Still, fascinating to learn about tom jennings, dick denneys brilliant designs, and the fickle whims of musicians. Dam 1966 tone bender replica based on 19661968 italian vox tone benders plum crazy fx king rasp. Finally, to give the steinberger some added crunch, shields used a vox tone bender on nearly all songs. Vox tone bender 1966 first year version ebay with images. The history of the early aids epidemic is the fastest 650page work of nonfiction ive ever read. Vox tone bender v828 1968 black metal box effect for sale. Excellent conditions killer fuzz, grat overall tone with long incredible sustain. The v828 is famous for being used by the beatles on tracks throughout rubber soul, revolver and many other beatles albums and recordings and. The circuit itself predates the fuzz face, which means that the famous arbiter electronics fuzz face was probably based on this circuit. Some of these pedals were finished in black crinkle coat paint while others were adorned with. Dick, a guitarist himself, had his finger on the pulse of the rapidly evolving world of the electric guitar in the late 1950s and worked tirelessly with the jmi staff to design an amplifier that could offer the volume and sustain that guitarists. Vox amplification has been delivering its signature brand of pristine guitar tone to guitarists for over 50 years.
V828 in vox s 1966 us price list is based on the same circuit topology as the mk1. The vox tone bender was made in chicago by the thomas organ company. Tone bender vs big muff vs fuzz face, fuzz history and facts duration. Another great option is the vox tone garage v8 distortion pedal. Enjoy the lowest prices and best selection of vox effects pedals at guitar center. What to read, what not to read, and the latest news in the world of books. Vox tone bender tonebender reissue fuzz pedal rare. Vox is a musical equipment manufacturer founded in 1957 by thomas walter jennings in dartford, kent, england. Probably the most iconic tone bender of all, say the words tone bender and this is the pedal most will think of. Oct 10, 2017 significant early british fuzz boxes included the vox v816, the rangemaster fuzzbug, the arbiter fuzz face hendrixs favorite, although his were often modified by mayer, john hornby skewes zonk machine, wems pepbox, the vox tone bender, the baldwinburns buzzaround, marshalls supa fuzz, rotosounds fuzz box, and the selmer buzztone.
The tonebender was sold under a number of different brand names, including vox and park sound. Of course, we couldnt mention vox without mentioning the vox v847a. Delivering a warm tubelike sound, this pedal takes advantage of voxs newly developed hivolt technology to produce an extraordinary highgain distortion and aweinspiring tone. V two transistor tone bender circuit, very similar to the fuzz face sound. Vox 1960s v828 tone bender fuzz used effects pedals for guitar. A vox tone bender geranium charged fuzz box, model v829, made in usa. I saw my first vox tonebender when mike theodore and i were producing a local rock band called mutzie. The book walks you through the history of the tone bender and its descendants using firsthand interviews, original documents, advertisements and indepth.
Here we have a 1967 specimen of the latter in a sandcastaluminum enclosure. By 1965, british engineer gary hurst had gotten his hands on the maestro and modified it for more bass and sustain, thus creating the tonebender fuzz pedal. But at high or low temperatures it can come in handy if the bias changes. Although, all 3 are essentially the same circuit with some component value changes. Vox tone bender reissue fuzz demo drowninginguitars.
Heres a little sound comparison between the 3 brothers vox tone benderville. You will find rare details and facts about not only vox equipment, but the innovators who created and marketed them, and the groups that used them. Mahoney sonic fuzz pedal vox v816 clonebrian may jmi zonk machine, jhs tone bender, fuzz pedal. Sep 18, 2009 an excellent history of the early development of the tone bender is recounted by david main, builder of the dam differential audio manifestations line of pedals, on the dam website. Its warm tonal qualities bring out the best in sound depending on what amp you are useing. The legendary sound of vox amplification begins with dick denney, a young amplifier designer who began working for englands jmi corporation in 1957. This effect saw a reissue in 1993 as the v829 tonebender. V828 in voxs 1966 us price list is based on the same circuit topology as the mk1. 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. Unfollow vox tone bender fuzz to stop getting updates on your ebay feed.
Shop now and receve free shipping on your order today. Sola sound and vox had been using the same circuit topology for their tone bender pedals earlier in 1966. I think this pedal sounds much better and louder than the new. Tone bender mk iii diy clone phobos fuzz aion electronics. The original vox tonebender was an iconic fuzz effect that came in both black and gray casings. Seems dated as was published in 1993 and much has happened with vox since then, such as moving production to china. Just make sure to read the documentation because there.
Fulltone soul bender original handmade guitar fuzz pedal usabuilt. Originally made in 1966 the vox tone bender had the longest run of all and was still being made in some form or another in the mid to late 1970s. Sola sound also produced the now increasingly popular tone bender mkii in varies guises for marshall, rotosound and also. New listing tone bender tonebender mkii late 60s handmade oc71. The vox tone bender creates harmonics that are nonexistent in the fundamental signal. Reg clark of vox had established a prior relationship with the beatles to supply them gear to use in public in return for letting vox use their images in marketing materials. The two pedals shown on the top of this page are examples of the thomas v828 tone bender produced by jen. Fantastic pictures not available elsewhere a great history of jmi and vox amps by jim elyea history for hire is a large prop supplier for film and tv, you know their work, even if you never heard of em. Now, a definitive history has been written to bring the complete creation story of this heralded brand to life.
Electronically controlled fuzzy distortion effects are produced with a foot tap. The jmi years hardcover january 1, 2012 by jim elyea author 5. Using this pcb, you can also build a baldwinburns buzzaround. The vox showroom effects, accessories and miscellaneous. An excellent history of the early development of the tone bender is recounted by david main, builder of the dam differential audio manifestations line of pedals, on the dam website. Based on the appearance, chicken head knobs, and the date of use. The uninitiated to the fuzz scene might have difficulty telling their maestro fz1as from their vox tone bender copies. They are often associated with the vox brand, and guitarists like jimmy page. Vox by sola sound tone bender mark iii effects database. Significant early british fuzz boxes included the vox v816, the rangemaster fuzzbug, the arbiter fuzz face hendrixs favorite, although his were often modified by mayer, john hornby skewes zonk machine, wems pepbox, the vox tone bender, the baldwinburns buzzaround, marshalls supa fuzz, rotosounds fuzz box, and the selmer buzztone. Im using a relic 56 strat into a 66 princeton reverb. These units were named vox tone bender professional mkii, marshall supa fuzz.
Open quick view dialog for vox tone garage trike fuzz guitar effects pedal. Apr 1, 20 vox tone bender 1966 first year version ebay. The gary hurst mki was a reissue of the original tone bender made by sola sound, gary hurst. The sound that revolutionized the world popmatters. This vintage distortion pedal provided the chugging basslines with a muchneeded weight and allowed the bass guitar to compete with the mammoth walls of guitars on tracks such as when you sleep and sometimes. Some of these pedals were finished in black crinkle coat paint while others were adorned with gray hammertone. So the story goes there are several versions, an accident causes a. The vox tone bender is a faithfull reissue of the sixties tonebender pedals played by people such as jeff beck, jimmy page and pete townshend. 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. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. The vox story is chock full of history and information about the legendary vox amplifiers, guitars, guitar accessories, and organs which helped launch the british invasion in the early 60s. The main difference is that the fuzz face is biased slightly colder, making it more usable in warm environments. The circuit is nearly identical to the vox distortion booster and the tone bender.
Vox tonebender original vintage v828 killer germanium fuzz 1968 code. We have the vox 1969 tone bender mark ii effect pedal in stock in our vintage collection. Electronics engineers at the time often used these text book circuits in fuzz and booster. Find great deals on ebay for tone bender fuzz and tone bender mkii. Made in italy by the jen company, based on the mk i. Vox tonebender original vintage v828 killer germanium fuzz 1968 code ef267.
Oct 02, 20 heres a little sound comparison between the 3 brothers vox tone benderville. Fuzz tones were new and i was curious about how they worked and what they sounded like. This is the circuit diagram of vox tone bender pedal. The leader of the band and singerguitarist mutzie was using a tone bender when we were over their house at a rehearsal. Delivering a warm tubelike sound, this pedal takes advantage of vox s newly developed hivolt technology to produce an extraordinary highgain distortion and aweinspiring tone. It is an original tone bender made in london by sola sound. 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. Voxs books to read to understand the world 31 books. The fuzz face is particularly similar to the sola sound unit known today as the mk1. Jan 01, 2006 fender 59 bassman amp i would also love to have an original late 50s vox ac 15 as used by the shadows. Electronics engineer gary stewart hurst, a former vox employee, designed the first iteration of the tone bender mki in 1965. The tone bender timeline history the big muff pi page. It has been rumored that this was actually intended to be a vox tone bender, and. The three transistor housing, gold folded, was also used for the later two transistor for a very short period, mk1.
The main difference is that the fuzz face is biased slightly colder, making it more usable in. Identical to the tone bender mark iii only with different graphics. Fender 59 bassman amp i would also love to have an original late 50s vox ac 15 as used by the shadows. The various iterations of the tone bender have had many circuit configurations, but its best known as a threetransistor germanium design, typified by the.
It is often stated that the fuzz syd was seen with in this perfirmance is an italian vox tone bender, but this is not the italian made vox. Based on the appearance, chicken head knobs, and the date of use, this is most likely a professional mkii tone bender. Ill have to make do with my 67 fender deluxe reverb and my 2003 vox ac 15 with two 10 inch speakers made in england at the marshall factory before production went to china. Denney stated vox later introduced that fuzz box circuit as the vox tone bender. Shilts was a reporter at the san francisco chronicle in the 1980s. Vox tonebender v828 style fuzz pedal rare sft 337oc76 sola maestro mk1. The secret history ends in incest and gunshots as vox book clubs may pick draws to a close. Various resource books effects pedals, beatles history, vox history, musician. Vox tone bender is your text book wasp in a jar fuzz tone. This is probably the most well known version of the tone bender. The combanation of fuzz and distortion makes this a very unique pedal. Vox v847g limited edition gold plated wahwah pedal.
Apr 1, 20 vox tone bender 1966 first year version ebay stay safe and healthy. Our soul bender is based on the legendary colorsound and vox series iii tonebenders made by solasoundengland in the late 60s that was used by beck and page on much of their circa 196870 recordings. The phobos fuzz is a clone of the colorsound sola sound tone bender mk. Make offer sola sound london ltd tone bender professional mkii guitar effect pedal british pedal co vintage series mk1. The company is most famous for making the vox ac30 guitar amplifier, used by the beatles, the rolling stones, the kinks, the yardbirds, queen, dire straits, u2 and radiohead, the vox continental electric organ, the vox wahwah pedal used by jimi hendrix, and a series of innovative. And the reissue was a two transistor version not a three. Vox 1969 tone bender mark ii effect pedal guitar center. The v828 vox tone bender and many vox organs for the us market were produced by jen. New listingvox tone bender fuzz pedal germanium transistors tonebender fuzz. These can also get a cool gated sound like a tonebender mki, by setting the master. Tone bender news newspapers books scholar jstor april 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message.
But, the vox story is a great read and highly recommended. Feb 26, 20 vox tone bender reissue fuzz demo drowninginguitars. Heres the details on vox amplifiers, the jmi years from the press release. Sola sound also produced customlabeled versions of the tone bender for vox, marshall, rotosound, park amplification, and others.
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