Enclosure not stated · 3 knobs
Sola Sound / Vox Tone Bender MKIII (3 knob)
Based on the Sola Sound Tone Bender Mk. III· 10 other boards clone it
- Category
- Fuzz
- Price
- see vendor
- Also as
- Vero layout · from Revolution Deux
- Tags
- freestompboxes.org trace
From the vendor
The last of the classic Tone Benders (1968), sold as Sola Sound, Vox and Colorsound units. A three-transistor germanium PNP fuzz with a different structure from the MKI and MKII: a directly coupled Q1/Q2 pair feeds a Fuzz pot and germanium diode into Q3, followed by a passive Treble/Bass blend. The post describes it as more mellow and less aggressive than the earlier Tone Benders, though still capable of a lot of fuzz.
In the original the transistors were unmarked PNP germanium and the diode a 1N270. The post recommends a lower gain pair (hFE 40-60) for Q1 and Q2 and a higher gain transistor (hFE 90-120) for Q3. Electric Warrior's vero layout uses a 250K Volume pot and differs slightly from the schematic (e.g. 50uF and 10uF electrolytics, a 150K resistor and a 1M resistor at the pots).
Schematic
The schematic is in the post. Open it at Revolution Deux. No KiCad fragment has been drawn for this circuit yet.
Parts list 24 rows
Report a wrong parseGot parts in a drawer? See what you can build with them.
| Ref | Value | Normalized | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resistors 10 | ||||
| R1 | 680K | 680k | read from the schematic by eye | |
| R2 | 100K | 100k | read from the schematic by eye | |
| R3 | 10K | 10k | Q1 emitter; read from the schematic by eye | |
| R4 | 10K | 10k | Q1/Q2 collector; read from the schematic by eye | |
| R5 | 3.3K | 3.3k | Q2 emitter; read from the schematic by eye | |
| R6 | 10K | 10k | supply; read from the schematic by eye | |
| R7 | 18K | 18k | Q3 collector; read from the schematic by eye | |
| R8 | 10K | 10k | read from the schematic by eye | |
| R9 | 10K | 10k | under the Treble/Bass pot; read from the schematic by eye | |
| R10 | 220K | 220k | to Volume; read from the schematic by eye | |
| Capacitors 7 | ||||
| C1 | 100n | 100n | input; read from the schematic by eye | |
| C2 | 220p | 220p | read from the schematic by eye | |
| C3 | 220n | 220n | read from the schematic by eye | |
| C4 | 6.4u | 6.4u | electrolytic; read from the schematic by eye | |
| C5 | 25u | 25u | electrolytic, supply; read from the schematic by eye | |
| C6 | 2n | 2n | drawn 2000pf; read from the schematic by eye | |
| C7 | 100n | 100n | read from the schematic by eye | |
| Diodes 1 | ||||
| D1 | 1N270 | 1N270 | germanium; read from the schematic by eye | |
| Transistors 3 | ||||
| Q1 | ? | ? | germanium PNP, hFE 40-60; read from the schematic by eye | |
| Q2 | ? | ? | germanium PNP, hFE 40-60; read from the schematic by eye | |
| Q3 | ? | ? | germanium PNP, hFE 90-120; read from the schematic by eye | |
| Potentiometers 3 | ||||
| Treble/Bass | 100K | 100k | Potentiometer | read from the schematic by eye |
| Fuzz | 100K | 100k | Potentiometer | read from the schematic by eye |
| Volume | 100K | 100k | Potentiometer | read from the schematic by eye |
Other boards based on the Sola Sound Tone Bender Mk. III
- Phobos Aion FX · 125B · $12.50
- Phobos (Legacy) Aion FX · 1590B
- Tonebender MK3 Amplified Parts · 1590BB
- SolaSound Tone Bender Mk. III Effects Layouts (blog) · 1590B
- SolaSound ToneBender Mk III Effects Layouts (blog)
- Tone Bender Mk III Fuzz Dog · 1590B · £26.40
- Modded Tone Bender Mk. III Naegele Audio · 125B
- Sola Sound Tone Bender MkIII - 3 knob Tagboard Effects
- Sola Sound Tone Bender MKIII (early) turretboard.org
- Tone Bender MKIII / MKIV universal layout turretboard.org