The Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive Deluxe is a version of Mad Professor's take on the low- to mid-gain overdrive pedal, the Sweet Honey Overdrive, with one key addition: a bass control that acts before the drive section12. Where the standard Sweet Honey Overdrive gives you Volume, Drive and Focus and leaves the low end fixed, the Deluxe lets you set how much bass feeds the drive circuit in the first place23.
That pre-drive bass adjustment matters because it changes how the pedal clips, not just how much low end comes out the other side. It is also the pedal Mad Professor used as the starting point for its limited-edition Sweet Honey Overdrive with Fat Bee mod, which stacked a second bass stage after the drive circuit on top of the Deluxe's front-end control4.
What it does
The Sweet Honey family is built around a touch-sensitive, low- to mid-gain overdrive. Guitar World's Trevor Curwen describes the Sweet Honey Overdrive as "Mad Professor's take on the low- to mid-gain overdrive pedal"1. The Deluxe keeps that character and adds control over the low end going into the drive circuit, which guitar.com's Cillian Breathnach notes the standard version lacked2.
The three controls carried over from the standard pedal work like this:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets the output level6 |
| Drive | Sets the drive amount, from clean boost to raunch1 |
| Focus | Fully counterclockwise, a bassier tone while cutting the overdrive level a bit; fully clockwise, acts as a slight treble booster while enhancing the overdrive5 |
The Focus control is the Sweet Honey's signature feature. MusicRadar's reviewers found that "turned all the way down, the control offers a bassier tone while cutting the overdrive level a bit," while cranked up it "acts as a slight treble booster while enhancing the overdrive"5. The Deluxe's bass control sits ahead of all of this, shaping the signal before the drive section does its work2.
How the Deluxe differs from the standard Sweet Honey
Mad Professor sells the Sweet Honey Overdrive in several forms. The standard mass-produced version is the affordable option, while the Sweet Honey Overdrive Handwired is the Finnish-built point-to-point version with Alpha pots, Switchcraft jacks and top-mounted everything, at a higher price3. MusicRadar's review team felt even the standard version was "still a little pricey for some"5.
The Deluxe sits alongside these as the version with the pre-drive bass control. guitar.com reports that Mad Professor "had already released a 'Deluxe' version of the Sweet Honey, which did come with a bass control"2.
The Fat Bee mod connection
The Deluxe became the basis for the limited-edition Sweet Honey Overdrive with Fat Bee mod, introduced during lockdown as part of a limited run of custom pedals2. Guitar World reports that "the company worked off the Sweet Honey Overdrive Deluxe, which features bass adjustment before the drive circuit," and then "added additional bass after the drive circuit"4.
The mod came out of player feedback. As guitar.com put it, "a few times Mad Professor's headquarters got a message that Sweet Honey Overdrive could use more bass with this and that amp"2. The Fat Bee mod adds extra bass character after the drive circuit while keeping the character of the drive the same, and Mad Professor describes the result as "the same sound and the same drive section with more bass"4.
So the family breaks down like this:
- Standard Sweet Honey Overdrive: Volume, Drive, Focus, fixed low end36
- Deluxe: adds bass adjustment before the drive circuit2
- Fat Bee mod: Deluxe's pre-drive bass plus additional bass after the drive circuit, limited edition4
What reviewers said
The Sweet Honey line has drawn strong reviews. MusicRadar's verdict on the standard pedal was emphatic56:
"The sheer dynamics of the Sweet Honey Overdrive make it one of those pedals you have to own before you die5."
MusicRadar also credited the company's care in the design, noting that "Mad Professor has put a lot of thought into its function and tone"5. Pedal of the Day's Eddie Heinzelman, reviewing the pedal in 2015, wrote that "it has become one of my favorite 'go to' pedals"6. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio, reviewing the Handwired version in 2026, praised its touch sensitivity and the Focus control3.
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Questions
What does the Fat Bee mod change on the Sweet Honey?
The Fat Bee mod adds extra bass character after the drive circuit, keeping the character of the drive itself the same. Mad Professor developed it in response to feedback that the Sweet Honey could use more bass with certain amps, and built it on the Deluxe version, which already had bass adjustment before the drive circuit. The result is the same sound and the same drive section with more bass.
How is the Sweet Honey Deluxe different from the standard Sweet Honey Overdrive?
The Deluxe adds a bass control that acts before the drive section, so you can set the amount of low end feeding the clipping stage. The standard Sweet Honey Overdrive has three controls, Volume, Drive and Focus, with no separate bass control. The Fat Bee mod went further still, adding bass after the drive circuit on top of the Deluxe's pre-drive adjustment.
Sources (6)
- Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive review, Guitar World, 2024-01-18
- Mad Professor introduces second custom pedal during lockdown, guitar.com, 2020-04-17
- Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive Handwired, Delicious Audio, 2026-06-02
- Mad Professor's Sweet Honey Overdrive with Fat Bee mod boasts “bottom end tweaked to the limit”, Guitar World, 2020-05-01
- Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive review, MusicRadar, 2011-03-31
- Mad Professor Amplification Sweet Honey Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2015-02-05
