Silver MKIV Tone bender by D.A.M smooth dynamic articulate
Ever since we started making the historically correct vintage series of Colorsound pedals , you fuzzheads have been rattling our cage and poking us with sticks in order to get us to make our fist thincase Tone Bender again -so here she is - in full silver and blue - ready to rock and roll . It hasn't been a short road . . . The original case stamp was reconditioned to make the cases , our friend EW reworked Alan Murray's original artwork to the highest level imaginable and of course we went to the most knowledgeable and talented pedal makers in the country to get them built .
Here's a few words from David Main at D.A.M.
The origins. Tone Bender MKIII, Tone Bender MKIV. Same party different frock. Aside from the obvious differences in the enclosure type of these pedals any true solid definition of which is what in regards to circuit type is and will always be a little bit of an ambiguous subject. The way I always made sense of it in my head was in regards to the biasing. The early MKIII's were choppy, heavy, clumsy, a fuzzy lump hammer. The later MKIV's were smooth, dynamic, articulate, a distorted boxing glove. In between, you have a foggy transitional period. Even with the those definitions in place it never always runs true.
Bias strings and amplitude. These psychedelic horrors are constructed with the 680k/100k bias network. This arrangement along with the careful selection of NOS NKT OC84N's offer your auditory processors with a rather delightful fuzz tone that is yet very much a fuzz box but with a good deal of liquidity and movement in its tonal repertoire. In other words it's not static in its dynamics or overly clumpy. This effector will handle overdriven tube amplifiers spectacularly well and has a very low noise floor even a high volume levels. The theme of function that I wanted for this project can be summed up as, flexible vintage. To accomplish this I have made two teeny tiny circuit modifications. Firstly, the tone controls treble cap was slightly increased in value to give the brighter side of the tone control a hair more volume thus making the full span of the tone control useful and capable of matching unity with the bypassed tone. Secondly, and a continuation of the above theme, the limiting resistor was slightly lowered in value enabling the MKIV of boosting volume rather than struggling to match the output of slightly hot humbucking pick-up. Subtle alterations that, to me at least, make the pedal a hair more flexible in a modern scenario.
Anthony and Steve Macari’s aim is to make the finest fuzz pedals available to mankind using the same honesty and integrity employed by our fathers Larry and Joe who founded the company in 1965.
There are no secrets about out circuits, and no parts that cannot be replaced. Our hope is that none of our products will ever end up in landfill.
We take it as a huge compliment that people copy and clone our products but we do take exception to using our Trade Marks and Product names. If you see ‘Tone Bender’ on a non Sola Sound or licensed product them be sure that it is being used against our express wishes.
