JOYO JF-02 Ultimate Drive Guitar Effect Pedal

Product Information

The changes on the versions between 1.1 and 1.7 are relatively subtle, and are mainly component value tweaks to slightly alter the EQ response. The most interesting change is on version 1.3 - increasing the drive pot to 1M for more sustain, and the addition around 1.4 of a germanium clipping diode. I hear it's highly similar to the D+, DOD250 and Voodoo Labs OD250 (similar enough anyway) and that many people prefer these circuits to proc asymmetrical clipping for clarity and fuzziness. I recently acquired a Joyo Ultimate Drive and have been interested in this type of mod for some time, but only was able to get it open last night. I see a few different diodes in the circuit, but only 2 appear to run in parallel (D3 and D4) which are both 1n variant diodes (can't really see the rest of the designation). I wanted to clarify that these are the diodes I'd want to experiment with, and the not D1 or D2 earlier on in the circuit.

If you remove the diode the single remaining mosfet clips in one direction as a silicone diode (.6v), in the other as a mosfet, more like 1.8v. A good assymetric clip. Very nice sound. Joyo with diode bypassed (i put a switch to do it when i feel like) -> small change, sounds smoother with less bite, nice for chords , less character. I slightly prefer the corrected diod. The Zendrive was originally designed to emulate the legendary tones of a Dumble Overdrive Special: the elusive amps built by Alexander Dumble cloaked in mystery and played by the likes of Larry Carlton, Carlos Santana and Robben Ford.In terms of aesthetics, we’re not quite sure what’s with the Darth Maul type face on the pedal. Anyhow, let’s not judge a book by its cover. In terms of layout, you’ll notice the Joyo Ultimate Drive is remarkably similar to the pedal it’s meant to copy. It has Gain, Level, and Tone knobs and the same small toggle switch found on the OCD. Despite its low price, we’re happy to report its enclosure is all metal, and feels sturdy. It looks and feels a bit like an MXR pedal. Interestingly, for the first few years of manufacture, the germanium diode was incorrectly oriented, meaning the pedal had a sound all of its own. This was later corrected, returning it closer to the sound of the original. Classic tones Ever wonder what your favorite artists have on their pedalboards? Well, we crunched the numbers on Equipboard to reveal some fun facts about the most used overdrive pedals. 1. Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer

This is not a modern, high-gain sort of pedal. This is more of a vintage tube sounding boost that responds to your playing dynamics, and can provide extra bite no matter what genre you’re playing. Dig into your strings harder, and you’ll hear its character come through, depending on where you’ve set the Drive knob. Speaking of dials, you get three of them: Drive, Tone, and Level. Getting the hang of the Tube Screamer’s operation could not be simpler. I also put a switch to bypass the diode to produce completely symmetrical clipping but i don't like it that much. its too smooth without any colouring. I also modified this pedal (specifically the Harley Benton Ultimate Drive). In addition to the well-known modification of the turns of the MOSFET transistors, I also changed the input capacitor to the MOSFET buffer C1 = 1 uF -> 10 nF for a better high-pass filter. Next, I increased the resistor from virtual ground to opamp R5 = 470k -> 1M for higher Zin. I replaced TL082 with RC4558 for better filtering. With the Drive knob all the way down, the Ibanez TS9 will give you a good clean boost. There’s just a little bit of grit, with the mid bump that this unit is very well-known for. As you turn the Drive up, the TS9 really starts to shine. One thing we love is how touch-sensitive the knobs are. It’s a simple pedal, but it has a lot of range. The TS9 retains a bit of your original signal, which explains why it responds so well to your playing dynamics. One of the best practical applications for it is to use it as an extra channel. You can use your amp’s clean channel by itself, clean channel with Tube Screamer, distortion channel by itself, and distortion channel with Tube Screamer. The TS9 plays very well with an already distorted amp, and alongside other distortion pedals, letting you get that little extra something and really cut through the mix. Note that the TS9 is buffered bypass, though you can get it modded if you need it to be true bypass. Of all the pedals listed, the Plimsoul is sort of the odd one out - I had always intended to get that pedal as a sometime occasional swap-out for the OCD, but it is more of a medium to heavy gain than the light to medium of the OCD - I find the OCD slightly crunchier than the relatively smoother Plimsoul although in my area of interest they do have some degree of overlap.

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Hope you enjoyed our Joyo JF-02 review. For more, be sure to follow Performer Magazine on Facebook. FEATURES We run them through different combinations of guitars and amplifiers, since changing the signal chain can greatly affect the sound of an overdrive pedal. Peter Frampton praises his Fulltone OCD in his Rig Rundown video: "But also, I love the Fulltone OCD, which is always in here, too."