Hand-Soldered 3-Germanium “Tone Bender Professional MKII” Style Fuzz
This build targets the classic Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional MKII topology and feel: a two-knob layout (Level / Attack) driving the iconic 60s British germanium fuzz character.

Lineage, Year Range, and Version Notes (Objective)

  • Era of the original design: Documentation and period references place the Professional MKII’s marketed/produced era around 1966 (advertised by at least Nov. 1966) through early 1968, with known component variations across runs.
  • About “batch accuracy”: Original MKII units were not a single fixed recipe—board layouts, part values, and OEM branding varied. From exterior photos alone, it is not defensible to assign one exact vintage batch/board node.

Documented Use Context (Examples with Source Support)

  • The Tone Bender MKII is notably associated with Jimmy Page’s early recorded tones.
  • It is also cited in relation to the guitar work on Donovan’s 1968 track “Hurdy Gurdy Man” (Alan Parker).

Tonal Target

  • Aggressive, forward mids with strong cut—excellent for pushing an already-edgy British amp.
  • Structured, vocal single-note sustain with a gritty, biting edge rather than a scooped “wall of fuzz.”
  • Highly interactive dynamics—a key part of the MKII experience is riding your guitar volume for clean-up and gain staging.

Controls

  • LEVEL: Output volume (also determines how hard you hit the next stage/amp).
  • ATTACK: Overall gain and fuzz density.

Handwired Build Focus

  • Hand-soldered assembly with critical-node verification for long-term reliability.
  • For the most authentic MKII feel, production should emphasize germanium selection/matching and bias calibration—these are the make-or-break factors for consistency in a germanium fuzz.

We shipped everywhere.

9V DC, center-negative polarity (negative ground)

Because these are handmade, we don’t accept returns or exchanges unless there’s a quality issue.

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ConditionBrand New (New)
Brand New items are sold by an authorized dealer or original builder and include all original packaging.Learn more
Brand
Model
  • tone bender mkii
Categories
Year
  • 2026

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