After the success of our pro mkii remake we thought it only natural to produce the other really sought after 60s tone bender, the one that has come to be known as the 1. The one that started it all, the legendary mk1 tonebender. To add further confusion to this, there was also a supposeddick denney version at the same time during the 90s via sola sound which featured a 3 transistor circuit, but it wasnt really a 3 transistormkii either. Sola sound tone bender mkiv buy now a tone bender timeline.
That is my treasured 90s reissue sola sound tone bender fuzz. Dam sola sound pro mkii tone bender final check duration. Analog man sun bender mkiv fuzz pedal buyanalogman. Micaris in london are a shop that sells an incredible mk 1 reissue but wholly molly its expensive. Sola sound tone bender mkii scb dam reissue blue meanie 3. The mkii tone bender is a three transistor circuit based on the mki.
Sola sound tone bender mkii 3 transistors sola sound tone bender mkii dam reissue 3 transistors sola sound tone bender mkii dam reissue green bastard 3 transistors sola sound tone bender mkii scb dam reissue blue meanie 3 transistors vox tone bender professional mk ii. Nick sterling, sola sound, color sound, 59 historic les paul, d jrt 915. Often just referred to as the tone bender, the sola sound tone bender is one of the most famous fuzz circuits from the 1960s. The sola sound tone bender, first designed by electronics engineer gary stewart hurst in 1965, was the first britishmade fuzz pedal, and was based on the gibsonbuilt maestro fuzztone. Colorsound tonebender mark ii professional general. Jimmy page sound 90s reissue sola sound professional. The guts from the yellow one are identical to a standard solasound 3knob tonebender. Midnineties sola sound reissue of the professional mkii, handbuilt by the late dick denney. Sola sound tonebender 3knob the softer side of the tonebenders the sola sound 3knob tonebender is another famous installment in the tonebender line of pedals. The williams vintage tone mk11 professional is a very faithful recreation of the legendary tonebender mk11 professional fuzz pedal. Originally built by sola sound in the 1960s, the mk11 tonebender instantly became a mainstay for many legendary guitarists such as jimmy page and jeff beck.
Sola sound tonebender mkiii by electric warrior 05 sep 2011, 19. We started with a redesign of our pcb so that it would fit the larger axial leaded capacitors and. Sola sound is the father company behind the colorsound and tone bender. Designed by gary hurst it was the british response to the american made gibson maestro fuzz tone fz1. After the success of our pro mkii remake we thought it only natural to produce the. Sep 18, 2009 midnineties sola sound reissue of the professional mkii, handbuilt by the late dick denney. Everything you want to know about big muffs with sound clips. As a result, this circuit is commonly called both the mark iii and the threeknob tone bender. It is based on one of the most iconic rock n roll fuzzes of all time, but there are. The inside of the casing is stamped24 jun 1974 features an onoff footswitch with 3 rotary control knobs for volume. Will the fatcase still have the right sound compared to the thincase one. A nice reader of the blog lend me this super cool colorsound supa tonebender, from 1973. Besides pete, other users include jeff beck of the yardbirds, the beatles and mick ronson.
My early experiences with the colorsound tonebender professional mark ii were a long and confusing ordeal, with no real answers to show for it. Sola sound tone bender mkiv dam reissue sola sound tone bender mkiv dam reissue the red baron. This time, the end result was a circuit that produced an overall softer fuzz, especially when compared to the very aggressive sola sound mkii professional. Upon research the case is similar to the size of the jumbo tonebender, however the case itself doesnt have the markings of the jumbo tonebender. The tone is a little heavier and denser when compared to that of the professional mkii. A genuine 1974 vintage tonebender fuzz pedal by sola sound from london.
Weve worked so hard to get into a stock situation with this pedal, at some points there. I check the fuzz pedal window, and see mucho dam and other juicy bits, but not the droid i seek. Hands dfown, these are the most accurate tone bender replicas ever made. Tb mk2pro circuit was designed for the use of the weak oc81d hfe max. Jimmy page sound 90s reissue sola sound professional mkii. Colorsound tone bender mk ii project documentation deimos fuzz. It seems strange, but if it sounds good, i dont question it. The phobos project has a voltage inverter which allows you to power the effect with a standard centernegative adapter while. This is the very pedal sola sound had a loan of for their 90s reissue which resulted in the 2 transistor circuit being used. I am trying to create a really accurate mkii and i was looking at the d. Tonebender fuzz sola sound aka colorsound london england wow. Tonebender fuzz sola soundaka colorsound london england wow. My band is about to embark upon our first tour and id rather not take it on the road, so im looking for a pedal that will nail the sound of this pedal as perfectly as possible. As they are used instruments they may or may not have some scratches or wear to the finish.
Check out the schematic of the vox mkii below, which was emailed to me by peter, who traced the schematic from an original he owned. These units were named vox tone bender professional mkii, marshall supa fuzz, rotosound fuzz box. I could have listed this pedal under the rat category too, as it cleverly combines the tonebender and rat voicing for a rich and saturated fuzztortion style pedal which is still beautifully musical throughout its range. It was the same basic circuit with only a few minor component value differences. Williams vintage tone mk11 professional tone bender. Sola sound tone bender mkiv dam reissue the red baron. Its perfect for getting that classic fuzzy distortion, but i like it a lot because it doesnt blur the notes and you can still hear the musically elements of what.
Full and rich sounding tonebender mkii style circuit with classic 3dial layout and tone toggle switch with normal to. Hudson electronics uk fuzz mk iv colorsound supa tonebender. Sola sound tone bender mkiii the shipping cost to most countries is included in the listed price the pictures in the listings are of the actual item so please have a look for an idea of the cosmetic condition. I will hunt you down, dam sola sound tone bender mkii pro. Mullard oc82d, the green jacket wearing boss of all driver devices. Because as far as vintage goes, i dont care who used what, i want the right sound. The vox tone bender is a faithfull reissue of the sixties tonebender pedals played by people such as jeff beck, jimmy page and pete townshend.
This sola sound tone bender reissue might get people to look twice at. Anyways, back to now same deal as with the sola sound professional mkii. Established in 1964, and based in macaris ltd of charing cross road, london. Jimmy page sound 90s reissue sola sound professional mkii tone bender. Sola sounds decided they wanted to use the circuit for their tone bender line, but rather. A couple of weeks ago, i was sent home with this reverb exclusive, limited release sola sound tone bender mk iv fuzz pedal to get a feel for it. Tonebender mkiii mkiv clone, built with nos parts including germanium. I first built the circuit, using steve daniels schematic, in may 2001. I think this pedal sounds much better and louder than the new. Tone bender fuzz box pete townshends guitar gear whotabs. I ordered a colorsound tonebender off of ebay from a reputable seller, and it came in today. V version, but with an additional amplifier gain stage.
This circuit was produced from around november 1966 to early 1968, with a few exceptions. Feb 12, 2012 the sola sound colorsound tonebender mkii professional is probably the second most famous fuzz box after the fuzz face. The saturation levels are lower too so works pretty neat for driving a big ballsy. The soulbender may sound good but its completely different from the reissue colorsound tone.
Transistor pinouts are all cbe with collectors closest to the pots. Vintage tone mk1 classic mk1 tone bender build williams audio. Colorsound sola sound tone bender tonebender youtube. Ranger treble boost ranger treble boost gold power driver. The inside of the casing is stamped24 jun 1974 features an onoff footswitch with 3 rotary control knobs for. Sola sound tone bender mkii dam reissue green bastard. It was converted to 9volt battery power at some point but could be easily converted back to its original uk electrical power. Many of the other clones use finicky power supply and dont sound very good through low wattage tube or ss amps with mediocre transformers, not a problem with this guy. Weve worked so hard to get into a stock situation with this pedal, at some points there has been a waiting list as long as a year and a half, sorry. Vox also made a version of the tonebender mkii professional which they also called the mkii. This fuzz pedal is a blueprinted version of the old sola sound colorsound vox tonebenders that had three germanium transistors and a tone knob. Colorsound tone bender mk ii project documentation. Youtube sound like jimmy page without busting the bank duration.
I have never owned original sola sound mk ii, but i have ever owned many clones. The official mark ii iteration returned to a threetransistor circuit but added an amplifier gain stage. Steve williams, david main, stu castledine and ian. But when no one was looking, it did something few other pedals have done. It varies, but thats the one i always come back to. Information from its description page there is shown below. Coda effects vintage colorsound supa tonebender 1973. It sounds absolutely killer with every amp ive played it through. Schematic is based on the schematic, with a 25k pot replacing the 8k resistor at the collector of q3. Mar 19, 2012 sola sound ltd tonebender mki hornby skewes zonk machine dam fz673 the sola sound tone bender mki was one of the first fuzz pedals available in the uk. Based on the gibson maestro fuzztone threetransistor circuit, it became a staple of players such as jimmy page, jeff beck, mick ronson, and others. The tone of the colorsound tonebender is what has given it its reputation over the years. For your consideration, garrett park guitars presents this 1970s sola sound vox wow fuzz pedalthis fun fuzz wah was built by solo sound and distributed by vox. There are the three variations of the mark ii professional.
Used by jeff beck, jimmy page and famously also used by mick ronson, the mk1 really has its own distinctive tone. Colorsound tonebender discussion in effects bg started by. Otherwise, we recommend you ignore this pcb mask and buy the readytosolder printed circuit board or complete. For an idea of how it sounds jimmy page used one with his dragon telecaster from the led zeppelin 1 era, yes, its that tone. Its a three transistor fuzz circuit that creates an unholy amount of gain and sustain. Sola sound tonebender mark ii professional schematic. Im a huge fan of catalinbread pedals who almost always seem to get things mostly right. V version, but with an additional amplifier gain stage sola sound produced the circuit for vox, marshall and rotosound as well. The tone bender fuzz reissue in the 1990s macaris of london reissued. Sola sound colorsound supa tonebender, 1974, internals. There also was a version of the short lived rangemaster. Granted its a good pedal, it just didnt like my setup i guess. This time, the end result was a circuit that produced an overall softer fuzz, especially when compared to the.
This sola sound tone bender reissue might get people to look twice at your pedalboard. We started with a redesign of our pcb so that it would fit the larger axial leaded capacitors and carbon comp resistors and made the layout look nice. Colorsound tonebender mark ii professional this is the classic, vintage colorsound tonebender mark ii professional. I pretty much like all the following for how they sound, although i will always prefer a compact enclosure so the britbender is really a highly unlikely acquisition. Of more significance was the mid90s sola sound tone bender professional mkii reissue, which was reportedly handbuilt by the late dick denney, legendary designer of the vox ac30. Oct 21, 2009 of more significance was the mid90s sola sound tone bender professional mkii reissue, which was reportedly handbuilt by the late dick denney, legendary designer of the vox ac30. Rebranded tone bender mki made by sola sound of london for marshall, made. Steve williams, david main, stu castledine and ian sherwen all make a mk 1model for colour sound.
Vox tone bender tonebender reissue fuzz pedal rare. At this point, sola sound produced units badged as the vox tone bender professional mk ii, the marshall supa fuzz, and the rotosound fuzz box. The grey one mkiii was made in 1973 and can be seen on some live pictures with jimmy page. Part of the characteristic sound of the tone bender mk ii is the uneven bias. Someone he knows found it in his garage and gave it to him true story. Colorsound is an old english brand that produced pedals during the late sixites. C6 is a tight fit behind the potnot a good place for busting out the mojo. This is the sola sound pro mkii tone bender, the one we originally made in 1965, the one we supplied to jimmy page just before led zep 1, the one dick taylor used in the pretty things, the one that. Options are to build it with pnp or npn germanium transistors or with npn silicon transistors. Tonebender mark ii instructions voltage reading reference and photos tonebender mark ii readyfortransfer printed circuit board layout for use only if you are a complete diy person who wants to etch and drill your own pcb. Different transistors were used and the unit was famously used by. Its definitely a traditional sort of fuzz box with a really huge sound to say the least.
The sola soundcolorsound tonebender mkii professional is probably the second most famous fuzz box after the fuzz face. Plus, has the bias control, fat, and mode switches. Sola sound produced the circuit for vox, marshall and rotosound as well. The saturation levels are lower too so works pretty neat for driving a big ballsy amplifier over the edge but never. Exact replica of the 1966 1967 mark ii sand casted tonebender. Produced by sola sound in reasonably small amounts, you are more likely to pickup rocking horse sht than one of these. Sola sound ltd tonebender mki hornby skewes zonk machine dam fz673 the sola sound tone bender mki was one of the first fuzz pedals available in the uk. Help me replace my sola sound tone bender fuzz reddit. The tone bender went through many revisions, with changes including additional gain stages and germanium diodes as time. But, im playing it, you cant hear anything, ive got the. The history is somewhat convoluted, with a host of interrelated individuals and companies, including jennings musical industries, vox, jmivox engineers dick denney and gary hurst, the legendary macaris music exchange of london, sola sound colorsound, the beatles, the yardbirds, and led zeppelin, among others. Skreddy pedals supa tone supa tonebender clone smitty pedals suppa bender supa tonebender clone stomp under foot rhinosaur based on colorsound bass fuzz. Has some of that beefy woolliness of a good germanium fuzz face but still has enough cut and. The original sola sound unit was not called the mark iii, but the voxlicensed version was.
Pro mkii tonebender hybrid squadron 27 i can only thank the wizardry at david mains house i dont know what goes on in there but what comes out is nothing short of amazing skill and knowledge vs. The example i have was built using three nos metal can mullard oc42 transistors. These are known as mkiii and mkiv versions, also known as thin case tonebenders. In fact, they are real tone benders, sold by macaris in london, where the original tone benders were sold, and macaris own the tone bender trademark. Photos by tom hughes the very first tone bender later christened tone bender mki, was based on hursts modified maestro fuzz. It was my fifth or six fuzz, following two fuzz faces.
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