Making a very cheap amp sound half decent?

Neil

When I'm in the US I have a Squier Strat and a little Roktek amp to use. It's not great stuff but OK for a month at a time.

Question is, although the little amp doesn't sound too bad clean, it's "overdrive" sound is awful.

I don't want to invest much and was thinking, would a Joyo American Sound in front give me some more and better sounds?

ICBM

Probably - certainly more.

Given that to get an amp which is genuinely better, you would probably have to spend more than the cost of the pedal and whatever tiny amount of money you could get for the amp, it's worth a try.

munckee

I love the American sound in front of a valve amp for tweed and silver face sounds and lowish gain. If you are after higher gain then there may be something better. 

OilCityPickups

Neil said:

When I'm in the US I have a Squier Strat and a little Roktek amp to use. It's not great stuff but OK for a month at a time.

Question is, although the little amp doesn't sound too bad clean, it's "overdrive" sound is awful.

I don't want to invest much and was thinking, would a Joyo American Sound in front give me some more and better sounds?

I have a Joyo American Sound .. and I can confirm it's a right little miracle worker. Of course it can't compensate for a cheaper speaker in a cheaply made enclosure, but it will help a lot.

sev112

No, the American Sound only works in europe.

it’S to do with with different air pressure / meteorological conditions over there and here.

Henrytwang

I think that the major problem with cheap practice amplifiers is the small speaker. Although a good overdrive pedal will undoubtably be an improvement on the built in effect you will still have the limitations of a tiny speaker. The pedal is worth a try as it will always be useful even with any better amp you might get in the future.

ICBM

sev112 said:

No, the American Sound only works in europe.

it’S to do with with different air pressure / meteorological conditions over there and here.

It's the mains frequency - 50Hz in Europe, 60Hz in the US. The American Sound speeds up 50Hz to 60, so if you use one in the US you'll end up with 72Hz and sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks.

JayGee

munckee said:

I love the American sound in front of a valve amp for tweed and silver face sounds and lowish gain. If you are after higher gain then there may be something better. 

Like for instance putting own, also ridiculously cheap Joyo’s Vintage Overdrive Tube Screamer-a-like into the front of the American Sound, which works insanely well for such a cheap combination...

5redlights

There's a cheap Kustom Amp (KG112) that's 20 watts and has a 12 inch speaker. Get that and a cheap overdrive/distortion pedal. Much better. Trying to improve the sound coming out of a terrible, tiny amp is a waste of time. 

ICBM

5redlights said:

There's a cheap Kustom Amp (KG112) that's 20 watts and has a 12 inch speaker.

+1

Every Kustom amp I've ever played, at any price point, has sounded far better than it should for the price.

Funkfingers

ICBM said:

It's the mains frequency - 50Hz in Europe, 60Hz in the US. The American Sound speeds up 50Hz to 60, so if you use one in the US you'll end up with 72Hz and sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks.

There was a character on the Seymour Duncan User Group forum who would actually want that. He was on the Asperger's/autism spectrum and obsessed with Alvin to a degree that most would consider unhealthy for a teenaged lad. 

jonnyburgo

Good solid state amps second hand are cheap as chips the days, I recently got a Fender Deluxe 90 dsp for £42. Pretty blown away with it for the price. It sounds like a real Fender.

rossi

I have an American sound and it works very well .I use in front of my DVMark LittleJazz and it turns a clean jazz monster into a hot rock kat .cheapest way of doing what you want .Another choice is  a little Blackstar Fly 3 amp .Tiny but awesome .Used Fender Mustang 1 or 2 's are often on Gumtree  .They are good too.I have all three of these at home so can vouch for them .I use the Blackstar the most .

prowla

Put a Tube Screamer in front of it and keep the amp on clean.

OTOH, I have an Orange Micro Terror with matching cab and it sounds great.

Rocker

ICBM said:

sev112 said:

No, the American Sound only works in europe.

it’S to do with with different air pressure / meteorological conditions over there and here.

It's the mains frequency - 50Hz in Europe, 60Hz in the US. The American Sound speeds up 50Hz to 60, so if you use one in the US you'll end up with 72Hz and sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks.

And in America you plug into receptacles whereas over here you plug into sockets.  Makes a huge difference

Neil

Thanks all for your help and recommendations.  

My son bought me the guitar and amp for use at his house so really didn't want to buy another amp and seem ungrateful. 

I'll be buying the Joyo unit and can bring it back and forth with me.

Thanks again. 

ICBM

What's the speaker size in the amp, and could it be upgraded? That might make a big difference while keeping it 'the same amp'.

It should be something you can change yourself, it's unlikely to need anything more than a screwdriver or possibly a small spanner.

newi123

Neil said:

Thanks all for your help and recommendations.  

My son bought me the guitar and amp for use at his house so really didn't want to buy another amp and seem ungrateful. 

I'll be buying the Joyo unit and can bring it back and forth with me.

Thanks again. 

Hoping my son is this considerate in due course! :-)

Neil

ICBM said:

What's the speaker size in the amp, and could it be upgraded? That might make a big difference while keeping it 'the same amp'.

It should be something you can change yourself, it's unlikely to need anything more than a screwdriver or possibly a small spanner.

I've no idea at the moment, although I will certainly look when I go again in April. 

TBH, had it been down to me I'd have bought a cheap used Mustang amp or similar but my son thought he was doing the right thing.

Neil

newi123 said:

Neil said:

Thanks all for your help and recommendations.  

My son bought me the guitar and amp for use at his house so really didn't want to buy another amp and seem ungrateful. 

I'll be buying the Joyo unit and can bring it back and forth with me.

Thanks again. 

Hoping my son is this considerate in due course! :-)

I'm sure he will be! 

Dominic

ICBM said:

sev112 said:

No, the American Sound only works in europe.

it’S to do with with different air pressure / meteorological conditions over there and here.

It's the mains frequency - 50Hz in Europe, 60Hz in the US. The American Sound speeds up 50Hz to 60, so if you use one in the US you'll end up with 72Hz and sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks.

But isn't that the AMERICAN SOUND ?