BJFE / BearFoot fx Guitar Effects Community

cannikin wrote:I hear ya rasputin1176, sorry to bring a MH discussion to the thread. when I get settled and can test the EGDMs side by side I'll chime in. cheers

Ditto on the MH4K (BJFE). The tone was slightly more thin than with my standard MH (also BJFE).

Not sure why that might be? ...

Awesome that there are quite a few who got to compare both. That's really what you gotta do, evenly the pedals have their own character and of course won't be right for everyone. Great that there's so many options to choose from though.
And no need to apologize mentioning other pedals, it all relates. I don't have much experience with the model H but I like certain ones I heard. Good info incase I ever grab one.

rockeroo wrote:

cannikin wrote:I hear ya rasputin1176, sorry to bring a MH discussion to the thread. when I get settled and can test the EGDMs side by side I'll chime in. cheers

Ditto on the MH4K (BJFE). The tone was slightly more thin than with my standard MH (also BJFE).

Not sure why that might be? ...

The extra controls can change the circuit. For example if there is infinite resistance (no wire) across a part of the circuit and you add in a pot with a very high value in it's place to vary the resistance (ex: 500k), even though it may be VERY large compared to other component values in the circuit and effectively blocks current -- it's not an infinite resistance so it's not going to be exactly the same. I actually found that the SYOD's with the fourth knob lost some sparkle and brightness with the added M knob even at minimum. So in that case the pedals gained girth with the added knob but more importantly, the added control actually changed the way the circuit sounds. They're still SYOD's but they cannot exactly replicate the sound of a BJFe due to the added control. Nothing wrong with that as I think it makes them better overall pedals for 90% of users but it's interesting to see how added options can change the sound of a circuit.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw another example out there. Based on the explanations and my experience with a 3K EGDM I think I'd like the slightly thinner 4K version better

Word of caution -- I am a structural engineer / blast engineer and not an electrical engineer. So this is explained as best as my simple brain understands it. With that said, it may all be completely wrong.

Curious! I am surprised so many had a similar finding regarding missing beef. I actually wrote to Bjorn about it and he said the EGDM seems to play tricks on his mind/ears as well! I swore up and down the two were identical sounding when the 4k arrived, but Bjorn said they really should not change with age. I have been fortunate enough to have several examples of certain models at a given time and usually it is easy to hear a bit of difference.

I went to sell my EGDM 3k several times, but for one reason or the other I coudnt do it. It was my first BJFE and the only dirt pedal that never got kicked off the board. Maybe I should throw a velcro bottom on it and put it on the board for grins. Since getting the BF SYOD twins I have spent a lot of the time I would choose the EGDM trying to get a handle on the SYODs.

I tried running the 4k at 12 Volts and it seemed to get it closer to the 3k. I think if you run a loud, clean amp the 3k might be the ticket, but I think the 4k will stay on my board as I mostly use non-master amps turned up a bit.

I am finding the SYOD twins to prefer some guitars and amps ov others. My Wife's tweed Champ loves my LsL Tele as do the SYOD twins. On the other side both seem to dislike my Strats having a less pleasant top end. Kind of ratty.

I saw that Bill! You need to stop by more and party with us We miss you.

Thanks for the info. Keep it coming, glad so many chiming in on it. I'm excited about the 4k. I do use non-master amps that are mostly clean but push into more gain so that's cool you mentioned that. I also notice I use or have used most of the same pedals. (the Aqua Vibe is the best isn't it, worth the wait, never selling that one either). Luckily looks like ill have a quick chance to hear & compare both the 3k & 4k. Sure I'd love to keep both but I think which ever I prefer is all I need. If its real insignificant then the 4k will be more useful of course but I consider myself to have really good ears. I just love the EGDM I use it SO much. After I recoup from all this I'll look into an older model H. Different flavor but still a medium gain pedal that I like a lot. I also snagged a Pine Green that I really was missing. Plenty of BJFe goodness for now...

I also found I can get closer to the 3k sound by running the drive just a bit high. I usually ran the Drive on the 3k between 10 and 11 o'clock no matter where I ran the Voice knob. With the 4k at 12 Volts I need to run the Drive about an hour or two higher to get the tones to match.

It just seems odd to me going past noon on the Drive knob! The only other pedal I had done that with before was HBOD.

See that's always been a pet-peeve of mine with pedal demo videos when someone sets knobs on both identical & says oh they sound different. Even if both are same pedal most often parts tolerances or simply pot/knob adjustment differences will make differences. Plus older pedals or less quality builders don't take the care for quality control and actually check part values to account for tolerance variations. As long as you can get the same sound out of 2 pedals then I would still call them the same.
Thanks again for even more info, really helpful, I feel great about the 4k. I'll try and add some results myself once I can hear both myself....soon! waiting for BJFe fix is hard haha

rasputin1176 wrote:See that's always been a pet-peeve of mine with pedal demo videos when someone sets knobs on both identical & says oh they sound different. Even if both are same pedal most often parts tolerances or simply pot/knob adjustment differences will make differences. Plus older pedals or less quality builders don't take the care for quality control and actually check part values to account for tolerance variations. As long as you can get the same sound out of 2 pedals then I would still call them the same.
Thanks again for even more info, really helpful, I feel great about the 4k. I'll try and add some results myself once I can hear both myself....soon! waiting for BJFe fix is hard haha

great news! I just found out that I'm getting my old emerald green back from the guy sold it to. I sold it because I knew I would be getting a 4K. I had them together for several weeks and had second thoughts about letting the original go because it had a noticeably thicker tone, but, in the end, I didn't think I could justify keeping both. In recent months, I have tried to repurchase the EGDM, and it is finally happening. It is one of the first 15 made -- rather beat up, but incredible in character. This is a great day!

Cheers.

Congrats you are a lucky man. I'm still looking for my original EGDM, I contacted the guy who I sold it to but he said it was long gone... I'm still trying to find it... That said if anyone has or knows who has number 100. I will be willing to trade both my EGDMs 3k and 4k for it.