Got to admit it - I don´t really like MP dirt pedals.

[foo_3001]

Even I wanted to, I don´t think they´re the holy grail or whatever.

They´re good, better than most pedals, but not worth the price tag they have IMHO. Tried the SHOD, LGW and SBOD, own the FRF. They all share the same sort of "graininess" in the upper treble, which you can´t dial out. They´re probably going for the SRV-type treble-y sound that you usually get with your amp on 10 - but I think it doesn´t quite work. Also, the LGW and SHOD have some raspiness in the lower midrange aswell, which I didn´t like with my amps.

After quite a lot of testing these pedals, I still think the FGC is the one pedal to get from the MP line. It´s the best compressor I´ve ever tried.

[jhumber]

My favourite is the MRD - seemingly the only one you haven't tried ;-)

[foo_3001]

My favourite is the MRD - seemingly the only one you haven't tried ;-)

Yep, I skipped it because I´m not after the kind of tone that it´s advertised to have. The SHOD, LGW and SBOD on the other hand all sounded perfect by their description / in some YouTube-videos but they kinda disappointed me when tried for real.

[thesjkexperienc]

I have only tried the SHOD and didnt like it anywhere near as much as I LOVE my BJFe HoneyBee and EGDM. I should have a Dyna Red arrive today!

[jdandry]

I just got a LGW on loan from a friend, I have a gig tonight and will try it out. I'll be using it for a lead boost into a overdriven amp. I'll post back with my findings.

[alguit]

Well, I think MANY pedals are overhyped, for a number of reasons.

Still, I own a SHOD and love it! And the tonal qualities one person mentioned in terms of the top end and a raspiness I just don't hear with my setup.

I think people always need to be clear on what guitars they're plugging into pedals and then what amps-I've used mine with a Strat and a Heritagle LP-style guitar into a Matchless Lightning and a Budda Twinmaster, and I got a rich, touch-sensitive overdrive that made me very happy.

This is the world of pedals, though-has there ever been one on which we all agree?

[foo_3001]

I think people always need to be clear on what guitars they're plugging into pedals and then what amps-I've used mine with a Strat and a Heritagle LP-style guitar into a Matchless Lightning and a Budda Twinmaster, and I got a rich, touch-sensitive overdrive that made me very happy.

You´re absolutely right - I forgot to write that I only tried the pedals with a ´76 Vibrolux, a 5w el84 - type amp and a mid 70´s Princeton. I should probably have tried them with my 65 London aswell. Guitars used were a strat and a LP.

Now that You said it, I think that they would work better with Matchless/badCat-style amps which have the uppest treble in their sound anyway. I think the treble in the pedals didn´t just work with Fender-voiced amps.

[csills]

what is this pedal we arent talking about? cant find MP anywhere?

[jhumber]

Sorry, there's alot of gearpage acronyms flying around here.....

MP = Mad Professor
LGW = Little Green Wonder
SHOD = Sweet Honey Overdrive
SBOD = Sky Blue Overdrive
FRF = Fire Red Fuzz
EGDM = Emerald Green Distortion Machine

[DC_injektilo]

agreed...

i've had the SBOD, LGW and FRF. not impressed. perhaps its guitar/amp combo. even the deep blue delay i wasn't as in love with as i thought i would be... though that was a good pedal.

[sutherland]

I own several MP pedals, love every single one of them. The SBOD is one of the hardest overdrives to figure out, but...the way it gooses up the MRD and my amp....incredible!

[foo_3001]

Sorry, there's alot of gearpage acronyms flying around here.....

MP = Mad Professor
LGW = Little Green Wonder
SHOD = Sweet Honey Overdrive
SBOD = Sky Blue Overdrive
FRF = Fire Red Fuzz
EGDM = Emerald Green Distortion Machine

..add FGC = Forest Green Compressor.

[supersonic1414]

and MRD- Mighty Red Distortion.

I love the MP pedals, as they work great with my Sommatone, Swart and Sonic Machine Factory Amps

[esoteric pete]

i only have the DBD but i love that thing...i got it because i run my board strait ibto the amp and the DBD is good for that sort of thing.

[Trotter]

I find the SBOD very impressive... really more of a distortion than an OD though.

[thesjkexperienc]

I have a vintage style Stratocaster into a 5e3 w/Blue and a Swart AST PRO. I wasnt saying the SHOD was bad it is just that I love the HoneyBee more as it sags like a tweed and the SHOD is a harder/more headroom sound.

I also found that the MP and BJFe take time to learn as they are very different from other pedals. You can change them drastically by running different voltages. For example I run my HoneyBee at 7.5 volts for a richer saggier tone, but if you run it at 12 volts it starts sounding like a SHOD. I am still trying to decide whether my EGDM likes 9 or 12 volts.

I have a Dyna Red coming today and I was told that you can run it down to 5 volts! Less volts means more distortion and more sag while higher volts means less distortion and less sag.

I think of all the pedals I have read about the people who sell their BJFe pedals miss them the most because they realize they didnt spend the time to learn them as it does take time just as a good 5e3 takes time to learn. They look simple, but there are many tones inside. By far the most amp-like pedals out there!

[coldfingaz]

I have only tried the SHOD and didnt like it anywhere near as much as I LOVE my BJFe HoneyBee and EGDM. I should have a Dyna Red arrive today!

If you love those other 2, you're also gonna really dig the DRD! I've got all 3 & don't ever plan to let any of them go.

Try the EGDM at 18 volts sometime!

[lukeII]

They are expensive but since I got the LGW and SHOD I've sold a bunch pedals that never quite got me there sonically. These are my two main pedals and they both sound like another channel on my amp (quality stuff whether you like the tone or not). I did sell the MRD as it just wasn't my thing but it does that modern compressed 80s distortion extremely well for a pedal.

[aarondavis]

foo_3001, did you read the rules? #1 Rule of TGP is that you *must* like all BJF pedals. I've filed a formal complaint to have you removed from the forum...:mob

***JUST KIDDING!****

;)

I still find them to be the most musical dirt boxes *on the planet* at any price. I think they're beauty lies in how *non* earth shattering they are. They just meld so well with your amp. Especially at live volume levels. Well, the "T" style tone controls he uses are quite unique to the guitar pedal world.

Although.... my $99 Barber Dirty Bomb certainly hangs with my Dyna Red Distortion in a lot of ways. Actually, for different reasons I think the DB is just as cool as the DRD. That's for a different thread though, huh?

[NeilYoungFan]

I currently own the SHOD and have owned/used LGW-DBD-Honey Bee. All excellent pedals in my opinion...

[SuperReverb2]

I was a little underwhelmed with the MP and BJFE pedals I tried as well. From the MP side I tried the Little Green Wonder, Sweet Honey OD, and the Sky Blue OD. From the BJFE side I tried the Honey Bee. ALL were great sounding pedals. VERY amp like, very dynamic, and very harmonically rich. I think (in my case) was the fact that I already had some pedals that I really liked, and although I really liked the MP - BJFE pedals, they didn't knock me out enough to justify a change on my pedal board.

The MP - BJFE pedals are really good, but in today's "boutique" world there are a LOT of REALLY good sounding/feeling pedals out there. Lot's to choose from. In my case, I just chose something else.

:)

[drod2045]

way too many acronyms

[El3ktra]

I have a vintage style Stratocaster into a 5e3 w/Blue and a Swart AST PRO. I wasnt saying the SHOD was bad it is just that I love the HoneyBee more as it sags like a tweed and the SHOD is a harder/more headroom sound.

I also found that the MP and BJFe take time to learn as they are very different from other pedals. You can change them drastically by running different voltages. For example I run my HoneyBee at 7.5 volts for a richer saggier tone, but if you run it at 12 volts it starts sounding like a SHOD. I am still trying to decide whether my EGDM likes 9 or 12 volts.

I have a Dyna Red coming today and I was told that you can run it down to 5 volts! Less volts means more distortion and more sag while higher volts means less distortion and less sag.

I think of all the pedals I have read about the people who sell their BJFe pedals miss them the most because they realize they didnt spend the time to learn them as it does take time just as a good 5e3 takes time to learn. They look simple, but there are many tones inside. By far the most amp-like pedals out there!

That comment about the voltage is absolutely right. when it put a brand new battery in my Honey Bee, it didn't sound the same, had to really hit it hard to get some drive. i even thought it was broken as i was not getting that saggy crunch (yum..) anymore. I don't like the Honey Bee with too much voltage i think.

I also have the EGDM but haven't noticed as much difference yet. I might get one of those power supply with voltage control. wich one are you using for that purpose? i heard the Burkey Flatliner is better to emulate dying batteries because of the added resistance control.

Btw, i almost have the same setup as you except for the guitar, a gibson custom 54 with p90 running into a victoria 20112 (5e3), i also have the D*A*M red rooster (wich i think you also own) and those pedals are the best one i've tried so far with the victoria (and i've tried a bunch).

Let me know how you like the DRD when you get it, and how it works with the 5e3.

[CitizenAudio]

I was really impressed with the Sky Blue overdrive when I briefly had it. It wasn't my tone but the pedal was very responsive and 3D sounding.

I agree when you put over 300 dollars in a pedal, it is a lot to sacrifice for flavor and can turn you off the pedal. I have mad respects for Bjorn's work and he is truly a genius.

[jazzandmetal?]

The EGDM is the unsung hero of the BJF line IMO.

[thesjkexperienc]

If you love those other 2, you're also gonna really dig the DRD! I've got all 3 & don't ever plan to let any of them go.

Try the EGDM at 18 volts sometime!

I just got done experimenting and seem to like my HB at 8.5 volts and EGDM at 12 for cleaner sound. I only run the distortion about 10 12 o'clock. I suspect I will do the same with the DRD as I am not so much a high gain player, but like the different flavors the pedals provide.

I wonder if the original poster is hearing harmonics on the upper strings that cheaper boxes like the OCD dont have on the plain strings. I did really think the Greer Ghetto Stomp was a possible substitute for the HoneyBee, but it wasnt as versatile with MY setup. The OCD always sounds like a box to me, but I am considering keeping the one I just bought for blues jams when you need just one pedal, but it still depends on how the DRD sounds.

[supersonic1414]

"I might get one of those power supply with voltage control. wich one are you using for that purpose? i heard the Burkey Flatliner is better to emulate dying batteries because of the added resistance control."

Can anyone chime in on voltage control power supplys and the Burkey? I am not familiar and think it may be something useful for my BFJE peds...

[nibus]

I haven't tried all of them, but the LGW does have that 'grainy treble' sound going on, and its why I got rid of it in the end. If it had a Treble knob I think it would be great...

My favorite from the MP line is the MEllow Yellow Trem. But I've tried most of them and I didn't think the majority were worth the price tag.

BJF's are really in a different league though.

[thesjkexperienc]

I haven't tried all of them, but the LGW does have that 'grainy treble' sound going on, and its why I got rid of it in the end. If it had a Treble knob I think it would be great...

My favorite from the MP line is the MEllow Yellow Trem. But I've tried most of them and I didn't think the majority were worth the price tag.

BJF's are really in a different league though.

Would you consider the LGW to be more or less grainy than a Timmy?

[jazzandmetal?]

Would you consider the LGW to be more or less grainy than a Timmy?

I have had whole grain bread that is less grainy than the Timmy.:)


IMO the LGW is less grainy than the Timmy is.

[dsmc80]

So what is the deal with the BJFE pedals? Are they just pre Mad Professor? They all are Bjorn Juhl designs right? I'm lost....

[supersonic1414]

Qctually BJFE are the ones that Bjorn handmakes himself and are only available in a couple of stores in Europe...All with long waiting lists.

Mad Professor is a line that Bjorn has designed himself, but are not built by him. He did this to increase production and make them more readily available around the world.

[dsmc80]

I see. Thanks.

[foo_3001]

The MP - BJFE pedals are really good, but in today's "boutique" world there are a LOT of REALLY good sounding/feeling pedals out there. Lot's to choose from. In my case, I just chose something else.

This. The Mad Professor stuff IS excellent - no compressor could be better than their Forest Green is, and all the pedals are very good.

But still, when A/B :ing the dirt boxes, I found my Eternity better than the LGW - even though there is a little loss of bass and overall TS "masked-ness" with the E. And I liked the LGW basic tone better than the SHOD. The SBOD was kinda strange, it must be great for lead work but it´s somehow loose and, well, the gain structure is kindof grainy on the lower strings.

Just my opinion, of course. But I know what I´m after from a dirt box - if the SBOD had a little more firm low end it would be perfect. I´m after a mid-gainer, with open-ness (no TS variants, please) and focused low end. Seems pretty hard to find, been through a Box of Rock, Distortron and CarlMartin Plexitone and the BB Preamp..

[Scottone]

They are expensive but since I got the LGW and SHOD I've sold a bunch pedals that never quite got me there sonically. These are my two main pedals and they both sound like another channel on my amp (quality stuff whether you like the tone or not). I did sell the MRD as it just wasn't my thing but it does that modern compressed 80s distortion extremely well for a pedal.

I love my LGW and have a SHOD on the way. Looking forward to having them both available on my board.

[aarondavis]

This. The Mad Professor stuff IS excellent - no compressor could be better than their Forest Green is, and all the pedals are very good.

But still, when A/B :ing the dirt boxes, I found my Eternity better than the LGW - even though there is a little loss of bass and overall TS "masked-ness" with the E. And I liked the LGW basic tone better than the SHOD. The SBOD was kinda strange, it must be great for lead work but it´s somehow loose and, well, the gain structure is kindof grainy on the lower strings.

Just my opinion, of course. But I know what I´m after from a dirt box - if the SBOD had a little more firm low end it would be perfect. I´m after a mid-gainer, with open-ness (no TS variants, please) and focused low end. Seems pretty hard to find, been through a Box of Rock, Distortron and CarlMartin Plexitone and the BB Preamp..

I agree, I like my Eternity better than the LGW. But it's cause the Eternity keeps more of the TS flavor. It's the compression, midrange and upper end bite that makes the Eternity so cool IMO.

I'm serious... sounds like you want a BFF Dyna Red Distortion to cover your "mid-gainer" sound. Stock, the Dyna Red Distortion has an EQ curve *similar* to the Eternity, but with a bit more bass, and really none the "cleanish" OD sound that the Eternity has. The DRD does *amazing* low gain to medium gain sounds.

[thesjkexperienc]

That comment about the voltage is absolutely right. when it put a brand new battery in my Honey Bee, it didn't sound the same, had to really hit it hard to get some drive. i even thought it was broken as i was not getting that saggy crunch (yum..) anymore. I don't like the Honey Bee with too much voltage i think.

I also have the EGDM but haven't noticed as much difference yet. I might get one of those power supply with voltage control. wich one are you using for that purpose? i heard the Burkey Flatliner is better to emulate dying batteries because of the added resistance control.

Btw, i almost have the same setup as you except for the guitar, a gibson custom 54 with p90 running into a victoria 20112 (5e3), i also have the D*A*M red rooster (wich i think you also own) and those pedals are the best one i've tried so far with the victoria (and i've tried a bunch).

Let me know how you like the DRD when you get it, and how it works with the 5e3.

I have had two days with the DRD and at first liked it at 12 volts, but am now running it at about 7.8 volts for a bit of bounce. I run the Drive between 11 and 1:30, but found down at 6 volts it didnt sound as amp like as it does between 7.5 and 9 volts.

I still like the EGDM at 12 volts (this is with a VooDoo PP2+) and would also say that I like it better than the DRD. Not that I dislike the DRD it is just the EGDM turns my Victoria w/blue and Swart AST PRO into a Vox, and the Voice knob allows greater adaptability to each amp and volume. But, I have never been a great fan of Marshall in a box thingies. It would be nice to try a DRD that had a Voice knob instead of just the treble knob.

I do like the DRD with the Rooster going into it. I have been comparing lots of OD pedals lately and the BJFe pedals are by far the most versatile and stackable of any of the brands. The other thing about the DRD is it is NOT a bedroom pedal, but at 4 on the 5e3 it really starts working. The OCD v4 I was comparing it to really started to fail at that point and the OCD does not like to have the Sunface or Rooster going into it.

I also agree the Rooster is the best! I tried a lot of them and the Range knob just makes it so much more versatile and then it is so quiet verses other treble boosters. It is the only pedal I have two of and am on the list to get another. The new ones dont have LEDs and are using nos Mullard transistors. Should be fun!

[sutherland]

I agree, I like my Eternity better than the LGW. But it's cause the Eternity keeps more of the TS flavor. It's the compression, midrange and upper end bite that makes the Eternity so cool IMO.

I'm serious... sounds like you want a BFF Dyna Red Distortion to cover your "mid-gainer" sound. Stock, the Dyna Red Distortion has an EQ curve *similar* to the Eternity, but with a bit more bass, and really none the "cleanish" OD sound that the Eternity has. The DRD does *amazing* low gain to medium gain sounds.

Never tried an Eternity! I love my LGW, it killed off all three of the Xotic trio. I'm a huge 808 fanatic...the LGW sounds nothing like one.

[kenoflife]

Been thru a few of BJFE and MP dirt pedals -
started with the EGDM and HBOD, then tried the CAF, RRB, LGW, and then also the PPF.(gotta love the acronymns). Loved them all -an interesting process and I feel blessed that my ears were able to wrap around them. Sometime I'll have to get the CAF again.

In the end I only kept the Honeybee for a couple of years and loved its amplike
response, especially in conjunction with a Klon.

But then I got the Kingsley Jester (gotta testify) for not much more than the
BJFE go for used - and this actually IS a tube amp front-end in a pedal. And there's no
going back. So while I appreciate the BJF line - still love using my PGC compressor and the DBD -
I find that for dirt they seem like very flavorful pedals with a certain similar character that I'm not sure I can put words to.