Joyo Jam Buddy II – I’m Gonna Enjoyo This a Lot

I’ve never been a fan of Joyo’s products. In fact, I downright avoid Joyo’s products entirely simply because I’ve had a bad experience with them.

One bad pedal.

And that was enough to make me judge the entire company as bad.

Until this product: the Joyo Jam Buddy II.

And after just one Facebook ad, I’ve been obsessed over it for the past few days.

The Jam Buddy II just might be the product that makes me retire my beloved Zoom G5n to its corner in the back of the closet where my other guitar pedals restfully sleep.

This year, I made a promise to myself to practice more and to make more songs. I haven’t really been faithful to that promise. Practice has been erratic and the songs are all stuck at 80% or less with just a few fully fleshed out and ready to introduce to my band, AcidRadius.

So Why is That?

Well, I’ve been busy with real life as a dad and household chores and working for a great company called Zywave.

Another reason why I don’t really pick up my guitar that much or write is because it’s a hassle to take my guitar out, set my amp up, turn my Zoom G5n on, adjust levels and others.

Add to the fact that I have a bad back and my guitar isn’t that light on the shoulders which has prompted me to look at alternatives like the Donner Hush X and other lightweight guitars to become my new musical companion.

And then there’s my amp. It’s not really that heavy but it is kind of big and cumbersome despite it being just a small practice amp. That has also prompted me to look at alternatives like the Hotone Pulze and the Positive Grid Spark Go as desktop amps.

These are very portable amps that you can fit into your pocket plus they come with effects so that would negate the need for a multi-fx pedal or a pedalboard full of pedals.

I’m leaning towards the Spark Go despite its price tag because it has AI in it that could help me make songs. Hey… I just realized I won’t need a Digitech Trio + for songwriting if I get the Spark Go…. Hmmm…

But if my budget won’t allow it, I’ll probably just go with the Hotone Pulze Mini and get the Spark Go in the future.

The thing is that everything is a hassle for me to set up. By the time I’m done setting up the inspiration to play or the song idea has gone out the window.

Enter the Joyo Jam Buddy II

I need something that eliminates all that need to connect stuff just to practice or play.

So, yeah there’s the Jam Buddy II.

It’s basically an 8W speaker with guitar effects, a looper, a drum machine, and one that can act as an OTG audio interface.

You can also use it as a simple multi-fx guitar pedal for live situations.

So I could, in theory bring this with me anywhere I go and have a functional recording studio if and when inspiration hits me!

Perfect.

Now if only I could find more information about this unit because it seems like the only one interested so far in making a review about it are the guys from Pedal Picassos. Here’s the Youtube link to that:  Pedal Picassos – The most guitar fun you can have with your pants on

Oh well, I guess I’ll have to read the manual by downloading the PDF from their site.

And since I don’t have an actual unit with me to try out, this’ll just be a review of the manual and speculation of what it’s going to be like once I get my hands on a Joyo Jam Buddy II.

Here’s How it Works

1. Guitar Volume Knob – This adjusts your instruments volume as it goes into the gadget. This can be your base volume as you use the gadget and just use your guitar’s own volume knob to further adjust how your input level goes.
2. Bluetooth Switch – Everyone loves Bluetooth. This allows you to stream music or backing tracks to the Joyo Jam Buddy II after you connect it to your Android or iOS device.
3. Power Switch – turns your device on or off. ‘Nuff said.
4. Bass/Save Knob – this is part of the 3-band EQ with another function which is to save your settings. Turning the knob will adjust your bass level. Pressing it will allow you to save your settings. So turning adjusts the bass level, and pressing + turning  saves. Got it? Good, let’s move on.
5. RVB./D. Vol Knob – pressing this allows you to modify your reverb settings. Turning, after you activate the drum machine, adjusts the drum volume.
6. Mid./Tune Knob – 3-band EQ mid adjustment. Pressing activates the tuner function. Tune your guitar by looking at the screen.
7. DLY/D.Type Knob – pressing and turning this allows you to adjust the parameters of your Delay. Turning, after you activate the drum machine, adjusts the drum type.
8. Tre./D.Control Knob – turning adjusts the 3-band EQ treble level. Pressing this knob turns your drum machine on. Once turned on, you can adjust the vol, type and speed through their respective knobs.
9. Mod/D. Speed Knob – pressing this allows you to modify your modulation. Turning, after you activate the drum machine, adjusts the drum speed.
10. Gain/Quit Knob – adjusts gain and cancels out menu options
11. Amp/CH. Vol Knob – pressing this allows you to choose from any one of the 14 Amp heads available.
12. Music Vol Knob – controls the volume from external source into the gadget
13. Rhythm Mode Indicator – lights up when rhythm is activated
14. Lead Mode Indicator – lights up when lead is activated
15. Clean Channel Indicator – lights up to indicate the use of clean channel
16. Drive Channel Indicator – lights up to indicate the use of drive channel
17. Phone Mount – you can place your phone on this
18. Overdrive Channel Mode Select Foot Switch
19. Channel Switch Footswitch
20. Guitar Input Jack (Input) – connects the device to the guitar via a cable
21. Guitar Output Jack – line out to speaker
22. Charging Port
23. USB Port (OTG) – allows OTG connection for updates or for use as an audio interface
24. Line Out – line out to external speaker
25. Line In – line in from external audio source
26. Headphone Out Jack – line out to headphone jack

Why the Joyo Jam Buddy II is Potentially Going to be My Favorite Musical Item Purchased in 2025

Based on its dimensions, the 161 x 182 x 70 mm, this is something that I can easily hold in the palm of my hand and bring along whenever and wherever I like. The entire unit also weighs around 940g which is nothing if you compare it to my 7 pound Zoom G5n.

And if you consider the fact that it also has an onboard speaker, then it means you have a complete rig that you can bring around with you that weighs less than a kilo.

And you can record with it?

Get outta here!

Song ideas usually pop into my head when I’m driving so I could just as easily pull to the side, take this and my guitar out and start recording with just my phone. Oh and it also supports streaming.

What else could you ask for?

Stream music into it?

Oh yeah it does that too.

So, you could jam along with your favorite songs just by connecting via Bluetooth.

There’s also an onboard looper and drum machine.

Oh Joyo.

This is overkill.

Now I do have a few minor issues with this. Starting with the screen. It’s really small. But, although it is small, it does use large fonts and bright colors. So, it should be pretty easy to use for people who, like me, have visual issues.

 But what I’m most excited about is the fact that it has physical knobs that erases the need to go knee deep in pages to adjust or find effects I need. This was always one of the things I was irritated about my G5n.

I’m pretty simple.

Give me a clean, a rhythm, and a lead sound and I’m good. That’s what this unit offers. Simplicity. So you can focus on the more important things like practicing and writing songs.

Aside from the OTG bring too near the charging port everything seems to have been laid out pretty well. Of course they used multiple function buttons to save on space. This could be a source of confusion later on but maybe it’ll just be a minor one.

But the one thing that convinced me that I could finally retire my old faithful G5n is the fact that the Joyo Jam Buddy II can work without being plugged into a socket.

Less wires, less tangles, less hassles!

I wonder how much this’ll be in the Philippines.

If it’s anything like the old Jam Buddy, it should only be around Php4,000 to Php 5,000.00. Not bad.

Not bad at all.

I’m gonna enjoyo this a lot!