Whats a good Mk1 Tone Bender type pedal

[repoman]

I want to sound like Mick Ronson, I read he used a Mk1 Tone Bender.

[MechaGodzilla]

look out for a faceless fx marquis (i think he's calling them "de sade" now). mk1s sound great with humbuckers (a la ronson) but they are gated and sputtery by nature, so they don't work so well with low-output single coils ime. could try stacking to compensate?

[calfzilla]

LIC, Super Electric... I think BMF effects makes a MKI variant.

[Jero]

Pretty sure Arcane Analog (in the shark tank here) makes them as well


...seemed appropriate to have this here
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYL-WRqBehs[/youtube]

[whoismarykelly]

Faceless FX would be the ideal option. Tim makes fantastic stuff.

[echorec]

I've read that Ronson (along with Marc Bolan) used the Colorsound Overdriver (originally called Power Boost), too.

Vick Audio makes a clone of the Overdriver, and there are kits/PCBs online for anyone interested in going the DIY route.

Based on the shared video, though, I imagine an amp-in-a-box pedal would deliver desirable results as well.

[emcee_m_prime]

Basic Audio makes one that sounds good to me (I don't own any of his pedals, just might wanna check it out based on the samples I've heard). Or get a soldering iron and make your own, it's cheap and fun.

[Ugly Nora]

Pretty sure Arcane Analog (in the shark tank here) makes them as well


...seemed appropriate to have this here
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYL-WRqBehs[/youtube]

This is a great video because Mick states what everybody on this forum knows, but refuses to admit: Toan is in the fingers.

[popvulture]

I have an Analog Man Sun Bender that I really like, but it’s a 1.5 I believe—not sure what the exact diff is there. Mk1 is basically a Fuzz Face, no? But anyway the 1.5 really cuts, and tremendous change in sound if you just roll the guitar volume back to 9.5. Less wool, more bite.

The aforementioned Coloursound Power Boost is indeed fucking rad. Buffalo FX makes a great version.

[popvulture]

Nope I got it backwards... 1.5 is the one that’s very similar to a FF

[Psyre]

Pretty sure Arcane Analog (in the shark tank here) makes them as well


...seemed appropriate to have this here
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYL-WRqBehs[/youtube]

This is a great video because Mick states what everybody on this forum knows, but refuses to admit: Toan is in the hooks.

[Jero]

Pretty sure Arcane Analog (in the shark tank here) makes them as well


...seemed appropriate to have this here
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYL-WRqBehs[/youtube]

This is a great video because Mick states what everybody on this forum knows, but refuses to admit: Toan is in the hooks.

[nightraven]

Is there a specific recording of Ronno that you're looking to approximate?

IMO the Tone Bender was a very small part of his sound. The distinctive squawck and crunch on the Bowie records comes from the combination of a Les Paul, Mick's technique, and the super rare Marshall "Pig" amp (of which there are a couple of demos on Youtube).

Unless you can approximate those ingredients, a decent MKI won't do much more than the lead fuzz guitar thing (despite what some boutique fuzz builders would like everyone to believe). For the classic Spiders rhythm guitar sound, without a flashy guitar or Marshall amp, I've had better experience with MKIII Tone Benders than my (original) MKI.
YMMV.

[repoman]

Stuff like Aladdin Sane era, Watch That Man for example. Sounds like a lowish gain fuzz.
Did he use Majors in the studio or just live?

[nightraven]

Stuff like Aladdin Sane era, Watch That Man for example. Sounds like a lowish gain fuzz.
Did he use Majors in the studio or just live?

I've never had the luxury to play or hear a Marshall amp even remotely similar to the 200, but IMO 'Watch that man' is just the amp in the studio, with no pedals. It just seems like a fuzzy sounding amp. There's nothing low gain about a MKI Tone Bender, especially when it's being driven by humbuckers.

For reference, you can actually hear Mick cycling between straight amp, fuzz and fuzz+wah on this recording. I guess it's a MKI after one of Mick's was supposedly rehoused.


The Spiders from Mars stuff isn't a fair representation of the MKI IMO. Mick's sound is far too good, which is why I can't understate the other ingredients enough. Off the top of my head, the only recording I can recall where Mick's fuzz resembles the traditional 60's MKI sound (e.g. 'Keep on running', 'Hold tight', Yardbirds stuff) is on Lou Reed's 'Vicious'.