Mad professor blueberry bass overdrive - in a live mix

[Osiris]

I'm looking for a low gain, vintage sounding drive pedal. From hours of searching online and watching YouTube clips (yeah, I know) the MP blueberry sounds like it will deliver the tone I'm looking for - think warm, rounded 70's tone, nothing too bright and definitely not fizzy or fuzzy.

Anyone used one in a band situation?
How does it cut through the mix?
Is there any loss of the low end?

If I end up getting one, it'll be on for about half a gigs worth of the set so I need it not to lose any bottom end so that it compliments my clean sound - my eq is generally set flat with only small adjustments made to suit the room if need be. I've a variety of basses and usually play passive on the neck pup almost exclusively using finger style through a single 2 x 12 cab.

Edited February 5, 2017 by Osiris

[lee650]

Ive been getting good results from my EHX Soul Food. Low gain overdrive with a clean blend,not very expensive either.i do find it has a bit of a boost in the high mids,but that works great for cutting through 😀

[dannybuoy]

I would go for the Bearfoot version. It has legions of fans including myself, whereas the general consensus of the Mad Professor version is 'meh'.

[Bigwan]

BJFE blueberry (or Bearfoot version as Danny suggests - slightly different feedback/tone circuit topology). The Mad Professor version is higher gain than either and does get into fuzzy territory.

[ratman]

I found the Mad Professor Blueberry to be too thin sounding for my liking, it was quite a let down when I got it. I much preferred the darker sound of the Bearfoot (with the Nature knob around 9-10 o'clock), but I needed to put it in a blendable loop to help retain some note definition.

[Osiris]

Cheers guys, I'll look into the Bearfoot.

Bigwan, you mentioned in another thread about a [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]pedalparts clone of the Bluberry (presumably the original BJFE one?[/font][/color]
[font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Is that the one you have? If it is, how do you get on with it? Would it meet my needs as in the first post? [/color][/font]

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='ratman' timestamp='1486381794' post='3231208']
I found the Mad Professor Blueberry to be too thin sounding for my liking, it was quite a let down when I got it. I much preferred the darker sound of the Bearfoot (with the Nature knob around 9-10 o'clock), but I needed to put it in a blendable loop to help retain some note definition.
[/quote]

I run mine about 2 o'clock and it's perfect for me. Still not a great deal of high mids, but then again I have other pedals to put in play if I want a brighter sound!

[lee650]

[quote name='lee650' timestamp='1486292926' post='3230566']
Ive been getting good results from my EHX Soul Food. Low gain overdrive with a clean blend,not very expensive either.i do find it has a bit of a boost in the high mids,but that works great for cutting through 😀
[/quote]

Yeah I want to replace the Soul food with a bearfoot blueberry or perhaps a hookers green bass machine. How does the green and blueberry compare? As ive heard they are similar😀

Edited February 6, 2017 by lee650

[ben4343]

I have spent the last goodness knows how long hankering after exactly what you describe, and having tried and not got on with a Darkglass Vintage Microtubes, I was sure I wanted a Bearfoot Blueberry, but was always too scared to commit without trying one. And then managed to try one, and was pretty underwhelmed. It just wasn't as interesting as I had hoped. Dark is right, and to me it got kind of buzzy and lost clarity.

Fortunately, I was with an extremely knowledgable chap who was able to suggest several alternatives, and I ended up leaving with a Jasmine Boost by Faceless FX, which I had never heard of before, and is pretty subtle below D, but is just mind blowing from there on out. So thick and full, with a little bit of grind.

I definitely think you should try whatever it is before you buy, preferably with your rig (easier said than done I know...).

I have taken a punt on a Soda Drive from RayGun effects; it seems like a lot of pedal for your money, but hasn't arrived yet. And would love to try a HG Bass Machine, they sound huge!!

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='lee650' timestamp='1486403956' post='3231523']


Yeah I want to replace the Soul food with a bearfoot blueberry or perhaps a hookers green bass machine. How does the green and blueberry compare? As ive heard they are similar😀
[/quote]

They are similar but I would take the Blueberry all day every day. Better low end retention and more depth/character to the drive and the way it responds to your playing.

[dannybuoy]

The Blueberry is kinda dark and muffled compared to a lot of other pedals. But it's the closest thing I've found to copping the sound of playing through a big cranked tube amp, I just love the way it compresses and growls when you dig in. It's hard to find that in a pedal.

For brighter more aggressive sounds I turn to a Two Notes Le Bass or Pike Vulcan.

[Bigwan]

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1486384914' post='3231259']
Cheers guys, I'll look into the Bearfoot.

Bigwan, you mentioned in another thread about a [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]pedalparts clone of the Bluberry (presumably the original BJFE one?[/font][/color]
[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828]Is that the one you have? If it is, how do you get on with it? Would it meet my needs as in the first post? [/color][/font]
[/quote]

Yes it's one of the older style pedalparts kits that I hacked to BJFE specs. The kit has been updated so no hacking is now required, although I'm not sure if it's the Bearfoot or BJFE versions you can build with it.

As Danny has said the standard BJFE is a little dark for my tastes (nothing a little EQ wouldn't fix) but being the tinkerer I am I made a few mods suggested by Josh Broughton (from that other bass forum) which brightened it up and made it a much more flexible pedal. As standard it's great, but the modded version is even better. I'd been meaning to get back to fiddling with the pedal and putting it in a bigger enclosure to allow me to add a few switching options and make the tone control a little more usable (a little nudge makes a huge difference and all the really nice sounds are between 9 and 2 o'clock), but I haven't got around to it just yet.

Stacking my Blueberry clone and an Ashdown Lomemzo Hyperdrive makes for a really flexible drive section.

Edited February 7, 2017 by Bigwan

[No lust in Jazz]

Creation audio - Grizzly Bass creates the kind of sounds that you describe.

[Osiris]

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1486461961' post='3231913']
Yes it's one of the older style pedalparts kits that I hacked to BJFE specs. The kit has been updated so no hacking is now required, although I'm not sure if it's the Bearfoot or BJFE versions you can build with it.

As Danny has said the standard BJFE is a little dark for my tastes (nothing a little EQ wouldn't fix) but being the tinkerer I am I made a few mods suggested by Josh Broughton (from that other bass forum) which brightened it up and made it a much more flexible pedal. As standard it's great, but the modded version is even better. I'd been meaning to get back to fiddling with the pedal and putting it in a bigger enclosure to allow me to add a few switching options and make the tone control a little more usable (a little nudge makes a huge difference and all the really nice sounds are between 9 and 2 o'clock), but I haven't got around to it just yet.

Stacking my Blueberry clone and an Ashdown Lomemzo Hyperdrive makes for a really flexible drive section.
[/quote]

The Bearfoot sounds really good and more like it could be the better option for what I want, although I do still quite like the lower gain tones from the Mad Professor version even if they're a bit higher gain that I think would be usable with my band.
Can't seem to find any Bearfoot versions in stock in the UK though but there are plenty to get from the states, but allowing for import duty it's going to be around the £200 mark.
I'm going to give the pedalparts boutique clone some serious thought which if you buy pre-built comes in at just under a ton - I'm no electronics engineer and have no previous pedal building experience so I'd rather pay to have it built properly than risk making a mess of it myself

[quote name='No lust in Jazz' timestamp='1486463430' post='3231945']
Creation audio - Grizzly Bass creates the kind of sounds that you describe.
[/quote]

That also sounds like the sort of thing I'm looking for, cheers!

Ben4343, can't find out much about the [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Jasmine Boost by Faceless FX online, where did you get it from? [/font][/color]

[ben4343]

I got it from Joe's Pedals. The guy is a hero and a total mine of info, drop him a mail.

I think Faceless FX is just a small one man show from the north of England somewhere. There is a Facebook page, but it's not heavily populated. Think he designed a fuzz which is apparently well regarded.

Like I said, I had never heard of them prior, but when it came to spend my money it sounded the best for what I wanted. For reference I also had it up against a Hot Cake in bass mode, and another I forget the name of (as well as the 3BOD), so I could A-B(-C-D...?) all of them together, and had previously tried and discounted the Darkglass. BUT it is definitely a boost that starts to break up, rather than a distortion you run at low gain.

If the pedal parts kit sounds 90% like the Bearfoot, then I would say it's a steal for price. I didn't dislike the Blueberry, I think I had just over hyped it in my head.

[Thunderbird]

Just had ten minutes with the soul food think you might like it so you are more than welcome to borrow it and see if you like it

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1486481676' post='3232166']
Can't seem to find any Bearfoot versions in stock in the UK though but there are plenty to get from the states, but allowing for import duty it's going to be around the £200 mark. sort of thing I'm looking for, cheers!
[/quote]

If you order from Prymaxe, they often run 15-20% discount codes (and if they don't work just use their online chat and they'll sort you out), and you won't pay anything extra when it arrives either.

[Osiris]

[quote name='ben4343' timestamp='1486489999' post='3232244']
I got it from Joe's Pedals. The guy is a hero and a total mine of info, drop him a mail.

[/quote]

Thanks, I'll look into it a bit more.
Just looked on the Fuzz dog/pedal parts site and it looks like their kit is out of stock.

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1486490861' post='3232252']
Just had ten minutes with the soul food think you might like it so you are more than welcome to borrow it and see if you like it
[/quote]

Cheers Paul, I might just do that

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1486504075' post='3232398']
If you order from Prymaxe, they often run 15-20% discount codes (and if they don't work just use their online chat and they'll sort you out), and you won't pay anything extra when it arrives either.
[/quote]

Just to clarify, are you saying if I buy from them I won't have to pay import duty on it?

[Bigwan]

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1486558519' post='3232734']
Just to clarify, are you saying if I buy from them I won't have to pay import duty on it?
[/quote]

[size=1]Yes... Shhh...[/size]

[Osiris]

Why not (I'm whispering, by the way)?

[Bigwan]

Who knows. Something to do with declared value perhaps. Never heard of anybody in the UK ordering from Prymax who did have to pay said fee...

[dannybuoy]

17% off all pedals at the mo too. They aren't allowed to advertise below certain price points for certain manufacturers due to contractual obligations I assume, so the FX17 code doesn't work for all pedals; but the site has a chat window, if you ask there they will give you an alternative code.

[dannybuoy]

Just seen this - apparently there is a new version of the Bearfoot in stock at Prymaxe with more treble response, and you can tell which one you have as the new one has the tone control reversed (i.e. turning it up adds more bass and reduces treble):

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/bearfoot-blueberry-theres-a-new-version.1268045/

[Osiris]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1486669006' post='3233743']
Just seen this - apparently there is a new version of the Bearfoot in stock at Prymaxe with more treble response, and you can tell which one you have as the new one has the tone control reversed (i.e. turning it up adds more bass and reduces treble):

[url="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/bearfoot-blueberry-theres-a-new-version.1268045/"]https://www.talkbass...ersion.1268045/[/url]
[/quote]

That sounds interesting, although the inherent dark tone of the Bearfoot is what appeals to me.
Any sound clips or videos available as yet?

[Dosi Y'Anarchy]

Sorry to derail, but regarding Prymaxe: would i have to ask them to "fix it" so i don't get charged import? Thinking about getting some stuff, funnily enough a Bearfoot Blue Berry after this thread, am i best picking a specific shipping option?