Bearfoot Euro Clean Tourbox No.

1. Home Use 2. Live/Band Use 1. Clean amp 2. Slightly clipped amp

Welcome to this review of the Bearfoot Euro Tourbox No.4, named The Clean Machine. A tourbox is where a group of guitar pedals are sent to various individuals, who then try them in their own rigs, and review them. This is my humble attempt at such a review. This document will be released as free Pdf to all, available through Dropbox and directly from me via email, at the following address; (think.warren@mac.com). I will hopefully grow this review into a video presentation, and possibly a web-site. Such musings (should they happen) will all come under my own creative banner known as The Common Hours. As with all reviews, please bear in mind that these represent my opinions based upon my equipment, and also the way that I use it. Ive seen too many reviews (especially on our beloved YouTube) whereby the amp (say a Deluxe Reverb) is being driven to the limit, or at least, very and unrealistically loud. This will naturally affect the performance of ALL equipment, not least the pedals involved. In light of this, I will review these pedals in 2 main ways; 1.) For bedroom or home use That is, at LOW VOLUME levels. 2.) For live or rehearsal use That is, at LOUDER, GIG VOLUME levels. The really stand-out pedals will be designated either Star Buy or a close second Recommended status.... Please feel free to email at the address above with any comments or thoughts. Special thank to Donner from Bearfoot, and Chris (AKA Mad Frank on TGP Forum) for all their hard work and for making these excellent experiences possible... Warren Elkington

My Current Rig - Guitars & Amp

Introduction - Review Equipment Redplate CDS2 40w amp (plus 1x12 Redplate cab). Both with Celestion V30s. Fender CS 56 Heavy Relic Fender CS 51 Nocaster Im involved in a couple of bands, and play live most Sundays in a loud and creative Church band. I prefer clean, or slightly overdriven (clipped, I call them) tones. All of the Redplate amps are expensive, but very special. They have the avour and feel of driven or clipped Fender Blackface/Tweeds, but can exhibit such characteristics at low volumes. The 51 Nocaster is like playin with a rattlesnake; you have to wrestle with it, and the snap can bite you if youre not careful. But an awesome guitar, and the neck (yes neck) pick-up is smooth and rich. The 56 Strat is an incredibly versatile guitar, with a huge range of tones. Pick-ups are 57/62s, and after a 12 month search, it is simply the best Strat that I have ever played... My Current Pedalboard This is shown on the following page. It includes the following; 1. Barber Gain Changer - Like all Barbers, perfect and very versatile. 2. Timmy (Red Ltd edition) - I much prefer the LM1458 chip that is in this. 3. Bearfoot EGDM - MAN !!! How loud is this - offers that AC sound to my set up. Awesome. 4. Himmelstrutz Fetto - this is an early model in v rare gold. All Himmel pedals are great. 5. Neunaber Wet Stereo - Simply the best verb. The trails alone are worth the 200... 6. Fulltone Supatrem - tried em all. The best vintage tremolo for me. 7. Catalinnbread Echorec - I own 2 of these. Say no more. Unique and full of soul. 8. Diamond Memory Lane Jr - Custom build for me. Once again, Up with the best. Only the legendary Moog MF104m beats this.

1. Home Use 2. Live/Band Use 1. Clean amp 2. Slightly clipped amp

My Current Pedalboard - Common Favourites 1 2

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1. Home Use 2. Live/Band Use 1. Clean amp 2. Slightly clipped amp

PALE GREEN COMPRESSOR Leave it on and forget about it compressor. Subtle tweaks without the off-putting compression and tone loss from other pedals.

Pale Green Compressor

EVER GREEN COMPRESSOR A more extreme compressor. Capable of the lower levels of the PGC, up to the very dynamic, unique sustain sounds. Gorgeous, classic Donner nish.

SEA BLUE EQ A subtle EQ, that falls into the barely noticeable when on type of pedal. Very useful to tweak your rig and set-up. Captivating classic Donner nish.

BABY PINK BOOSTER We love simple dont we fellow guitarists ?! One knob, which betrays the depth and variety of this awesome pedal. A boost, clipper & buffer.

Pale Green Compressor As you will discover in the EGC review, I do own an under used MP FGC. However, Ive tried to review all of the pedals in their separate entity, as opposed to natural comparison. My rst impressions were neutral. The colour is pale... and well, very light green. It looks anemic next to the luscious EGC ! And indeed this initial impression sets the tone and scene for this pedal. It is a subtle and neutral pedal in some ways, for me. The knobs work conservatively, with no EGC-like shocks here. Sometimes I thought that the PGC wasnt doing anything, until I switched it off ! It loves those Mayer-style double stop notes, and adds just enough sustain, compression and fullness. Even. Thats it... it evens the sound out greatly. I image that the PGC would be lovely with jazz sounds on my old Carr Rambler, with a hint of reverb. I enjoyed the Comp knob as far left as I could set it. I guess I like the extreme side of compressors more than I thought ! It is silent in operation, with no background noise and works lovely also as a clean boost, especially with the comp knob low. Like all of the BJFE/Bearfoot range, this pedal is full of character, and intuitive to use. For me though, the EGC simply over-powered this PGC, and it would be my own personal choice...

1. Home Use 2. Live/Band Use 1. Clean amp 2. Slightly clipped amp

Ever Green Compressor How many of the reviews of this clean tourbox have began with the words well, Im not really a compressor fan ? Well, here is another one ! I do own a MP FGC, which I love at bedroom levels but have never really grasped it in a live setting. The EGC is a different choice however... For starters, it looks so so sexy ! That amazing Donner paintjob just lights up your board. And the sounds ? Well, they are as unique as the looks ! You can use it to get similar tones to the PGC, at least to my ears. I really liked the extreme (3-4 o clock) setting on the C knob. This bought in a ridiculous amount of compression, which worked beautifully with shimmering chords and muted notes. The sustain is substantial. It has a unique sound, and you could nd your own voice and colour easily with this. At bedroom and live volumes, I created a totally original sound and feel. When coupled with my Neunaber Wet Stereo on the trails setting, the result was incredible. A cathedral of sound, with depth, emotion and an etherial feel. This sound really shocked me, and it could be used as a signature tone for some tracks/bands. Beware though; it can get loud !! I feel the volume knob was very sensitive, and Im not sure if was just this demo model, but the background noise could get a bit too hissy at times. Like all of the BJFE/MP/Bearfoot pedals, this one responds very very well to touch. You can play harder/softer and change the whole feel of your guitar and amp. As I said though, in my experience all of these pedals do this, and it is a much under-appreciated feature. The EGC is as unique and varied pedal as you could wish to own IMHO. Im sure that I havent got near half of the tones and sounds held within. Yep, Im gonna have to get one...

1. Home Use 2. Live/Band Use 1. Clean amp 2. Slightly clipped amp

Sea Blue EQ I used to own for a short while a BJFE Sea Blue EQ, and enjoyed it. I moved it on to pay for whatever GAS I felt at the time.... and so, I was looking forward to try this one. The paint job and colour are gorgeous. I really wanted this to adorn my board. The SBEQ offers tubelike treble/bass boost according to the always interesting Bearfoot FX website. My ndings were that it certainly offered a warmth to my sound. I really enjoyed it in the (clean) Blackface side of my Redplate CDS2, and I especially thought that the bass boost was very favourable. It really suited the neck pickup of both the Strat and the Nocaster. The SBEQ was also very interesting when stacked with the wonderful Baby Pink Booster. The 2 combined could provide a variety of tones, and clipping to my amp. Penultimately, I guess it is difcult to obtain a benet when you have a amp like a Redplate; the EQ that is built in is just so versatile and subtle, that the SBEQ doesnt add enough to compete with it. However, I did run the SBEQ through a friends Hayden Amp, with a much more profound effect. And it is in this regard, that I think that the SBEQ really works. If you have amp that you feel is lacking in some way, the SBEQ would have the versatility, subtlety and tweakability (if such a word exists) to really benet you. I would imagine that treble-heavy amps would love the SBEQ. Oh, and it would simply look like the dogs on your pedal board !!

1. Home Use 2. Live/Band Use 1. Clean amp 2. Slightly clipped amp

Baby Pink Booster A bit of a shock this one... There is something, to my mind anyway, very special about a single knob pedal. Im not spending all of my time balancing the treble and mids on the pedal, on the amp, on the other pedals etc etc. The BPB worked beautifully with the tweed channel on the Redplate CDS2. It is a clean boost, but at certain points (usually 1 oclock onwards in this instance) it produced a lovely clipped sound from the amp. It just sounded fuller, more.... I seem to think of the word simple when using the BPB. It simply works. I will denitely be purchasing one of these little beauties. My whole set up sounded better, which I understand that you could attribute to the buffer within. In fact, it did remind me of my Klon KTR, in terms of giving the sound a lift. For Redplate owners One of the issues that you can have with the Redplate CDS2, is that the Overdrive and Tweed channels share the same level (volume) knob. The BPB offers a very simple alternative to add to one of these channels to bring the volume unity across all 3 channels (eg. Blackface, tweed, overdrive). Its not a cheap solution, I guess, but one that very much simply worked. Whilst the boost footswitch is lovely on the Redplates, the BPB offered a bit more without the volume hump. I rehearsed at volume with the BPB, on the tweed channel, and with the boost on the CDS2. The sound was truly stunning. Full, raucous, subtle when cleaned up... Perfect. Whatever mojo they sneaked into this pedal is amazing. I will be purchasing as soon as....

1. Home Use 2. Live/Band Use 1. Clean amp 2. Slightly clipped amp