The BearFoot FX Honey Beest is an analog gain pedal from BearFoot FX, listed by RockBoard as the Honey Beest Overdrive Pedal and reviewed by Pedal of the Day as a distortion pedal. It has four controls: Volume, Gain, Nature (tone) and Pre-gain, and runs on 5V DC at 10mA12. It belongs to the wider family of overdrive pedals, sitting in the territory where overdrive and distortion overlap.
Controls
The Honey Beest carries four knobs, which is more than the three found on most overdrive pedals. The fourth control, Pre-gain, shapes the signal before it reaches the gain stage, giving the player an extra layer of voicing to work with beyond the gain amount itself1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets the pedal's output level1 |
| Gain | Sets the amount of overdrive1 |
| Nature | The tone control1 |
| Pre-gain | Shapes the signal before the gain stage2 |
Power
The Honey Beest runs on 5V DC, center negative, drawing 10mA1. Pedal of the Day notes that battery voltages range from around 9v to 16v1. Because the listed supply voltage is lower than the 9V that most pedalboard power supplies output by default, players should confirm how their supply delivers power before connecting the pedal.
The 5V DC requirement differs from the 9V standard used by most pedals, so a standard daisy-chain output may not suit it. Check your power supply's output options before adding it to a board.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day reviewed the Honey Beest in January 2015 as a distortion pedal, and its reviewer described the character of the gain in amp-like terms1.
RockBoard's PedalPedia classifies the same pedal as an overdrive, which places it among the many gain pedals whose names differ while their role on a board does not: adding saturation and sustain in front of an amplifier2.
Videos
Brett Kingman
Mike Hermans
gearmanndude
Questions
Is the BearFoot FX Honey Beest analog?
Yes. RockBoard's PedalPedia lists the Honey Beest as an analog circuit. That matters for players who prefer the way analog gain stages respond to picking dynamics and guitar volume changes, and it means there is no digital conversion anywhere in the signal path.
What does the Nature control do on the Honey Beest?
Nature is the pedal's tone control. Alongside Volume, Gain and Pre-gain, it shapes the character of the overdrive, letting you dial the voicing of the distortion rather than just how much of it there is.
What polarity does the Honey Beest use?
The Honey Beest runs on 5V DC, center negative, drawing 10mA. Because the voltage requirement is lower than the 9V most pedalboard supplies output by default, check how your supply delivers power before plugging in.
Is the Honey Beest an overdrive or a distortion pedal?
Both names are in circulation. RockBoard lists it as the BearFoot FX Honey Beest Overdrive Pedal, while Pedal of the Day reviewed it as a distortion pedal, describing a tone that roars and growls in an amp-like manner. It sits in the overdrive-to-distortion territory where the two overlap.
Sources (2)
- BearFoot FX Honey Beest Distortion, Pedal of the Day (www.pedal-of-the-day.com), 2015-01-11
- Honey Beest by BearFoot FX, RockBoard (rockboard.de PedalPedia), 2026