The title says it all, but to go into a bit more detail- I’ve got a fuzz face or 3, too many big muffs, and 1 foxx tone fuzz and none of these are working for my pedalboard layout or tone.
Im doing the dive into tonebenders to 1. Add that flavor to my collection and 2. Hopefully find a cool sound for the heavier parts in my current band.
Im aware there’s mk.1,1.5, and 2 seem to be the most popular. I’m interested in the keeley fuzz bender, the eqd park fuzz, and the solidgoldfx communication breakdown.
What entry into this fuzz type am I not thinking of? What’s your favorite tonebender fuzz
The only Fuzz I’ve played is a DOD Carcosa I recently obtained. According to The Gear Page it’s more of a Bender than a Fuzz Face. I’m pretty happy with it so far.
But there are
- JHS Legends of Fuzz Bender
- Keeley Fuzz Bender
- AnalogMan Sun Bender MK-1.5 and MK-IV
The carcosa is probably worth me checking out just from all the good reviews I see! I’m not against the JHS bender either… but I’m way too poor for a sun bender probably lol
JHS 3 series fuzz is a bender
Cool! I thought it was a fuzz face!? Either way I’ve been wanting to try it
yeah Analogman doesn’t come cheap, but I know his Fuzz Face pedals are deemed top notch, so I assume the Benders are too.
I sort of feel like the 1.5 and fuzz faces have a bit of overlap. I’ve been doing a bunch of research on Mk1 options. Right now I’m leaning towards this: https://www.joedocmusic.com/jdm-pedals-elektrika-customjdm-pedals-elektrika-custom-tonebender-mk1/
I also am a little intrigued by the mk4 after hearing it on the this TPS video with Josh Scott. 42:00 into the video they get into the Mk4. https://youtu.be/UrJDtSolEI0
I am pretty sure the FF is an adaption of an original tone bender
Pretty much. As I understand it, the 1.5 and FF are basically identical with the exception of parts values, which gives them a little different sound. The mk1 was introduced as a 3 transistor fuzz, then a series of TBs were discovered to only have 2 diodes later on and chronologically that happened between the mk1 and mk2. The 2 transistor version (1.5) wasn’t actually advertised as a new model or anything at the time… it was just another Tonebender for all intents and purposes. Then as you progress to the 2, 3 and 4 it deviates a bit further away from the original schematic.
I think with fuzz, it’s very reactive to what it is being mixed with. For my board, I tried a BoneTender and found it got really lost when mixed with other pedals, or at least I perceived it as a volume drop.
Good thing about something like the carcosa is that it’s very tweakable so most players should be able to find a setting that will do what they want with their rig.
Tweakability is important and I do know that there are a lot of fuzzes that give a lot of options! I’ll have to check out the carcosa and the walrus audio eons.
And I find newer fuzz interpretations, most have added mids and gain for more modern fuzz, and that is designed to get around the perceived volume drop I think you’re talking about.
I’m gonna check out a boss waza fuzz lol
Aye, I think you just need to try some out. I’d only go expensive once you’ve confirmed the general profile does what you need it to. Remember fuzz is cheap to build!
I have an Analogman sunBender mk IV that’s my go-to fuzz. I also had the Ramble FX TwinBender— this one only exists (overpriced) on the used market now, but it was great- super versatile and well-thought-out fuzz.
Analogman gives you lots of options to customize your pedal (transistors, LED, power/battery, etc) so worth a look!
I wish I could find a twinbender close to me! It seems perfect.
I’m not sure if I’m even qualified to answer this question, as the only Tone Bender I’ve ever used is the Tone Reaper side of the Hoof Reaper pedal. I’d say I find it not overly extreme sounding fuzz.
It has a grainy texture to it, but even at max gain I don’t find it to be very raspy or full on square-wave. It is however a great classic rock sound that’s more gritty and grainy than a typical distortion like a Rat or DS-1, but isn’t really a snarling beast of a fuzz.
