Your royaltone pedal sports two true bypass footswitches. Identical to the tone bender mark iii only with different graphics. Unfollow vox tone bender fuzz to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. The above arent what youd typically expect for a tone bender set such as you d use. Vox tone bender model v828 i am the original owner of this vintage vox pedal which i bought in 1968. The vox tone bender is among the top fuzz boxes used during the british invasion. But lets first clarify what we mean when we refer to a tone bender. New listing vintage original vox tonebender italy tone bender.
Queen bassist john deacon also reportedly modified a onetransistor vox. Vox tonebender 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. The circuit itself predates the fuzz face, which means that the famous arbiter electronics fuzz face was probably based on this circuit. The boom of the guitar sound of the 1980s such as distortion type distortion sound and fine distortion of lecture type. Putb tonebender mkii pnp uses charge pump guitarpcb. The vox tone bender not to be confused with the colour sound tone bender was a copy with only minimal changes to the the component values, and adapted to npn silicon transistors. Vox tonebender 1966 original diy kit germanium fuzz. You can use npn ge transistors in any of the pnp versions. A complete schematic of the vox tone bender is shown below. Blue meanie 3 transistors vox tone bender professional mk ii.
The original sola sound unit was not called the mark iii, but the vox licensed version was. 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. After korg acquired the trademark right of a musical instruments brand called vox, in the 90 s, the ancient fuzz tone bender was reprinted. Buzzaround, park fuzz sound, vox tone bender mk iii, and prescription electronics yard box.
This combination seemed to give me my favourite raucous tone with full attack and just the right amount of. The gary hurst tonebender used a 3 transistor circuit and predated all other tonebender circuits. Construction and electronics details on making a cmodified clone of the vox tone bender, using russian mp42b germanium pnp transistors. The transistor bias was all over the place, with the final transistor collector bottomed because the base to ground resistor was dryjointed. Looking at the timeline, the fuzz boxes were likely the new mki tone benders, but. Dam 1966 tone bender replica based on 19661968 italian vox tone. The first incarnation of the tone bender was a three transistor circuit based on the. Colorsound tonebender mark ii professional general. Thevox tone benderis among the top fuzz boxes used during the british invasion.
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. Vox also made a version of the tonebender mkii professional which they also called the mkii. Mk1 tonebender fuzz owners what do you consider to be. The two transistor arrangement of this type of circuit is called a voltage feedback biasing circuit. Interestingly, several fuzz boxes that first made their appearance in the year 1966 used this very same setup. The grey one mkiii was made in 1973 and can be seen on some live pictures with jimmy page.
Historical fuzz, distortion and overdrivedevices gitec. If you look at the schematic the mkii is basically a fuzz face with a rangemaster treble booster tacked onto the front of it. There are the three variations of the mark ii professional. A good tone bender has everything to do with how the builder doesnt tune it. The arbiter fuzz face, the vox tone bender, vox distortion booster and the sola sound made tone bender mki. The sound of the early tone bender is a cross between a device like a dallas rangemaster treble booster and a fuzz face.
Suffice to say, the tone bender is a hot commodity at the moment, so a good discussion is well warranted. Our sun bender mkiv is a blueprinted version of the old sola sound colorsound vox tone benders that had three germanium transistors and a tone knob. We have a large enough supply to be very selective. Maybe the most iconic tone bender of all, say the words tone bender and this is the pedal most will think of. The oldest fuzz in our collection, this 1966 vox tone bender was made famous by that group of british lads known as the beatles. In the mk iii a typical tb set may give you too much gain, resulting in squishy, undefined fuzz. Vox by sola sound tone bender mark iii effects database.
This is the circuit diagram of vox tone bender pedal. Vox mkiv tonebender description of the mkiv origin from the captain. A sample output signal created using matlab with the manual biasing. Reportedly looking for a cheaper, easiertoproduce design, sola sound equipped the mk1. All parts are original including the rubber feet and battery holder. Many of the most commonly available and affordable germanium transistors. Using a vox tonebender with a fender twin, or any other read more. Ac125, nkt275 for fuzz face, tone bender, boosters. Sun bender mkiv this fuzz pedal is a blueprinted version of the old sola sound colorsound vox tonebenders that had three germanium transistors and a tone knob. Used vox tonebender 1966 original diy kit germanium. These are known as mkiii and mkiv versions, also known as thin case tone benders. The very first vox tone benders did have slightly different component values but most obvious of all had an oc76 transistor in the second.
Colorsound tone bender mk iii clone project documentation. British pedal company fuzz tone bender mkii compact size, with. The vox tonebender mkii like always, when were talking about tonebenders, we cant forget to mention vox. This is in original condition as far as i can tell. It will get you in the zeppelin ballpark although page didnt actually use one to my knowledge. This pedal is the first series of tone bender released by vox. There have been several versions of the vox tone bender and the vox distortion booster, all variants on the basic circuit. Vox tone bender pedal electronic schematic diagram. This fuzz box will give you a genuine experience of that original sola sound made pedal that was produced some 45 years ago. The mkiii was a three knob version of the three transistor tone bender with an added tone control to adjust treble and bass, and a new tapered pressed sheet.
The vox tonebender will have a lot more treble response than the fuzz facemaybe to help brighten up those characteristically dark sounding british amps some. Colorsound tonebender mark ii professional this is the classic, vintage colorsound tonebender mark ii professional. Q12 4555 q3 90110 the above arent what youd typically expect for a tone bender set such as youd use in a mk ii pro. V variants and then mkii sola sound tone benders before a degree of oeming took over and the italian vox tone benders started becoming more their own thing with subtle differences in the circuits. Ive noticed that 2g381 loaded mkis tend to gate more, but thats just because generally the 2g381 is an extremely crappy transistor. As a result, this circuit is commonly called both the mark iii and the threeknob tone bender. Vox tone bender mkii r1 100k 10k r2 10k q2bias 100k preset r4 470r r5 100k q3bias 10k preset c1 10n 15n c2 4.
Colorsound 3knob tone bender with pnp germanium transistors positive ground. Twin bender uses nos new, old stock transistors sourced from around the world. Here are the 3knob tone bender versions that can be built on the pcb for this project. Is there is that much of a swing based on the transistors in each unit. The tone bender timeline history the big muff page. Tone bender mkiii colorsound mkiii components for vox version. Mojo gear professional mkii fuzz effect tone bender ac125 transistors. There was a tape label with my name on the bottom which i removed. Thats how i have my tone bender mkii wired, pnp germanium transistors wired for negative ground. The dam 1966 is based on the first vox tone bender which i read was designed as a result of a request to improve sustain on the maestro fuzz satisfaction actually, the improved maestro circuit is the gary hurst tonebender and not the vox. He also suggests that 2k lin pot for attack will work a lot better than 1k. 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.
There were dozens of fuzzes produced in england in the 60s and many vintage tone fanatics endeavor to collect them all. The original vox tonebender was an iconic fuzz effect that came in both black and gray casings. The vox tone bender derivatives made at the italian jen factory started life initially as mki. The royaltone fuzz takes its cue from the original vox tone bender, a two transistor. Over the years, the name tone bender has appeared on more than a dozen different pedals, some of which hardly resemble the others in appearance or design. This unit is a simple design, uses two germanium transistors and is built, and feels like, a tank. They are tested for several electrical specifications, noise, and tone before the best are matched for a twin bender. Vox tone bender schematic free download as pdf file. It was the same basic circuit with only a few minor component value differences. The pots will most likely need contact cleaner to get rid of any scratch in their travel. 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. These units were named vox tone bender professional mkii, marshall supa fuzz. The original sola sound, vox, and colorsound tone bender units were equipped with oc81d transistors, which are not very readily available today, and those that do exist are quite expensive.
The korg vox v829 tone bender used a pair of these sk3004 germanium transistors. Its also a three transistor fuzz, but with less gain and a tone control. Vox tone bender mkii effects and processors harmony. The above arent what youd typically expect for a tone bender set such as youd use. This pedal is an official recreation of the original 1960s made two transistor tone bender. Building a tonebender mkii from scratch telecaster. The original sola sound, vox, and colorsound tone bender units were equipped with oc81d.
Using and understanding the bae royaltone pedal a note about. Compared to a fuzz face or a big muff its pretty bright. Im kinda new to fuzz circuits and transistor tuning in general but i do have a. Or is there something else that i should try to check hopefully short of pulling all the transistors and measuring them. The vox tone bender on the other hand is more common and has a similar circuit to a fuzz face but is a lot more trebly and not at all muddy.
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