Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
- Thread starter STRATDELUXER97
- Start date
STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
I've not been able to find schematics or much info at all on your Dad's pedal? Pretty frustrating!
the guy who invented fire said:
I've not been able to find schematics or much info at all on your Dad's pedal? Pretty frustrating!
Guitar Toad
Toadily Stratologist
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
In January, I'm gonna order one from you John. Put me down for one! Will you also be offering the phaser like you did a month or two ago?
In January, I'm gonna order one from you John. Put me down for one! Will you also be offering the phaser like you did a month or two ago?
the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
Me either...what about the rest of your schematics...where do those come from?
Me either...what about the rest of your schematics...where do those come from?
STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
No it's not my circuit buddy....It's just a copy of the pedal Jimmy Page and quite a few british rockers used in the mid to late 60s before overdrive and distortion were household names and effects....Go over to JD's great website called General Guitar Gadgets and go completely nuts! I've built like 10 pedals now...8 of them from JD's site...Check out www.runoffgroove.com
I've built the Professor Tweed and the May Queen Boost off that site...
Also...TonePad FX....I built an MXR Phase 90 off of that site..
ArtieToo said:Very cool, John. Is that circuit public domain, or your own design?
I've been itchin' to build something.
Artie
No it's not my circuit buddy....It's just a copy of the pedal Jimmy Page and quite a few british rockers used in the mid to late 60s before overdrive and distortion were household names and effects....Go over to JD's great website called General Guitar Gadgets and go completely nuts! I've built like 10 pedals now...8 of them from JD's site...Check out www.runoffgroove.com
I've built the Professor Tweed and the May Queen Boost off that site...
Also...TonePad FX....I built an MXR Phase 90 off of that site..
STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
I'd like to stick with easier circuits for now and see how things go? The Phase 90 gave me hours of headaches...
Guitar Toad said:
I'd like to stick with easier circuits for now and see how things go? The Phase 90 gave me hours of headaches...
STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
Christian....Alot of stuff comes from other folks on websites and also from searching the net..Most of my Boss and Ibanez schematics were bought though...These were pre-internet items..
the guy who invented fire said:
Christian....Alot of stuff comes from other folks on websites and also from searching the net..Most of my Boss and Ibanez schematics were bought though...These were pre-internet items..
Guitar Toad
Toadily Stratologist
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
I don't want you to have any headaches! But, I'd say the future looks bright for StratDeluxer pedals
What about distortion and other OD type pedals?
STRATDELUXER97 said:
I don't want you to have any headaches! But, I'd say the future looks bright for StratDeluxer pedals
What about distortion and other OD type pedals?
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STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
Basically I'd be buliding stuff off of General Guitar Gadgets,Runoffgroove,and Tonepad so check out these 3 websites...There is a ton of great pedals to be built....If you wanted to do it yourself,you could also order a kit from Build Your Own clone pedals?
Guitar Toad said:I don't want you to have any headaches! But, I'd say the future looks bright for StratDeluxer pedals
What about distortion and other OD type pedals?
Basically I'd be buliding stuff off of General Guitar Gadgets,Runoffgroove,and Tonepad so check out these 3 websites...There is a ton of great pedals to be built....If you wanted to do it yourself,you could also order a kit from Build Your Own clone pedals?
STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
All of the pedals I built and posted weren't actually offered...I was just having fun building them for myself....I could handle 2 pedals a week,but I'd have to figure out what to charge to keep it reasonable for all of you and still make a few bucks at it...It's very time consuming really! Sometimes I finish a pedal and have it not work and spend hours diagnosing my screw ups! :burnout: :laugh2: I'd only do a very small amount if I decided to do any at all,plus it could depend on what pedal? Curly picked a nice easy circuit,but the circuit has great usable tone also.
Guitar Toad said:
All of the pedals I built and posted weren't actually offered...I was just having fun building them for myself....I could handle 2 pedals a week,but I'd have to figure out what to charge to keep it reasonable for all of you and still make a few bucks at it...It's very time consuming really! Sometimes I finish a pedal and have it not work and spend hours diagnosing my screw ups! :burnout: :laugh2: I'd only do a very small amount if I decided to do any at all,plus it could depend on what pedal? Curly picked a nice easy circuit,but the circuit has great usable tone also.
Curly
Moe's Bluesman
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
thanks a million, John ...
looks very cool
folks, you can look up the history of the tonebender MKII on the 'net, but basically, it started as more or less a copy of the Maestro fuzz - I think Gary Hurst designed it in conjunction with Vox and a couple guys who owned a shop in London and came up with the Colorsound name ...
the MKI was the first production fuzz built in England
(Gary Hurst is making a cool reissue of the MKI now that sells for about $300!)
the first fuzz I heard was on "Heart Full of Soul" by the Yardbirds, and this pedal is that tone ... it's also heard on the bass on The Beatles' "Think For Yourself", plus all over the first couple Zepellin albums
my best friend in high school had a Vox version of the ToneBender that also sounded great
there are several current boutique versions, like Fulltone's SoulBender, the Yardbox, Stone Bender, the DAM version, etc, etc
these are my favorite flavor of fuzz - plenty of gain, a more vocal quality than a Fuzz Face, and I think the circuit is a little easier to control - the cutoff point doesn't seem so abrupt
John did a great job - I'd love to say I could build one myself, but I lack a little patience with the small stuff, and I know John knows how to tweak these circuits by ear till they're just right
it's kind of funny, but I knew if John played this thing, he'd want one, too
there's also a 3 knob version - it's a slightly later circuit that added a tone control. The tone control makes it more convenient, but I think the added circuitry might cut some of the overall output
my thanks again to John for a great job ...
take your time sending it back, John
thanks a million, John ...
looks very cool
folks, you can look up the history of the tonebender MKII on the 'net, but basically, it started as more or less a copy of the Maestro fuzz - I think Gary Hurst designed it in conjunction with Vox and a couple guys who owned a shop in London and came up with the Colorsound name ...
the MKI was the first production fuzz built in England
(Gary Hurst is making a cool reissue of the MKI now that sells for about $300!)
the first fuzz I heard was on "Heart Full of Soul" by the Yardbirds, and this pedal is that tone ... it's also heard on the bass on The Beatles' "Think For Yourself", plus all over the first couple Zepellin albums
my best friend in high school had a Vox version of the ToneBender that also sounded great
there are several current boutique versions, like Fulltone's SoulBender, the Yardbox, Stone Bender, the DAM version, etc, etc
these are my favorite flavor of fuzz - plenty of gain, a more vocal quality than a Fuzz Face, and I think the circuit is a little easier to control - the cutoff point doesn't seem so abrupt
John did a great job - I'd love to say I could build one myself, but I lack a little patience with the small stuff, and I know John knows how to tweak these circuits by ear till they're just right
it's kind of funny, but I knew if John played this thing, he'd want one, too
there's also a 3 knob version - it's a slightly later circuit that added a tone control. The tone control makes it more convenient, but I think the added circuitry might cut some of the overall output
my thanks again to John for a great job ...
take your time sending it back, John
STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
Hello buddy....It's hard to believe that the pedal used on the Yardbirds material is the same pedal Page used on Zeppelin 1 and 2? I say this because your pedal is heavier and throatier sounding like Page's Zeppelin tone...Might be this pedal through a Vox AC30 that makes it have that buzzy,but thin tone like "Satisfaction" from the Stones...Your pedal doesn't sound like this and if it's supposed to then I screwed up! LOL.....Through my BF Pro Reverb it almost reminded me of a decent overdrive/distortion unit and was alot ballsier than the tones I hear on Heart Full of Soul..Either way,my ears tell me that they like your pedal alot...Enough that I'll be ordering the stuff to build my own! I'll use it tomorrow with my band and see what they think also and how it fits into the mix...I've messed with a tweaked MXR D+ but this pedal is really a better pedal to nail those early classic rock tones...You do have some great ears buddy and you were right...
Most everyone likes the MK 2 version better and the 3 knob version lacks the gain and is smoother sounding....I don't feel your pedal actually needs a tone control and you can adjust that a bit by trying different cap values...The board has sockets that you can just plug the new value caps into if you like? As you increase the lows,you'll also increase the mids.If you bosst the lows too much though,your pedal tone turns to mush and I Liked the pedal the way it is,though it does have some upgrades that were added into it.
Curly said:thanks a million, John ...
looks very cool
folks, you can look up the history of the tonebender MKII on the 'net, but basically, it started as more or less a copy of the Maestro fuzz - I think Gary Hurst designed it in conjunction with Vox and a couple guys who owned a shop in London and came up with the Colorsound name ...
the MKI was the first production fuzz built in England
(Gary Hurst is making a cool reissue of the MKI now that sells for about $300!)
the first fuzz I heard was on "Heart Full of Soul" by the Yardbirds, and this pedal is that tone ... it's also heard on the bass on The Beatles' "Think For Yourself", plus all over the first couple Zepellin albums
my best friend in high school had a Vox version of the ToneBender that also sounded great
there are several current boutique versions, like Fulltone's SoulBender, the Yardbox, Stone Bender, the DAM version, etc, etc
these are my favorite flavor of fuzz - plenty of gain, a more vocal quality than a Fuzz Face, and I think the circuit is a little easier to control - the cutoff point doesn't seem so abrupt
John did a great job - I'd love to say I could build one myself, but I lack a little patience with the small stuff, and I know John knows how to tweak these circuits by ear till they're just right
it's kind of funny, but I knew if John played this thing, he'd want one, too
there's also a 3 knob version - it's a slightly later circuit that added a tone control. The tone control makes it more convenient, but I think the added circuitry might cut some of the overall output
my thanks again to John for a great job ...
take your time sending it back, John
Hello buddy....It's hard to believe that the pedal used on the Yardbirds material is the same pedal Page used on Zeppelin 1 and 2? I say this because your pedal is heavier and throatier sounding like Page's Zeppelin tone...Might be this pedal through a Vox AC30 that makes it have that buzzy,but thin tone like "Satisfaction" from the Stones...Your pedal doesn't sound like this and if it's supposed to then I screwed up! LOL.....Through my BF Pro Reverb it almost reminded me of a decent overdrive/distortion unit and was alot ballsier than the tones I hear on Heart Full of Soul..Either way,my ears tell me that they like your pedal alot...Enough that I'll be ordering the stuff to build my own! I'll use it tomorrow with my band and see what they think also and how it fits into the mix...I've messed with a tweaked MXR D+ but this pedal is really a better pedal to nail those early classic rock tones...You do have some great ears buddy and you were right...
Most everyone likes the MK 2 version better and the 3 knob version lacks the gain and is smoother sounding....I don't feel your pedal actually needs a tone control and you can adjust that a bit by trying different cap values...The board has sockets that you can just plug the new value caps into if you like? As you increase the lows,you'll also increase the mids.If you bosst the lows too much though,your pedal tone turns to mush and I Liked the pedal the way it is,though it does have some upgrades that were added into it.
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Artie
Peaveyologist
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
How's this for an ad campaign . . .
"Need a little backbone in your effects? Get a Spina!"
Artie
When John splits a humbucker . . . is it a Spina-tap?
Guitar Toad said:I don't want you to have any headaches! But, I'd say the future looks bright for StratDeluxer pedals
How's this for an ad campaign . . .
"Need a little backbone in your effects? Get a Spina!"
Artie
When John splits a humbucker . . . is it a Spina-tap?
STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
Artie......Or "Spinabifita".....:laugh2:
ArtieToo said:How's this for an ad campaign . . .
"Need a little backbone in your effects? Get a Spina!"
Artie
When John splits a humbucker . . . is it a Spina-tap?
Artie......Or "Spinabifita".....:laugh2:
Curly
Moe's Bluesman
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
I've tried to read as much about the ToneBender as possible, but it's a little confusing...
I think Jeff Beck probably used a MKI on "Heart Full of Soul" - I agree the tone is a little thin, but I think some of that is attributable to the recording - we're talking '65!
Differential Audio Manifestationz ("DAM") - http://www.stompboxes.co.uk/index.html - makes a very accurate repro of the MKII ...
The MKII is a rebuild of the mighty Sola Sound Tone Bender MKII that was made famous by a certain Jimmy Page. The Sola Sound Tone Bender MKII needs no improvement!! It is one of the finest British fuzz boxes ever made and the D*A*M MKII is as close as you can get to the real deal with out paying serious amounts of cash.
so whether you are after that elusive early Led Zeppelin/Page era Yardbirds tone or just after one fantastically organic sounding fuzz box this could be for you. Features a three stage transistor circuit that has almost endless amounts of sustain which will remain remarkably controllable and melodic.
here's a little history from their site:
Electronics engineer Gary Hurst designed the Tone Bender range of effects beginning with the Tone Bender MKI. The MKI was a three transistor circuit based upon the Gibson built Maestro Fuzz-tone that was modified by Hurst to produce more sustain than its American counter part. The story goes that guitar legend Vic Flick, then man responsible for the James Bond Theme!! Brought a Fuzz-tone (FZ-1) to Hurst and requested the sustain to be increasesd. The MKI was the first ever British made Fuzz box available to the public and sold for 14 guineas. It was housed in a gold and dark grey folded steel chassis with some of the early units housed in a wooden and steel enclosure.
The Sola Sound company was set-up by Lari and Joe Macari in 1965; the Tone Bender units were made in a Edgware factory, North London and sold from their Denmark street based Music store.
Users of the MKI unit included Pete Townshed of the Who, Jeff Beck of the Yardbirds and also the Beatles used the MKI Tone Bender unit on the album Rubber Soul. Paul McCartney actually used a MKI on the second bass track on the recording "Think for Yourself" Mick Ronson was also a user the MKI from his time with "The Rats" up until he played with the "Spiders From Mars"
In early 1966 the Tone Bender received its first major changes, the folded steel case was replaced with a sand cast aluminium design finished in grey hammerite. It featured a newly designed two transistor circuit that used two Mullard OC75 devices. The name Sola Sound still did not appear on the case and the silk screening just stated the unit as a Tone Bender. The two transistor circuit is said to have been leaked to Arbiter who went on to design the legendary Fuzz Face also this circuit type was later used by Vox in Italy to design the Vox Tone Bender.
Only a small number of the two transistor Tone Benders were produced before the change to the more famous three transistor MKII. The original MKII's featured Mullard OC81D transistors which were designed for use as audio drivers in radio equipment, more commonly the MKII was built with Mullard OC75's and even OC71's. Sola Sound also produced the now very popular MKII Tone Bender for Marshall under the Supa Fuzz name and also produced Vox Tone Bender MKII which confusingly pre-dates the Italian Vox Tone Bender.
The nice folk's at Sola Sound still produce a MKII Tone Bender in the sand cast chassis which features the original two transistor circuit.
Gary Hurst is now also producing a great looking recreation of his original 1965 Tone Bender.
John,STRATDELUXER97 said:
I've tried to read as much about the ToneBender as possible, but it's a little confusing...
I think Jeff Beck probably used a MKI on "Heart Full of Soul" - I agree the tone is a little thin, but I think some of that is attributable to the recording - we're talking '65!
Differential Audio Manifestationz ("DAM") - http://www.stompboxes.co.uk/index.html - makes a very accurate repro of the MKII ...
The MKII is a rebuild of the mighty Sola Sound Tone Bender MKII that was made famous by a certain Jimmy Page. The Sola Sound Tone Bender MKII needs no improvement!! It is one of the finest British fuzz boxes ever made and the D*A*M MKII is as close as you can get to the real deal with out paying serious amounts of cash.
so whether you are after that elusive early Led Zeppelin/Page era Yardbirds tone or just after one fantastically organic sounding fuzz box this could be for you. Features a three stage transistor circuit that has almost endless amounts of sustain which will remain remarkably controllable and melodic.
here's a little history from their site:
Electronics engineer Gary Hurst designed the Tone Bender range of effects beginning with the Tone Bender MKI. The MKI was a three transistor circuit based upon the Gibson built Maestro Fuzz-tone that was modified by Hurst to produce more sustain than its American counter part. The story goes that guitar legend Vic Flick, then man responsible for the James Bond Theme!! Brought a Fuzz-tone (FZ-1) to Hurst and requested the sustain to be increasesd. The MKI was the first ever British made Fuzz box available to the public and sold for 14 guineas. It was housed in a gold and dark grey folded steel chassis with some of the early units housed in a wooden and steel enclosure.
The Sola Sound company was set-up by Lari and Joe Macari in 1965; the Tone Bender units were made in a Edgware factory, North London and sold from their Denmark street based Music store.
Users of the MKI unit included Pete Townshed of the Who, Jeff Beck of the Yardbirds and also the Beatles used the MKI Tone Bender unit on the album Rubber Soul. Paul McCartney actually used a MKI on the second bass track on the recording "Think for Yourself" Mick Ronson was also a user the MKI from his time with "The Rats" up until he played with the "Spiders From Mars"
In early 1966 the Tone Bender received its first major changes, the folded steel case was replaced with a sand cast aluminium design finished in grey hammerite. It featured a newly designed two transistor circuit that used two Mullard OC75 devices. The name Sola Sound still did not appear on the case and the silk screening just stated the unit as a Tone Bender. The two transistor circuit is said to have been leaked to Arbiter who went on to design the legendary Fuzz Face also this circuit type was later used by Vox in Italy to design the Vox Tone Bender.
Only a small number of the two transistor Tone Benders were produced before the change to the more famous three transistor MKII. The original MKII's featured Mullard OC81D transistors which were designed for use as audio drivers in radio equipment, more commonly the MKII was built with Mullard OC75's and even OC71's. Sola Sound also produced the now very popular MKII Tone Bender for Marshall under the Supa Fuzz name and also produced Vox Tone Bender MKII which confusingly pre-dates the Italian Vox Tone Bender.
The nice folk's at Sola Sound still produce a MKII Tone Bender in the sand cast chassis which features the original two transistor circuit.
Gary Hurst is now also producing a great looking recreation of his original 1965 Tone Bender.
STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
Nice readings buddy and very informative also....Upon messing around more with the pedal,I find Germaniums are all over the place based on temperature and small voltage changes. These things make the pedal act alot different...Things that I've both measured and my ears hear...I see why everyone went to the silicon stuff,but silicon lacks warmth and sweetness and is harsh,tight,and bright by comparison...
I've done quite a bit of research about the Tonebender series also and Fuzz Central has some great info and mods etc on the site that I've printed up to study..I also notice that the pedal works very nicely with a strat and single coils,but is a bit un-inspiring with my LP and humbuckers...Seems I'll be messing quite a bit listening to what the different bias voltages do to Q3 and the tone of the pedal....I initially had it set for around 3.5 volts(About 1 volt low)and thought it sounded heavenly this morning...Tonight I put the voltage to 4.6 volts or there abouts and noticed the pedal wasn't as inspiring to me this evening...Another mod is to put an outside "bias" pot for Q3 off the board,but this pot would have to be very limiting on how much voltage it allows Q3 to see....Say a spread of about 3 to 5 volts only...As you increase this bias voltage,the pedal takes on a really crappy,muddy fuzz that I hated...The secret then lies in the matching of the germaniums and getting the bias voltage set for the "sweet" spot...Interesting and a new learning experience at the same time...Basically this pedal is a Fuzz Face with an extra gain stage or 1 extra transistor...I never liked the FF,but this pedal has tons of potential once I get it dialed in right...:13:
Nice readings buddy and very informative also....Upon messing around more with the pedal,I find Germaniums are all over the place based on temperature and small voltage changes. These things make the pedal act alot different...Things that I've both measured and my ears hear...I see why everyone went to the silicon stuff,but silicon lacks warmth and sweetness and is harsh,tight,and bright by comparison...
I've done quite a bit of research about the Tonebender series also and Fuzz Central has some great info and mods etc on the site that I've printed up to study..I also notice that the pedal works very nicely with a strat and single coils,but is a bit un-inspiring with my LP and humbuckers...Seems I'll be messing quite a bit listening to what the different bias voltages do to Q3 and the tone of the pedal....I initially had it set for around 3.5 volts(About 1 volt low)and thought it sounded heavenly this morning...Tonight I put the voltage to 4.6 volts or there abouts and noticed the pedal wasn't as inspiring to me this evening...Another mod is to put an outside "bias" pot for Q3 off the board,but this pot would have to be very limiting on how much voltage it allows Q3 to see....Say a spread of about 3 to 5 volts only...As you increase this bias voltage,the pedal takes on a really crappy,muddy fuzz that I hated...The secret then lies in the matching of the germaniums and getting the bias voltage set for the "sweet" spot...Interesting and a new learning experience at the same time...Basically this pedal is a Fuzz Face with an extra gain stage or 1 extra transistor...I never liked the FF,but this pedal has tons of potential once I get it dialed in right...:13:
STRATDELUXER97
Stratoblaster Tone Meister
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
I've not been inside Mike's version of the Tonebender and I'm not sure what he uses his trim pot for,but the "69" pedal has a trimmer in there also....The schematic calls for an 8k2 resistor to bias the collector of Q3,but it's not anywhere even close when you try and bias for 4.5 volts at Q3's collector...The 20k trimmer got me to about 3.5 volts,but a 50k trimmer got me right where I need to be,though I like the lower voltage settings because the pedal is smoother and less gainey...I Like smooth and I don't need alot of gain...I'd pick smooth almost everytime anyway as you know...Over a period of a few days to a week I'd be able to have a really good overall concept of both the tone and the inner workings of this pedal...I Love this stuff and it was you that got me really into modding wahs....Remember? LOL...
Bottom line for me....I enjoy this alot....I just want the pedal to sound as good but hopefully better than you expected when you get it so you can rave about it....The raving is worth more to me than the small amount of money involved in building the thing for a friend...:beerchug: Rock On blues brother!
Curly said:John,
well, I think Fuller and others may have opted for more control over the tone, like the 3 knob version, in trade for some of the raw power of the 2 knob. Also, Mike added an internal trim pot in his.
I've not been inside Mike's version of the Tonebender and I'm not sure what he uses his trim pot for,but the "69" pedal has a trimmer in there also....The schematic calls for an 8k2 resistor to bias the collector of Q3,but it's not anywhere even close when you try and bias for 4.5 volts at Q3's collector...The 20k trimmer got me to about 3.5 volts,but a 50k trimmer got me right where I need to be,though I like the lower voltage settings because the pedal is smoother and less gainey...I Like smooth and I don't need alot of gain...I'd pick smooth almost everytime anyway as you know...Over a period of a few days to a week I'd be able to have a really good overall concept of both the tone and the inner workings of this pedal...I Love this stuff and it was you that got me really into modding wahs....Remember? LOL...
Bottom line for me....I enjoy this alot....I just want the pedal to sound as good but hopefully better than you expected when you get it so you can rave about it....The raving is worth more to me than the small amount of money involved in building the thing for a friend...:beerchug: Rock On blues brother!
warlordbob
New member
Re: Curly's Colorsound Tonebender MK2
Hey, i was wondering what you call the ON/Off foot switch there..... is it a TPTT?? where did you get it...I've just started attempting to build pedals and i'm looking for one of those switches. I'm really new to this stuff, the only one i have completed (a booster) hums like crazy and pops every time i push the button. but it boosts....
Hey, i was wondering what you call the ON/Off foot switch there..... is it a TPTT?? where did you get it...I've just started attempting to build pedals and i'm looking for one of those switches. I'm really new to this stuff, the only one i have completed (a booster) hums like crazy and pops every time i push the button. but it boosts....
