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Just Sold my Sola Sound Tone Bender on Reverb


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I had the Tone Bender Mark IV for about a year. It’s the most expensive but also the best sounding fuzz I have owned.

I had several Analogman iterations, both Germanium & Silicon based and while they were excellent, the Original was just that much better.

I put it up on Reverb last night and it sold in 3 hrs. Maybe I didn’t ask for enough, who knows. 
 

Not everybody is into fuzz and there are many different types, octave fuzz, fuzzface, Tone Benders, different Big Muffs, etc, enough to make you crazy.

What are some of your favorites? 

 

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The big silver Big Muff took some getting used to, but it works for me as a fuzz.  I have the Metal Muff that is really nice for metal.  The Big Muff with tone wicker is fun, too.  That is one that I have kept. 

The sound of a Foxx fuzz pedal is something that many people do not like, probably because it is a bit nasally, but its unique sound is right for some things.  Billy Gibbons used a pedal based on a Foxx circuit.  It would be nice to have a Foxx pedal again. 

What I wanted was a Tone Bender Mark II type of pedal which led me to the Deep Trip Hellbender, a pedal with a germanium transistor based circuit.  I ended up liking the Deep Trip Kryptone better.  The Kryptone uses silicon transistors.  That one became my favorite at the time. 

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I just bought a new Sola Sound MKIV.  It’s the most expensive but also the best sounding fuzz I have owned.

Which version did you have, was it one of the ones made by DAM?  What did you ask for it on Reverb?

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Fuzz is fun. My fave is a Monsterpiece Mk1 clone of a Mk1 bender. Gatey, spitty, nasty fuzz. Perfect.
I also love several Lovepedal fuzzes: Super Sic Tone, Mississippi Tchula, 200 # of Gold, and the White Dragon.
I need to try a Rams Head Muff.

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Lovepedal BBB11 - Tone Bender on one side, Fuzz Face on the other with a blend knob between the two.  Splendid in every regard.  Here's an internet photo of one as photos of mine haven't made it over to Imgur yet.

lovepedal-bbb11-181073.jpg

Top left knob is output volume, top right is gain and the bottom, center knob is the blend between Tone Bender (left) and Fuzz Face (right).  I went on a Fuzz bender (pun intended) a couple of years back and bought half a dozen different varieties including some boo-teek versions.  Nothing could touch the BBB. 

I will say the Red Witch Fuzz God II (since sold) was some seriously insane fun and the outrageously-priced but currently (shelved) non-functioning Black Cat Monster K Fuzz (sent back to the factory and "fixed" yet still provides only intermittent operation) was interesting but not my cup of tea.  The Lovepedal is absolutely the most musical / useful / capable of any fuzz I tried.

I would still like to try that JHS multi-version Muff some time... 

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I'm a self-admitted fuzz nut.  Among many that have made their way thru, I'm really liking this recent Sola MKIV.  It just sings and has the best internal noise gate I've ever heard.  DEAD quiet between notes.  

My favorite for 10 years or so now is the Gramps+ Fuzztortion from Himmelstrutz out of Sweden.  It sounds like a fuzz into a slightly overdriven Marshall.

Himmelstrutz Gramps+ - Fuzztortion | Effects Database

 

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I rarely use pedals as I only play at home nowadays, which was the case even before The Pandemic...I just go straight into the amp.  I still have a DOD FX-52 Classic Fuzz (the pumpkin orange one) that I use when I want to do a little extra sonic mayhem, but I've gotta find a battery for it so I can test it out as I haven't used it in a long time.  I've also got a Russian-made Big Muff (the big army green one) somewhere, but it's probably buried in storage.

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4 hours ago, chromium said:

The Tonebenders are a favorite.
I've built several over the years based on variations of that circuit...

Most recent ones:
tTKNW6R.jpg

That is tidy work! How long does it take you to build one, assuming all the parts are in hand?

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I love the Tanabe Sunkudo!  It is Tanabe's take of the impossible to find Burns Buzzaround.  Very musical, not harsh.  The website says you need to use a battery with it but I asked Tanabe to make mine with a 9V input, and he did.  For everyday fuzz, I use the Foxrox CC Hybrid.

tanabe_sunkudo_001.jpg.e044a72b3bd0c1ded567d4babec81605.jpg

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58 minutes ago, topekatj said:

That is tidy work! How long does it take you to build one, assuming all the parts are in hand?

Thanks!  It always takes me far too long lol (couple weeks off and on, if I recall, for the two in that pic).

The PC boards and wiring are the easy parts for me, but doing the graphic overlays and cosmetic work can be slow going... I just don't spend enough time in tools like Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. and always have to relearn when I get going on a new build.  I have done some stuff in the past with manufactured PC boards using CADSoft Eagle and KiCAD, but my handful of pedal builds have all been done on Veroboard/busboards (more of a prototyping board).

For the enclosure graphics, I've been using a transfer medium by Papilio that you print to and bake-onto the painted enclosures.  That always seems to take some trial and error, but works well when all stars are in alignment :) 

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How are fuzzes incorporated? Are they used for a, "60's-sound?” Jeff Beck, Hendrix? Are they designed to be put in front of a clean amp?

I can't imagine using one for the any of the sounds I want. They've always sounded, "splatty", not what I'm going for...

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10 hours ago, soli'd said:

I just bought a new Sola Sound MKIV.  It’s the most expensive but also the best sounding fuzz I have owned.

Which version did you have, was it one of the ones made by DAM?  What did you ask for it on Reverb?

It was a DAM... I asked 500.00. Got several offers a little short of that within an hour

It sold for asking price. 

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5 hours ago, RobB said:

How are fuzzes incorporated? Are they used for a, "60's-sound?” Jeff Beck, Hendrix? Are they designed to be put in front of a clean amp?

I can't imagine using one for the any of the sounds I want. They've always sounded, "splatty", not what I'm going for...

There's a YouTube page called pinstripedclips that is full of killer fuzz demos, mostly instrumentals featuring several sounds found in a given pedal, here's one for the Sola Sound MKIV.

 

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I had a Hucklebery fuzz that did the Billy Gibbons thing well. Regret that I sold it.

I have been using the Fulltone Catalyst for some years now. Replaced it once, but put it back on the board after a few months. The Catalyst is unorthodox as a fuzz. But it s very easy to dial in. And it is very uncompressed and open sounding. I have had fuzzes that sounded great, but stayed in the speakers. I stomped them and I did not cut through. The Catalyst cuts through, has a lot of sound options and great bass/mids and treble filters. Just a good, versatile all round fuzz/dirtbox. Very related to the OCD, in fuzz format. Covers a lot of ground for me.

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I’m liking a P. Trembotta mini bone right now. I find I get tired/bored w fuzz’s after a while so they’re in constant rotation. Some really great suggestions here!!

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I'm a newb to the fuzz world. Very limited experience, but I've managed to march through a few. 

Liked the DOD Carcosa, Keeley Fuzzbender, Fulltone '69. Currently have a Petty John Rail on one board, JHS Kilt on the other. Kilt is only (heavily gated) fuzz with all gain stages enabled. 

I know nothing about the OG fuzzes or even what the ones I've had were based on. Can't afford to be sucked into that hole ;)  

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