by Jef | Approximate reading time: 2 Minutes
Beetronics Royal Jelly Overdrive/Fuzz pedal

Beetronics Royal Jelly Overdrive/Fuzz pedal  ·  Source: Beetronics

Beetronics Royal Jelly and Buzzter pedals

Beetronics Royal Jelly and Buzzter pedals  ·  Source: Beetronics

Beetronics Royal Jelly Overdrive/Fuzz pedal

Beetronics Royal Jelly Overdrive/Fuzz pedal  ·  Source: Beetronics

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Beetronics has gained quite the reputation on both sides of the pond for beautiful tools that can sound pretty epic. The US-based maker now has two new offerings, the Royal Jelly and Buzzter. 

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Royal Jelly

I have been very impressed by Beetronics’ offerings in the past and this new Royal Jelly Overdrive/Fuzz pedal looks pretty stunning to me. It seems utilitarian and robust; it just makes me want to stomp on it. Featuring dual overdrive and fuzz channels, each with +/- 10 dB of boost and cut Hi/Lo EQ, it looks simple enough. If the audio demo below is anything to go on, it can get pretty raucous.

The Royal Jelly is built in collaboration with Howard Davis, who is also responsible for the EHX Deluxe Memory Man, arguably one of the best delay pedals ever made. So this pedal has some great heritage. I personally love the demo tones in the official video below. Okay, it isn’t cheap, but if, like me, you love a good dirt box, then you won’t think this is overpriced in the slightest, especially for a hand-built pedal made in the USA.

Beetronics Royal Jelly

Beetronics Royal Jelly control diagram

King, Queen and Honey

The blend control is labelled Honey, while Queen and King are your two fuzz/overdrive preset controls, each with their own channel. You can boost or cut this with that powerful shared EQ section. The Buzz switch adds what Beetronics call a “nasty high end” for when you want to get extreme, I suppose. The Mode switch allows you to go between both channels. The on/off (true-bypass) switch engages the effect.

You can also use the Dry control to dial your unprocessed guitar signal to layer in some clarity under all that dirt.

The blending of the two sections is where all the fun starts. I reckon and I could probably lose myself in this effect for quite some time – I want one!

RRP – USD 289 requires 9v DC power supply not included

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Buzzter

Not satisfied with releasing the Royal Jelly, Beetronics has also announced the new Buzzter, a boost/preamp pedal. Honey allows you to control the boost portion of the pedal, whilst Pollen and Nectar control your overall output, thus giving you two presets to choose from, each with its own knob. You can toggle between them using the dedicated footswitch labelled Pollen/Nectar. Of course, you can just run it straight without either preset and so you get a total of three boost tones from one pedal. Nice.

This looks like a great design. I like the layout and having the three presets available should make this a pretty handy preamp/boost pedal for live work especially.

RRP – USD 179 requires 9v DC power supply not included

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Video

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Image Sources:
  • Beetronics Royal Jelly control diagram: Beetronics
  • Beetronics Buzzter preamp/boost pedal: Beetronics
  • Beetronics Nectar control: Beetronics
Beetronics Royal Jelly Overdrive/Fuzz pedal

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