NPD buzzing up on the horizon...

[Caevan O’Shite]

Hey, cool, I just got an e-mail update from VFE stating that my limited edition, special custom painted, final run, last Bumblebee made has just shipped out, and that it'll be here in a few days. I wasn't expecting it to be in my hands till July or August! I'll post an update and review when I get it!

 

Over a month ago. I pulled the trigger for a "pre-order" on the last of the VFE Bumblebee Swell + Compressor pedals being made; their maker, Peter VonRutter, is starting a whole new line of different pedals, ending the current VFE line. These final offerings of all of their pedals have custom paint-jobs, knobs, etc., and sometimes modified circuits.

 

The Bumblebee is an envelope-volume-swell, it's an optical-compressor, but most importantly, it's BOTH together... This is the third VFE pedal that I've bought, and for good reasons- great quality, excellent construction, small size, and reasonable prices...

 

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[Dannyalcatraz]

Woot!

[skipclone 1]

Kool!

[Larryz]

Congrats Caevan! Looking forward to your review within the next couple of months!

[Caevan O’Shite]

Well, the Bumblebee came today- I wasn't expecting it to be here till Saturday or Sunday! I picked it up on my way to work, just past Noon. It looks sharp and came in a cool little wooden box, in turn in a cloth draw-string bag and bubble-wrap inside that.

 

I'll be here on the job till after 8:00 PM EST tonight, so I won't get to try it out till after then- but try it I will, for sure! My guitar's hanging from a stand, may amp and a few pedals are all plugged-in...

 

I'll let you all know how it is later on tonight, and when I can, I'll try to get a littl clip of it in action one way or 'nother...

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

OK, short answer is, it's a very good pedal, and does what it's supposed to.

 

The Bumblebee is the best all-analog "swell" pedal that I've tried so far, better than the venerable and rare Boss SG-2 Slow-Gear and Guyatone SV2 Slow-Volume.

 

Turn on some reverb and echo and it's very cool! "Violin-bow" volume-swelled attack and simulated "backwards" sounds are easily achieved- and sound great and are a LOT of fun. I set my El Capistan to sound dark, and to simulate crinkled old tape with lots of wow & Flutter modulation, so that the swelled-notes and the echoes sound distinctly different.

 

The Bumblebee's six external controls are VERY interactive; it takes a while to dial-in an optimal response for a given instrument, amp, and other pedals, but time spent twiddling and tweaking rewarded me with near perfect touch-controlled volume-swells. I say "near perfect", as I am sure that I will continue to fine-tune and perfect it to my needs, bending the Bumblebee to my will...

 

I'm vacillating between its Fast and Medium swell/gate speed ranges, zeroing-in on what'll serve me best. Its Volume control affects the perceived 'shape' and 'ramp-up time' of the volume-swell, as well as its more typical Attack (speed, in conjunction with the Short/Fast/Medium range toggle-switch) and Trigger (threshold) controls.

 

Sustain controls the Optical-Compressor, and Mix blends between the Swell and Compressor circuits. I just barely crack-open the Mix from full-on Swell to a smidgen or Compressor, which I have cranked quite high, to enhance the overall sustain and bloom and prevent notes from getting prematurely cut-off by the Swell's envelope being closed-down. Getting all the controls- and also ones playing- all set just-right for good opening and closing swell action can be a bit tricky, but it IS doable.

 

I'll add that it's very quiet, with extremely low noise, hum, hiss, or buzz (name not withstanding), and feels very sturdily put together.

[Larryz]

Sounds like it's a keeper! Have fun tweaking it!

[Caevan O’Shite]

It's cool to be able to have 'touch-controlled' volume-swells; that is, controlled by the touch of my fingers on the strings...

[desertbluesman]

New gear day. http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/just_cuz/JC_cheers.gif

[Caevan O’Shite]

OK. REALLY getting it zeroed-in, and using the same control-settings for both the Overdrive Channel, AND the Clean Channel- even with subtle tweaks of the guitar's volume-knobs for various overdrive/distortion textures! Even for use with my Octron octave-fuzz, too. Other pedal combinations will surely follow.

 

This is one of the very best pedal purchases- or even gear purchases in general- that I've ever made. Seriously. Particularly because various volume-swell techniques have become integral to a lot of my playing. Since I got this pedal, I'm constantly playing or wanting to be playing. ALL of my fingers on both hands are sore and tired from the workout they've been getting. And my chops in general have rocketed forward, due to the amount of focus and detail that manipulating this pedal's envelope-triggering requires of both picking and fretting fingers.

 

It's getting to be so intuitive as to be automatic and second-nature to use it, and it could almost be an "always on" pedal for me... !

 

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[Danzilla]

Niiiiiiiiiice!

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sounds like something I'd buy if I had your technique. You make it sound like a future classic!

[Scott Fraser]

OK, so it didn't really work out for you I guess, sorry to hear that (NOT!!)

 

This is the one pedal I had thought might replace the multiple volume pedals I've used for the last 35 years or so, but since you seem to have picked up the last one in the universe, I'll wait for the BYOC equivalent.

 

 

[Larryz]

That's great news Caevan! Enjoy!!! Always great to dial in your own sound, especially when it's one that inspires your playing to reach new and higher plateaus!

[Caevan O’Shite]

Thanks, everybody!

 

OK, so it didn't really work out for you I guess, sorry to hear that (NOT!!)

 

This is the one pedal I had thought might replace the multiple volume pedals I've used for the last 35 years or so, but since you seem to have picked up the last one in the universe, I'll wait for the BYOC equivalent.

 

Actually, it turns out that I didn't get the very last one- and there is apparently a "second (last) chance" run coming up, as he has some leftover parts and is ordering the rest of what he needs to use 'em all up.

 

This may or may not have one or more of the following: reduced price, little wooden box, custom paint-job, expedited production-run and free shipping... Plus, there are unsold NOS Bumblebees out there for sale from retailers (check with 'Axe...and You Shall Receive', for one, and tell 'em that the guy in New York who bought the VFE Enterprise via Reverb sentcha). And used Bumblebees will surely turn up. So, if you or anyone else wants one, there's a very good chance of doing so...

 

Now, it DOESN'T replace my volume pedal- but my volume pedal doesn't replace the Bumblebee, either. They cover similar territory, but they are apples and oranges, or at least Mcintosh apples and Golden Delicious apples. I have my volume-pedal connected down-stream from the Bumblebee; I can use either, or I can use the volume-pedal to adjust the overall volume and/or vary the clean-to-overdrive texture while still using the Bumlebee for the auto-swell effect. The Bumblebee does pretty uniform envelope effects, while a volume-pedal can vary swells and volume in a much more varied, detailed manner. I was doing all of the above this afternoon and really enjoying it- it's a perfect set-up for me.

 

The Bumblebee's optical compressor circuit adds a LOT to its capabilities, as does the active boost-or-cut output-Level. Between them, the Attack and Trigger controls, and the three-way Slow/Fast/Medium toggle, one can really shape the swell and fine-tune the response much more than, say, the Boss SG-1 "Slow Gear" or Guyatone SV2 "Slow Volume".

 

To get the Bumblebee's swell effect on each note in fairly rapid-fire strings of notes, besides dialing-in the pedal's controls, it takes muting and damping techniques with either or both picking and fretting hands and fingers. The side of my picking-hand thumb sees a lot of muting action, and I'll roll the edge of my palm onto the strings at the bridge to glide into and trigger the Bumblebee's soft cut-off on chords.

 

This kind of stuff has been pretty integral to my fingerstyle electric approach for years and years, so it comes kinda naturally to me. Players who've cultivated a pick-less approach like Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth, Jeff Beck, and Mark Knopfler would find it a breeze.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Damn...thinking about it more, wanting it more .

 

 

But I need to save for a new amp!!!

[Caevan O’Shite]

Damn...thinking about it more, wanting it more .

 

 

But I need to save for a new amp!!!

 

Save up for your amp, and get a really good one. Like I told Scott above, there are still unsold NOS Bumblebees out there for sale from retailers (check with 'Axe...and You Shall Receive', for one, and tell 'em that the guy in New York who bought the VFE Enterprise via Reverb sentcha). And used VFE Bumblebees of different iterations will surely turn up.

 

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[Winston Psmith]

OK, so it didn't really work out for you I guess, sorry to hear that (NOT!!)

 

This is the one pedal I had thought might replace the multiple volume pedals I've used for the last 35 years or so, but since you seem to have picked up the last one in the universe, I'll wait for the BYOC equivalent.

 

 

@Scott, you can accomplish much of this with the Slow Gear effect in your GT-10. Takes a bit of tweaking to set it up, but it does work. You can also trigger Volume Swells, by accessing the Internal Pedal Assign. I owe you some GT-10 settings, anyhow. Drop an email, if you get a chance.

 

@Caevan, so glad you're enjoying it. Every so often, I think about trading/selling my SV2, but I don't have another stand-alone Analog Swell effect, so . . .

[Caevan O’Shite]

OK, so it didn't really work out for you I guess, sorry to hear that (NOT!!)

 

This is the one pedal I had thought might replace the multiple volume pedals I've used for the last 35 years or so, but since you seem to have picked up the last one in the universe, I'll wait for the BYOC equivalent.

 

 

@Scott, you can accomplish much of this with the Slow Gear effect in your GT-10. Takes a bit of tweaking to set it up, but it does work. You can also trigger Volume Swells, by accessing the Internal Pedal Assign.

 

If the "Slow Gear" modeling capabilities of the GT-10 are anything like my experience with that of Johnson and DigiTech digital-modeler/multi-effects units, it'll be at least as good and probably better than an actual Boss SG-1 Slow Gear pedal.

 

@Caevan, so glad you're enjoying it. Every so often, I think about trading/selling my SV2, but I don't have another stand-alone Analog Swell effect, so . . .

 

I'll never part with my SV2, either, Winston- partly for sentimental reasons, it was a Christmas present from my Mom- but this VFE Bumblebee is superior all-around. Its optical compressor side is good enough with my Les Paul's humbuckers that I think that the VFE White Horse optical-compressor pedal would be my choice for a full-on compresor pedal. (I have two sweet Home Brew Electronics Compressor Retro pedals- think upgraded, quieter and cleaner Ross Compressor based designs- but they excel at imparting classic squeeze upon Teles and Strats and similar single-coil stylees, but less so with my Les Paul and its rather hot humbuckers.)

 

Its "auto" volume-swell performance is the very best I've tried so far, especially for all-analog devices. I'm sure that you'd love it! Before or after my Foxrox Octron, epecially with some righteous tape-flavored echo, it's absolutely killer, often evoking some of John Paul Jones' and Jimmy Page's synth and fuzz forays, respectively, such as heard in the intro and bridge of Led Zeppelin's "In The Light", and the like.

 

It's really cool to put the Bumblebee in front of anything else that will respond differently to varying input-volumes, or envelope-dependent/triggered devices. And of course, clean or dirty, it's fantastic with echo and reverb... !

[Winston Psmith]

If the "Slow Gear" modeling capabilities of the GT-10 are anything like my experience with that of Johnson and DigiTech digital-modeler/multi-effects units, it'll be at least as good and probably better than an actual Boss SG-1 Slow Gear pedal.

 

It's . . . different, and I had an original Slow Gear. For one thing, it's counter-intuitive. If you're used to a pedal like the Slow Gear or SV2, it doesn't quite behave the same way. In some ways, I still prefer the SV2. FWIW, the Line 6 Auto-Voume Echo effect works very well as an Attack Delay/Volume Swell, with or without adding the Delay/Echo effect.

 

There are even differences between the Slow Gear effect in my GT-3, and the Slow Gear in my GT-10. The GT-3 version works nicely to swell chords, whereas the GT-10 seems to be trying to re-trigger on different notes? I'd be very interested to hear how the Bumblebee handles chords.

[Caevan O’Shite]

If the "Slow Gear" modeling capabilities of the GT-10 are anything like my experience with that of Johnson and DigiTech digital-modeler/multi-effects units, it'll be at least as good and probably better than an actual Boss SG-1 Slow Gear pedal.

 

It's . . . different, and I had an original Slow Gear. For one thing, it's counter-intuitive. If you're used to a pedal like the Slow Gear or SV2, it doesn't quite behave the same way. In some ways, I still prefer the SV2. FWIW, the Line 6 Auto-Voume Echo effect works very well as an Attack Delay/Volume Swell, with or without adding the Delay/Echo effect.

 

There are even differences between the Slow Gear effect in my GT-3, and the Slow Gear in my GT-10. The GT-3 version works nicely to swell chords, whereas the GT-10 seems to be trying to re-trigger on different notes? I'd be very interested to hear how the Bumblebee handles chords.

 

The Bumblebee handles chords as well as single-notes and double-stops just fine, I'm glad to say! 'Course, it's all in how ya play 'em. Fingerstyle, piece o' cake. As I please, I can even more tightly control the fade-to-close of the 'gate, if I roll the edge of the palm of my picking-hand up and over the strings from the bridge-saddles, and back off again.

 

I love this thing. It's a mos def always hafta bring it and most of the time leave it on pedal, for me.

 

If I could only bring ONE pedal, it'll be my tuner, my Octron, my Bumblebee, my volume-pedal, my El Capistan, and my Flint. And maybe my RT-20 Leslie-sim pedal. Yeah.