Transparent pedals comparison

[Aelred]

I read a Tranparent OD thread and am now GASing for a Honey Bee - but the store that used to stock BAT pedals and BJFE, Mad Professor and Bearfoot no longer stocks them. A few One Control mini's on Sale, though. Another store has full size One Control Honey and Silver. EDIT: scratch that - they have an Apricot online and the Bees listed but not available to order. I can order a Logonberry, Rasperry, Cranberry, Blackberry - or a Purple Humper.

The curse of Gear Forums! It shouldn't be a surprise, since the blurb says its based on a 5 watt Supro.

@newpedals plays... a 5 watt Supro, from memory.

 

[Desertdweller]

Still the ultimate in transparent pedals

 

[Funk Soul Brother]

I dig the Bjorn's Honey Bee too, but it's hardly a "transparent" type of pedal, due to a lot of filtering happening...

Also, avoid clones, tuning/tweaking them properly is an *art* ~ Every clone I've tried *FAILED* to = BFJ/Bearfoot's note decay + low self-noise character, due to builders not knowing the proper, *secret* recipe ~ Same issue affects other boutique designs, like the D*A*M Titan

Similar missed-the-mark issues also hold true with most *vintage* fuzzer clones, even "reputable" builders like Seeker *often* turn out turds...

 

[newpedals]

I read a Tranparent OD thread and am now GASing for a Honey Bee - but the store that used to stock BAT pedals and BJFE, Mad Professor and Bearfoot no longer stocks them. A few One Control mini's on Sale, though. Another store has full size One Control Honey and Silver. EDIT: scratch that - they have an Apricot online and the Bees listed but not available to order. I can order a Logonberry, Rasperry, Cranberry, Blackberry - or a Purple Humper.

The curse of Gear Forums! It shouldn't be a surprise, since the blurb says its based on a 5 watt Supro.

@newpedals plays... a 5 watt Supro, from memory.

Me and my friend tried the abovementioned pedals at a friend's place, taking turns to play. She has a Blues Junior.

 

[newpedals]

"Hi, my name is Brianna. I am a gear addict."

People at GAA: "Hi! Brianna!"

"I take breaks from practicing to constantly look at demos of 4000$ turquoise telecasters and 10000$ dumble clones. But I can't afford them, so I only waste precious practice time looking at the videos. I still understand that I need help."

Sponsor: "We have all been there. You are welcome at Gear Addicts Anonymous. Please try our 0.5 mm thick pick-shaped Nachos after your share."

Jokes apart, 12-step programs do help. I had enrolled into one for an addiction when I needed help.

 

[the swede]

I dig the Bjorn's Honey Bee too, but it's hardly a "transparent" type of pedal, due to a lot of filtering happening...

I agree, the original Honey Bee didn't have the separated Bass/Treble knobs i believe. The One Control version is probably easier to tweak.
Not saying the Honey Bee 4k is transparent, but its possible to tweak it (low gain) with the EQ to sound transparent and "invisible". In the One Control version, the "amp" to my ears is in the Gain and Bass knob mostly. The bass knob has gain entering, and starts to clip/distort the low end from about 70%. Sounds totally wicked having gain low and bass high. I guess the exploding Supro enters there. Bass/Treble seems very integral to the circuit gain and character wize, and not just the typical standard bass/treble adjusmtent.

The Modern/Vintage switch changes the pedal from cleaner and flat with alot of low retainment, to a low mid/mid push and also more clipping/distortion.

 

[king_wombat]

Barber gain changer. I have this, a Timmy, mad prof sweet honey (deluxe I think). Decibelics golden horse, nobels odr2 mini.

Itheyre all good but the gain changer is simply glorious and covers pretty much all the ground you’ll need for an overdrive pedal.

 

[the swede]

Barber gain changer. I have this, a Timmy, mad prof sweet honey (deluxe I think). Decibelics golden horse, nobels odr2 mini.

Itheyre all good but the gain changer is simply glorious and covers pretty much all the ground you’ll need for an overdrive pedal.

I agree that the GC is very good, i kinda like it more in its high gain mode as a light distortion, more than a low gain drive. And the eq switch offers good variation.
Only downside in my setup is that I didn’t got along with the tone knob and its voicing when used as a low gain drive. It has a certain high mid metallic voice, that I guess either fits like a glove or doesnt play well at all, depending on the setup.

 

[Eagle]

If we are not talking originals only and in a very specific context how can we have this discussion.
Different combinations of different gear and different clone's is going to vary a lot.

 

[newpedals]

If we are not talking originals only and in a very specific context how can we have this discussion.
Different combinations of different gear and different clone's is going to vary a lot.

Basically when I name a circuit, I mean any clone which you have used or have tried.

I am aware of unobtainium prices of OGs on the used marketplaces, from Marshall Bluesbreakers to Klones.

I know that which gear works is basically about combination.

Just asking questions in general.

 

[Eagle]

Basically when I name a circuit, I mean any clone which you have used or have tried.

I am aware of unobtainium prices of OGs on the used marketplaces, from Marshall Bluesbreakers to Klones.

I know that which gear works is basically about combination.

Just asking questions in general.

Fair but clones are rarely the same.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

im salivating over a One Control Honey Bee 4K right now, arrived today.
I don't know what to say, it's awesome.... instant love, perfection.... quality!

I think the story is somewhat complicated, but luckily Björn always has pushed for availability wether its by Mad Professor, Bearfoot, BJFE, One Control.... his designs is all over and prices have gone up and down depending on hype or his relationship with manufacturers (I think). I know the people at OC worships him and he seem to have been able to do everything he wanted through them, including taking care of his own designs and further develop them.

must say... the Honey Bee is awesome stuff. By far the best drive pedal I´ve laid my hands on. People praise the Barber Gain Changer (wich I also have) but damn.... if this Honey Bee stuff isn't a notch up in terms of "feel" and dynamics. Brilliant stuff indeed.

How are you getting on with the honey bee now? This thread prompted me to dig mine out of pedal mountain for a blast. Really loving it tbh and might build a new one to reflect my current tastes. I was never very happy with how my last one turned out (cosmetically not sonically).

 

[the swede]

How are you getting on with the honey bee now? This thread prompted me to dig mine out of pedal mountain for a blast. Really loving it tbh and might build a new one to reflect my current tastes. I was never very happy with how my last one turned out (cosmetically not sonically).

I really like it. It has so many ”sides” to it and i like that there’s no bad sound. I think i will settle with it on a setting where it’s transparent and cleanish when strumming lightly and go into crunch when i hit the strings hard (on single coil neck pickup), switching to bridge (mini hb) gives more crunch/distortion.

Imo that’s where the pedal shines, with the dynamics.

So, so far, bass and treble is set neutral, but i really like how they made the bass knob introduce clipping and presence in the lows, so that’s also interesting for cleaner sounds.

I’m considering getting the silver bee also… more like toying with the idea. The pedal board Tetris game is difficult

 

[newpedals]

I really like it. It has so many ”sides” to it and i like that there’s no bad sound. I think i will settle with it on a setting where it’s transparent and cleanish when strumming lightly and go into crunch when i hit the strings hard (on single coil neck pickup), switching to bridge (mini hb) gives more crunch/distortion.

Imo that’s where the pedal shines, with the dynamics.

So, so far, bass and treble is set neutral, but i really like how they made the bass knob introduce clipping and presence in the lows, so that’s also interesting for cleaner sounds.

I’m considering getting the silver bee also… more like toying with the idea. The pedal board Tetris game is difficult

I don't know about this pedal but friend of a friend makes a tubescreamer clone with a 2 band EQ. I got to play it once long time ago, and if the bass knob was turned past 1'o clock which added bass, it introduced a farty/ fuzzy character to the sound.

He also had a better clone at his home which could be run at 18v and it did not have this issue in it according to him. I don't know the technical aspects of it, but it's interesting.

I am guessing your honey bee pedal may or may not be producing similar sounds. When I played the wampler triumph, I found that the mids knob played crucial part in fine tuning the sound.

Pedals are fun.

 

[the swede]

I don't know about this pedal but friend of a friend makes a tubescreamer clone with a 2 band EQ. I got to play it once long time ago, and if the bass knob was turned past 1'o clock which added bass, it introduced a farty/ fuzzy character to the sound.

I am guessing your honey bee pedal may or may not be producing similar sounds. When I played the wampler triumph, I found that the mids knob played crucial part in fine tuning the sound.

Pedals are fun.

I don’t think there’s much similarity no. I do think its pretty common that “standard” low and high adjustments fart out as you say, or highs to become to shrill. This varies alot from pedal to pedal, there’s really no standard I believe. It’s just about what a pedal maker wants to do and how much work they put into it.

As for the Honey Bee, my analysis is that there’s always an amount of lows available, as if the low knob is Q’ed for a specific range, so if i cut lows i can hear that the lows are pertained but something happens in the low mids. If increased i hear a gain/level increase in the low mids but the lowest lows remain kinda solid. Pushing the lows past 75% seem to add level into the gain circuit itself, hence a perceived increase of clipping/crunch/distortion in the lows.
The same applies to the treble knob, it doesn’t get shrill at 100% and doesn’t really cut off the highs at 0%. It adds or subtracts something else. So between them there’s alot of variation to be found.

But, the HB is purposely built to be a “amp in a box” so my conclusion is there’s more design and work behind the knobs than just a “standard” low/high pass filter.