Analog Man Sun Bender MKIV fuzz pedal

Features
SUN BENDER MKIV

This fuzz pedal is a blueprinted version of the old Sola Sound / Colorsound / VOX tonebenders that had three germanium transistors and a TONE knob. These are known as MK-III and MK-IV versions, also known as "thin case" Tone-Benders. The grey one (MK-III) was made in 1973 and can be seen on some live pictures with Jimmy Page. Some RotoSound and Park fuzz pedals also used this circuit. We own three original versions of these pedals which we studied to make ours. The rare yellow MK-IV model was sent to us from a customer in Germany who LOVED the sound but wanted a smaller, more reliable clone that was made and sounded EXACTLY the same. That led us to the R & D which we used to make our production pedal after we made his custom exact clone.

These fuzz pedals use 3 germanium transistors and have a TONE knob unlike the earlier MKI, MK1.5, and MK-II versions. The tone knob goes from a bassy tone to a trebly tone, it's sort of a "mix" knob in the way it works, it does not just cut highs or lows. I find it best to keep the tone knob low, around 9:00 - don't think you need to keep knobs at noon, use your ears rather than eyes when setting knobs. Cleanup on these is OK if the FUZZ knob is up high, but it gets dull if the fuzz knob is down and you lower your guitar level. Since the tone is so bright and thin at 12:00 or more, we can make it more usable by increasing the value of the treble capacitor if you'd like. It will sound the same at low settings but not get as bright when turned up. If you have a clean amp like a Fender, this will help but if you use a dirty loud amp like a cranked Marshall the stock tone should be ok.

Here are gut shots of the three originals and ours. You can see some "tropical fish" capacitors (brown tops).

The transistors used in the old ones are unmarked so we pulled them out and tested them to find the specifications. Then we checked our stash and found some NOS Mullard germanium transistors which we had been saving for many years that were similar. We made about 100 of these pedals with these NOS transistors before we started to get low on the transistors. After that, we made a version with two NOS Russian transistors, which I found closest to the originals in sound and even looks, and one of the old Mullards. The Russians sound about the same in the MKIV, as they are not critical in that part of the circuit. These first two transistors are in a "Darlington Pair" configuration which gives them very high gain. We can sometimes optionally use all three Mullard transistors for a higher cost if we have them in stock. These are often military grade Mullards, the CV version of OC72, made in mid 1969 at the Mullard Ltd., Mitcham factory. The sound with the three Mullards might be a little more nasally/vocal sounding, the Russians a slight bit clearer.

In late 2019 I realized that some NKT red dot transistors that were out of spec for Sun Face would work great in this pedal. I tried them and they sound great, a thick, deep tone with lots of harmonics and touch sensitivity. We use one NKT in the third position along with Russians or Mullards in the pair, and will offer these NKTs optionally till we run out (we have about 100). Here is a picture of the optional Grey case with an NKT and two Mullards:

Here is our early circuit board pulled out a bit, showing the three Mullard transistors, tropical fish caps, and vintage yellow NOS Siemens and blue Philips capacitors. We no longer add the trimpot on these as it's not needed and did not change the sound.

Here is our higher-quality production board with the two Russian transistors, some are grey and some are silver:

FEATURES:

Top Jacks for tight pedalboards
Battery power is best, battery may last a year of normal use (120 hours of use).
Optional power jack, on right or left center. Standard polarity but must use ISOLATED power as polarity is reversed inside.
Optional LED, will use much more battery power when ON.
No room for an on/off pot to kill the battery but we can mount a mini POWER toggle switch.
Volume increased over the original, for a nice loud fuzz sound that will cut through.
Tone knob is reversed to "normal", down for bass, up for treble.
SIZE : 2 5/16" x 4 5/16", MXR size 1290 / 1590B enclosure.
Buffers before the MK-IV do not hurt the tone much, makes it brighter and tighter. Clean up is not like a germanium Sun Face so that does not get changed much with a buffer. No problem with buffers after.

I get asked about the differences between this and our MKI.5 Sun Bender a lot. The MK1.5 is more raw and 1960s sounding, with a BIAS knob, and gets nice cleaner sounds too. The MKIV is more saturated and 1970s sounding, and has a tone control that can go from thick to thin and trebly.

Here is Kenny Wayne Shepherd checking out a prototype pedal back stage with a VibroVerb amp set at low volume with his signature Fender Strat:

Here is some Analog Dude with a '60s Telecaster into a SB MKIV into our ARDX20 delay into a Deluxe Reverb reissue doing some early Zeppelin. (Dig those rocking shorts). Jimmy Page used a MK-II on their first album, but used a Rotosound Tonebender MK III live, and a Thin Case MK-III with similar circuit to ours. It was seen at Tous En Scene on June 19, 1969 and heard on BBC radio appearances (June 16, 1969, June 24, 1969 and June 27, 1969).

Here is Analog Mike with a Les Paul into SB MKIV into our ARDX20 delay into a Deluxe Reverb reissue butchering Neil Young:

David Torn live tests with delay and a loud but pretty clean amp

"another stray improv w/Analogman Sunbender MarkIV "always on"; again, the amp was set a little bit crunchy. i was changing the fuzz settings as i go'ed, in this one." - DT

Johnny A got one of these to use with The Yardbirds, along with his MK-I clone. He uses our MK-IV on things like Over Under Sideways down, New York City Blues, and Heart Full of Soul. We made his in black by request. He told me "I wanted to get that sound for close to 50 years, after hearing it on the New York City Blues 45 record. I finally found it with your MKIV and my Les Paul Junior!". Here's Johnny:

David Torn live tests with delay and a loud but pretty clean amp

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