Boss Waza Tone Bender TB-2w

[univalve]

So I got that little box yesterday after quite a long wait. Anyway, it is here. Chank wanted some impression, so here we go:
It is the typical boss box with that typical 60ies finish. Looks quite similar to other boxes in that style and has an overall consistent look: small chickenhead knobs, original tone bender font, silver battery screw... Battery was included btw.
I have two other tone bender MKII, a DAM 2019 model with two Philips OC75 and an old pigdog with mullard OC75. I first played the DAM and the switched to the boss. Very similar. The amount of gain, the saturation and the fuzziness, the density of the fuzz artifacts, is almost the same. The Boss is on the 9V setting a bit more cleaned up in the lower registers - less distortion and feels a bit tighter. If you switch to 12V this effect gets stronger and you get a bit of a volume jump. Also the bass gets a bit pushed in the front. On the 7V setting the lower registers get more fuzzy, less tight and a bit unpronounced - don't get it wrong, it still sounds good, just "less modern".
The Buffer switch is a nice addition imho: with the buffer turned on you get a little volume increase and a slightly more focused overall sound. Turned off, it sounds pretty close to the DAM. The pigdog has a bit less gain but almost the same sound as the two others. To decide between these three is quite difficult and may be driven by the context, the riff and/or the usability on a pedal board: the Boss is the only one that features a 9V connection beside the battery power.
I'm pretty impressed by the sound of this pedal. I didn't thought it would be that close to the DAM*. The DAM is maybe a bit more open, less compressed and dynamic. But that is really an aspect I wouldn't recognize at a band rehearsal for sure - just in the side by side comparison. The craftsmanship and packaging of the pedal is very good. Didn't expect anything else btw.
If it is worth the price or if it is even "buyable" anymore is a different discussion I don't want to dive into here. I was lucky that I thought of that pedal one Monday morning on the shitter, found it online at Thomann (biggest music retailer in Germany) and ordered it immediately. It turned out that I was super lucky to grab one. They were super fast gone anywhere...

*Which is quite obvious: Ant from Macaris, owner of the sola sound / tone bender brand, gave Boss a Tone Bender built by DAM as the original reference unit for this project.

[Chankgeez]

Thanks, univalve!

If I ever come across a cheap one, I won't hesitate to purchase it.

[univalve]

Thanks, univalve!

You‘re always welcome!

[goroth]

Great review!

[univalve]

Great review!

Thanks! Didn‘t write gear reviews in english in ages…

[oldangelmidnight]

I love to see you writing about fuzz the way tone dentists write about Klons.

[K2000]

My friend got one through luck and timing, and it was delivered last week. I heard him play it a little and I have to admit, it sounded pretty nice. Has a reedy, violin-like quality, and can get raspy in a very pleasing way.

I have no experience with Tone Benders so I have to wonder if there is a cheaper way to get this raspy tone, or get in the same ballpark?

Probably a dumb question but whatever.

[qersty]

My friend got one through luck and timing, and it was delivered last week. I heard him play it a little and I have to admit, it sounded pretty nice. Has a reedy, violin-like quality, and can get raspy in a very pleasing way.

I have no experience with Tone Benders so I have to wonder if there is a cheaper way to get this raspy tone, or get in the same ballpark?

Probably a dumb question but whatever.

Probably any well tempered mark 1? There probably are people here who anything about tonebender that can answer instead of me

[frigid midget]

My friend got one through luck and timing, and it was delivered last week. I heard him play it a little and I have to admit, it sounded pretty nice. Has a reedy, violin-like quality, and can get raspy in a very pleasing way.

I have no experience with Tone Benders so I have to wonder if there is a cheaper way to get this raspy tone, or get in the same ballpark?

Probably a dumb question but whatever.

Tonebenders are some of the most cloned fuzz circuits out there. Not as popular as the muff or fuzz face, but still easy enough to find an affordable clone.

I'm sure my Function F(x) Clusterfuzz should be able to get in the ballpark. Basic Audio also has a couple different tonebender type pedals I think. Monsterpiece, JHS, Catalinbread, Keeley, Maxon, SolidGoldFX,...and a ton of others. Just a matter of finding the one with the right options and tweaks, for the right price.

I used to be a huge big muff whore. Untill I tried my first tonebender The only fuzz type I like for leads AND for chords, and unlike a muff it doesn't drown in a loud band mix.

[Jero]

I used to be a huge big muff whore. Untill I tried my first tonebender The only fuzz type I like for leads AND for chords, and unlike a muff it doesn't drown in a loud band mix.

100% ...I recently got a nice Mk1 (from C/E), & a og Vox Mk3, and they have easily become my main fuzzes as of late.