'Page bender' Tonebender MK II

Description

15 years ago I built a Tonebender MK II based on a hand-drawn schematic posted on the TDPRI forum. Legend has it that Don Mare somehow got the schematic of the Page fuzz built by Roger Mayer. I was intrigued by this (and a big Zep fan) so I built one myself. Now I've run it through TONEZONE3000 to share with others. So enjoy this 1-off physical pedal. It remains my favorite self built to this day. My build has a few variations to note from the schematic posted online: - AC125 transistors were used - 3 position toggle with different values of input caps that contour the bass response: mid, lows, lowest - A charge pump circuit on the power input that converts from modern 'negative ground' to the 'positive ground' that works with the PNP AC125 transistors. Makes it compatible with today's standard pedal power supplies - A voltage trimmer that is set to trim down the 9V power a little - this smooths the top end sound out a tad While the captures turned out great, it is hard to replicate the old school fun of a guitar w/passive pickups plugged straight into this pedal and fiddling with the guitar volume and tone for different textures. That said these captures do respond well to turning down the guitar volume and tone to get different overdrive and distortion sounds.

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