BYOC MKII pedal kit
- pullover
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BYOC MKII pedal kit
What is it?
A copy of the Colorsound Tonebender MKII PNP (three transistors 2 knobs)
http://buildyourownclone.com/bender.html
How Hard was it?
About a 5 on a scale from one to 10. Just like the other BYOC that I reviewed, the case is already drilled, the directions tell you which resistors to use by their color code, and all you have to do is plug the part in cut the legs off and solder. If you have ever soldered before, you can do this. That being said, I had some problems with this one. I had to change one of the resistors to get the proper bias. It's included with the kit, but it took some brains to figure out what was wrong. I am sure there are some mods that I can do to this to tweak it too, which I will probably start doing soon. You will need a voltmeter for this one.
What's cool about it?
It completely screams. Really. It screams. There is an Attack knob that affects picking dynamics. When turned up all the way you can hear a more definite "chunk" as you hit the strings and it's really easy to lose control of (screaming feed back). When turned down, it's easier to control and less spitty. At first I thought this knob was your average Fuzz control and that I had it wired wrong (at first listen this knob doesn't do a lot), then I figured out what it was from reading up on the MKII.
What sucks about it?
1. There is no FUZZ control. I know I labeled mine with a fuzz knob, but it's wrong. In the directions it says Fuzz, BUT IT"S NOT A FUZZ KNOB. It is an ATTACK knob. It controls the amount of pick attack that you hear, which is cool but you might miss being able to dial in another fuzz sound. The only way to turn the fuzz down is to lower the volume on your guitar, and it will NEVER get clean. With a really low input signal it just gets flat and fuzzy.
2. It's a one trick pony. It's a sweet trick, but it only knows that one trick.
3. Since it's PNP, it is Positive Ground and has to be used with it's own A/C adapter or batteries. No pedal boards here my friends.
How does it sound?
Best description I have found for the Tonebender is, "Raspy sounding fuzz that is aggressive on the top end" and that definitely fits with this clone. I was looking for something to replace my Fuzzface with my Jazzmaster and this did it. My Fuzzface gets really farty with my Jazzmaster, it's less fuzzy and more blubby. The MKII isn't woofy at all. It's like a Fuzzface married a Rangemaster and they had a baby. This unholy union spawned a baby without a tone or a fuzz knob, but it has a weird attack knob and it's mean. Really snappy.
How would I rate this project?
10 even with all it's quirks (uncompatable with pedal boards, no fuzz/tone knobs/ weird attack knob) it's still a kick ass pedal that I think is worth having. If you like mean fuzz that's not woofy that is.
A copy of the Colorsound Tonebender MKII PNP (three transistors 2 knobs)
http://buildyourownclone.com/bender.html
How Hard was it?
About a 5 on a scale from one to 10. Just like the other BYOC that I reviewed, the case is already drilled, the directions tell you which resistors to use by their color code, and all you have to do is plug the part in cut the legs off and solder. If you have ever soldered before, you can do this. That being said, I had some problems with this one. I had to change one of the resistors to get the proper bias. It's included with the kit, but it took some brains to figure out what was wrong. I am sure there are some mods that I can do to this to tweak it too, which I will probably start doing soon. You will need a voltmeter for this one.
What's cool about it?
It completely screams. Really. It screams. There is an Attack knob that affects picking dynamics. When turned up all the way you can hear a more definite "chunk" as you hit the strings and it's really easy to lose control of (screaming feed back). When turned down, it's easier to control and less spitty. At first I thought this knob was your average Fuzz control and that I had it wired wrong (at first listen this knob doesn't do a lot), then I figured out what it was from reading up on the MKII.
What sucks about it?
1. There is no FUZZ control. I know I labeled mine with a fuzz knob, but it's wrong. In the directions it says Fuzz, BUT IT"S NOT A FUZZ KNOB. It is an ATTACK knob. It controls the amount of pick attack that you hear, which is cool but you might miss being able to dial in another fuzz sound. The only way to turn the fuzz down is to lower the volume on your guitar, and it will NEVER get clean. With a really low input signal it just gets flat and fuzzy.
2. It's a one trick pony. It's a sweet trick, but it only knows that one trick.
3. Since it's PNP, it is Positive Ground and has to be used with it's own A/C adapter or batteries. No pedal boards here my friends.
How does it sound?
Best description I have found for the Tonebender is, "Raspy sounding fuzz that is aggressive on the top end" and that definitely fits with this clone. I was looking for something to replace my Fuzzface with my Jazzmaster and this did it. My Fuzzface gets really farty with my Jazzmaster, it's less fuzzy and more blubby. The MKII isn't woofy at all. It's like a Fuzzface married a Rangemaster and they had a baby. This unholy union spawned a baby without a tone or a fuzz knob, but it has a weird attack knob and it's mean. Really snappy.
How would I rate this project?
10 even with all it's quirks (uncompatable with pedal boards, no fuzz/tone knobs/ weird attack knob) it's still a kick ass pedal that I think is worth having. If you like mean fuzz that's not woofy that is.
Last edited by pullover on Sun Dec 24, 2006 5:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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- mezcalhead
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
Cool! I've been wanting to investigate the world of tonebender fuzz. It sounds like it would be a good complement to a muff-type fuzz.
So is this layout of Attack and Vol only typical of tonebenders in general?
So is this layout of Attack and Vol only typical of tonebenders in general?
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- pullover
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
As far as I can tell, its a feature on all the Tonebenders (vox/solasound/colorsound/clones) and the Maestro FZ-1a. There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what the knob is supposed to do, a lot of people think the attack knob is supposed to control the level of fuzz, but that's certainly not the case with this pedal. If you read reviews on the Tonebender on harmony-central there are quite a few people who just don't get this pedal at all.
One thing that I like about this pedals is it sounds great at any volume. With my Fuzzface or Rangemaster I have to have the amp cranked to get a decent sound out of it, but this thing still screams at low volume and I can even make it feedback by turning the attack knob up all the way. I can't wait to crank this thing up during band practice.
One thing that I like about this pedals is it sounds great at any volume. With my Fuzzface or Rangemaster I have to have the amp cranked to get a decent sound out of it, but this thing still screams at low volume and I can even make it feedback by turning the attack knob up all the way. I can't wait to crank this thing up during band practice.
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- slomomarc
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
Thanks again for your review!!
I've just ordered a Tremolo kit on the strength of your last review
I've just ordered a Tremolo kit on the strength of your last review
- daydreamdelay
- Mods
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
your review makes me want one even more
- pullover
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
No problem. I wish I had a better way to put sound clips up and I would do it. I might start a myspace just for pedal reviews but then I could only put up four. My Dad has a website, I might talk to him about hosting some sound files. At any rate You can listen to some sound samples at the BYOC site.slomomarc wrote: Thanks again for your review!!
I've just ordered a Tremolo kit on the strength of your last review
I am digging this attack knob more and more. The bassist from my band was over today and was freaking out on the fact that I could make my guitar feedback at such low volumes. I just turned everything down and kicked the attack knob all the way up and it was screaming. I don't know if I would be able to control this pedal live, but it works for rehearsal.
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- davelowell
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
I'm with Slowmarc, the trem pedal will be mine!
- Superfuzz
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
the guitar player of FUZZTONES got one of these for it's main rhytm parts maybe the one with 3 knobs I don't remember well..However you can use it also with your pedalboard ac adaptor..look at the layout file for PNP fuzzface or rangemaster on GGG..
Architecture students are like virgins with an itch they cannot scratch, never build a building 'till are fifty, what kind of life is that?
- pullover
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
The three knob tonebenders are really cool. I thought when I got this pedal that I was getting one similar to the 3 knob one. The fact that they had so many different versions of these is pretty confusing. Here's the breakdown as far as I can tell...
1: MKI- 2 knob version with attack knob, originally had 3 germanium transistors and was based on the Maestro FZ1 (they designed the tonebender for more sustain). Then they switched 2 germanium transistors for a short period and the attack knob was actually a FUZZ knob (Fuzz Face was designed off of this circuit). The 2 transistor version is what most people are referring to when they say the MKI. Basically they removed the boost section from the front of the circuit. The Vox tonebenders all had only 2 transistors.
2:MKII- 2 knob version with attack knob 3 Germanium transistors. Based on the Maestro FZ1 again. Vox also made one of these called the Tonebender Professional MKII and Marshall had one called the Supafuzz.
3:MKIII- 3 knob version with Fuzz knob 3 Germanium Transistors, also known as 3 knob Tonebender.
4: Supa Tonebender- 3 knob 3 Silicon transistors, a little different design of the MKIII (What the BIG MUFF was designed from, EH added a boost at the end to make it louder and 2 diode clipping stages).
I have scoured the internet looking for so much information, now it's really confusing when someone says, "TONEBENDER."
1: MKI- 2 knob version with attack knob, originally had 3 germanium transistors and was based on the Maestro FZ1 (they designed the tonebender for more sustain). Then they switched 2 germanium transistors for a short period and the attack knob was actually a FUZZ knob (Fuzz Face was designed off of this circuit). The 2 transistor version is what most people are referring to when they say the MKI. Basically they removed the boost section from the front of the circuit. The Vox tonebenders all had only 2 transistors.
2:MKII- 2 knob version with attack knob 3 Germanium transistors. Based on the Maestro FZ1 again. Vox also made one of these called the Tonebender Professional MKII and Marshall had one called the Supafuzz.
3:MKIII- 3 knob version with Fuzz knob 3 Germanium Transistors, also known as 3 knob Tonebender.
4: Supa Tonebender- 3 knob 3 Silicon transistors, a little different design of the MKIII (What the BIG MUFF was designed from, EH added a boost at the end to make it louder and 2 diode clipping stages).
I have scoured the internet looking for so much information, now it's really confusing when someone says, "TONEBENDER."
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- pullover
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
I just did this mod to it. Put a little toggle switch on it and can now switch between the MKI and and MKII. Totally bad ASS. One thing that I noticed during practice today is with the rhythm circuit on, rolling back the volume a lot, then flip down to the lead circuit for solo's was completely useful. When you turn the volume down the pedal thins out a lot, so the thicker cap in the rhythm circuit really compensated a lot. I think I will actually use that switch on my Jazzmaster a lot now.
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- Superfuzz
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
what about string definition on chords?
It has germanium transistors, right?
I'm asking you because I'm going to try to replace the sylicons on a Big muff DIY with fuzzface Germaniums...
It has germanium transistors, right?
I'm asking you because I'm going to try to replace the sylicons on a Big muff DIY with fuzzface Germaniums...
Architecture students are like virgins with an itch they cannot scratch, never build a building 'till are fifty, what kind of life is that?
- pullover
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
Yes it has germanium transistors. Chords can get really messy, full on. Great for lead, but if you roll back the volume on your guitar it will clean up enough to sound great with chords. With the volume rolled back it sounds really similar to a big muff, then kick in the full volume for lead or more dirt. If you put germanium transistors in a Big Muff and removed the Diode clipping stages, I imagine it would sound really similar to the 3 Knob Tonebenders (MKIII).
I have had my amp in another room around mid volume, with the door shut. Turned this pedal on full volume, full attack, and gotten it to feed back.
I have had my amp in another room around mid volume, with the door shut. Turned this pedal on full volume, full attack, and gotten it to feed back.
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- sonicblue64
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
Tonebenders rule. I just got a DAM.
- Superfuzz
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
You can install a footswitchable cleaning control just before the first transistor..it should acts as your rhytm circuit..I say this because I hate the switch..and it works only with the neck pick up :-\pullover wrote: Yes it has germanium transistors. Chords can get really messy, full on. Great for lead, but if you roll back the volume on your guitar it will clean up enough to sound great with chords. With the volume rolled back it sounds really similar to a big muff, then kick in the full volume for lead or more dirt. If you put germanium transistors in a Big Muff and removed the Diode clipping stages, I imagine it would sound really similar to the 3 Knob Tonebenders (MKIII).
I have had my amp in another room around mid volume, with the door shut. Turned this pedal on full volume, full attack, and gotten it to feed back.
Architecture students are like virgins with an itch they cannot scratch, never build a building 'till are fifty, what kind of life is that?
- pullover
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Re: BYOC MKII pedal kit
Like a little volume knob through a foot switch to the input or something more in depth?Superfuzz wrote: You can install a footswitchable cleaning control just before the first transistor..it should acts as your rhytm circuit..I say this because I hate the switch..and it works only with the neck pick up :-\
I think I would rather do that, I got f..d up the other day trying to flip the switch, and hit the button while playing and singing the other day during rehearsal. I would hit the button and my volume was gone and I remembered that I was supposed to also flip a switch, so I would flip the switch and hit the button again and my lead tone was back... Anyway it was more trouble than it was worth.
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