The following is a guest post by Dan Thorpe of Guitar Domination. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!
The Joyo Digital Delay is a pedal that cost me just £11.60 off EBay (approx. $18 USD) Yes, that`s a genuine digital delay at a snippet of the price that many of the big manufactures sell them for. That`s all good, but is the pedal actually any good?
Well, the first thing I noticed was how well the pedal is constructed. Most other budget pedals I have purchased over the years have all come housed in a cheap-ish plastic casing. Not the Joyo Digital Delay though. The build and construction is first rate.
It feels solid, and no matter how big your size 11`s are you will really have to give it some stomping to damage the casing. The only way I can see the pedal breaking down would possibly be due to wiring issues which aren`t uncommon (in my experience) with cheaper pedals. I have had no problems though so far.
Feature wise, it`s pretty basic, and has your usual `Time, Repeat, and Level` settings` with a simple one input, one output, 9v battery option or a 9v power supply option.
Okay, so how does it sound? Well, to me it`s simple – it is a rather awesome pedal. The sounds are clear and warm without being harsh and overly bright.
You can create your typical slapback sounds with the time on about 1/5 which will help you get a surf rock sound. Crank up the time and level, play some harmonics and you will get a modern tone not too dissimilar to The Edge.
There is no tap tempo (obviously for the price we couldn`t really expect one) so syncing this delay up to specific times requires a bit more thought.
The best part for me is when we really crank up the repeat setting up to about ¾. This is where the sound of the pedal comes to the forefront. Here we really start to hear it `cycle` and build – allowing you to create some soaring tension before your song explodes.
I love huge sonic soundscapes – the sort of sounds that you will likely associate with bands such as Mogwai, Oceansize and Pink Floyd. The Joyo can definitely do all of those sounds and more.
For the price, everyone should try one on their pedalboard. If you are a huge delay lover, you will find some use for it, and if you are new to delay you won`t do much better for the price.
For some simple delays, a fluttering shimmer or sonic masterpieces this is an astounding pedal. It`s not my primary delay, I prefer tempo synced delays but it`s definitely staying on my pedal board, and for times when I need it, I can`t wait to call upon it.
Dan Thorpe is a guitar teacher, writer and musician from Birmingham, UK. If you want to learn guitar online and get some cool guitar related free stuff, check out his blog at Guitar Domination
