BJFE / BearFoot fx Guitar Effects Community

How do you think of all the BJF designed lines ?.... as fully separate, as part of a family , as competitors or as something else ???

I haven't really thought about it before but in terms of desirability/quality/etc. I'd say this...

BJFe -- the flagship line that offers the best of everything, quality, desirability, tone etc. Often times the rarer ones border on pieces in a collection for some rather than tools. I am personally trying to make sure I use and abuse each and every one of my BJFe's because they don't do much for me sitting in their boxes Also, this is the brand which seems to unveil the newest/greatest/uniquest designs while the others seem to produce the more mainstream models (at the moment) so if you want unique (MH, MR, MG, MGMV, etc.) this seems to be the only way to get it (currently)

BearFoot -- the new kid on the block whose goal is to bring the BJFe line to the masses in the truest way possible. In contrast to the MP line I expect these to be 98% + true tonally to the originals with the only losses being in the "handmade" aspects of the pedals (finish and lettering). I expect these to actually boost the desirability of the BJFe pedals too as they will kind of be the gateway drug to the brand. I do consider these to be a part of the BJFe line unlike the next two...

Mad Professor -- These are the production model pedals that are designed by Bjorn, but ultimately built and sold by an entirely different brand. I think they are a more simplified version of BJ's designs in that they are desinged in such a way that component choice and matching isn't that critical to the overall tone. This leads me to feel that they will not have quite the same feel as the BJFe and (hopefully) BearFoot pedals due to the less rigorous component matching.

Rocket Ride -- I can't really comment much here as I have little to no knowledge of this brand. From what little I do have I see them being more of a BJ tweak on someone elses design. Kind of cool but some part of me feels that a design from the ground up by BJ would offer something more than a tweaked existing design. I could be wrong though as I have no experience with any of their pedals.


Overall I'd say that BJF, BF and MP are all the same family with RR falling somewhere outside. Maybe a second cousin or something. BJF and BF, well they're clearly brothers. BF the little bro. And MP is like the half sister that moved to another state.

Glad to see you are trying to keep a pulse on your customer base. Doing so will surely make the BearFoot brand a huge hit. Can't wait to get my new BF HBOD

Well let's compare it to Fender guitars.
BJFe is kind of like the Fender Custom Shop- Bearfoot would be like the higher end mass production Fender guitars, and Mad Professor is Squier.
Rocketride I don't know too much about and has never really interested me so I don't know how they fit in the picture- I guess that brand is no different than Analagmon and Keeley's tweaks on existing pedals, except by the master [Bjorn] himself.
I'm anxious to get my Bearfoot Honey Bee and compare it to its BJF cousin.
I got my first Mad Professor pedal last week- the PCB Sweet Honey Overdrive, and love it.
But after playing it, I can understand why so many gearheads dismiss it and don't consider it as highly as the Honey Bee.
By itself, it doesn't really seem to do much, but when you stack it with another OD or fuzz, its awesomeness starts to come out.
It's one of those effects that's very subtle- when it's on you're not really wowed, but when you turn it off, you notice that something is missing.
It grows on me more each day

after spending like a zillion dollars on pedals through tgp, bjfe,& ebay.. i now listen with my eyes closed...a pedal is a pedal. if I can get the same sounds from a mp od as a bjfe od, it does not make a difference to me anymore. Do I have some rare and collectible pedals, sure! Is that really what my pedal motivation is, not really. It is cool to own a pgc, but i am really digging the new mp fgc cb (though i did just snag a sonic edge (ben fargen) tumble weed from ebay. (and no- I do not want to sell my pgc-though i just sold the sea blue compressor i owned on this forum. And I might add, i sold it for alot less then i could have on ebay-it did sell in like 5 minutes, and i took down the listing. )

I dig a few other builders/pedal lines. But the bjfe pedals are like musical instruments onto themselves imho. I do however, really like the handwired mp pedals, especially the deep blue delay, the swaw-(which sounds exactly, exactly like the VCF i owned) and the sky blue od. (the frf is also quite good, and the lgw too.ok the trem is cool, as well) the one thing i do like about the bearfoot line is it is made in usa. so if something ever does go wrong, i can send it to st louis, rather then across the world to have it fixed. just a thought.

i like them ALL.....the MP "CB" line are my faves for gigging working guys.....affordable, sound good, easy to replace.

the BJFe stuff is beautiful, handmade, tons of vibe.

can't wait to try the Bearfoot stuff......been a big Donnerbox fan for a while.....i bet these are gonna be KILLER!

i really like the Rocketrides too.....that modded DS-1 really got overlooked, and it's a KILLER distortion -- well, the new MP Stone Grey is very similar....i love it.

I guess the Image would be what Cajone5 started.

But, there is a tool for every job and the BF HBOD sounds better with the Tweed Champ and with my tweed Deluxe at volume. I prefer the BJFE HBOD with my Swart since it needs a bit more low end. So, which is better?

I have the CB FGC and it is the first compressor that I have liked long enough to actually put on my board AND use. I will not pay over $400 for a compressor, so for now, a BJFE PGC is out.

I know Bjorn has his hands in many pies, but now that Donner is doing Bearfoot it opens up a way to cash in on PGC mania, or do runs of lesser known pedals like the Model G & R. BF could even bring the Vibes down to a manageable area and who knows even a special BF model(s) that combine features. I would love a BF FGC with a tweaked circuit that has a little more magic dust. (Or Camoprene what ever it takes)

I think all of these options are terrific and I would imagine that there has been some thought into not promoting one entity at the expense of another. Assuming all relationships are still going strong, it would be really cool to see Bearfoot take on some of the pedals that MP has not yet gone to. I could definitely see a run of Model G and PGC from Bearfoot - I'll bet those two alone would keep Donner busy for a long time.

With MP going the direction of PCB, I think the Bearfoot make good sense filling the void without costing almost as much as a BJFE - that was always the stickler with the pre-PCB MP. In the $200 to $250 range, Bearfoot makes me consider owning one or two models that I might otherwise go without.

Hum... Bearfoot deluxe HBOD... yum...

roquero wrote:Well let's compare it to Fender guitars.
BJFe is kind of like the Fender Custom Shop- Bearfoot would be like the higher end mass production Fender guitars, and Mad Professor is Squier.
Rocketride I don't know too much about and has never really interested me so I don't know how they fit in the picture- I guess that brand is no different than Analagmon and Keeley's tweaks on existing pedals, except by the master [Bjorn] himself.
I'm anxious to get my Bearfoot Honey Bee and compare it to its BJF cousin.
I got my first Mad Professor pedal last week- the PCB Sweet Honey Overdrive, and love it.
But after playing it, I can understand why so many gearheads dismiss it and don't consider it as highly as the Honey Bee.
By itself, it doesn't really seem to do much, but when you stack it with another OD or fuzz, its awesomeness starts to come out.
It's one of those effects that's very subtle- when it's on you're not really wowed, but when you turn it off, you notice that something is missing.
It grows on me more each day

I think comparing mad professor to squire is a bit harsh. To my mind theyve got to be on par with bearfoot. There both bj designs being produced by sombody else to an exceptionally high standard.

hmmm i've played squier guitars and that's quite a stretch of a comparison. Sure if you have to put a scale on the value of the effects then maybe, but the MP are all in all quite a value. I must say though that I haven't tried the new PCB versions so I'm making that comparison with the handwired versions (LGW & DBD) that i owned.

Nothing wrong with Squier.
I have a Squier Classic 50s Vibe Telecaster that can hold its own with Fender Teles costing 2 or 3 times as much.
My example was in the hierarchy of BJF, MP relates to BJF as Squier relates to Fender's Custom Shop
One produces small batches of precision instruments [Fender Custom Shop/ BJF]- the other [Squier/ MP especially PCB] mass produces instruments based on a design from the master [Leo/Bjorn]
That's not to say MP are bad quality at all
I happen to own the MP PCB SHO and it is a fine pedal, and my Squier Classic Vibe Tele is a fine guitar.
Different methods of production is what I was getting at
No need to get all worked up by brand associations