Review #3
Joyo Sweet Baby Overdrive > Joyo American Sound >Catalinbread Topanga > Carvin Mach 100 > JBL K120
Is it possible to build a sonically legitimate and economically austere Jerry Garcia Tone Rig. The prospect will undoubtedly always have its naysayers. Just as there is a wide range of tastes in music, there is also a seemingly never-ending dialectic about the quality of tone. One man gathers, what another man spills …
This particular reviewer will go out on a limb and make a bold claim (Ridin’ That Train…): A full-bodied Jerry Tone Rig can be put together these days for less than $200 (plus the cost of your favorite speaker cab). Technology has come a long way and the free market has created opportunities for company’s to break open the pedals coming out of high end boutiques and reverse engineer their own versions. Ethics aside, this has provided the consumer, in this case the Jerry Garcia Tone seeker, with some very affordable and viable options.
One of the most convincing of such options is the American Sound from Joyo. At $30-$40 this pedal is an absolute bargain and punches way above its weight in terms of its ability to be used as both a viable preamp, or a Fender style overdrive.
Perhaps the most important aspect of any rig is the preamp, as this section shapes the tone more than any other. Think of a preamp as the “soul” of the rig. The American Sound does indeed have what it takes to be the soul of any budget conscious Jerry tone rig. The key to dialing in Twin preamp goodness are the high (treble) and the voice knobs. Without the high knob in the right place, the American Sound is a bit muddy as a preamp (not the case as an overdrive…more on that later). The preamp settings that I found most emulated a Fender Twin are as follows:
Low = 9 o’clock
Mid = 11 o’clock
High = 4 o’clock
Level = adjust volume to taste with power amp
Voice = somewhere between 1 & 2 o’clock (to taste)
Drive = between 7 and 8 o’clock (to taste)
I found that having the drive turned up just a little gave a nice bite to the individual notes for soloing without an overdrive pedal turned on. Using the volume control of the guitar, it was easy to dial in everything from background rhythm to lead tones at those settings.
It really does sound good!!! Unbelievably, this thing really does compete with the Super Black and the Shift Line. Since I’ve had the opportunity to alternate between all three, I can honestly say that the American Sound holds its own with either option. It does not have a tube, so in my book it does not quite obtain the full saturated tone of the Shift Line. However, I would say that it performs in a very similar way to the Super Black. Especially when paired with the Sweet Baby Overdrive.
The Sweet Baby is a clone of the Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive. I couldn’t resist the temptation of putting these together to see how they matched up to the Super Black. The results were very good. What is cool about the Sweet Baby, as with the Sweet Honey, is that the overdrive is designed to be dynamic in that it changes from clean to dirt based on the intensity of your pick attack. I found that this works very well for Jerry lead tones and also with a Twin like foundation to solo over. I have read reviews on the Sweet Baby written by people who have sworn that there is absolutely no audible difference between the Sweet Baby and Sweet Honey. While I am not making such a bold claim in this particular review, I will go out on a limb and say that the American Sound paired with the Sweet Baby will take you to Jerryville on the fast train and the ticket will only cost you $60.
The American Sound can also be used as a viable overdrive option. To test this, I plugged it into the front of my FYD TRP and stepped on it to try out some lead tones. As a viable overdrive, the settings need to be set differently to avoid a shrill and piercing tone. I found that putting all the knobs back to Noon balanced out the pedal and created a nice driven Fender lead tone. The drive knob is very sensitive and the drive can actually get pretty heavy on this pedal. I dialed the drive knob back a bit, somewhere in the 9 o'clock position, and found the lead tone that I was looking for. Overall, it wouldn't be my first choice as an overdrive pedal, but it works. I think it would perform particularly well in a full band setting because it has a pretty sharp bite that seems like it would cut through well when playing with other instruments.
As in my previous review, the Catalinbread Topanga and the Carvin Mach 100 performed flawlessly and provided excellent clarity and sparkle at any volume level. Assuming you could find a decent Spring Reverb pedal for around $50, here is my proposal for the ultimate portable Jerry Garcia Tone Rig on a budget:
(Optional) Valeton Katfish Auto Wah (recommended by Bill) $40 > Joyo Sweet Baby Overdrive ($30) > Joyo American Sound ($30) > $50 Spring Reverb Pedal? > Mooer Baby Bomb Power Amp ($85)
Total Cost $235
Total Cost (without Auto Wah = $195
BTW - I was impressed enough by the American Sound, that I am going to check out the Joyo California Sound, which is supposed to be a preamp based on the Mesa Boogie MKII. I’m going to see if it is viable for early 80s JGB tone. More to come on that soon
