Joyo JF-39 Deluxe Crunch

There was some Buzz around a handful of Joyo pedals where they were aped to be clones of top brands, so I took a look. Initially, what I heard and saw didn't move me greatly as I had gear in those camps already, but the DF 39 Deluxe crunch caught my attention.

It is suggested this is actually a Fulltone Plimsol and I cannot confirm or deny that, but what I can say is that this pedal has some otherwise useful benefits.

It has two gain stages that cascade, so you have two levels of gain on hand - a big boosted Pre amp Drive and post Gain. It isn't subtle, so you need to dial carefully, but what transpires is a 'Big Square Wave Form' that not only stacks well but in addition, thickens your guitar signal without a typical mid hump.

With El34s and a Les Paul you actually get the sound of not just some loud Marshalls (aka 200w 'Pig) but a typical tone of Orange and HiWatt 100watters where the gain is loud and very OPEN. Is not harsh, just very Square edged.

I have reviewed the EHX ERD here to and these two work well together to give great boost tones that are usually found only on the privileged boards of high end boutiquers!

As an aside: for someone who only likes *very specific* fuzz, (Bearfoot Pink Purple for instance), I am able to get a nice fuzz-like vintage drive texture from this too... Extra + point

A great find and addition for just a few $£

Oh, am also a little intrigued at the choice of aesthetic... another possible clue to its design maybe???

Impecc

UTILIZATION

Easy, potentiometers highly reactive with a lot of sonic possibilities!

SOUND QUALITY

Very good output level, more powerful than Disto Hot Plexi and Us Dream and settings, Tone effective control Pre very interesting and useful because it changes the texture of the Disto and that of the tone, good idea of have installed!

OVERALL OPINION

Very good pedal from the Crunch / Disto very mild to something pretty hairy despite its name! effective and interactive fine-tuning them, do not hesitate to tweak to find a sound! I get almost the same sound as my Blues Devil MJM slightly less medium! many possibilities in the genre Blues, Pop and more! very good Joyo with more options than Us Dream through Pre setting!

Nice metal case, lighter than hammond housing type. The finish is very successful.
If it is a clone of the Mi Audio Crunch Box, which mimics a saturated Marshall channel type.

THE negative: the footswitch (with which I had no problem) is not a good solid 3pdt. Consider changing it to use in the long term (I think).

UTILIZATION

Easy to use, although I prefer to date version of the Crunch Box without the presence knob.

SOUND QUALITY

It is indeed a Mi Audio Crunch Box. The light overdrive to fat saturation velvety, this pedal really a (good) grain!
I therefore adopted.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for two days, but this is my second clone Crunch Box. All sound the same, that is fine. The presence knob could be a plus for some, but personally I do not see the usefulness (maybe when I have to change the amp in rehearsal).

In short, I recommend, especially if you know how to handle a soldering iron to change the footswitch, in which case this pedal has nothing to envy to the original (and will instead be prettier and lighter, while sounding as well) .