Mk1 tonebender fuzz owners what do you consider to be. When i moved on into the cast design, in the gray cast type pedal, and it was two transistors. The fuzz face predecessor the vox tonebender was another pedal in the tonebender series, but it differs from most because of its greatly increased treble response and two transistor circuit. Options are to build it with pnp or npn germanium transistors or. Fitted with 3 nos germanium transistorsthe huge amount of sustain comes from those germanium transistors. The above arent what youd typically expect for a tone bender set such as youd use. Putb tonebender mkii pnp uses charge pump guitarpcb. Below is a rundown of the features that we feel make the stone bender mkii one of the most versatile tone bender clones on the market.
Twotone generator using transistors for switching lc. Tone control is an electronic circuit that used to control bass, middle, treble, volume, and balance tones. Jan 24, 2010 this my tone bender mkii professional oc75 germanium transistors pedal that is listed on ebay. Colorsound tonebender mark ii professional general. We hope you enjoy the the throbak stone bender mkii pro. Pnp, is exactly the same the only difference being. You can even swap a couple of components and make yourself a marshall supa fuzz much fatter, bassier tone than stock or a vox tone bender mkii slightly bassier, not a lot. There are the three variations of the mark ii professional. I would like to build a simple audio amplifier using transistors. The fuzz face is particularly similar to the sola sound unit known today as the mk1.
If you want to build a germanium transistor version, you can get your transistor set from small bear electronics llc and use the resistor values that he sends with the transistors. Katzenkonig combines the best elements of a tone bender mkii fuzz with a rat distortion. Huge, smooth sounds available from this great circuit. I have replaced the 8k2 resistor on the collector of q2 with a 20k trimpot so that you can adjust the voltage on q2s collector to 4. Sep 27, 2011 tone bender mk1 vero description in progress. These units were named vox tone bender professional mkii, marshall supa fuzz.
The three layers are called the emitter, base and collector. This circuit is based on the famous baxandal tone control design. Whereas previous tbs had only volume and fuzz controls, the mkiii adds a treblebass tone knob to take you from crunchy bottomrich fuzz to allout catbothering treble filth. The first incarnation of the tone bender was a three transistor circuit based on the gibson maestro fuzztone. Singlelayer mos2 transistors article pdf available in nature nanotechnology 63.
But i want to use transistors so i can learn how to use them for amplification. The mark i tone bender was the three transistor one. A good tone bender has everything to do with how the builder doesnt tune it. Biasing part of the characteristic sound of the tone bender mk ii is the uneven bias. So far, i love it close enough to a fuzz face for me to like it immediately and different enough just so i wont ditch it. Colorsound tone bender mk iii clone project documentation.
The transistor bias trim pot is labeled tr2 on the circuit board. A twotone generator having switching transistors in two lc resonance circuits each composed of a coil and a capacitor for producing a dial tone in the form of twotone signal by switching the value of the inductances of the coils in response to the control of each of a pair of pushbutton switches, in which only one make contact is actuated in response to the. The circuit is all discrete, using a trio of silicon transistors. Colorsound tonebenders 3knob general guitar gadgets. V version, but with an additional amplifier gain stage. The vdb was a small 2 transistor silicon fuzz though some early ones may. This is because the baseemitter junction behaves like a diode and a diode has a constant voltage drop when biased in the forward direction. It is composed of semiconductor material usually with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. Below is the schematic of the vox tonebender mkiii thanks to stuart castledine for the schematic. Produced by sola sound in reasonably small amounts, you are more likely to pickup rocking horse sht than one of these.
Tone bender pro mkii fuzz now directconnect compatible, though the image doesnt show the updated pcb alltime classic fuzz. The korgvox v829 tone bender used a pair of these sk3004 germanium transistors. The kit includes everything you need if you use silicon transistors. The circuit itself predates the fuzz face, which means that the famous arbiter electronics fuzz face was probably based on this circuit. Best tone bender fuzz distortion guitar effects pedal.
The final chapter in the classic tone bender series, and by far the most versatile. The sb2 is in some ways better than the old soulbender in that i am now having the transistors madetoorder just how i want them, and these wonderful. Hence comparing the schematic symbol to the pn junction in figure 4, we see the anode is the ptype semiconductor and the cathode is the ntype semiconductor. The highest quality components and the most thorough and easytofollow instructions. My early experiences with the colorsound tonebender professional mark ii were a long and confusing ordeal, with no real answers to show for it. Tone control function on the amplifier is you can set the size of the bass, middle, and treble tones. The prescription electronics yard box the prescription electronics yard box is a more recent take on the sola sound tonebender 3knob.
Sep 26, 2010 jimmy page talks about tone bender fuzz pedal. Tone bender mkii professional oc75 germanium transistors. Sola sound produced the circuit for vox, marshall and rotosound as well. Colorsound tonebender mark ii professional this is the classic, vintage colorsound tonebender mark ii professional. I know there are ic designs specifically for the task. It was my fifth or six fuzz, following two fuzz faces. These units were named vox tone bender professional mkii, marshall supa fuzz, rotosound fuzz box. The deimos project is a faithful reproduction of the tonebender. So far, i love it close enough to a fuzz face for me to like it immediately and different enough just so i wont ditch it in the never cared for that one builds drawer. They arent terribly cheap, but compared to buying a bunch of oldstock transistors and testing and sorting them yourself, probably throwing away a number of them in the end, its a bargain. This my tone bender mkii professional oc75 germanium transistors pedal that is listed on ebay.
Professional mkii tone bender oc75 british pedal company. The best diy guitar amplifier and effects pedal kits. Best guitar effects is a community for people who love making music with guitar, pedals, and effects. Colorsound 3knob tone bender with pnp germanium transistors positive ground colorsoundlike 3knob tonebender with npn germanium transistors negative ground.
This is the very first one from the whole family, originally build point to point on perfboard. As tone benders always work better with pnp transistors, this latest fuzzdog offering has the option of an onboard voltageinverter so. Because the device was again simply called tone bender, this series is today designated tone bender mk1. In order to have this circuit sound like a tone bender, you must use transistors in the recommended gain hfe ranges and bias the circuit. The sheetmetal housing gave way to a hefty diecast enclosure, and the circuit was also completely revamped. Colorsound tone bender mk ii project documentation. Two transistor tone controller electronic circuits and. The second transistor is used to voltage amplify the signal in. The thomas organ v828 service manual indicated that if european specification transistors were not available, a pair of sk3004 germanium transistors would be a suitable field replacement. While the first version was essentially a slightly tweaked fuzz face, and the second version added a gain.
Bender tonebender analogman sunface fulltone 70 fuzz analogman sun triangle big muff boss fz2 hyper fuzz sovtek green russian big muff sun face fuzz analogman nkt275 rams head big muff electro harmonix sovtek big muff pi vintage germanium fuzz black russian big muff fulltone 69 fuzz sunface fuzz skreddy style fuzz super fuzz guitar vintage univox super fuzz fuzz pedal excellent gibson. A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power. Jun 22, 2014 the ej sig ff has some ridiculously high gain range for its silicon transistors, but the ratio is about 2. Thats how i have my tone bender mkii wired, pnp germanium transistors wired for negative ground. The tone bender timeline history the big muff pi page. These were made by etching depressions into an ntype germanium base from both sides with jets of indiumiii sulfate until it was a few tenthousandths of an inch thick. Gary hurst, a technician, began selling these in mid1965. The principle of operation of the two transistor types. A transistor consists of two pn junctions formed by sandwiching either ptype or ntype semiconductor between a pair of opposite types.
Germanium transistors tone benders and similar page 1. Mk1 tonebender fuzz owners what do you consider to be the. Diode schematic symbol and actual picture of a common 1n914 diode the black stripe in the picture is the cathode. Tone bender mkii guitar effect circuit boards for diy projects. Bender tonebender analogman sunface fulltone 70 fuzz analogman sun triangle big muff boss fz2 hyper fuzz sovtek green russian big muff sun face fuzz analogman nkt275 rams head big muff electro harmonix sovtek big muff pi vintage germanium fuzz black russian big muff fulltone 69 fuzz sunface fuzz skreddy style fuzz super fuzz guitar vintage univox super. Tone bender mk iii fuzz the final chapter in the classic tone bender series, and by far the most versatile.
For a simple and great sounding tonebender, build the silicon transistor version. Influenced by the landmark tone bender mkii that was used by jeff beck and jimmy page in the yardbirds and its all over the first led zeppelin lp. Tone bender m iii phobos fu 1 phobos fuzz coloursound tone bender mark iii overview phobos project link 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 1 3 3 1 the phobos fuzz is a clone of the coloursound tone bender mark 3 threeknob. Simple audio amplifier using transistors electrical. Oct 26, 2005 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. As tone benders always work better with pnp transistors, this latest fuzzdog offering has the option of. Vintage tone mk1 classic mk1 tone bender build williams audio.
This knob increases the volume level of the effect when rotated clockwise. Bipolar transistors are current regulating devices that control the amount of current flowing through them in proportion to the amount of biasing voltage applied to their base terminal acting like a currentcontrolled switch. Supersaturated lead tones, or great chord work with the guitar volume knocked back. Sola sound tone bender mark i 1965 by dr tony balls.
Here are the 3knob tone bender versions that can be built on the pcb for this project. The one that started it all, the legendary mk1 tonebender. The circuit schematic symbol of a diode is shown in figure 5. Semiconductors module 3 bipolar junction transistors semiconductors module 3 pdf 3 e. How would i go about designing an audio amplifier from just discrete components. Sola sound tone bender mark i 1965 by dr tony balls 18 oct 2010, 00.
Tone bender mkii guitar effect circuit boards for diy. Used by jeff beck, jimmy page and famously also used by mick ronson, the mk1 really has its own distinctive tone. The circuit is based on the shuntseriesfeedback amplifier topology a standard in engineering textbooks. Early incarnations were housed in wooden enclosures. Tone bender mk1 on perfboard exact repro, full offboard shielded wiring. Sola sound and vox had been using the same circuit topology for their tone bender pedals earlier in 1966. The only difference is that the 2200pf capacitor in the tone control section was changed to 2000pf. The ej sig ff has some ridiculously high gain range for its silicon transistors, but the ratio is about 2. The first highfrequency transistor was the surfacebarrier germanium transistor developed by philco in 1953, capable of operating up to 60 mhz. By september he was selling them through the macari brothers musical exchange shops. Tonebenders for dummies page 2 telecaster guitar forum. The current amplification of the transistor b is large typically 100300. The transistor q1 is wired an emitter follower to provide sufficient current gain and input impedance. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor s terminals controls the current through another pair of terminals.
The mkii tone bender is a three transistor circuit based on the mki. The pcb and layout above the is the pcb, layout and parts list that can be used to build the vox tonebender. The first incarnation of the tone bender was a three transistor circuit based on the. Recorded using a flip video camcorder, fender custom shop esquire and fender pro junior amp. I first built the circuit, using steve daniels schematic, in may 2001. Ive noticed that 2g381 loaded mkis tend to gate more, but thats just because generally the 2g381 is an extremely crappy transistor. In spring of 1966 a shortlived version of the tone bender in a completely new design was issued. Supplied with pnp ac128 or 2n404 transistors or you can have the kit without cans if you want to source your own. 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. Colorsound tone bender mk ii project documentation deimos fuzz. Here is the circuit diagram of a simple two transistor tone controller circuit.
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