Rightly regarded as one of the classic fuzz pedals, the Tone Bender, introduced in 1965 by Sola Sound, has spawned many straight-up clones and pedals taking inspiration from the various iterations of its circuitry. Now, Canadian company SolidGoldFX has put two fuzzes based on Tone Bender circuitry into a single pedal with independent foot switching for each, so you can choose to use them individually or both together.
The Communication Breakdown features Fuzz B based on the MkII Tone Bender introduced in 1966 and famously used by Jimmy Page. There is also Fuzz A based on the circuitry now known as 1.5, a transitional design that used two transistors and was briefly produced in 1966 between the very first MkI Tone Benders and the MkII, both of which are three-transistor units.
That two-transistor design may have been shortlived in the Sola Sound Tone Bender but it is very closely related to the Italian-made Vox Tone Bender circuit and the Arbiter Fuzz Face circuit. Homage to two sufficiently different vintage circuits in one pedal, then, but the silicon-based Communication Breakdown is no slavish retro-clone: Fuzz A has been equipped with hotter transistors and Fuzz B has a JFET preamp added for “stability and tonal clarity”.
This story is from the September 2020 edition of Guitarist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2020 edition of Guitarist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
FOR THE ROSES
Ivison Guitars has only been in business for six years, but its Dakota model has already headlined Glastonbury with Guns N’ Roses star Richard Fortus. We meet founder Neil Ivison to find out how he's making new electrics that evoke the raw spirit of retro tone
HISTORY REPEATING
Gibson's highest-tier replicas of famous Les Pauls are commanding almost as much as vintage guitars these days. We find out what all the fuss is about and examine a rare recreation of Jimmy Page's fiendishly complex #2 Les Paul Standard
WHAT THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR
Off the radar since The Stone Roses reunion burnt out - and largely absent from the studio for two decades - John Squire's collaboration with Liam Gallagher reclaims his place among the greats. He invites us to his studio to talk classic riffs, career-ending injuries, getting snubbed by Gibson, and why music keeps pulling him back in
TELL ME STRAIGHT
Keith Richards, the legendary master of the ageless riff, talks about the magic and loss of Hackney Diamonds, the sparkling new Rolling Stones album
DENNY LAINE 1944-2023
Multi-instrumetlist, singer-songwriter Denny Laine died at the end of last year after a career that saw him top the charts in both The Moody Blues and Wings
Vibe 'n' Drive
Eventide's latest dot9 series pedal combines two independent effects for some classic vintage-rock sounds
Face Lift
Flattley releases an upgraded 1960s-style silicon fuzz with a buffer and extended tonal options
Air Supply
Boss's new Katana addition pumps up the volume - suited to serious players looking for a compact, wireless amp solution
Standard Shimmers
Back in 2023, revitalised Brit-maker PJD rejigged its range to start with the new solidbody hardtail Standards. Need a vibrato? No problem: here comes the Standard Plus
Golden Brown
Last year we were mightily impressed when we looked at builder Rich Jones' Parlour and Orchestra acoustics. This time it's the turn of his entry-level, all-mahogany dreadnought