OVERDRIVE-BJF Design BEARFOOT model Hs (5 knob) ....analog modeling of a HIWATT amp

 BJF Design BEAR FOOT Model Hs 

It is a weird company.  BJF Design are in Sweden.  Bjorn Juhl designs pedals and he and his wife make them one at a time for around $400.00 USD a pop. They still do!
BUT to reach a wider market they went to the guys at B.Y.O.C.who do the DIY pedal kits for the DIY crowd with the soldering irons to 'also' make them.
So under the name Bear Foot with a staff in the US they reproduce them ...but still by hand for $222.00USD.
They are currently sorting out how to make more and cheaper units by farming out production of a select few big sellers to be produce faster and cheaper for about $150.00 USD...but it has not yet happened. All the pedals now look and are virtually the same. In the past the Swedish ones were sometimes cosmetically quite different.

$222.00 USD

It is all very much like Fender with the US, Mexican and Asian Strats.etc.
It is also very confusing for the consumer.

In 1970 Dave Reeves HI-WATT's designer/owner convinced Pete Townsend to try them. 
Pete took them to the Live at Leeds gig. Rapidly all the better bands switch out their Plexi for the Hi-Watt. 
In 1981 Dave fell down a flight of stairs and was totally incapacitated.
The short story is the lawyers stepped in and ran the company. The product soon tanked. Everyone went back to Marshall.
The HI-WATT is a Marshall with high end components 
and like a Vox it used a negative feedback circuit to
stop the speaker from breaking up. Upgrading the components and restricting the excessive dampening of the speakers is what gives the HI-WATT it's clarity and high definition.


For the most part Bear Foot is still under the radar. The Model G is a Gibson amp which is not only great sounding but distinctly different from the Marshall, Fender and a few Vox pedals that although are quite nice have glutted the market.
The newest one is the Model H. It is a dead accurate interpretation of a HIWATT. If it is set to give you a low, medium or high gain sound it is equally convincing over it's entire. range. Anywhere on it's gain is a sweet spot. Impressive!!!
I feel because once again this sound is both desirable and this offering is so accurate that it could sell to thousands if players if they new it existed The big deal about a HIWATT sound is it is as full as a good PLEXI. The low end is both fat and tight and no mater how high the gain there is ZERO mud.
The clarity is unbelievable.
.
Both the Model G and the model H have got to be the coolest and freshest sounds in an OD in years and years and years. 
The cool is thing if you are Marshall fan you could choose the HIWATT
and if you are a Fender guy you would get the Gibson. It is not only a natural choice but the big deal is both amps will complement the two styles and repertoire of the players who buy them. 

IF you are wailing away on your Plexi pedal and I put you through the HIWATT  you would not skip a beat'.The sound would be different but it will feel  natural to your present technique.

You could call the Model Hs the deluxe because you can still get the Model 3. There was also a Model 4. They recently killed it because it was getting a bit silly offering 3 models all at the same time. Even so some players swear by the 4. They all sound a shade different.
What blew me away is that when you back off the gain it acts like a real amp with a near crunch like tone and completely usable sound. In short no sweet spot. You can use the gain across it's whole range.
This works so damn well it begs for a Deluxe model with 2 channels.
.

CONCLUSION

This is a break through product. It is a REAL choice for anyone who would normally go to a Marshall. It could appeal and please quite literally thousands and thousands of players.