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Analog Man Sun Bender MK1.5
Analog Man Sun Bender MK1.5


 
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Our Price: $285.00



Availability - time to dispatch:: Usually Ships in 2 to 3 Weeks
Product Code: AM-SUNBENDERMK1.5

Customize

Jack Location and options*:
Top Jacks, on/off pot not available
Side Jacks
Side jacks with on/off fuzz pot $15 [Add $15.00]
Top jacks with on/off mini toggle $25 [Add $25.00]

Add a Patch Cord:
12" switchcraft soldered pancake type patch cord $17 [Add $17.00]

Add a Patch Cord:
6" switchcraft soldered pancake type patch cord $15 [Add $15.00]
Guitar cables

Add a CBI Ultimate 15 foot Guitar Cable $26 [Add $26.00]Add a great sounding 15 foot long guitar cable, black with straight metal soldered Neutrik ends.
Customize

Add LED:
No LED - $0
Green $15 [Add $15.00]
Red $15 [Add $15.00]
Yellow $15 [Add $15.00]

Power Options:
Power Jack $15 [Add $15.00]Click on (?) next to Power Options
Guitar cables

Add a guitar cable:
Add a CBI Ultimate 10 foot Guitar Cable $25 [Add $25.00]
Optional power supplies

Add a Power Supply:
US 120V 9vDC $15 - Requires power jack option!! [Add $15.00]
Customize

Add a knob cover:
Add an MXR style knob cover $2.00 [Add $2.00]- This knob cover fits on the larger of the two versions of MXR style knobs we used to use on our AM pedals. It won't fit the knobs we normally use the last few years (except the POT) but if you choose this option we will put the older style knobs on your pedal. They make it easy to turn the knob with your foot. If you want more than one, you can add them to your shopping cart from the Accessories - Pedal Parts menu.
Add SWAG

Add a shirt:


 
Description
 
Our version of the Tone Bender thin case MK-IV or MK-III
Emerson Swinford (Rod Stewart band) shows the Sun Bender MK1.5!
Part2 : Emerson Swinford (Rod Stewart band) shows the Sun Bender MK1.5!
A nice little Beatles demo (Fuzz solo about the 1 minute mark)
Features

This is an exact Tonebender MK1.5 pedal topology, but with a few part values tweaked a bit for better performance. We made the BIAS resistor adjustable on the BIAS knob in the center of the pedal, as there are some great sounds to be had by running higher bias than normal. It gets brighter and cuts through better when it's overbiased. Some people like the bias lower for a deeper but softer sound. There is also a blue MASTER BIAS trimpot inside to set the center setting of the BIAS knob. We set it at 5V at the shop and normally you should not need to use that. But at high or low temperatures it can come in handy if the bias changes.

These can also get a cool GATED sound like a Tonebender MKI, by setting the MASTER BIAS a bit lower. Lately we are setting the internal knob a bit lower so that you can get these sounds by turning the center BIAS knob down all the way. It still allows for normal sounds by turning the bias up.

We also changed a capacitor value slightly to make it sound and work better. In addition, we added the CLEAN trimpot like our Sun Face, as it helps preset the pedal for cleaner, or less bassy tones that some people like, especially with hotter pickups. These clean up with a nice crunchy sound when you turn the guitar or the clean trimpot down. We recently changed a resistor value slightly to make them a bit louder. Some people, especially with humbuckers, were complaining that the normal MK1.5 was not loud enough for them, so this should help. Simply copying a schematic would have been easier, but we want to make the pedal as great sounding as possible, and allow it to work with various guitars and amps.

So this is our updated take on a MK1.5 Tonebender.

The FUZZ knob is more useful on the Sun Bender than on a Fuzz Face/Sun Face, you can turn it down as much as you like and still get great tones.

These have an interesting, gradual cleanup, unlike a Fuzz Face which tends to get too clean too fast. Back a Tele down anywhere from 4-7 on it's volume knob, and with your picking attack you can go from almost clean to awesome Tweed amp distortion sounds up to a fuzzy tube amp distortion. Very natural sounding! The white CLEAN trimpot can be used to preset this less saturated, crunchy distortion sound. We have these in medium to high gain. Turning the FUZZ knob down on the high gain allows more cleanup, like the medium gain. Let us know if you have a gain preference, in the order COMMENTS area.

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

We have always used New Old Stock British Mullard type transistors in this pedal:


In 2019 we got some outstanding Mullard CV-type military tested transistors, which are very consistent and sound great! These are dated 6927, made the 27th week or 1969, what a great era!!! We also use OC72, OC76, and other versions which test to our specs.

The on/off FUZZ pot is optional to allow disconnecting the battery without having to unplug the pedal, great when mounted in the middle of a pedalboard. Turn it down all the way and it CLICKS and turns off the power. We also offer a power jack, with standard polarity, but inside the pedal is reverse polarity so you need to use an ISOLATED 9Vdc POWER SUPPLY.

SIZE : MXR style box, 2 5/16" x 4 5/16" 1290 / 1590B "B size" enclosure.


We decided to make this 2-transistor MK1.5 first instead of a 3-transistor Tone Bender as we don't have many of these awesome British NOS Mullard transistors. Also we tested them side by side and found that an average MK-II didn't sound better, just different. The MK1.5 is a bit easier to make consistent but they can still be tough as the circuit with NOS Mullards is very finicky. The MK-II is about the same circuit as an old Marshall Supa-Fuzz, you can hear the comparison below. We later started making a 3-transistor MKIV Sun Bender.

Here is what an original MK1.5 looks like, this rare pedal was on ebay at the end of 2012 for $5,000 but got no bids.


The DUDE!




Average Customer Review: Average Customer Review: 5 of 5 5 of 5 Total Reviews: 17 Write a review.

  1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 Sun Bender MK1.5 January 21, 2023
Reviewer: Gary B from Florida  
This pedal was flying under my radar for awhile but I really didn't expect it to be this freakin' good!  It does things that make other fuzz pedals look like toys.  The sputtering spitting fire it produces in a kaleidoscope of sounds is nothing short of amazing.  From raspy cleans to molten leads this thing burns hot.  Thanks again for a great product!

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  2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 Sunbender 1.5 October 8, 2021
Reviewer: Greg from Boca  
I tried a few different boutique fuzzes in the 1990s, but then I tried Analogman.   There's something about the overtones that is overwhelmingly satisfying to me.

The benefit to this particular fuzz pedal is it suits bluesy stuff with heavy attitude.  You can kick up dust in the midrange, yet have string separation.  So the strings are fuzzy but not muddy.  And then you can hear the harmonies.  The pedal sacrifices low end and the really sweet highs.  Compared to a Sunface which has richer lows, glorious highs, and comparatively muddy mids.

You can turn down the volume on your guitar and clean up.  The only real drawback is if the room temperature is hot.  It fizzes out.

This is my favorite fuzz/drive pedal.

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  4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 New favorite 'bender October 3, 2020
Reviewer: Angel from CA United States  
I love Tonebender style fuzzes of all marks and makes, but my usual experience with Tonebenders is that I find a great setting or two and that's it.  The Sunbender 1.5 I recently picked up has great tones all over its knob ranges.  It can go from slightly fuzzy to sharp and aggressive and sound great doing it all.  It also responds well to volume and pick attack, so that your touch comes through even when the fuzz is dimed.  Tone and pickup selection come through even at extreme settings, so you can get a lot of variation just from your guitar.  The sounds are so good and varied that I find myself playing in different, creative ways, which I think is the best thing a pedal can do for you.  My favorite 'bender style pedal by a mile.

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  3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 Superb May 6, 2020
Reviewer: PY from ORCHIES, France  
Definitely in my top 3 fuzz boxes and my #1 bender style pedal (I also have a JMI MKI.5 and an early big box Fulltone Soulbender that I love too). Surprisingly it cleans up as nicely as my SunFace with RCA germanium with a Strat AND even better with a 58 LP RI (custom luthier guitar, not a Gibson but very close). The bias knob is the step forward to heaven. Very versatile pedal if you like the raw tone of the early benders. I LOVE it !

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  4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 60s Fuzz Heaven April 18, 2020
Reviewer: Ryan McDermott from Washington, D.C.  
I know fuzzes are a really personal thing. I've been through some really amazing ones from amazing builders with all the rarest and weirdest transistors. Worked my way through fuzz faces, benders, muffs. They were all really beautiful pedals, but just not what I was hearing in my head.

Then, this morning the Sun Bender 1.5 came and tonight I ran it through its paces in my little home studio. There it was. That sound I had in my head. Just my Gene Baker B3 with P90s into the Sun Bender into a cranked Supro 1606.

Thank you so much, Mike. It's a really big thing for me. I've had a difficult relationship with fuzzes and I've been played them for about 20 years. This is one will be on my board for a very long time.

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