Beetronics Royal Jelly Custom Evolve

The Beetronics Royal Jelly Custom Evolve is an overdrive/fuzz blender pedal. Instead of stacking one gain stage into another, it runs an overdrive circuit and a fuzz circuit in parallel and gives you control over the blend between them, so it can cover ground from a light drive to full fuzz and the mixes in between¹²³. Beetronics describes it in confident terms:

The Custom Evolve is one version of the wider Royal Jelly line, which also includes the Royal Jelly OD/Fuzz and a long list of Custom Shop and limited edition finishes. It is currently listed as sold out on the maker's site⁶⁷.

Overdrive and fuzz blended in parallel

Most overdrive and fuzz pedals give you one flavor of gain. The Royal Jelly Custom Evolve takes a different approach: it runs two circuits at the same time, one overdrive and one fuzz, and lets you blend the levels of each⁵. That means you are not choosing between drive and fuzz, you are mixing them, and any setting between all-overdrive and all-fuzz is available.

Beetronics says the pedal "can cover any ground from overdrive to fuzz, running two circuits in parallel and giving you the possibility of blend"¹³¹⁰. The same parallel-blend design runs through the whole Royal Jelly family, from the standard Royal Jelly to the limited editions, so the Custom Evolve is a finish and packaging of the same core circuit rather than a different engine¹¹¹.

The maker also claims a place in history for the design, saying the Royal Jelly "was the first of its kind, blending overdrive and fuzz in a way no pedal had done beefore"¹². That is Beetronics' own claim about its product, not an independent assessment.

The controls: Queen and King presets, HI/LO EQ and BUZZ

The Custom Evolve's control set centers on the blend and its two presets⁵.

The Queen and King presets are the pedal's signature feature. Beetronics explains that "the presets allow you not only to have two different sounds on the fly, but also make for a very natural transition betw"een them, because switching between presets changes the mix of overdrive and fuzz levels rather than swapping to a completely different circuit⁵. These are not digital presets. On the Royal Jelly Fuzz/OD Blender, Beetronics notes there are "No digital presets, but Queen and King channels act as two customizable voicings"¹², so each channel is a voicing you set yourself.

The EQ is a two-band setup, with HI and LO controls each offering 10dB of cut or boost⁵. That is a wide range for a pedal-mounted EQ, enough to pull back harsh highs or add body to the low end before the blend hits your amp.

The BUZZ switch is a simple on/off modification to the fuzz side. Beetronics says it "adds that nasty high end usually found on the vintage fuzz boxes to its fuzz circuit"⁵. In other words, it pushes the fuzz toward the brighter, spikier character of old-school fuzz units rather than a smoother modern fuzz voice. It appears across the Royal Jelly line with the same function on every version⁶.

Power, size and build

The Custom Evolve needs a 9V DC power supply with a center negative plug, and the supply is not included, so you need your own⁵. There is no mention of battery operation, so treat this as a power-supply-only pedal.

It is not a compact unit. The enclosure measures 6-1/8" x 5-1/16" x 2-3/4" and weighs 2 lbs (1 kg), which is larger and heavier than a standard mini pedal and takes real pedalboard space⁵. In its box it measures 7-1/2" x 6-1/4" x 3-1/4" and weighs 2.5 lbs (1.25 kg)⁵.

Beetronics builds the pedal in California, describing it as "Hand made in California by a swarm of bees"⁵. The same California build claim appears on the Custom Seiva and Custom Diamond Dust versions of the Royal Jelly, so it applies across the custom range¹⁵¹⁶.

The maker offers a 30-Day Hive Happiness Guarantee on returns, with shipping not included; you email within 30 business days of receiving your order to get an RMA form. Products labeled "Scratch and Dent" are sold as-is and are not eligible for refund⁵.

Custom Shop and limited editions of the Royal Jelly

The Custom Evolve sits inside a large family of Royal Jelly variants. Beetronics sells the pedal in a rotating set of finishes, and most of them are produced in small numbers. The versions include¹¹¹⁷⁴:

• Custom Shop units with their own serial-style names, such as RJ3533, RJ3528 and RJ3425¹¹¹⁷¹⁰
• Custom Series finishes like the Royal Jelly Custom Seiva and Royal Jelly Custom Diamond Dust¹⁵¹⁶
• Limited editions including the Royal Jelly Limited Edition "Beeliever", Black Verde, "Great Pumpkin", "Pomegranate", "Plumbee" and the 4th Limited Edition
• The Royal Jelly "Blue Squid" Custom and Purple Wave customs
• The Royal Jelly Fuzz/OD Blender Custom Shop 420 edition¹²

All of these share the same core design: the parallel overdrive and fuzz circuits, the blend, the Queen and King presets, the HI/LO EQ and the BUZZ switch¹¹⁸¹⁹. The differences between versions are cosmetic, in the finish and artwork of the enclosure, rather than in the circuit.

Availability is the practical issue. The Custom Evolve itself is sold out⁵, and so are the Custom Seiva, Custom Diamond Dust, Blue Squid Custom and several limited editions¹⁵¹⁶. Beetronics' model of small runs in changing finishes means any given version can disappear, and a new one usually takes its place.

Questions