Sparkling Yellow OD research/ feedback ~~~

[Donner]

The first Sparkling Yellow OverDrives should be landing over the next few days ... so heres a new thread for those reviews as the Yellow Brick road was getting pretty long ...

[cajone5]

They're stuck at the PO - have to wait until tomorrow

[rockeroo]

They're stuck at the PO - have to wait until tomorrow

Got mine. One got a little dinged in the ride/flight over by USPS, but I can't wait to run them tonight. They are purdy.

More to come..

[thesjkexperience]

They're stuck at the PO - have to wait until tomorrow

+1.

[thesjkexperience]

Donner, are the twins 9 Volts only?

I just opened mine up and have to salute Donner and the Bearfoot team! I was fortunate to see the first run of HBODs and the build quality. You guys have come a long way as the guts of the SYOD twins are just perfection!

I just got to try them for about 30 minutes with my '54 Strat, LsL T-Bone and my '56 Strat with the Signature Set of Zexcoil pickups (tour pickguard, you guys need to try these pickups!) and these are the best Bearfoots yet! Just like my Honey Beeatch the 4th knob really takes the SYOD design over the top! And, because of the extra adjustment both stack very well!

Now I am interested to try them with my Swart SST-30 which is a one channel with master volume.

[Donner]

Good Question ----- 5-9v only !!

[54gt]

Quick first impressions with Danocaster Tele Custom playing through 10W amp:

1) 1 will be my favorite OD I suspect. great open singing tone with clear string definition. pretty sure it will cut through really well but without any icepick. Donner you were right about M pot; adds incredible tweakability and broader range than I would have guessed. gonna spend lots of time getting to know this one

2) with this guitar/amp combination, best description I can give is "tweedy", and I am not a big tweed fan; for tweed fans, this can get you there pretty quick. Hate to only talk about it relative to 1, but given how much I liked 1, hard to avoid. 2 is darker and fuller, more compressed sounding with a much rounder top to everything than 1. May like this one better with a bright amp

Just first half hour; have to run but will report back after playing it with bigger amps and broader range of guitars.

But no doubt in my mind that 1 is a work of art.

[cajone5]

Want to really sit with them for a while before I post any in depth thoughts so I'll save my opinions for now.

Donner -- can you tell me what setting for the Mid knob matches the OG 3-knob pedal voicings. Guessing between 10-11 o'clock but want to confirm. I've been spending time trying to dial in the settings on each I loved on the BJFe versions and I am slowly getting there but wanted to confirm on the mid knob setting.

Let me know if you can. Thanks!

[Donner]

Well of course you have parts tolerance variation to deal with - so Id concentrate more on what your ears tell you --- key thing to remember is the M control is PRE distortion section and the treble is POST ... and the amount of low mids PRE dirt effects the saturation and compression on up the freq range - and the post treble control rounds off any excess .... the drive and M controls are very interactive.

[rockeroo]

VERY interesting pedals...

I get the impression that these two ODs can cover A LOT of ground in one's dirt chain.

For my first go with the SYOD (fraternal) twins, I chose to use a stock AC30 and my strat. The strat has Van Zandt vintage pups inside. I'll start my explanation with V1.

V1 instantly made me think of my Model G when I plugged it in, not because they are identical, but because they have a similar character on low-medium gain settings. The overdrive is very rich and can shift from thin and sparkly to round and warm (and everywhere in between). While the SYOD is not as rich in the mid-range as the Model G, the drive is quite transparent, full-bodied and pleasing. I could see myself sidelining my Model G for the V1 if the need arose. One interesting aspect of V1 is that the gain range has a very high ceiling. It goes well past my Model G in terms of maximum distortion levels -- this side of the pedal shifted my thoughts toward a very tight and focused Honey Beest.

Moving on to V2.

V2 is much more versatile than V1, in that it covers so much. Can anyone guess which two gain boxes I was hearing when playing through the SYOD V2??

...

First, I heard BBOD all the way. I have never played through either BJFE SYOD before, but I imagine the mid-knob really opens up the V2 to cover a massive sonic territory. With the mids pushed to 2:00 and beyond, the V2 certainly hints and (and when maxed out) exclaims fuzz. This REALLY surprised me. The last 10% of the M knob has a similar sweep to it as the drive knob on the DRHD -- it really peaks. I must say, the BBOD is my most treasured BJFE pedal, and I would willingly move it from my board to my studio in a heartbeat if I could replace it with the SYOD V2. The OD/fuzz combination is a very satisfying rock tone, and would be a perfect reason to buy the pedal if you had to be convinced. However, I will give you another reason ... If you swing the M knob all the way counter-clockwise and crank the gain, you will feel as if you are CLIFFHANGing. I was totally WOWED by this. The distortion, when maxed out, gets completely raw and open with the M knob at its lowest level. This pedal is SO versatile. Here's a third reason: BOOST, anyone? With the gain off on the V2, you can really boost your mids and shape your overall tone. The clean/tone-shaping boost offers a variety of options, and to my ears, was very clean.

SO... Having both a V1 and V2 can take you from Model G territory to BBOD-land and also to the edge of a CLIFF. They stack wonderfully because of the expanse EQ sections, and individually, they can cover a lot of ground. I certainly see myself using these two pedals as primary gain pedals on my pedalboard. The low-gain of V1 with the balls of V2 will allow me to get almost anywhere I need to go. I did not run them with my PGC, SBEQ or any other pedal, but I imagine those would only add to the goodness.

I look forward to plugging these into my Deluxe with a telecaster and a SG, but for now, I will be enjoying them through my AC30. They match that amp quite well to do everything I need.

If anyone has specific curiosities, please ask. I hope to post some sort of video/audio track if I can find the time.

Cheers.