Early Zep, Ydbrds -- any opinions on pedals???

[Dano]

Fulltone Soul Bender, Yardbox, Pro Analog MK II all claim to capture the early Page/Beck sound ... has anyone A/B'd any of these pedals, or does anyone have opinions on whether they do what they say they will? Or, is there anything cheaper that works as well? Thanks!

[11 Gauge]

A/B'd them against the originals, like the Tonebender and stuff used back then, but they seem like fairly good replicas...

The problem with most of the boutique clones is that they have 'improvements' or alterations to the circuits. not anything bad usually, but the slight differences can be a little frustrating (in my experience, anyway).

but the pedal seems to be just a small slice of the pie. there's also guitar, amp, settings, how it was all done in the studio... pedal/amp pairing is crucial in this instance...

plenty of cheap fuzzes out there to try. in good faith i couldn't recommend one though. a fuzz tone that someone is happy with seems to be a very subjective thing.

all that said, i love how the Soulbender sounds. but i don't think it nails the sound of the old fuzzes it's supposed to replicate - seems to have it's own vibe going on, IMO.

[Tim Swartz]

I've tried the Yardbox and Soulbender. IMO, they come up short in the gain dept. when compared to an early variety hammer gray Vox Tonebender (which is on my keep pile). The Vox Tonebender is almost identical to a FuzzFace. Having said this, I do not hear anything on the Yardbirds that sounds like a Fuzz Face or Vox Tonebender (thinking about Over Under Sideways Down and Shapes of Things). These songs seem to have a more thinner treble boost thing going on that sounds very much like the Yardbox and Soulbender. I have no experience w/ the SolaSound ToneBender, but thought it to be same as the Vox, which perhaps I'm mistaken. When Zep came along, the guitar sound totally changed, there is crushing low end that is characteristic of both the FuzzFace and to a slightly lesser extent, the Vox ToneBender.

[slauson slim]

Crushing low end from a Vox Tonebender? Time to see it in a new light and fiddle with some amp eq!

I recall reading that some of the early British fuzz tones on record came from Maestro fuzzes.

[Tim Swartz]

I'm not sure if you are referring to the reissue ToneBender (I have no experience w/ them). The ones I'm referring to are circa '66-'67.

[slauson slim]

'67 is when I got my grey Vox Tonebender - from Wallich's Music City in Hollywood. For a really wild tone, I'd run my axe into an Electro-Harmonix PB-1 boost, then into the Tonebender. Yeow! Don't recall, however, the low-end you wrote of.