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Bearfoot Blueberry Clone overloading

#21
Azure Skies said:
What bass are you using? The pedal's tone control plays a huge part in the way it clips. If the tone control is counterclockwise, the low end is boosted in the gain stage, making it sound more fuzzy/buzzy.
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Chain is as follows:

Bass (tried both - a) Fender MB-5 with J pickups in series, tone wide open, volume wide open. b) P-Bass clone with Nordstrand NP-5 pickup, tone wide open, volume wide open.)
->
Bearfoot Blueberry
->
B-15 tonestack based 6SL7 preamp
->
QSC PLX1602
->
fEarful 15/6
 
#27
aborgman said:
After playing with this thing some more this evening - this may just be a case of me wanting a REALLY mild overdrive.
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I find the original BJFE to be less harsh and distorted than the bearfoot. The tone control is also different in that it tames the high end as you go clockwise, making for a nice warm sound. There is a vero board layout on the freestompbox trace. You could probably modify your current vero to try it out.
 
#28
With all overdrives, you sort of have to live with them for a while and learn what's good about them as opposed to assume that buying / building one blind will hit your nail on the head first time. I find that no one pedal does it all and often it takes me a few weeks to play with it and find some cool sounds and applications. For instance, I use my MXR El Grande for a specific ambiance, it does this particular sound better than anything else I've tried. If I want THAT sound, I go to that pedal. In your situation, I would seriously consider a Wampler Ecstacy, I think it's more of the vibe you are after and it's capable of dialing in some very subtle grit. Many love the Fairfield Barbershop (me included) ....again, able to do very very light and transparent drive. But this Blueberry OD is on my list of drives to try, but I'll listen to what it is and not what I want it to be. Just my 2 cents of wisdom. For chordal work, light Overdrives seem to work best...but most bass overdrives are designed to rumble in a single note and are usually on the grittier side of fuzz.
 
#30
aborgman said:
Problem solved.

I replaced the 500K log drive pot with a 50K log pot. Now the maximum gain on the drive control is the equivalent of where "5 out of 10" was on the old drive pot. (Bourns A2 log pots are ~10% of resistance at 50% rotation),
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Good job. Do you get a good variation of overdrive with that low of a value?
 
#32
aborgman said:
Problem solved.

I replaced the 500K log drive pot with a 50K log pot. Now the maximum gain on the drive control is the equivalent of where "5 out of 10" was on the old drive pot. (Bourns A2 log pots are ~10% of resistance at 50% rotation),
Click to expand...

From the original thread at freestomps:

The gain pot is an unusual value of 370K. I made certain this value is correct. When I breadboarded the circuit, I tried a 250K and a 500K. I noticed the 250K sounded identical to the BJFE, whereas the 500K increased in gain too quickly, and became muddy. This may partially explain why the MP version sounds so different. If you truly want to emulate the 370K pot (I couldn't find this actual value pot anywhere), you can use a 2M pot (smallbear) in parallel with a 470K resistor. The upper range of the gain pot does not give much of a difference in sound, and the 250K is just fine IMO.The gain pot is an unusual value of 370K. I made certain this value is correct. When I breadboarded the circuit, I tried a 250K and a 500K. I noticed the 250K sounded identical to the BJFE, whereas the 500K increased in gain too quickly, and became muddy. This may partially explain why the MP version sounds so different. If you truly want to emulate the 370K pot (I couldn't find this actual value pot anywhere), you can use a 2M pot (smallbear) in parallel with a 470K resistor. The upper range of the gain pot does not give much of a difference in sound, and the 250K is just fine IMO.
Click to expand...
 
#35
dannybuoy said:
Oh yeah, that quote I posted was from the BJFE version on freestompboxes.org, not the Bearfoot! Not sure what the Bearfoot uses for a drive pot but if it is 500k it goes to show how different they are.

Invalid Link Removed

Vulcano FX: BJFE Blueberry Bass Overdrive
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The Bearfoot uses 500K. The tone control is a bit different, too. Bearfoot is much better than the mad professor IMO, but not as good as the original BJFE.
 

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