Tone Bender

[WRGKMC]

I was researching Fuzz pedals and bought myself a Mosrite Fuzzrite Clone kit which looked pretty good at GGG. http://store.generalguitargadgets.com/kits/kits-fuzz-tones/mrfr-complete-kit.html

 

I used to have a Moserite amp back around 1970 and loved the built in Fuzz tone. I figure I'd give this kit a shot to see how it sounds. If I don't like It I can always used the same enclosure with one of the other circuits.

 

During the research process I came across a site that explained the Tone bender timeline/history I though was pretty interesting. Something Jimi Page fans might want to read.

http://www.bigmuffpage.com/The_Tonebender_Timeline.html

[wankdeplank]

Very cool, let us know how it turns out.

 

Enjoyed reading the tonebender timeline.

[Ancient Mariner]

I still have a coloursound Fuzz from the 70s, though it's getting a bit tired now.

[WRGKMC]

I still have a coloursound Fuzz from the 70s, though it's getting a bit tired now.

 

That can be cured easily with new pots 1K & 100K ohms and a switch (if it has one). http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/schematics.php

 

I thought about building one of those too. I figured I'd make the Fuzzrite first and see if its useful. I'm hoping to get some of those old cool 60's Psychedelic tones heard by bands like Iron Butterfly. I read some place the guitarist used two of them in series so I'll have to see how close it comes with only one pedal. Its only got two amplification stages and may not get the tone to scream like it did in those recordings using two boxes.

 

The Tone bender uses a third transistor so its sustain is longer. Its based on the MKII or MKII Pro circuit many pedals used. Bands like the Beatles, Page, Beck Clapton and many others used them in front of tube amps to get their driven tones.

 

To me there's something appealing about simplicity. I have plenty of high tech units, pedals and rack units to get tones but its seem the more components there are, the tamer and less dynamic the sound gets. Rock in roll is anything but tame. You can have tame drone tones in a mix, but the overall sound It should reach out and grab you or at least knock your socks off from its impact.

 

It seems every once and awhile, when I've extended myself too far into technology in getting interesting tones, I back up and go back to raw basics. Its not easy and you don't realize how much you rely on super slick compressed tones as crutches to support your playing style. When you take all of that way, you really have to work hard to get the notes to sound good and use allot more tension in your playing to make it sound vibrant and alive.

 

As I've mentioned to many, most of my plying these days is mostly recording, and most of that recording is all original. Having contrast in tones, gains, sustains and drives is what makes a mix interesting. When you have two tracks with the same drive and tone, its very hard for the ears to tell them apart. When you have short raunchy notes or chords mixed with smooth sustained notes, you may be playing the same guitar but the results are they sound like completely different instruments. That's half the fun in playing live or recording. Mixing completely different sounds together to create a unique result.

 

I'm not sure how good the Fuzzrite will sound recording direct. It will likely be much too harsh. I do have some tube preamps I can place after it and mimic driving a tube amp, or maybe use and EQ/compressor combination to act like a tube amps front end and to add some spring to the drive.

[WRGKMC]

I got the Fuzzrite kit in last night and had it built and in the box in 2 hours. I only made one minor mistake. I had it correct at first but because the power jack screwed in from the outside of the box so I had to unsolder the wires to mount the jack.

 

Powered it up and it worked first shot. I was a little worried at first because the transistors were substitutes, so I looked up the specs just to make sure I had the Emitter, Base and Collector right. I read schematics for a living so I did have it right by using only the schematic, but its always pays to double check. Since many of the kits this company sells are for beginners with no electronics background they should have better documentation for the build.

 

I used the box through my little 15W Marshall for awhile last night using several guitars. The sounds I got from it were very cool. Its got a slightly nasal tone at about 4Khz that makes this a mean and aggressive little box. Two Transistor Fuzz boxes aren't noted for sounding great for full chords. They sound better playing triads and single notes.

 

I could hear that hint of Iron Butterfly 60's type voicing as the notes sustained. You'd get a full frequency attack with good bass and treble when you initially struck a note. As you hold them out, the bass and treble die out leaving the midrange envelope to close slowly which was exactly what I was hoping for. The other super cool thing was the string harmonics when you chime the strings in different positions. With my other drive pedals I have no problems getting the harmonics on the 5th, 7th and 12th frets. The others are very hard to gets. With this pedal I had no problems getting harmonics on the 9th and 3rd frets which is normally very hard to get.

 

I then switched from my Tele to my Epi Dot and I was able to get good resonant feedback with the amp turned up a bit.

I then switched over to my Strat build and that's when the real magic began to come out. By using the string harmonics and whammy bar I could nail the types of whistles and crunch tones Hendrix got on many of his albums as well as the softer sustains and weird noises you'd expect.

 

I believe the single coils were what made the difference. The first two guitars I used had Mini Humbuckers which wasn't bad but I will likely need to add a touch of compression to make the notes sustain a few seconds longer (or maybe bring my pickup height up. The pedal seems ideal for vintage strat type pickups however.

 

I still need to see how P90 and fill sized humbuckers sound. I'm thinking P90's might be the perfect match give that they are very similar to the single coils in Moserite guitars. I had a Celebrity back in the 90's which I recorded many great tunes with so I'm familiar with those pickups.

I'll know better as I use the box for several days but I am quite pleased with the results.

 

The transistors are silicon which aren't as harsh sounding as I'd thought they would be. I do have some vintage germanium I may try in the box at some later time just to hear the difference. I'll probably have to rebias them but it may be fun.

 

The sound does darken when you turn the drive down. You can hear the second transistor being gained down when the pot it tapered down. It gives some cooler dry tones I need to experiment with as well. I may want to use some additional pedals to make this box sound its best. Putting this box before a tube preamp or maybe after a compressor may expand its usefulness. Using an EQ to push the mids may be very cool as well.

 

I'll likely do some recording with it this weekend and well as post some pics. This thing sounds very unique and I can see why the originals sell for around $400 because you just cant get these kinds of tones from your modern drive boxes. Something like a tube screamer sounds super smooth in comparison. In comparison, this thing blows chunks of flesh like the mean beast it is. It may not be as good as an original but you'd need good ears in an A/B comparison to hear those differences. In any case I'll try and post some recordings that highlight this units unique points.

[Ancient Mariner]

Sounds ike it's a lot of fun. Fuzz & single coils seem to work best, though I've no experience with P90s & fuzz.