BJFE / BearFoot fx Guitar Effects Community

So...I have owned a couple of BJFE pedals; the EGDM, CAF, and HBOD. I've also heard williamh talk about several more (however it is hard to take drive advice from him since we two play differently). Recently I got a nice deal on a new SWAW and through it on the board, and just this past week got in my SBOD. Both pedals had a learning curve, which if I didn't sit down to try and figure out most likely would have been turned right around and sold. I also have a FGC coming in probably this Saturday. What I'm getting at is that so far I seem to blend well with the MP pedals coming out. Also, I feel so lost on the BJFE train with all the varieties, tonal differences that I don't know about because I've not played them on my rigs and what not to find the sweetspots. Am I missing out if I keep checking out more from the MP line instead of researching BJFE more? It isn't that I illiminate BJFE from my search, I just never know what would suit me to turn around and buy, to possibly not like it!

I have all my pedals figured out from modulation to delays to filters and reverbs, but the one problem I always have is finding the most suitable dirt for my sound. I have been gathering up some...keeping a few for awhile...letting some go...holding on to more for longer. I don't know, I guess it was moreso just a little ramble...

Hi,

Welcome to the forum! This is a very good post you have made, as I suspect there could be many lurkers out there who could have similar feelings and experiences as yourself. One of the many reasons behind this forum is to provide information.

The MP pedals are amazing indeed, and no, I do not think they are a distraction from the BJF line. MP pedals are great for many reasons, but most importantly I think they enable the sound and feel of BJ's designs to get into the hands of more people. It is true they are different than the BJF pedals, but all of these circuits are children from the same father so to speak.

Did you have any specific BJF models you wanted to ask about? Additionally, searching this forum, The Gear Page, and the Custom Sounds website can give you a lot of information.

Another way to help you narrow down your drive quest would be for me to ask you a few questions.

1. For what styles of music would you be using it?
2. Guitar/pickups/amp/speakers?
3. What sound is in your head? What is it you are wanting from a pedal?

I think this would be a most useful point of departure for you. Feel free to post your thoughts in this thread which you have created. I'm sure many of us will come forward and try to help.

Have fun!

DocRock

Well, I suppose my main question would be asking,

are you saying if I do like the, lets say SBOD or FGC, is there a need to look for the big brother of said pedals?

Obviously I understand people can do anything they want, I don't need someone's approval.

I have been a TGP and HC member for awhile, and know lots about effects. I'm not an "on the budget" type of guy...as my boards (I run 2) have a few thousand dollars in them. I just know I have seen many many different takes of BJFE pedals and was curious as if I was missing out (in the idea of the people here) by simply enjoying MP pedals without doing a whole lot more research on BJFE pedals.

heya BTBAM, welcome!

this is probably the most helpful board i've ever posted on, so don't hesitate for a moment to ask whatever you wanna ask, especially since one of the little idiosyncrasies of BJFE/MP stuff is it does tend to be a little complicated and some pedals do work better with different kinds of rigs. The good news is even through the worst theoretical setup everything always sounds pretty damn good to me

take some time and browse through the old threads here... there is so much great info and some really incredible history. people wonder why BJFE has the following it does... well, once you've explored this place a little bit it all makes a lot more sense

BTBAM wrote:Well, I suppose my main question would be asking,

are you saying if I do like the, lets say SBOD or FGC, is there a need to look for the big brother of said pedals?

Obviously I understand people can do anything they want, I don't need someone's approval.

I have been a TGP and HC member for awhile, and know lots about effects. I'm not an "on the budget" type of guy...as my boards (I run 2) have a few thousand dollars in them. I just know I have seen many many different takes of BJFE pedals and was curious as if I was missing out (in the idea of the people here) by simply enjoying MP pedals without doing a whole lot more research on BJFE pedals.

The answer is yes, you would be missing out. The MP pedals are great, but they are not (in most cases) direct substitutes for the BJF pedals (exceptions are LGW and SWAW). Think of it this way, you're eating a steak for dinner and you're asking us if you're missing out by not trying the lobster? Undoubtedly, it's worth trying the lobster. And the shrimp. And the chilean sea bass. And the salmon. And the prime rib. And the monterey chicken. And the pulled pork. And...

Eskimo_Joe wrote:

BTBAM wrote:Think of it this way, you're eating a steak for dinner and you're asking us if you're missing out by not trying the lobster? Undoubtedly, it's worth trying the lobster. And the shrimp. And the chilean sea bass. And the salmon. And the prime rib. And the monterey chicken. And the pulled pork. And...

Ha ha. Try it all, but leave those poor Chilean Sea Bass in the ocean.

Here's my thinking on the MP vs. BJFE debate - both were designed by Bjorn. I sincerely doubt he sat there thinking, "I'd like to make a pedal for the masses, but I'm going to make the circuit just a little bit sub-optimal to justify the lower price." I'm sure he put the same innovative thinking into that line that he uses for the BJFE line. It's just that the MP line is hand made by someone that isn't Bjorn.

So, while I still haven't laid my hands on an MP pedal, I would venture to say that they aren't better or worse - just different. Are you missing out on anything by not trying the BJFE stuff? I would say, probably yes. Bjorn simply offers many more options in that line. I would buy a couple of the most common ones and make your own determination. If you don't like them you can always sell them without taking a loss.

A few to try:

1) Dyna Red Distortion - Great heavy overdrive/distortion pedal.
2) Honey Bee Overdrive - Probably the best light overdrive I've ever played.
3) Pine Green Compressor - Great for subtle compression if that's your thing.
4) Pink Purple Fuzz - Not too hard to find one used. Very nice Muff-like tones but with more note definition.
5) Candy Apple Fuzz - Real over the top nasty fuzz. Octave capabilities on some settings.
6) Emerald Green Distortion Machine - Vox-like distortion.
7) Little Green Wonder - Somewhat hard to find, but not that bad. Tube Screamer-ish in a way. But different.
8 ) Baby Pink Booster - Buffered boost.
9) Red Rooster Booster - Non-buffered, true bypass boost.
10) Baby Blue Overdrive - Out of production and hard-ish to find. Sweet general purpose drive/fuzz pedal, though.
11) Might Green Mini Vibe - Classic vibe sound.

That covers most of the basic ones. Then there are a gazillion custom jobs and rarities that you have to look for used if you want to try. I will probably get some of these descriptions wrong so someone correct me.

1) Model H - Hiwatt overdrive tone.
2) Deluxe Mini Vibe (known by a few names, but Sea Blue Mini Vibe is one) - Two button vibe with ability to change frequency on the fly.
3) Snow White Fuzz - Grainy fuzz with good touch sensitivity.
4) Folk Fuzz - Similar to SWF in my opinion, though fuzz is perhaps more grainy. Tone knobs on both of these pedals allow you to get a nice, bright sound.
5) Sparkling Yellow Overdrive - Fairly bright sounding OD.
6) Sparkling Orange Overdrive - A close cousin to SYOD with less high-end content.
7) Aqua Marine Wonder Machine - BJFE version of Sky Blue Overdrive
8 ) VCF - Filter.
9) Cliff Hanger - Don't know much about this one.
10) Model R - Similar to Dyna Red Distortion.

There are many more. This at least gives you the briefest of overviews. Consult the BJFE Library if you want more detailed descriptions of the individual pedals.

Off the top of my head I am questioning if, while liking the way the SBOD sound with my rig, if I should stick with it or go after the Aqua Marine Wonder Machine. I'm fairly certain the SWAW is a keeper, I'm not sure what BJFE would sit in it's realm (correct me if I'm wrong) and then I know the PGC/FGC debate is still pretty much different person to person.

Right now I have these on my board:

Fuzz Factory
Sky Blue Overdrive
Skreddy Ernie
Skreddy Top Fuel

The SBOD bumped off my Mosferatu, Ernie and top fuel bumped the Mayo. The Top Fuel is what I got to bust out distortions, but am starting to question how well I like it for chording. However, I am unsure of the sound I am really going for.

I normally play clean. I use a Fender Twin Reverb (stock jensen speakers) and a Mesa Lonestar (C-90s). I play a Hagstrom Super Swede (recently bought) with 57's (coil tap capable) and a G&L Legacy with GFS lil' killers (hot rails). I like cleans, compressed cleans, and the ernie and top fuel have now given me some great lead fuzzes. The Fuzz Factory is the jack of all trades fuzz for me. Has some insanity, and I like all the textures I can get from it. My main search has been with this:

Drive.
Distortion.

I had the mosferatu, and it was nice, but I wanted a tad more gain, without the muddiness I found with it, plus it pic up floor noise. Now, with the SBOD, it could cover BOTH of those, distortion or the overdrive. I can tweak it from song to song, or I can choose to keep it as one, and look for another either lighter drive, or nice distortion. I've thought about re adding either a HBOD or possibly the DRD/MRD.

BTBAM wrote:Off the top of my head I am questioning if, while liking the way the SBOD sound with my rig, if I should stick with it or go after the Aqua Marine Wonder Machine

That decision should be pretty easy. You will likely never come across an AMWM for sale. Only a handful were made. I don't think I've ever seen one for sale, and if one were to go up you'd have to fight a gazillion people for it. Probably the toughest one on that list.

BTBAM wrote:Off the top of my head I am questioning if, while liking the way the SBOD sound with my rig, if I should stick with it or go after the Aqua Marine Wonder Machine

For clarification, those are the same pedal except the Aquas were made by Bjorn and are very rare. Given that you haven't experienced any of the other BJFs, my two cents would be, instead of spending your time trying to track down a very rare version of the same pedal you already own, track down a Honey Bee or a Dyna Red instead. If you get sufficiently addicted and obesessed, then there will be plenty of time for addiction and obsession. (I speak from experience)

Yep, I agree with the above.

(Is the AMWM really the same circuit? I thought there were some differences?)