This pedal has, wait for it, 18 modulation effects! You can choose from one of 9 on each mode (A and B), and then run them in series or parallel. This capability makes this pedal super versatile for pairing effects, and creating interesting soundscapes.
The controls are super simple
- Speed/Rate: It says Speed on Mode A, Rate on B but both do the same job, that is, control the speed of the filtering effect
- Depth/Mix: Typical mix knob, dry to the left, wet to the right.
- Control: Now this one's interesting, and I found it to be different for different effects, it's more like an intensity control for the primary parameter for the effect, for eg: for the Octaver effect, it controls the pitch of the octave added, while for say a flanger or a tremolo it controls the strength of the filter/modulation effect.
Hold the buttons and you enter the tap tempo mode, this is an amazing feature that not many effect pedals at this price point have.
Quite a few of the effects immediately stand out as high quality and very usable!
- St-Chorus (ModeB): Lush, strong yet not overpowering, very 80s!
- Auto-Wah (ModeB): This one alone should make the pedal worth its price! It's so good, perfect for those 70s funk stuff and for adding some oomph to your solos.
- Tremolo (ModeA) and Opt-Tremolo (ModeB): Amazing tremolos, I must say, perfect for adding movement to your rhythm parts.
- Roto (ModeA): Now we're getting into some Gilmourish stuff, subtle but noticeable. I loved playing through this effect.
- Stutter (ModeB): This, as the name suggests, is similar to the tremelos but more of an abrupt effect, think square wave filtering. Very effective
- Vibrato (ModeB): Smooth, very smooth, perfect for adding some emotion and depth to your arpeggios.
- Phaser (ModeB): Get your VH on! Crank the gain and get rocking!
- Tri-Ch (ModeA): Similar to St-Chorus but stronger! I mean way stronger! Switch to this mode and you'll try hard to resist playing some Nirvana.
- Flanger (ModeA): Very Chorusy if the Speed and Control knobs are set right. Crank them to get that typical whooshy flangy sound!
Some fun ones:
- Ring (ModeA): Vintage Phone dialer tone, ring-a-ring-ring.
- Low Bit (ModeB): Bit crusher like stuff, good for playing those vintage video game tunes.
And this is stereo! Isn't that awesome? Even if you are not into all the effects, you can create a wet/dry setup, simply use the L input and drive your two amps from the L and R outputs.
Pros:
- Most of the effects are amazing! And the price is less than, say a single chorus or a flanger or an auto-wah from most other brands.
- It supports stereo.
- The build is very good like the other Joyo R series pedal, the knobs and buttons feel sturdy.
- The ambient lighting is a nice touch. It looks very classy.
Cons:
- There's a slight volume drop in some of the effects.
- The yellow font on the brown body makes it a bit hard to decipher, you might need to mark your favorite positions if playing live.
Overall, this pedal is a lot of fun and will inspire you to play out of the box and more creatively. It's awesome for any live rig or a recording setup. Very versatile.