Joyo AC Tone Pedal Advice Please

[asimmd]

Hi All

My AC Tone pedal arrived today and first impressions are good.

I was wondering if other users could tell me how they connect it
does it go through an amp or direct into an interface.

Also any help with settings would be appreciated.

Thanks

Alan

[shadfan4]

I don't own one but always thought it was not a pedal in the conventional sense. It's an amp sim like a pod but in a small pedal to connect direct to an audio interface not an amp. You really wouldn't connect an AC30 amp emulator to a Vox AC30 amp would you?

Mike.

[asimmd]

Hi Mike

Connecting it direct to my Focusrite Saffire Pro Interface it doesn't sound so good.

Put it in front of my Zoom G3 and it comes to life.Great sound but not a Shads sound
Hence the question.

Alan

[shadfan4]

How have you connected to the Saffire?

Mike.

[Steve Reynolds]

I connect guitar to echo to actone then in to the pc. As said it's an amp sim so think of it as the amp

[ha2he]

Hi Alan,

I'm guessing you will get all kinds of different answers.
I have used mine into the return part of the fx loop on my Laney L5T and also into the front of the amp.
Good results very similar either way, Also into the PC via a M-Audio fast track, again good results.
I usually go Guitar -> Echo -> Amp/Pc.
As for settings at the moment Low/High and Drive about 9 o'clock. Mid about 11 o'clock.
Voice about 12 o'clock with Level to suit. I would say experiment.
Steve posted a sound file recently using just guitar/echo/ACtone and it sounded really good.
Can't remember the tune, sorry.
Hope this helps.

Regards,
Tim.

EDIT:-
Found Steve's video HERE.

[asimmd]

Thanks everyone.

I connected guitar to input of AC Tone output to the input of the Focusrite.

As I said it sounded a bit tinny that way but when I put it in front of the G3
It was a lot better but not a Shads sound.

Alan

[Steve Reynolds]

Are you using the amp modelling on g3 aswell?

If not a good start is bass at 1/3. Mid at half and then treble at 2/3. Gain low, volume high and tone mid way

[asimmd]

Hi Steve thanks.

No amp modelling on the G3.

I wondered how much your excellent sound was down to the H&C echo.

Alan

[garystrat]

Hi Alan

This being a similar pedal to the Tech 21 "Liverpool" the recommendation they give is to put it in front of the echo, which is counter intuitive, but I find this works best.

Regards

Gary

[asimmd]

Hi Gary

Thank you I did connect it that way and it sounded fine.

When I connected it directly to the interface I was using an
onboard software echo.

Now it is in front of the G3 I use the VST Host echo so the G3 is
Only used as a second interface for the echo.

Hope that makes sense.

Alan

[sixchannel]

Jan 13, 2016 18:24:50 GMT garystrat said:

Hi Alan

This being a similar pedal to the Tech 21 "Liverpool" the recommendation they give is to put it in front of the echo, which is counter intuitive, but I find this works best.

Regards

Gary

Yes, I have to agree. Originally I had it the "obvious" way with the ACTone AFTER the Q2 ( therefore prior to it going to DAW) and it created a lot of background 'noise' which was the subject of a thread I posted some time ago.
Putting it BEFORE the Q2 (or ZOOM2000) stopped the 'noise' and I didn't have to tweak the knobs much, if at all.
Cheers
Ian
I like Steve's start point settings for early Shads.

[noelford]

As a modeller, treat it as a preamp. Best results will be obtained plugging it into a power amp with no tonal controls of its own. When I use mine, it is last in the chain and then directly into my Bose L1 Compact amp.

[allclaphands]

What and which ever way you use it is a real decent piece of kit to have and at a good price. Some of the
settings I have sourced from different forums (thanks to those who have shared them) really do add a great
deal to the sounds being produced and also experimenting with it is a lot of fun it's amazing what you can
create with it.I think it's already been mentioned how it replicates the Tech 21 Liverpool which says a lot for it.


Pete

[asimmd]

Thanks Pete
I must admit I was pleasantly surprised when I first tried it.
It should not be this good for the price.

It seems there are ways to connect it that I have not tried yet.
More experiments tomorrow,hopefully with a positive outcome.

Alan

[sixchannel]

Jan 13, 2016 19:10:25 GMT asimmd said:

Thanks Pete
I must admit I was pleasantly surprised when I first tried it.
It should not be this good for the price.

Alan

I felt exactly the same over the Harley Benton ST-62 ! lol!
Ian

[Ed Cornish]

Hi Alan,

The G3 does have amp modelling. ***'s patch list and the tunes list that I was supplied indicate there are amp sims for the usual tunes settings, banks A to D list.(As per the G2) There is another column on my tunes list that indicates the echo can be played without the amp sim using the patch list E to H. To be honest I have not tried the E to H settings yet so cannot comment on the difference. It makes sense(to me anyway)that the "cleaner" the actual patch is, the better the end result through both the G3 and the AC Tone to either a PC or the amp you have to play through.

Actually I am waiting for an AC Tone I have just ordered as I also need a better live sound through my Behringer GMX110 - the clean channel doesn't quite cut it! This amp sim sounds the business!

Reading the above, I agree with Steve as I would also use AC Tone after the G3 - any other way (other than perhaps through the effects loop on an amp) you would not get a "proper" sound surely? I also read somewhere, make sure your ALL your cable connections are good quality.


Ed

[asimmd]

Hi Ed
Thank you for your comments and the info.

I am not using ***'s EFTP echo patches the G3 is used purely as an interface
for VSTHost.

I would be interested to hear how you get on with your AC Tone when it arrives.
Alan

[fenderplucker]

Hi Alan,

I use the AC Tone after the echo and before the DAW, just as you would a real amplifier, and have never had a noise problem as mentioned by Ian. It does an excellent job emulating the AC30/Shadows sound on most numbers like Wonderful Land, Shadoogie etc, provided that the Mid and Voice controls are set accordingly to give the right amount of "grunt" while the Bass and High controls are used to trim the bottom and top ends. Drive gives distortion but I found that it struggles a bit where the original recordings had a lot of amp distortion (e.g. Theme from Giant) or some early ones that seem to have been recorded with a Goodmans loudspeaker in an AC15. By the way, Steve's Shadoogie was done with a TVS3.

Regards,

Paul.

[asimmd]

Hi Paul
Many thanks for the reply and the info.

I will try connecting the AC Tone a different way today hopefully
with better results.

Regards Steves Shadoogie 1861 I notice Robby did ask
which echo was used but Steve did not say.

Alan

[Steve Reynolds]

Jan 14, 2016 9:00:53 GMT asimmd said:

Hi Paul
Many thanks for the reply and the info.

I will try connecting the AC Tone a different way today hopefully
with better results.

Regards Steves Shadoogie 1861 I notice Robby did ask
which echo was used but Steve did not say.

Alan

Hi Alan

Apologies there was very good reason for this, Robby knew i had purchased a TVS3 recently from another member as we had spoken about settings etc but i was curious to see if others noticed a difference in sound without knowing what was used. A few people did and have since asked me about it which is good, it means the TVS3 has a significant enough impact on the sound for people to notice.

My intention next is to do a video using 5 different echo units at various parts of the song and see if anyone noticed the difference or can tell what each one is

Thanks

Regards

Steve

[asimmd]

Hi Steve

Thanks for the explanation I must say I was a bit dubious about the sound.
If the Joyo sounded like that TVS would be out of business.

Having said that I have spent the last 2 hours playing with the Joyo with good results
though not as good as the TVS3,i get a reasonable sound alter a couple of knobs and loose it again.

Your planned video with 5 different echoes will be interesting no doubt the AC Tone will
play a part in some of them.
Looking forward to it.

Alan

[Steve Reynolds]

Hi Alan

I have yet to try the Actone with the Zoom G3 or Hall and Collins as i have been experimenting with the TVS3. I did get a great sound with just the Hall and Collins and other AC30 amp modelling so i imagine a similar sound is possible.

The video with the 5 echoes will likely be either a micd up AC15 or the ACTone or maybe even both depending on the time but it will be a fair comparative sample with as much staying the same as possible, i have my own views on each of the units but would be interesting to hear if others can tell them all apart bear in mind the price difference from £60 up to £3000.

[sixchannel]

Hi Alan
I must admit to being confused. (Wouldn't be the first time!)
The Joyo ACTone is an AMP Sim, pure and simple. TVS3 is an ECHO unit with no amp Sim.
How can one be better than the other? You need both.
Ian

[asimmd]

Hi Ian

Of course you need both,take no notice of me my head is spinning with
trying all the different ways to connect up my gear.

I did get close then lost it,i think im losing it as well.

Alan

[Steve Reynolds]

Jan 14, 2016 11:08:17 GMT asimmd said:

Hi Ian

Of course you need both,take no notice of me my head is spinning with
trying all the different ways to connect up my gear.

I did get close then lost it,i think im losing it as well.

Alan

Hi Alan

No thats just the whole chasing the sound experience. One day it sounds perfect then next day nothing changes but it doesnt sound right. And so the never ending quest continues..........................

[ha2he]

Hi Alan,

Also what will make a difference is what is on the end of the leads plugged into it!
It may be a Fender Custom Shop or a Harley Benton then into a hand wired AC 15 or a Vox Amplug.
After some twiddleing you will find something that suits your rig I'm sure.

Nice to know you are getting closer.

Regards,
Tim.

[ha2he]

Hi Steve,

No thats just the whole chasing the sound experience. One day it sounds perfect then next day nothing changes but it doesnt sound right. And so the never ending quest continues..........................

Exactly....

I mentioned some time ago that I doubt if after Hank had finished recording and left everything alone and came back the next day it would probably sound different.
No idea what causes it, air pressure, moon phase, solar flares different mood.

Still it's good fun trying.

Regards,
Tim.

[garystrat]

Assuming the AC Tone is basically the same as the Tech 21 Liverpool, it is capable of providing optimal signal matching for the guitar high Z output, which is a desirable characteristic and should help with reducing unwanted noise. The Tech 21 it is a tone shaping pedal and not restricted to what one would regard as conventional amp chain logic, it is also designed to provide DI which is capable of boosting the signal, but if the signal is already noisy it will boost that as well.

Fine adjustment can make a difference with this type of pedal, on the Liverpool I have had good results with the drive at about 10 O’clock and taking the the volume level back a bit (midway or less), a little added MID and using character knob to go between the richer tones and the earlier thinner tones.

Regards

Gary

[asimmd]

I have yet to try the AC Tone as a boost which is what I think it would be if I connected it to an amp.

Problem is which way to connect it.
Would it go on the input of the amp or output.
I suspect it would go on the output so it would be altering the
tone the amp produced.

Whether to use the Boogie or my Vox AC15C1.
I know, try them both.

As you know Gary I had a Tech 21 Liverpool pedal and didn't like it
but the AC Tone although being a Liverpool Copy is much easier to get on with.

Alan