from China, made by machine, and cost as little as $35 U.S.

I must say, I sort of expected this. Manufacturing happens where it's cheap and it ain't cheap here! So the pedal gets designed here (that's the real made in the usa bit most of the time) and built in China. Lower cost = higher profit So don't be suprised if you find out some pedal that costs $600 from a boutique vendor, is honestly, a repainted JOYO that you could just get direct from JOYO.

Sadly this is going to all but kill the inflated boutique pedal market once people find out all over. The forums are full of really angry people feeling really abused by boutique manufacturers. But it's really not JOYO"s fault, they have actually taken some designs from boutique companies and just mass produced them as you can't copyright circuits. On the other hand, the boutique folks selling china goods as hand made should be ashamed. Here is a thread talking about the drama.

http://ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php?f=149&t=17985

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Nov 30 2011, 12:52 AM

This thread is very interesting.. so what about the quality of this pedals... what do you mean Todd? This pedals are good or some boutique pedals are bad?

Posted by: Alex Feather Nov 30 2011, 04:38 AM

I think he is saying that it's the same pedal but repainted in the US I guess LOL
I tried only one of them and compared it to my Fulltone OCD it sounded almost the same and I believe if I tweak it a bit I will get the same sound!
The problem with boutique pedals that they are overpriced but they are still made in china or indonesia which is sucks big time!

Posted by: Fran Nov 30 2011, 12:16 PM

I guess many people buy with their wallet instead of their ears. If you really can't tell the difference in sound between a 600$ boutique pedal and a cheap one, then why bother?

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Nov 30 2011, 10:47 PM

In general, with boutique stomps, it's a race with no end, and an expensive one

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 1 2011, 02:15 AM

I see.. thanks. So I'm interested on some of this pedals...

Posted by: Todd Simpson Dec 1 2011, 02:58 AM

They are often THE SAME So if you like one, you will probably like the other. The JOYO pedals all sound pretty great from what I've tried and heard from other folks. That makes a lot of sense now that I find out they are the same pedals being sold over here at tripple the price with different paint. So yeah, great stuff, save money, buy JOYO! And paint it yourself and call it a custom

Todd



And a pointless one in many cases, now that it's becoming clear the "boutique" pedals are repackaged JOYO pedals.



Bingo Same pedals basically, so at the high end, in many sad cases, your really just paying for the repackaging/branding. Any vendor being dishonest about pedals being "hand made in the USA in our little shop!" should be taken out and flogged.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Dec 1 2011, 04:36 AM

Great! Thanks for the info Todd!

Posted by: Frederik Dec 1 2011, 10:17 AM

how can you bye them in europe/Denmark

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Dec 1 2011, 10:47 AM

Pointless in most cases, yes. But, I'm not sure that they are repackaged JOYO pedals. As far as Fulltone pedals, I've had OCD and Fulldrive 2, and opened them both, and they are not JOYO pedals. They are made in US and worth the money in terms of build quality, but don't think the money justifies only using it as a boost (but that's another story). Overdrive is not that great on both. On the other hand, I've had Malekko Echo 300B analog delay, and it's nothing special for the price. Malekko Echo could be easily repackaged JOYO, but no way to prove that. It features a large PCB board, which is not something that I like to see in these stomps (in boutique pedals the PCB is usually smaller with bulky electronic components which are hand-made)

Posted by: tonymiro Dec 1 2011, 12:22 PM

I only quickly skimmed the forum that Alex linked but my understanding is that you're spot on here Ivan.

The claim in Alex's forum link isn't that the OCD is a repackaged Joyo but that some other pedal that claims to be a boutique manufacturer is a repackaged JOYO pedal. Somewhere in that thread someone states the OCD as provenance for the JOYO one - i.e. the JOYO is modelled on (or is a reverse engineer) of the OCD which is the original. The other 'boutque' one is claimed to be a rebadged JOYO...

Posted by: Todd Simpson Dec 1 2011, 07:13 PM

I'd guess there are several vendors in Europe that carry them. Try local stores first, then look in to online retailers if you can't find anybody you can walk/drive to. It's always a good idea to develop a relationship with a good music store if one is near by. If not, try your fav online music vendors or even Ebay.com

Where there is a buck to be spent, (or euro) there is usually a vendor to take it!

Todd

Posted by: Alex Feather Dec 2 2011, 05:40 PM

They are all over the internet! You can find one an Amazon.com


I think you are right someone said that OCD is taking Joyo pedals and selling them as the original fulltone
I don't think so most likely Joyo is a Chinese clone but still for the price not a bad deal!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jan 28 2013, 10:36 PM

Hey guys! I would like to add to this thread that I finally tried the Vintage Overdrive by Joyo and I'm impressed. It's a killer pedal! I think that I will get some of these...

http://www.joyoaudio.com/en/product/show_124.html

Posted by: audiopaal Jan 28 2013, 10:47 PM

I've tried a few, and yes, they are pretty good

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jan 30 2013, 07:13 AM

They are quite good! So good in fact, that (as discussed earlier in the thread) people buy a bunch of them, and REBRAND THEM AS BOUTIQUE PEDALS AND TRIPLE THE PRICE. They just use different paint, knobs etc. It doesn't mean the triple price pedal is bad, just that you could have bought three Joyo pedals for the same price

Todd

Posted by: VikingBlues Jan 31 2013, 09:30 AM

You'll also find them under the Harley Benton badge on the Thomann website. eg The Harley Benton American Sound pedal = the Joyo pedal of the same name.
http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_american_truetone.htm?gclid=CK3d2sWWkrUCFYLHtAodUiwA7A
http://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Effects-Simulator-OverDrive-Expression/dp/B007L0CH8K

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jan 31 2013, 02:50 PM

WOW they didn't even change the paint!!!!