>>> MODEL H Reasearch and Review Thread <<

[bjf-crazy]

First of all thanks to Donner for the catwalk drawing!! **Great idea**.......I have a model H , honey bee, sparkling yellow ,dyna red,emerald green,.......and will do a review soon,all of Bjorns pedals are winners!!!! I am going to stack pedals together to see what stack i like best, and also run some at 7.5-volts I will say this the model h sounds ---awesome Thanks Donner& Bjorn !!

[Cobra]

Sorry DocRock, I just saw your question...

I run 2 Z-28 combos in stereo, which use an EF86 front end, 12ax7 PI, two 6V6's for power, and a GZ34 recto... One has a Scumback 12" 75HP, the other has one Scumback 10" H, & one factory stock Dr.Z 10"...
The Z-28's sound like a brown Deluxe, & I set them up just on the cusp of breakup, & use pedals & stacks from there for gainier sounds...

I play Strat's & Tele's, so it's single coils for me, with the lone exception of a Firebird neck pickup in my homebuilt Tele. The Firebird neck sounds almost like a fender single coil anyway...

[nichcope]

Finally had a little free time today to play with the Model H. Wow, it is one sweet pedal. This pedal, more than just about any other pedal I've played, gave me that feeling of 'this is a tone that I've been looking for and now I've found it.' That is a great feeling to have! I love this pedal. On its own it sounds amazing and it stacks really well too. I ran CAF > H, SWF > H, and H > HB and all 3 stacks sounded incredible. I don't know how Bjorn comes up with this stuff, but I'm so glad that he does.

I was running strat > pedals > 5e3 clone with weber sig 12" alnico (dark sounding amp with early breakup) and had the pedal with all 3 knobs set to about 3 o'clock for most of the time. Haven't played it through a bright setup yet, but I'm sure with the H tone rolled back a bit, it would sound killer. I haven't given her the model a full workout yet, but did spin the knobs a bit and found the full range of the drive produced very great sounding tones. I didn't mess with the tone knob too much, just set it to match the guitar and amp I was using at the time and for this purpose the tone knob on the H got it done. I can't imagine that there's a rig out there that this pedal would not like.

Overall, this pedal is absolutely amazing! If you can get your hands on one, don't think twice, it's a lot more than alright...... it's a freakin' genius creation and I'm so stoked to have one! As for the R & D side of this one, in my opinion, don't change a thing, BJ got it very very very right. Thank you Donner and BJ!!!!!!!!!!

[voxdefiant]

UM. Just spent some time with the model H and wanted to do a short preview review. I'll do a more complete one another time.
I was playing a jazzmaster through a 100 watt marshall jubilee (Clean with input gain low) into a 1964 Vox AC50 cab.
I also tried it a couple of weeks ago into a small fender amp.
The model H is beautifully articulate. It is exceptionally interesting playing single notes and coming up with new runs and combinations. Open single notes sound SO GOOD.
Musical, TIGHT, strong, and clear notes emanate from the model H.
I previously owned a 1969 50 Watt Hiwatt head and the Model H gets me as close as I need to be to that sound.
The original 50 had a mind blowing thickness, tight bass, and clarity.
I need to crank up loud with Model H to fully remember and evaluate how they compare.
I believe that Jimmy Page has much HIWATT on LZ 3 eg. "out on the tiles" and the Model H really propelled me in that tone direction and then in a very creative direction coming up with some melodic lines that I really wouldn't have been inspired to play without the Model H. That is what is so nice about this pedal and Bjorn's design's in general, that they can introduce such appealing sounds which open up new musical doors and possibilities. The Model H has a very open sound and is opening in terms of musical consciousness.
What else might I say right now? Basically the Model H has a certain stiffness, ampy grit, and punch, that is not amp-like but rather sounds nearly identical to the real article. It has some similarities to the Honey Bee in that regard but is a very different animal. I believe it sounds closer to an amp than the DRD to my ears.
I tried lots of different settings on the pedal and enjoyed playing it in many different ways. surprisingly I loved it with the tone, and drive off, and the volume at 12 oclock. It really reminds me of my old amp, and I feel really fortunate to be able to play this pedal.
I'll have more later. If anyone has any questions I'd love to answer them or any feedback/criticism of what I've written could also help focus this post/thread.
Thanks Donner, Bjorn, and All!

[seans]

Model H landed today. Had a couple of hours with it this evening. Played a Tele through PGC>H>Echoczar>Triad>AC15TBR. I am stunned. Gobsmacked. Like nicope - this is the sound I've been looking for. I've never tried a Hiwat so can't compare. But now I have this I probably don't need to! He he. A solid meaty tone. Very, very tasty. Dripping with texture. Like many BJFs it has a fat arse. The Tone and Drive knobs are more dramatic than other BJFs I have tried. The tone knob effects the mids and treble - full up gives quite a boost. Awesome. The Drive knob is different too. Drive stays the same distortion-wise but it controls the depth to my ears. The two controls react together in a unique BJ way. Can't put the guitar down. Even playing as I write. Mates are coming round soon and I have to prepare a red Thai curry! Oh well. It'll have to be late! He he. Sorry, back to the H - No matter what you do the meaty drive is there. It does clean up really nicely when turning down the guitar volume knob. Tried it through a HB - fantastic - and to a SWF - fantastic. I am a very happy man with great tones at my feet. What would I change? Nothing! Thans BJ, thanks Don.

[mills]

Well, after about three weeks with the pedal sitting beside me, but no amp to plug into... I finally got to give the model H a test drive this afternoon.

First thoughts are about what I expected. Sounds great, has that grainy, rough distortion character that I was looking for, and responds well to a boost or cut out front. The tone knob is going to take some time to get familiar with though. Wasn't a hige fan of the few stacks that I tried... so far, the pedal has worked best on its own (or with the PGC)... but i still have some stacks to pla around with.

I accidentally had left the tweeter on my 12" bass cab (that's inches right?) and the pedal still sounded great. Lots of treble, but it wasn't harsh or irritating. So, when I turned the tweeter down everything felt muffled for a while and it was tough to get a good impression of the sound.

I definately need some more time to play with it and get used to the nuances before I do any serious review posting, but it'll come once I'm a little more familiar with the pedal.

[Donner]

cool mills,,,

just to be sure -- was this with a guitar or bass and did you try it the other way,,, not sure if we've had a bass review on the H yet.....

[mills]

cool mills,,,

just to be sure -- was this with a guitar or bass and did you try it the other way,,, not sure if we've had a bass review on the H yet.....

Mostly used the bass, but gave it a decent go on the guitar too. The bass distortion is the closest I've found to the sound in my head, and at the quieter levels I tried the lows were mostly there. That part might change with some more playing, but for now its actually good enough that I can see myself subbing it in for my blueberry at times when I want a grittier, more biting OD or distortion. I think that so far, what puts the H ahead of the other pedals I'd tried is that it seems to keep the lows sort of natural or neutral... everything else seems to either bump the lows up unnaturally, or cut them out just a little too much. Not necessarily a deal breaker, but the H seems to have found some middle ground. I really hope that more time with it doesn't change my mind about that.

The big test left to see if it'll ever get some of my board space is how it sounds with a wooley mammoth into it, and/or a filter before or after.

Once I get more used to it I'll be more in depth for both instruments, but for now any impressions on guitar should probably wait. If I can ever find the time between moving and school I'll try and get a clip made with the review.

[voxdefiant]

Used Model H at a practice yesterday evening into a friend Mesa 400 head and Mesa 410 Cab with my early 70's telecaster bass. It sounded truly amazing. I am so impressed. I also used a BPB after it, pretty much all the time, and a RRB before it sometimes when I wanted more feedback, harmonics, and nastiness. I am so inarticulate but it bites, and is warm, thick simultaneously, and it sounds so REAL, not fakey. It is very inspiring. The notes are still very defined, and clear, and retain bass but there is grit, a good amount of overdrive, and thick character. I seriously love the Model H.
what is the future of the Model H? will it become a production pedal? I truly hope so.

[Donner]

I do remember when I was playing bass alot more that the 3BOD sounded the best thru a Trace Tube amp , it really melded with and sounded as natural as the tubes wereas some distortions I tried kind of fell apart..... the BPB with bass is interesting as it is also built to break up warmly if pushed hard enough like a tube boost would ....so yeah that should be an excellent trio with the RRB too....

The H like all the custom stuff begins as a research project for Bjorn,,, and it could go anywhere from there depending on need and want etc... it could be converted to an orderable standard BJF , or reworked into an MP model , or stay a customshopper , or be morphed into something else........thats kind of the fun part ~ there is no set plan, BJs not even sure what path he will take --- thats research.