BearFoot 4knob Model H Initial reviews / research

[cajone5]

Donner below are some more (critical) thoughts on the 4H and a question of whether or not this could be changed/updated/fixed...

While I can dial in some really great sounds on the 4H, my main complaint with the pedal is that all the "good" sounds (for me) are contained in very small parts of the sweep of the knobs -- specifically...


Volume -- can't put it above 11 o'clock or so without blowing out my eardrums... can this pot be switched to something with a different sweep (log/linear/etc.) so fine tuning in the "slightly above unity" range can be achieved?

Drive -- above 12 o'clock I seem to loose most of the clarity and dynamics of the pedal and just get overwhelming distortion that turns chordwork muddy. Again, is there a different pot value or sweep that will allow more fine tuning in the lower end (fully CCW to about 11-12 o'clock)?

Note I'm still working on dialing in tone and treble but here are my initial thoughts...

Tone -- I pretty much found this to control the fatness/brittleness of the pedal. Tone low = brittle/thin and Higher = fatter. I pretty much only find this sound good above 2-3 o'clock up to fully cranked.

Treble -- anything above 12 o'clock makes my ears bleed with my preferred settings fully CCW to about 10 o'clock.


Overall I feel like the 4H is awesome but provides SO MUCH sweep on the various knobs that the majority of the sweep doesn't really sound good and the broad sweep makes it difficult to dial in settings as very small changes in knob position result in very large changes in sound. So Donner -- could something be done (ex: swapping pots) to make this a little friendlier when dialing it in?

[Donner]

Thanks for the honest feedback cajone5 !!
The Beest and the 4H are sort of the children of the Tourboxes....

and what I found from send the HB DRD and H to working muscian.... it was uncanny but almost every one either preferred the DRD or the HB and H for the dirt they needed....

So the RedHot goes on top of the DRD

and the Beest and 4H make a sort of super pair as well...

in your case cajones I think you would be much happier with the Beest ....

every pedal isnt for everyone and wont do everything.....

kind of like the people that still want less drive on the 4H probably would prefer the Beest or the EGDM .....

thanks again for the feedback guys, it really does matter !!!!!!

[cajone5]

Maybe you are right -- so anyone want to trade their 4-knob Honey BEEST for a 4 knob MH?

[Joeleo]

I think Hulakatt was looking to do that in the Beest thread.

[Hulakatt]

I got a trade going with Thiscalltoarms set up. Sorry

We're going to spend the weekend gigging our pedals and then ship.

[Donner]

You guys that got them --- how does your rig sound compare with this ???

[thesjkexperience]

Donner below are some more (critical) thoughts on the 4H and a question of whether or not this could be changed/updated/fixed...

While I can dial in some really great sounds on the 4H, my main complaint with the pedal is that all the "good" sounds (for me) are contained in very small parts of the sweep of the knobs -- specifically...


Volume -- can't put it above 11 o'clock or so without blowing out my eardrums... can this pot be switched to something with a different sweep (log/linear/etc.) so fine tuning in the "slightly above unity" range can be achieved?

Drive -- above 12 o'clock I seem to loose most of the clarity and dynamics of the pedal and just get overwhelming distortion that turns chordwork muddy. Again, is there a different pot value or sweep that will allow more fine tuning in the lower end (fully CCW to about 11-12 o'clock)?

Note I'm still working on dialing in tone and treble but here are my initial thoughts...

Tone -- I pretty much found this to control the fatness/brittleness of the pedal. Tone low = brittle/thin and Higher = fatter. I pretty much only find this sound good above 2-3 o'clock up to fully cranked.

Treble -- anything above 12 o'clock makes my ears bleed with my preferred settings fully CCW to about 10 o'clock.


Overall I feel like the 4H is awesome but provides SO MUCH sweep on the various knobs that the majority of the sweep doesn't really sound good and the broad sweep makes it difficult to dial in settings as very small changes in knob position result in very large changes in sound. So Donner -- could something be done (ex: swapping pots) to make this a little friendlier when dialing it in?

This is pretty close to my feelings about the MHvT except I feel like the Tone knob controls the speed of attack/sag of the mids. I do use the Tone knob all ov the dial depending on the volume I am playing at and the amp I am using. I might look into the 4K as the one thing I have trouble with is the is really no control over the Treble from the top of the pedal. I have a EGDM4K and I love the control over all the parameters.

[thiscalltoarms]

Time for a review. Gigged the MH4K this morning at church gig. Signal chain was a Gibson LP Studio - korg pitch black - mh4k - bjfe hbod - eb volume - Strymon timeline w/ dmc3 MIDI control - blueSky reverb - modded fender vibro champ on six.

Some thoughts- I actually really enjoyed the MH4K live. I ran the treble mostly off around 8:30 so just a little darker than the three knobber. It has a wide variety of eq-ability with the trebles, unfortunately I really prefer a darker overall tone as my hands are brighter.

As far as gain goes, it had WAY MORE than I would use, and I think that's more a function of gain structure and mid EQ than anything else. I found anything over 9:00 to be unusable for me as it felt too chunky, and for lack of a better word- convoluted. It did have phenomenal string to string clarity and I would love it for rhythm chords, but it felt all wrong for lead for me.

To put it in perspective- I love my SGD (CHII) with the gain around 2-3 and the tone knob between 11-2:30 which has more gain, but the structure is tighter and clearer, meaner and less juicy. I think that last adjective is really my most precise objection. The overall feel is just too f$%#ing JUICY for me, my ears, and my tonal preferences. The leads are very 3D and the structuring makes the notes really "round" sounding, but its just too much for me.

Those critiques aside, with the gain at 8:00-8:30 I was really impressed by the way the tone knob controlled the immediacy of the attack- reminded me of using different rectifiers more than anything else. It really let's you dial in the sag and responsiveness of the grit which is way cool. I can totally see why MH4K would be preferable- maintaining that tone knob's function is what makes this pedal cool, and that means the treble knob is needed for matching it to your rig.

Wrapping it up, I am trading my H for a Beest, so this is my last take on the H. I was hoping it would be more tonally in the eq range and structure of my Bogner Shiva or a Bogner Ecstacy blue channel tone, but I am thinking that is more like a hotrodded marshall tone, so maybe I gotta try out a dynaredhot bearfoot next. Any suggestions on that?

[thiscalltoarms]

You guys that got them --- how does your rig sound compare with this ???

Wow, that's a smoking demo. Yes, I would say I got tones in that ballpark between my Budda and my DST custom AC15 especially. A bit different with my Shiva el34 and my Fender. This demo perfectly captures the sentiment I had threw the MH4K every time I played it- its a killer drive that I can hear why it would be a favorite to many.

I can hear players more in the classic rock scene really gigging the the hell out of it. Those tones are what I want to hear from a good cover band. Its articulate and girthy, responsive but with a very raunchy streak- isn't that the epitome of a classic rock cover at a bar gig? Just perfect for that. Really killer stuff!

[MBT74]

A 4 knob Model H has landed Down Under. I'll give it a run tonight and update this post.

I'll be interested to compare it to the BF Model H I alreay have. I normally run mine with my SBEQ set to just below unity and with the trebble increased. It sounds like this version might cover that base all on its own.