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BJFE Blueberry, Comparisons?

#61
hi, great thread - easily the longest thread ever on the 3BOD :D

Yes BJ builds the pedals and Harri at custom-sounds distributes them to his dealer network.

BJ is at full capacity with a waiting list so any 'group discount' is not likely ;)

Likely the best tactic would be to email Harri directly either with a group number order or individually so he and BJ know really how many there are an immidiate demand for .....



as far as the unique sound , I havent heard anything like it ... well actually the only thing Ive heard like it is an SVT after midnight ;) or this old 1 15 Kay amp I had ....

its magic is in its dynamic distoriton and its EQ -- I have it set so that the bottom end stays the same and so it sounds like whatever amp its played thru, just warm and rumbly in the tumbly :cool:
 
#68
I remember the comparison thread that pitted the Fulltone vs Blueberry vs Hematoma, and the Hematoma emerging as the clear favourite for the reviewer (and for me, based on the clips). However, I was really impressed by the Polish Love clips as well. And maybe it's time to revisit the Blueberry with the PL in the mix?

Anyway, although the BB seems to be sold out, I noticed the Moody Hjärt Müller Bass Drive kit on the Custom Sounds site for a very attractive price. I found a thread that mentioned this pedal, but can't locate an instance where anyone's reviewed the critter. Thoughts?
 
#70
TrevorOfDoom said:
so is the blueberry still being made?

if not (or even if so), why isn't it being cloned?
does anyone have any idea how it does what it does? how it does what no other pedal before it has ever done?
what's the deal? is it made from rainbows and fairy dust?
Click to expand...

Yes, it's still being made. I got a new one in June. In a manner of speaking, there are lots of gain pedals that do what no other pedal does. For instance, I happen to think that there isn't another pedal that does what the SansAmp does. What separates the Blueberry in this case is that (1) it is rare and fairly expensive and (2) there seems to be near unanimous (at least on TB) praise for it.

I'd like to say that it isn't being cloned because people observe fair business practices, but the reality is that it's just probably not a pedal that would generate enough sales for another builder to bother trying to undercut BJFE.

It's a great pedal, but it isn't the holy grail of tone. Believe me, there will be TBers who don't like it. I know of at least one non-TBer who didn't care for it when I let him try it out. For me, it gives me that heavy, warm, low end grunt that I always wanted, but I'm sure there are plenty of people that would prefer the edgier crunch of say, a Bass Drive more.
 
#71
TrevorOfDoom said:
if not (or even if so), why isn't it being cloned?
Click to expand...

Obviously you havn't seen inside one :) There is a black goo that is set rock hard over all the components. You can't see anything inside the pedal.

Even if you do break through the black goo, chances are, when you are scratching away at the components, you will take the markings off them (if Bjorn hasn't done that already)... Also, rumour is, Bjorn has wires and things in there that are just dummies to throw you even further off the scent.

At the end of the day, they are a pretty small sale pedal in the scheme of things, so why bother with all that? Its easier to crack open a muff and clone that...

They are still being produced in limited batches and yes, they are the dogs bollocks, and no, nothing compares! I will never sell mine :)
 
#72
Aside from the goo and expense to clone it, I think the big O pretty much got it. Sounds great for what it does... big, deep, grindy at the right settings. But if you want treble, clarity, and that kind of thing, its not really gonna cut it. And to be honest, much as I love it... the guys I jam with were just as excited when I plugged into a DOD od250...
 
#73
yeah, but that price hurts. :(

at the end of the day, don't want a biting, hard edged OD, i want something that sounds natural, like my amp just running harder. i can't stand the high end scratchiness of most OD's, and i just run my BassDrive with the tone knob down most of the ways.
the Blueberry seems so perfect for what i want...
why can't it be less expensive?
should i e-mail Bjorn? tell him to get his tuckas in gear?
or is this the same deal as the Bogdan? where the designer almost hates making the thing, so he deliberately makes small batches, no more than that. hmmm... what to do, who to kill...
:crying:
 
#74
I don't think Bjorn "hates" making them, it's simply economics. He has a lot of designs to his name and most of them sell better than the Blueberry. Or at least that was the case until recently. But all you have to do is email Harri and tell him you want one, being willing to pay the price and then wait.

jucas said:
Aside from the goo and expense to clone it, I think the big O pretty much got it. Sounds great for what it does... big, deep, grindy at the right settings. But if you want treble, clarity, and that kind of thing, its not really gonna cut it. And to be honest, much as I love it... the guys I jam with were just as excited when I plugged into a DOD od250...
Click to expand...

That's really funny, I almost mentioned the DOD 250 in my last post. The fact is, the BBBOD is not 10 times better than the DOD as the price differential would indicate. With expensive pedals (especially gain pedals) it's the law of diminishing returns. At a certain point you simply aren't getting that much more value for the extra money. The DOD is a fantastic overdrive. Fairly transparent with just the right amount of grit. And for $40 why not try it?

Personally, my approach has always been to find the best budget model and try it first and only work my way up the price ladder if I didn't find what I wanted. I can tell you right now that the EHX Nano Small Stone is a good deal better than a number of much more expensive phasers I've tried since. You may find the same thing with ODs.

Try the DOD 250. And try the modded Bad Monkey (The Badder Monkey) or perhaps a Cream Pie (I haven't tried this one myself) and if they don't scratch that itch, then decide if you are willing to pony up for a Blueberry. Without even trying a Blueberry it seems you've fixed on it despite being more than you want to pay. I think perhaps you should explore less expensive options first.
 
#75
Good advice there.

FWIW I gutted a Blueberry and started tracing it many months ago, with the intention of making a copy for myself. Work troubles and life have gotten in the way of any pedal work I meant to do over the last several months, so no progress to report since the last time I mentioned it. However I can tell you that AFAICT the core of the Blueberry is just clipping a pair of LEDs and then filtering the result. Lots of pedals can be modded to clip LEDs instead of "regular" diodes, and filtering is just another way of saying EQ. Hint hint.
 
#76
TheBigO said:
Try the DOD 250. And try the modded Bad Monkey (The Badder Monkey) or perhaps a Cream Pie (I haven't tried this one myself) and if they don't scratch that itch, then decide if you are willing to pony up for a Blueberry. Without even trying a Blueberry it seems you've fixed on it despite being more than you want to pay. I think perhaps you should explore less expensive options first.
Click to expand...

and you're partly right. i've tried the 250. and i did try an unmodded Bad Monkey. it was alright, but what killed it for me was the strange power supply needs.
to be honest, it's mostly the fact that the Blueberry emulates power tube distortion really well. i can hear it in the sound clips, and i've heard it from the e-mouths of TBers.
i've got a boost (technically three boosts) when i just want some hair on my signal. very transparent, i love it.
but when i want more wool, more warmth, where do i turn?
 
#77
TheBigO said:
It's a great pedal, but it isn't the holy grail of tone. Believe me, there will be TBers who don't like it. I know of at least one non-TBer who didn't care for it when I let him try it out. For me, it gives me that heavy, warm, low end grunt that I always wanted, but I'm sure there are plenty of people that would prefer the edgier crunch of say, a Bass Drive more.
Click to expand...
I think it's excellent at what it does, if it didn't mute the high end so much it would be perfect for my needs. But I can definitely see that it will be the bomb for people who like that darker sound.

It might even be slightly better than my beloved Angler at the o/d part, but I don't lose my high end with the Angler.
 
#79
Tried Blueberry for couple of days. Although it sounded good on its own it did not do the trick in band context. I compared Blueberry with Cream Pie, Bassdrive, Moody Hjärt Müller and Polish love. I could get really similar sound from CP but with more presence that helps to cut through in mix. Blueberry is indeed dark sounding and in our band context it was buried too much in mix.
 
#80
judas jedermann said:
Tried Blueberry for couple of days. Although it sounded good on its own it did not do the trick in band context. I compared Blueberry with Cream Pie, Bassdrive, Moody Hjärt Müller and Polish love. I could get really similar sound from CP but with more presence that helps to cut through in mix. Blueberry is indeed dark sounding and in our band context it was buried too much in mix.
Click to expand...
In this context, how did the Hjärt Müller compare? (I'm intrigued by those, as Moody builds an excellent sounding Fuzz.)
 

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