Hi Evan!
Tonebenders, eh?
-I had a Montgomery Appliances Quattro, never really vibed with it. Looked great inside and out, though.
-I had a Diceworks Fuzz Epic - Union Jack side is supposed to be a Tonebender, I believe. Just okay.
-I had the MJM 2 and 3-knob Benders - fine, had a "bedroom" vibe, if you know what I mean. More on the polite side.
-I had a Fulltone Soulbender - MkIII-ish, right? My friend Eric in Lonnie Walker (Casino/AC30) uses one of these really effectively, usually followed by a Beano Boost. I once read a description of Fulltone fuzzes like the 69 and Soulbender having this "plastic" quality to them; I kind of agree.
-I had a Skinpimp MkIII (first generation) - sounded great, but this was when I realized I wasn't a MkIII guy (at least, I wasn't at the time, haven't tried one in a while). MkIII is kind of more compressed/less fucked sounding than the MkII. More "normal," I guess.
-I had a Throbak sTonebender that sounded a LOT like the fuzz on early Led Zeppelin records; interesting, but not sustainable interest-wise (for me).
-I had a Skinpimp Skinbender MkII/Fuzz Face (switchable) loaded with OC84s. Smooth in a buzzy way, not spiky, but still rude (in an awesome way). Wanted something a little more versatile. (See Fuzzfaceless MkII below.)
-I had two Skinpimp MkI units, both with the "Misfits tattoo" graphic. One was bland/unmemorable; the other was unbelievably awesome (I think it was serial #1), but it was such a one-trick-pony that I couldn't justify keeping it (attack knob did barely anything). That one fucking ripped the sky wide open, haven't heard anything quite like it. Outrageous amount of volume on tap - huge, thick mid-range with a brutal velcro-y attack. Took me a while to understand that the fuzz sounded WAY better with the volume past noon, as it never needed it to be that loud. I'd stack it into a Hotcake and use that as a master-volume, sounded amazing. Kind of miss it.
-I have a Hudson Soul Bomb; Mr. Soul (Mk1.5, the most fuzz-face-y tonebender, as I understand it) followed by a Gospel Bomb Boost. There's an AC125 in there somewhere. I really dig this one; has a low-cut knob to get you some of those MkII-like biting fuzz sounds if you want 'em (
sounds like what you're looking for). Gnarly. Enclosure's enormous though.
-I have a Fuzzfaceless MkI with volume, attack, and bias controls (attack and bias concentric). Gets both "normal" fuzz sounds and more rippin' thick gnarly MkI sounds. Not quite as extreme as that Skinpimp I had, but waaaay more versatile.
-I have a Fuzzfaceless MkII with a bunch of custom options (blendable input caps, external bias, variable feedback resistor, cat etching, etc.) that's being finished up right now. Very excited about this.
Also FWIW, I have a Skinpimp Buzzaround with NKT213s. That one's sticking around for a bit.
