Beetronics Royal Jelly OD/Fuzz The Blackbee Edition

The Royal Jelly OD/Fuzz The Blackbee Edition is a limited-run version of Beetronics' Royal Jelly, an overdrive/fuzz blender pedal. Instead of stacking one effect into the other, it runs an overdrive circuit and a fuzz circuit in parallel, giving you the possibility of blending them or having them separately¹. Beetronics calls it "an overdrive/fuzz blender like no other pedal" and says it "drips tone and it's a pedal that can change your approach to overdrive and fuzz"¹. The Blackbee Edition is a limited edition finished in black, and it is listed as sold out on the maker's own product page¹.

Overdrive and fuzz in parallel, blended or apart

Most pedals that combine overdrive and fuzz do it in series, one feeding the other. The Royal Jelly takes a different route: its overdrive and fuzz circuits run side by side, and you choose how much of each reaches the output. Beetronics says it "can cover any ground from overdrive to fuzz, running two circuits in parallel and giving you the possibility of blending it or having them separately"¹. That means a clean-ish low-gain overdrive, a full fuzz, or any mix in between are all available from one box.

The maker also positions the Royal Jelly as a first of its kind, describing the line as "the first of its kind, blending overdrive and fuzz in a way no pedal had done beefore"². For a player deciding between a dedicated overdrive and a dedicated fuzz, the parallel design is the core difference: neither circuit colors the other before the blend.

The controls: Dry, Hi/Lo EQ, Buzz and the Queen and King presets

The pedal's controls, as described by Beetronics¹³:

The Queen and King modes are the pedal's signature feature. Beetronics describes them as offering "two distinct overdrive/fuzz blends," and says the presets "allow you not only to have two different sounds on the fly, but also make for a very natural transition" by mixing the overdrive and fuzz levels¹⁴. In practice, you set up two different balances of the parallel circuits and footswitch between them mid-song, rather than dialing in a new blend by hand.

The EQ is shared tone shaping across the blended signal. With 10dB of cut or boost on each band, the Hi and Lo controls can push a fuzz darker and rounder or add top-end sparkle to an overdrive setting¹.

Power

The Royal Jelly requires a 9V DC power supply with a center-negative plug, the standard configuration for most modern pedals, and it works with a typical pedalboard supply⁵⁶⁴. Two things to know:

The Blackbee and other limited Royal Jelly editions

Beetronics has released the Royal Jelly in a long string of limited finishes, of which the Blackbee Edition is one. The maker's own product pages list these editions as limited runs, and several are sold out⁷⁸⁹:

• The Blackbee Edition, sold out¹
• Limited Edition "Memorial," a 10-piece run²¹⁰
• Limited Edition Black Pinky⁷
• Limited Edition "Beeliever," color series 04¹¹
• Limited Edition "Pomegranate"¹²
• Limited Edition Pink/Blue⁹
• Custom "Blue Squid" version¹³
• Custom Shop 420 edition, sold out⁴

There have also been Custom Shop versions, including a Fuzz/OD Blender Custom Shop 420 edition, now sold out². The Blackbee Edition launched at £189.00 GBP, with a list price of £223.00 GBP¹. If you want the Royal Jelly sound and the Blackbee Edition is gone, the standard Royal Jelly OD/Fuzz carries the same overdrive/fuzz design, and it too has sold out⁴⁵.

Questions