Tristan wrote:Good things come to those who wait.
I'm sure the pedal will speak for itself but in the meanwhile would you be willing to share some of your thoughts on what makes a great MKI Tonebender? (curiousity mode on)

Oh, sorry! I missed that question.
For me, the control(s) need to range from being able to get gated, quickly decaying notes, with a buzzing quality, up to long, smooth sustain, with a little spitting and cracking on the release.
I build the De Sade (and previously Marquis) Fuzz with a bias for the third transistor, which I find controls the sustain and fragility of the end of the note.
They've got to be upper-mids heavy, but with defined (yeah, it's a buzzword, but it applies) bass. The mids are definitely where the heft of the sound comes from and give the pedal it's unique quality. It's very definitely a
proper fuzz. Couldn't be mistaken for anything else. But it has a perfect clarity in the mix.
I find it hard to describe sounds without resorting to clichés or overused terms, but the cutting mids, without being treble heavy (very definitely not ear splitting), the tight low end, the all-out fuzziness, and - with the way I've altered the biasing and the two Sore and Soar controls - the versatility from rippy, gated, short fragile sustain, up to loooong sustain with the background spit on the end. Oh and LOUD. These have unity at noon, so volume on tap.