Joyo MA-10B Portable Bass Amp

Už od pohledu je jasné, že to není plnohodnotné combo. Je to cosi na domácí cvičení. V tomto to nemá chybu. Rozhodně je to lepší, než když jsem kdysi cvičil přes domácí Hi-Fi od Tesly nebo přes pololampový Dual. Super je, že to funguje i na AA baterie a hraje to tak akorát, že to překřičí klidnou hru na akustickou kytaru. Takže to poskytuje ten "luxus" si vzít k táboráku basu a ty Nedvědy či Wabiho Daňka podbarvit i hlubokými tóny.
Jak bystrý čtenář jistě pochopil, jsou výše napsané řádky tak trochu vítpek. Nicméně opravdu lze toto minikombo použít na brnkání u ohně a na domácí cvičení je opravdu tak akorát (upřímně vytočené naplno zvládne určitě i prudit sousedy).

This amp is a 10W bass amp with included PSU, it compares well with the Fly Bass which is a similar price, 3W and no PSU included.

It's an ideal bedroom blaster for places where too much volume might cause issues, very portable and able to keep up with acoustic guitar of a jam in the park etc. Not really giggable and maybe not enough power for busking except in a quiet spot with good acoustics, like a subway.

Build quality is typical Joyo, very solid, nice light-up logo and in cream it has a lovely retro feel. Other colours look contemporary, so a timeless design,

The sound is good for a 5" speaker but not outstanding. It handles a passive bass well without farting, haven't tried it with my active 5-string. The tone control is a bit like a Fender TBX, very subtle and to be honest sounds best left at 12 O'clock to me. The drive channel works well giving a decent rumble rather than a buzz.

First of all, it's excellent for space saving and insanely lightweight. It also packs a decent little punch considering it's small size. Perfect piece of kit to jam along to some of your favourite tunes and practice the bass guitar in general. Headphones can be plugged in alongside your smartphone etc. as musical accompaniment or a bit of motivation. When you play the guitar at the same time as the music you are feeding it you can still set the tone and gain and volume to overpower the music volume to distinguish your own sound and also try to match whatever you are playing along to quite evenly. You could also run a beat or a metronome instead of music. Either way this is the perfect armchair bass companion. My only con isn't a big deal to me but may be a dealbreaker for some, there is a slight buzz/feedback that tends to develop but that could just be my device and/or guitar or my input jack cable from my guitar that causes this. Possibly with a more expensive guitar or cable this could be eradicated. I've heard it also works well with no buzz using batteries but I haven't personally tried it. 8/10

Whilst waiting for the amp to arrive, I had the chance to purchase a used Blackstar Fly 3 Mini Bass, the category leader among cheap, battery-powered bass amps. It is not a close copmarison. The Blackstar, despite being half the cubic volume and only 3W, delivers a wider, deeper range of sounds with less noise, reaching around the same loudness before distorting.
The Joyo is not a nice-sounding amp. The low volume output is usable, but twangy rather than deep. At high volumes it is messy and distorted. The tone control does nothing at all, but this is the least of its problems. What's most striking is that it doesn't even sound good with headphones, so it's not just the speaker to blame. The Joyo also produced a noticeable amount of buzzing noise. This is typical of cheap amps, but also not true of the Blackstar, which by the way sounds gorgeous through headphones.
In the Joyo's favour, it is still light and portable despite being larger. The drive channel is not obnoxious, but the gain must be kept under control for a reasonable sound.
I would recommend spending the extra money for the Blackstar. It will make you very happy. If you can't afford it, pick up a used 10W mains-powered practice amp, or a headphone amp like the Vox Amplug (for private practice), both of which will deliver a more satisfying tone. The only situation in which I would recommend the Joyo is outdoors in public, where battery power is a necessity and sheer loudness may be preferred over sound quality.
I hope in future Joyo can produce an improved version without the tone control, overdrive and fake tweeter, instead focused on producing a deep, clean sound rather than trying to claim '10W' of distortion.