Barge Concepts BB-1 Bee Baa Fuzz Clone

4 knobs, bypass switch, gain and boost.

this fuzz sounds awesome. It has a scooped midrange metal thing, with the compression of a fuzz. I am loving it for leads. Sounds very clear. The scoop in the midrange allows every note to still ring and it doesn't "fart" out like most other fuzz pedals. I am very happy with this box and it has made its way on my #1 pedalboard. I will be using it on tour this summer. I give it a "9" because a "10" would mean it would have to be more versitle. It is a fuzz pedal, and an great price for that it is, but a fuzz can only do so much.

A Tank. No Doubt. Will be on tour with my band, Stereo Transmitted Disease, this summer.

Haven't had any reason to know the answer, and I hope it strays that way.

Overall, it is on my main pedalboard for my tour this summer. That is the best rating any pedal could hope for, since space on my board is scarce.

Simple to use. New version with controls on top of the pedal instead of the front. I was able to dial in a great fuzz tone within seconds.

I've been looking for a top notch fuzz pedal and found it with the BB-1. It's much more than a Bee Baa clone and sounds amazing. 99% of the boutique/vintage fuzz pedals are one trick ponies, but the BB-1 is like three pedals in one. You get two different fuzz tones and a boost. I was able to dial in a very musical tone that's thick and loaded with sustain.

Built like a tank using only the best parts available. Not a single complaint.

Great people to deal with. Free shipping on the pedal. Answered all my questions within the same day.

I've been searching high and low for the right fuzz. Trying everything from a Big Muff to a Fuzz Factory. The BB-1 has more "usable" sounds than any fuzz I've tried. I play mainly garage rock/power pop and was looking for a pedal that was both musical and raunchy when need be. I've found it!

Easily gets a range of great fuzz tones because you really have three pedals in here. The Fuzz A and B are completely different in their voicing and the boost is, well a boost! Not the easiest pedal to adjust due to the awkward placement of the control knobs but that is by design. Its true to the layout of the original BeeBaa. Didn't come with a manual, which I mentioned to the builder and he tells me they are working on it. I'll give it a 9 for being able to achieve a host of great sounds, but I'd give it a 7 if I were strictly rating its ease of use.

This is why you buy a pedal. This thing offers a great range of fuzz tones from smooth to ear-splitting sputter. You can dial in what you want. The difference between the A and B tones are huge. Its like two completely different fuzzes packed in one box!

My rig is either a Gibson SG or a MIA Strat -> Traynor YCV50+ext cab. Sounds different but great with a hummer or a single coil.

I'm not a gigging musician but it seems built very well. Solid case, great switches. No worries.

Geoff at Barge seems like a good guy and the pedal was packed well and got to me in Canada quickly. (Canadians beware, you'll get nailed an extra $35 in taxes to get your BB-1). The lack of manual loses points here. I've had the pedal for 2 months and no manual has been sent or appeared on the Barge site.

I like and play everything but country. Definitely gravitate to the heavier stuff. I've heard about the legendary BeeBaa and would love to have one. I won't pay the stupid prices they command though. I know guys who sold their BeeBaas and replaced them with one of these. Apparently these are as good. I can't say that myself. This gets me where I want to go fuzz-wise and I love the sounds it gets. Honeymoon is long over and I can't see myself selling this one. I'd have no hesitations recommending the BB-1.

First a brief overview of the controls:

On the top: 3 stomp switches (from the left) 1st Switch selects between Tone A and Tone B, 2nd Switch selects between Fuzz and Boost, 3rd Switch selects between the Effect On and Bypass.

On the front: (Input Jack) then 4 knobs: Sustain, Tone, Volume, Boost (Output jack).

Had to shave off a couple points here only because as a gigging musician ? knobs on the front side of the pedal are impossible to see on the stage ? and the propensity to bump those knobs ? thus changing settings on the fly ? are possible. To be fair ? Barge Concepts were extraordinary in details in cloning the original Bee Baa Fuzz right down to it?s initial design. For that ? I give them an easy 10 for placing the knobs right where they historically should be.

And I should disclose right up front that I have never tried the original Bee Baa so this review is written not based on how close it sounds to the original. This review is to answer the question most of you will want to know up front ? is this pedal worth $169 or not? The answer is yes ? that and more. This is Barge Concepts introductory price ? to get them in the hands of real players with multiple setups and to get the feedback they need. It is clear they?ve done their homework. Someone at Barge Concepts has a very good ear.

This design allows for equally great voicings at LIVE and bedroom levels ? that?s hard to do for a lot of pedals of this genre. Some of you have already emailed me asking the differences between Tone A and Tone B on the Fuzz side of this pedal.

To put it in a nutshell ? Tone A to me, sounds more like a scooped metal sounding fuzz. When I first heard it (sorry I don?t remember what my initial settings were) it reminded me of ?Piece of My Heart? by Janis Joplin & Big Brother & the Holding Company. Thick, metal-like and yet (depending upon the Sustain setting) ? it kicks out vintage fuzz the way I remember it the best. The sustain on this pedal is the best I?ve ever heard. If this is THE reason people loved the original Bee Baa so much -?then it's understandable why people wanted to see a clone of it.

Tone B ? more modern sounding, fuller, thicker ?really shines on both Strats and Les Pauls (single coil/humbucker). You want to be careful using the bridge pickup of a Strat on the Tone A side as it can pierce your eardrums ? a bit too trebly for my taste using that side of the pedal with the bridge pup on a Strat.

The Sustain knob interacts quite meticulously with the Fuzz on this pedal ? whether on Tone A or Tone B. This is where the pedal shines most in my opinion. You can dial in very quickly to an endless amount of sustain both at bedroom and gigging levels and ? get this ? on both chords and single notes ? what a joy to be able to do that at home in the wee hours and not shake the rafters. And as a result ? the Sustain knob seems to also fatten the sound the higher the setting.

The additional Boost channel just puts the icing on the cake as this will easily benefit any pedals in the Fuzz, Dirt genre that are placed either before or after the BB-1 (suited to taste).

An excellent array of thick, beautiful, sustaining fuzz with a variety of rich thick voicings as you interplay between the guitar volume and the Sustain knob. Some pedals have one or two really sweet spots ? this has several all over the dials and the bang-for-buck here is a no brainer purchase.

Built like a tank ? would gig without a backup without worry. I have to talk some more about the features.

With a total of 6 leds on top of this pedal (3 green on top and 3 red on the bottom) it?s easy to distinguish this pedal from others even on a dark stage. It?s foot print is as large as the original Bee Baa so the downside for some would be precious pedalboard real estate. I heard that Geoff is coming out with a smaller version (sans the Boost channel) so for those of you that don?t want or need another Boost pedal ? the solution for you is also coming.

Excellent both before AND AFTER the purchase. I like that ? and I?m sure all of you do as well. A solid 10 in this category ?add to that that Geoff is online at the Harmony Central Effects Forum on any given day answering questions online in real time. It doesn?t get any better than that folks.

Bang for the buck and excellent high quality gear at a very reasonable price. Three boutique quality pedals for the price of one in a lot of cases makes this a no brainer purchase. Order one ? you can thank me (and Barge Concepts for creating this clone) later. Rock on and as always, thanks for reading.