Joyo R-05 Maximum Overdrive

The pots and switch feel a bit cheaper than for example those on some other pedals. Another con is that the boost can't be used separately (but this is also true for the FD2 it's based on). It sounds almost identical to my FD2 (you need to put all controls a bit higher on the Maximum), and that's a good thing since that's a great pedal. It's very usable for blues or rock. Oh and the looks have to be your thing, but I dig the design and lighting on the front and a lot. You can also disable this light when the pedal is turned off or completely disable it if you don't like the leds.

I am happy with it and would recommend.

At first, I tried to use this thing as a low gain tube screamer replacement, but in that use case, it did not feel to be the best. But crank up the gain and holy lobster, that thing is killer. I use it at work with my "let some steam out" rig: hellokitty strat, this and harley benton GA-5 amp. In this combination, it is wonderful. I can get quite Tool like sounds with it. The distortion feels organic, able to go wild when dug in and yet, cleans up well if played softly.

Negative aspect: The footswitch layout is dumb and cramped. I keep hitting the volume knob with my feet. The switches should be laid out other way around.