BearFoot FX Honey Bee Overdrive

The BearFoot FX Honey Bee Overdrive is an analog overdrive pedal that RockBoard's PedalPedia says "sounds and reacts like small vintage combos with nicely worn tubes and speakers"¹. It belongs to a family of Honey Bee pedals that traces back to the BJFE original, which was inspired by the sound of an old Supro amp, and it sits in the low-gain end of the overdrive world: Delicious Audio describes it as "a tonally and dynamically transparent overdrive that is said to behave exactly like an amp," with builder's notes pointing to a small Tweed amp as well as a Supro combo². If you are after a crunch pedal that cleans up with your guitar's volume rather than a heavy distortion or fuzz circuit, this is the territory it works in, alongside other overdrive pedals.

Controls

The BearFoot version keeps the Honey Bee layout simple, with three knobs¹:

The Nature knob is a relatively recent addition to the design. Delicious Audio notes that the Honey Bee has been available in several different versions, including one with an extra boost, and that "the latest main version adds a Nature knob for tone"². In the circuit, Aion FX's technical analysis of the BJFe Honey Bee Overdrive found the Nature control connects to lug 3 of the volume pot through a 4n7 capacitor, a detail confirmed in the One Control version and the Blueberry³.

The standard version and the Treble control

BearFoot FX's current standard version goes beyond the three-knob layout. RockBoard's PedalPedia says: "Our new standard version provides extended Drive range and additional tweakability with the Treble control," and describes the range as running "from a tasty 'Honey Boost' with drive down to extra grunt and gristle with everything up"¹. In practice that gives the pedal a second face: with the drive low and treble up it works as a clean-ish boost, and with everything up it thickens into a rougher crunch.

Where it came from: the Honey Bee family

The Honey Bee design has passed through several makers, and knowing the line helps you tell the versions apart:

• BJFe Honeybee Overdrive: the original design. Aion FX's analysis notes that bias resistors vary between versions, for example 47k instead of 31.6k, and the input resistor 14.7k instead of 15k, differences it judges mostly do not matter³.
• One Control Honey Bee: an overdrive that Delicious Audio says "resembles a guitar amp that is set to a 'crunch' setting," with a Drive knob for the strength of the distortion⁴. Premier Guitar's review called it a fantastic low-gain boost⁵.
• BJFE in Your Hand series Honey Bee OD 4K: One Control's current take, drawing just 3mA⁶.
• BearFoot FX Honey Bee Overdrive: the version on this page, with the Nature knob and, on the new standard version, the Treble control¹².
• BearFoot FX Honey Beest: the version with an extra boost that Delicious Audio counts among the several Honey Bee versions².

The One Control version also added a mode switch that the earlier pedals did not have. Premier Guitar's press release on the pedal highlighted it: "This pedal is especially unique due to the Vintage & Modern mode switch," switching between the sound of the original Honey Bee Overdrive and the current version⁷. The related pages above cover each version in its own right.

What reviewers made of it

The Honey Bee's reputation rests on its amp-like dynamics rather than sheer gain. Premier Guitar's reviewer summed it up as making "a fantastic low-gain boost"⁵, and Delicious Audio's write-up of the One Control version praises "its warm overdrive crunch which is easily adjustable by a twist of a knob"⁴. Delicious Audio's buying guide of tweed-style overdrives places it among pedals built to imitate a small Fender-style amp, calling it tonally and dynamically transparent².

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