Differences between Tone Benders...

OriginalCrash · #1 01-25-2009, 01:36 PM

So I found and read this, and it really is a wealth of information (possibly a bit too technical for someone who isn't into the electronics of pedals... I have no idea what some of those parts are). But what about sound? For someone who has heard Tone Benders but has never owned one (or especially different ones), what are the sonic differences? What differentiates the Mk I, Mk I.5, and Mk II? Colorsound vs. Vox? This one and that one? Silicon and germanium, and which ones had what? I know there's a ton of info out there about Tone Benders (and I've read a good bit of it... certainly not all, but a good bit). But I haven't really found much that could give someone an idea of which Tone Bender might be more right for them...

Brian

Chronicle · #2 01-25-2009, 06:50 PM

I had a modern Tonebender and it used Silicon transistors so it was a much smoother fuzz. I recently got a Solasound Tonbender MKII clone sent to me as well. It's the "All your bass are belong to us" pedal in my Chronicle of Effects thread in my sig. The Solasound is much more harsher, almost sounds like a RAT because of the germ. transistors.

If you want to hear soundclips, check that thread.

OriginalCrash · #3 01-25-2009, 10:03 PM

That seems contrary to the usual... Aren't germanium fuzzes normally smoother than silicon?

Brian

grovest · #4 01-25-2009, 10:06 PM

Crash, great article- thanks!

**grygrx** · #5 01-26-2009, 05:46 AM

Random knowledge I've acquired.

MK 1 Tonebenders are like a ghost, not a ton of real info. Your kidney would sell for less. No clones per say.

MK 1.5 Tonebenders: These are the VOX style. I remember reading Paul McCartney used one.

MK II: These are available in solosound, vox, and marshall variants (more too and then clones). I've played with a couple of clones, and I would say they are not really suited for bass.

MK III / IV / V - These variations differences are a mystery to me at this time. III introduced a tone knob for the first time I think. I believe the current colorsound model would be the MK V, maybe the Yellow is a III/IV? All speculation, maybe someone more knowledgeable on the topic can fill in the blanks.

roflol · #6 01-26-2009, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grygrx

Random knowledge I've acquired.

MK 1 Tonebenders are like a ghost, not a ton of real info. Your kidney would sell for less. No clones per say.

MK 1.5 Tonebenders: These are the VOX style. I remember reading Paul McCartney used one.

MK II: These are available in solosound, vox, and marshall variants (more too and then clones). I've played with a couple of clones, and I would say they are not really suited for bass.

MK III / IV / V - These variations differences are a mystery to me at this time. III introduced a tone knob for the first time I think. I believe the current colorsound model would be the MK V, maybe the Yellow is a III/IV? All speculation, maybe someone more knowledgeable on the topic can fill in the blanks.

the mark II is essentially a buffered fuzz face on steroids. The mark III is a very different design as it uses a darlington pair on the buffer / input gain stage and the gain knob works differently rather than changing the gain of the input gain stage(lke on the mark II) it bleeds signal to ground before the section that does the distorting and as said the mark III introduced the tone circuit

Aparently the Mark I was just a fuzz face style circuit, but they dont turn up so it hasn't been back traced to my knowledge

Chronicle · #7 01-26-2009, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OriginalCrash

That seems contrary to the usual... Aren't germanium fuzzes normally smoother than silicon?

Brian

perhaps I got mixed up

OriginalCrash · #8 01-26-2009, 10:11 AM

But you stand by your description of the modern Tone Bender (am I to assume this is the one in my "this" link?) is smoother? And the Bogdan Mk II clone (and if it's accurate, I assume, other Mk II originals and clones, as well) are harsher sounding?

Brian

Chronicle · #9 01-26-2009, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OriginalCrash

But you stand by your description of the modern Tone Bender (am I to assume this is the one in my "this" link?) is smoother? And the Bogdan Mk II clone (and if it's accurate, I assume, other Mk II originals and clones, as well) are harsher sounding?

Brian

Correct.

OriginalCrash · #10 01-26-2009, 10:30 AM

What about how it (they) sound on bass? The clips in the wiki sound like two instruments... an almost totally clean bass underneath and an almost totally guitar-like fuzz on top (to me). I realize that's what some might go for... But I'm pretty sure I remember hearing some clips where it didn't sound so... divided. Any experiences confirming or contradicting this?

Brian

Chronicle · #11 01-26-2009, 10:48 AM

Clips of the current Tonebender and the Bogdan MKII Tonebender clone in my Chronicle of Effects thread, which can be found in my sig.

OriginalCrash · #12 01-26-2009, 11:12 AM

Listening now... And THANK YOU for that whole post of soundclips! I imagine that's gonna be incredibly useful (I'm a sucker for one-stop shop-type threads)...

Brian

Chronicle · #13 01-26-2009, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OriginalCrash

Listening now... And THANK YOU for that whole post of soundclips! I imagine that's gonna be incredibly useful (I'm a sucker for one-stop shop-type threads)...

Brian

No Problem, later today i'll add links to the review threads to each pedal in the Chronicle of Effects thread.