The Other Bender

The Otha Benda is based off the fabled Tone Bender 1.5, a two transistor sibling in the Tone Bender family, traditionally made with three transistors, made by Vox and Sola Sound. The Sola Sound version would go on to inspire the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face. The Vox version would cut a significant amount of bass, making it sit in a mix better. With the Otha Benda, I give you both versions in one with the ability to cut or add bass. I also replaced the traditional gain control with an input/impedance control for a much smoother, more usable feel. Because this circuit utilizes two carefully selected germanium transistor, it will be sensitive to extreme temperature changes and will not want to see any buffered bypass pedals placed before it (like your Boss tuner), so for best results, place first in your pedal chain. That being said, you may also notice your fuzz tone become overly harsh in the top end if placing any buffered bypass pedal directly after it. To correct this issue, I've created what I call the "buffer baffle", a switch to dampen the treble frequencies. When using this pedal by itself with no other effects, this switch will probably be unnecessary and make your tone too dark. It's there as a tool in case you need it to keep the true tone of your fuzz pedal in tact. Built with top quality components, Alpha potentiometers, carbon comp resistors, Neutrik or Switchcraft jacks, a Gorva Design soft click footswitch and a custom designed turret board/PCB for point to point wiring. Does not require a battery, operates off a standard 9v center negative power supply and can be daisy chained with all other effects sharing center negative polarity.