This is so inspiring! Personally as an aspiring guitarist with some budget constraints, my situation necessitates me to mix and match expensive and affordable pedals. Trying to get the best of both worlds (cost vs performance) is the name of the game here. Fwiw, what I've learned is to never skimp on patch cables and the power supply. Fantastic video!
Great point. It’s often not as “fun” to talk about those details. However, they make a difference. Especially with reliability. Thanks for the watching!
Very cool video! It’s nice to hear someone explicitly say something like, “I own and prefer this expensive gear but there’s nothing wrong with this budget gear and you can get good sounds out of it”.
Both pedalboards are very usable. I have a Joyo American Sound and British Sound and I agree that, as much I love those pedals, they do need an IR to get the full potential of them. I got the Joyo Cab Box to do just that. Great video!
Haha! Funny enough, I once paired the AC Tone with the Cab Box and people got at me saying "The AC Tone doesn't need a cab!" I think it definitely improved it's tone overall.
Great Video idea, own a Joyo California, think it sounds better than the Actone from what i hear of the Actone from Videos, definitely prefer the tones from the expensive set up, even tho it wasnt as bright it was less harsh and had a recording polished quality to it, but im sure with tweaking the other board can get there
Excellent video! Agree, at the end what you like most and what you feel comfortably with playing is what really matters. Love your pedalboard. I have a Golden Boy overdrive and it's fantastic. I used to have a Morning Glory ( Which still think it's a great pedal) but the versatility and awesome tones from the Golden Boy made me added to my board and keep it there.
If I was just getting into pedals. Your less expensive board would be a board I would be proud of. It gets you there. A little eq from the house and your off into that atmosphere world. (If it sounds good, it is good). Cool video.
both sounded good. the more expensive sounds more epic and more "controlled", but that doesnt mean the cheaper-board sounds bad. i hope that this video educate audiences that cheap pedals can sound good.
Thank you for making this video. Your presentation was simple and clear, and I feel like I learned a lot about why you might choose more high-end pedals over the budget option. I've seen the word "hi fi" used a lot in the comments to describe the expensive board, and while I agree, could this not be mitigated on the cheap board with eq adjustments and a cab sim/IR like you mentioned? With guitar gear it really seems like the law of diminishing returns applies big time. I'm not sure that it will ever be worth spending thousands on a pedalboard for any reason other than personal enjoyment because the listening public will never care, and if you do become a guitar legend then people will argue forever about how your cheapo gear is actually the best gear ( à la the recent Bad Monkey/Klon mess)
Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate that. This was definitely eye opening and actually kind of mind boggling. When editing this video, I honestly couldn’t tell which sound was more organic or “better”. It was tough!
That sounded great it’s prove that you don’t need to spend millions on a board for good sound loved the dd5 and those joyo pedals hold up really well if in a pitch they will do the job. My 2023 board consists of pedals that don’t cost more than 150 dollars minus the hx stomp because it’s my amp in a box haha. Love me some boss pedals. Tu-3 blues driver rv-5 ds-1 dd3 and odb3 all day long great sounds on a budget
Hey, I've got that Donner compressor! It's not on my board anymore, but I will remove a pedal or two and make room for it. I could need some compression for my cleans. Then again, maybe not.
Cheap board I think sounds great for playing alone or at home while the expensive board sounds better in a live mix. The cheap board seems to have significantly bigger bottom end while the expensive board retains a hifi quality that would sit and cut in a full band mix. Both boards though could be tweaked to sound closer and in a live situation could be almost impossible to tell there was a drastic difference in price between them
I probably would've done a mxr custom 79 for my drive section and used the screamer to boost into it for a separate gain stage for clear crunchy but beefier results.
Great stuff, enjoyed a lot watching, really appreciate how you put your heart into it. Just a kind request if you could help some of us, a struggling in needy musician, love the tone on the inexpensive model, since most of us can't effort expensive gears, would like a humble req if you could use the same tone and run through some praise and worship songs. Much love from India, nagaland.
Hey! Unfortunately, the copyright restraints here on UA-cam make it extremely challenging to play worship music without UA-cam issuing me some sort of disciplinary action. But, I will continue to try my best to keep highlighting these affordable products to enlighten us all on these types of products/tones.
the difference between cheap and expensive pedals is only in build quality, joyo is an example of a cheap pedal with a sound like mxr, but not with build quality like MXR. *in my opinion,
For me, the difference is often in the functionality. For example, I needed multiple overdrives to give me what the Golden Boy can cover all on its own.
I don’t understand what you mean when you say that the cheaper board had a “more digital sound“ to it… With the exception of the time-based affects, all of the Drive on the board was analog, correct? When I listen to the A.B. comparison of the two, there is definitely a lot more of a mid range emphasis from the cheaper board, while the more expensive board has less mid range, and a lot more high frequency “sparkle,“ but I would not say that one was better than the other. If you were recording you were playing, I think that the more expensive board would be better, because it has a much more hi-fi sound, but when you’re playing live, often times, the high frequencies are emphasized due to the Fletcher, Munson Curves, so it seems like a board with more mid range, like the cheaper board, would probably be a better fit.
So the “digital” sound I’m referring to is similar that if when you plug your guitar directly into a board or interface without any sort of amp. Therefore when you push gain, it’s not “tube break-up”, it’s “digital break-up” or peaking. Obviously, the AC Tone is an amp simulator and an older one at that. So, it’s not as accurate as I would personally prefer in an amp sim. Hope that makes sense.
My board keeps getting more and more expensive. It's almost embarrassing because I'm not that great of a player. I don't think that my cheaper pedals sound bad, but the pricier all do some little thing that the others can't. It's all about those features.
if anyone is thinking of upgrading, the hx stomp alone can replicate all the sounds on the other board, don't know if it's any more expensive than that whole other rig, but it's worth looking into if you're on a budget since you get a recording platform as well + there's a LOT of effects in there.
I'm watching this on my phone and can definitely tell there is a sonic difference with the pedal boards. That said, you do mention that spending more time with the budget board it would be dialed in better... I'd light to see that happen, maybe an update to this video? Great video
I heard zero diff in the "quality" of tone between them, just two different tones. Really tough to say one was better than the other. The budget setup IMHO was a bit more raw sounding, for lack of a better descriptor. The more expensive board was smoother, but I think this old rocker prefers the budget one. But I'd gig either one of them without even blinking an eye. Great video.
Those were my thoughts exactly. The more expensive board provides a lot more functionality. Which is what I guess I pay extra for at the end of the day. But would definitely gig both for sure. Thank you 🙏🏼.
Love these kinds of videos. I sometimes use a joyo preamp house when I go direct. No complaints!
For sure an eye opening video! Thanks for watching 🙏🏼
Im definitely gonna build something like this for my son. Thanks for showing us it can be done without spending a ton!!!
Absolutely! My pleasure. So glad the video helped.
This is so inspiring! Personally as an aspiring guitarist with some budget constraints, my situation necessitates me to mix and match expensive and affordable pedals. Trying to get the best of both worlds (cost vs performance) is the name of the game here. Fwiw, what I've learned is to never skimp on patch cables and the power supply. Fantastic video!
Great point. It’s often not as “fun” to talk about those details. However, they make a difference. Especially with reliability. Thanks for the watching!
Very cool video! It’s nice to hear someone explicitly say something like, “I own and prefer this expensive gear but there’s nothing wrong with this budget gear and you can get good sounds out of it”.
Thank you! For sure. Some of this gear I actually used on my board for years!
Really good video. Both boards are cool. Excellent experiment. Thumbs up! 😎🤓
Thank you!!
Your expensive board definitely has a high fidelity to it verses the less expensive board, nothing an average audience would notice.
So true. In a live mix situation, we could use either one and totally be fine.
Great tone Sir! have you tried flamma cab sim? paired with joyo actone
Both pedalboards are very usable. I have a Joyo American Sound and British Sound and I agree that, as much I love those pedals, they do need an IR to get the full potential of them. I got the Joyo Cab Box to do just that. Great video!
Haha! Funny enough, I once paired the AC Tone with the Cab Box and people got at me saying "The AC Tone doesn't need a cab!" I think it definitely improved it's tone overall.
Great Video idea, own a Joyo California, think it sounds better than the Actone from what i hear of the Actone from Videos, definitely prefer the tones from the expensive set up, even tho it wasnt as bright it was less harsh and had a recording polished quality to it, but im sure with tweaking the other board can get there
Can’t go wrong either way. Especially for the price. Unreal what Joyo has accomplished.
I own California as well but I feel like the headroom is too limited. I used AMT F1 right now and quite happy with the headroom
Excellent video! Agree, at the end what you like most and what you feel comfortably with playing is what really matters. Love your pedalboard. I have a Golden Boy overdrive and it's fantastic. I used to have a Morning Glory ( Which still think it's a great pedal) but the versatility and awesome tones from the Golden Boy made me added to my board and keep it there.
Same happened with me. Still favor the Morning Glory. However, I get so much functionality from the Golden Boy. Hard to beat.
It is bc of reverb & delay. The expensive has great reverb while. If you put expensive reverb on the cheap it will sound great too.
If I was just getting into pedals. Your less expensive board would be a board I would be proud of. It gets you there. A little eq from the house and your off into that atmosphere world. (If it sounds good, it is good). Cool video.
100%! Definitely gets the job done. Hindsight I would of used less gain and I think it would of made a difference.
@@JCruzProject it still sounded good. When you added the TS. I could hear so many songs…😎
On some things I felt the cheaper board actually sounded better. What were your overdrives ,what were all your pedals on your main board? Thanks
@@ToddRobinson-oz2fj Hey. So I actually recently did a pedalboard run-through. Check it out here: ua-cam.com/video/dZEwLQ6ZseI/v-deo.html
both sounded good. the more expensive sounds more epic and more "controlled", but that doesnt mean the cheaper-board sounds bad. i hope that this video educate audiences that cheap pedals can sound good.
Completely agree!
Thank you for making this video. Your presentation was simple and clear, and I feel like I learned a lot about why you might choose more high-end pedals over the budget option.
I've seen the word "hi fi" used a lot in the comments to describe the expensive board, and while I agree, could this not be mitigated on the cheap board with eq adjustments and a cab sim/IR like you mentioned? With guitar gear it really seems like the law of diminishing returns applies big time. I'm not sure that it will ever be worth spending thousands on a pedalboard for any reason other than personal enjoyment because the listening public will never care, and if you do become a guitar legend then people will argue forever about how your cheapo gear is actually the best gear ( à la the recent Bad Monkey/Klon mess)
Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate that. This was definitely eye opening and actually kind of mind boggling. When editing this video, I honestly couldn’t tell which sound was more organic or “better”. It was tough!
I like the overdrive Sound in the expensive board , but in the delays , for me the dd5 sounds better
Should run this over with the Joyo American Sound. It's the only one out of the list of Joyo amp sims worth using.
Beringer for 30 bucks, hard to tell the difference between the Boss original. Knux and Caline make great pedals too in that price range.
That sounded great it’s prove that you don’t need to spend millions on a board for good sound loved the dd5 and those joyo pedals hold up really well if in a pitch they will do the job. My 2023 board consists of pedals that don’t cost more than 150 dollars minus the hx stomp because it’s my amp in a box haha. Love me some boss pedals. Tu-3 blues driver rv-5 ds-1 dd3 and odb3 all day long great sounds on a budget
That’s right! Boss DD-5 still remains to be my favorite delay of all time.
Hey, I've got that Donner compressor! It's not on my board anymore, but I will remove a pedal or two and make room for it. I could need some compression for my cleans. Then again, maybe not.
Haha, so glad the video helped…or didn’t 🤣
@@JCruzProject I tried it, and it works better. My cleans are all smoother now with just a little bit of compression. So, thanks for your help! 😃
Very good comparison.
Thank you so much 🙏🏼
Both sound good. There’s more high end through your expensive board. I’m thinking the benefit of better buffer/s
Very true. I do have multiple buffers in this set up. I also believe the various EQ possibilities make a difference as well.
Hey Bro! Where did you get the knobs for the Juliana-it looksssssss so good
Hey! That’s a special “Gold Addition Julia”. So it’s actually stock. Hope this helps 🙏🏼.
Cheap board I think sounds great for playing alone or at home while the expensive board sounds better in a live mix. The cheap board seems to have significantly bigger bottom end while the expensive board retains a hifi quality that would sit and cut in a full band mix.
Both boards though could be tweaked to sound closer and in a live situation could be almost impossible to tell there was a drastic difference in price between them
Totally agree. We’ve all been a victim of producing a “bedroom tone”. Which we don’t realize needs tweaking until in a life mix situation.
I probably would've done a mxr custom 79 for my drive section and used the screamer to boost into it for a separate gain stage for clear crunchy but beefier results.
Great option as well!
Great stuff, enjoyed a lot watching, really appreciate how you put your heart into it.
Just a kind request if you could help some of us, a struggling in needy musician, love the tone on the inexpensive model, since most of us can't effort expensive gears, would like a humble req if you could use the same tone and run through some praise and worship songs.
Much love from India, nagaland.
Hey! Unfortunately, the copyright restraints here on UA-cam make it extremely challenging to play worship music without UA-cam issuing me some sort of disciplinary action. But, I will continue to try my best to keep highlighting these affordable products to enlighten us all on these types of products/tones.
I like the pedal with joyo
Would love to hear the “cheap” board played into hx stomp amps vs joyo
Definitely doable.
Ngl, I have an actone in my closet from forever ago and it makes me wanna dig it out cause that didn’t sound bad at all lol
Haha! Glad the video inspired you!
the difference between cheap and expensive pedals is only in build quality,
joyo is an example of a cheap pedal with a sound like mxr,
but not with build quality like MXR.
*in my opinion,
For me, the difference is often in the functionality. For example, I needed multiple overdrives to give me what the Golden Boy can cover all on its own.
Great content bro …
Thank you my brother!
I don’t understand what you mean when you say that the cheaper board had a “more digital sound“ to it… With the exception of the time-based affects, all of the Drive on the board was analog, correct?
When I listen to the A.B. comparison of the two, there is definitely a lot more of a mid range emphasis from the cheaper board, while the more expensive board has less mid range, and a lot more high frequency “sparkle,“ but I would not say that one was better than the other.
If you were recording you were playing, I think that the more expensive board would be better, because it has a much more hi-fi sound, but when you’re playing live, often times, the high frequencies are emphasized due to the Fletcher, Munson Curves, so it seems like a board with more mid range, like the cheaper board, would probably be a better fit.
So the “digital” sound I’m referring to is similar that if when you plug your guitar directly into a board or interface without any sort of amp. Therefore when you push gain, it’s not “tube break-up”, it’s “digital break-up” or peaking. Obviously, the AC Tone is an amp simulator and an older one at that. So, it’s not as accurate as I would personally prefer in an amp sim. Hope that makes sense.
@@JCruzProject ah! I get what you are saying.
I appreciate the A/B demo! Very well done!
Thank you so much for the support. I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
Hey jay
I want to put a pedalboard together I have the tools but I’m not that good at soldering…who do you recommend?
Thank you sir
Seems like the pros are really trusting Creation cables these days.
cheap dirt pedal should be ok, but modulations especially reverb pedals if you compare it to cheap ones are night and day
Have you tried the Joyo Atmosphere? It’s pretty good! I don’t know how they do it!!!
@@JCruzProject yes i did! i am choosing this between the cloudburst, but i bought the cloudburst. like i said it is night and day ;)
My board keeps getting more and more expensive. It's almost embarrassing because I'm not that great of a player. I don't think that my cheaper pedals sound bad, but the pricier all do some little thing that the others can't. It's all about those features.
100%! That’s exactly what I find myself paying for, FUNCTION! Makes my life easier overall.
You serve in church? Until now, i didn't saw an band with the same style of sound of the praise in church.
Its okay to use Actone even i have an Actual Amp?
I’ve seen people use it as a “tone shaping” pedal or EQ. I personally wouldn’t use it as such.
if anyone is thinking of upgrading,
the hx stomp alone can replicate all the sounds on the other board, don't know if it's any more expensive than that whole other rig, but it's worth looking into if you're on a budget since you get a recording platform as well + there's a LOT of effects in there.
Very true. Thanks for the great info here.
I have to say the cheap board sounds better in my ears
You can’t go wrong either way!
I'm watching this on my phone and can definitely tell there is a sonic difference with the pedal boards.
That said, you do mention that spending more time with the budget board it would be dialed in better... I'd light to see that happen, maybe an update to this video?
Great video
This was an eye opening project for sure! I’d definitely make an updated video.
I heard zero diff in the "quality" of tone between them, just two different tones. Really tough to say one was better than the other. The budget setup IMHO was a bit more raw sounding, for lack of a better descriptor. The more expensive board was smoother, but I think this old rocker prefers the budget one. But I'd gig either one of them without even blinking an eye. Great video.
Those were my thoughts exactly. The more expensive board provides a lot more functionality. Which is what I guess I pay extra for at the end of the day. But would definitely gig both for sure. Thank you 🙏🏼.