Colorsound Tone Bender

This is an Original 1973-1974 model Grey Thin Case 3 Germanium transistor Colorsound Tone Bender. Three knobs, Fuzz, Treble/Bass, and Volume. The output is such that when the Volume is cranked on the tone bender, the fuzz is at unity gain with a clean amp(or dirty amp). There is no extra boost output here, so this is essentially a recording pedal as you can't punch in on a solo live and really cut through. It's easy to use, but as it is a germanium pedal, you must experiment with the guitar, the amp settings and the pedal settings to find YOUR tone, but that is fun work so it's easy to use.

This pedal has a smooth BUT wild quality to it. Think the Beatles "All Too Much", or Mick Ronson stuff. This pedal is surprisingly smooth but with an edge. If you are playing through a cranked amp, it then gets wild, and can feedback easily, and it tracks very well on both bass and treble frequencies. This pedal would work well for Muse stuff too like "Stockholm Syndrome" which is what I use it for.
The fuzz can clean up but not like a "Fuzz Face." Which is the difference between 2 transistor and 3 transistor pedals. Big Muff's tend to have more gain and more mid range SCOOP than the Tone Bender's but the gain is close to as much as a Big Muff. More mid range in the Tone Bender, and the tone sweep is similar to the Muff. As you dial in more treble, bass goes away, and vice Versa, more bass reduces treble. Both Humbuckers and single coils sound good but I favor the Humbucker tone. The low E and A strings on Germanium pedals tend to get very flabby and loose, the Tone Bender is remarkably able to track clearly on low notes UNLIKE a "Fuzz Face".
Actually the tone is very Jeff Beck Era YardBirds - "Over Under Sideways Down" kind of tone, BUT if you play in Drop D for example, it sounds Mesa Boogie-ish! And I wouldn't hesitate to record a modern Heavy tone with this pedal and sound unique and not like all the other dual recto players. Now I've played through the 2 transistor Sola Sound Tone Bender pedal (Like Jimmy Page), and that NEEDED a cranked amp, the Colorsound Tone Bender will not.
It shouldn't be in line with other pedals. It sounds best alone or with a clean boost in front of it. I have also compared it to a Fulltone Soul-Bender and the Soul-Bender was darker, more mid-rangey, and with lot's LESS character, and didn't capture my playing attention like the Vintage Tone Bender.
Smooth core tone, refined treble fuzzy-ness, and a touch or wildness just asking to feedback! That's the quick description.

It's nearly 35 years old. Better get a Vintage Pedal Tech if you need help.

None...Zero...

This peal isn't the Holy Grail, but it's better that the majority of Germanium Fuzz pedals I've ever heard. Dave Main at DAM pedals in England makes great sounding stuff, but these old vintage pedals....When you get a good one... tend to sound like they equal MORE than the sum of their parts. NOT all vintage stuff is this way, I play mostly newer, or hand made modern pedals, but this one is special and it feels special when you play it.

3 knob easy as hel, and the bass->treble knob is killer for BASS guitar

If your looking for a Fuzz for Bass guitar: This is THE ONE. Loads (even adding) bottom end. Ive tried many fuzz's, this is best one if you can get one...

No problems what so ever. Got it on my pedalboard with powersuppley on battery clip

Best fuzz for bassguitar

This is a Tone Bender TC. It's real easy to get a good sound out of. Real easy to operate. It didn't come with a manual but any dolt can figure it out

I use this with a Clapton Strat, Vox Wah, Turbo Tube Screamer (modified by AnalogMan)into a 68' Suoer Reverb or Pro Jr. I like the sound a lot. It's kinda nasally. The weird thing is how it kinda sounds like you can hear your clean tone through the fuzz. I use the TTS in front of it and it cures that problem. It does sound good by itself, though. Not to mention, it's really cool looking. I don't use a pedal board so I don't care how big it is. It can get noisy but, hell, it's a FUZZ.

I've only had it for a month or so, but I haven't had any problem so far. It is a pain in the ass to change the battery, though. You unscrew the bottom and get a small, thin screwdriver to pop the bottom off. No big deal.

I got it from Macari's online. I actually called them to order it. It wasn't cheap and through a silly misunderstanding, they overcharged me. I emailed them about it and the refunded the overcharge right away. Very friendly, very helpful

I play all kinds of music and this fits my needs. It sounds great with a wah. It sounded better through the sound samples on the website, but that's always the case. If it was stolen, I'd probably cry 'cause I can't afford another one. All in all, a very useable fuzz. I wish it had more volume, though. Since I use a TS in front of it, the TS drives it and makes it louder.

This is the silver gray '74 "Thin Case" Tonebender reissue. Mine is made in '00. Really cool looking with orange bold lettering. Controls are Volume, Tone, Fuzz and the bypass switch (labeled "Pre-set Button" in typical 60s-70s fashion). Simple but quite versatile. The knobs have long physical range, and, except for the fuzz knob, great tonal range as well. But personally I don't tweak the knobs much. Usually I keep the volume on 9, the fuzz on 2-3 and adjust the tone knob a bit to match my other settings or to vary the sound. One bummer is the lack of indicators on the knobs so you can see how they're set. They look cool, but each time you want to tweak a control, you'll have to turn it all the way back and begin from zero to know where it is actually set, approximately! I have overcome this simple problem by putting small white tape bits on the sides of the knobs - making tweaking a breeze and extends pot life as well. Also, to replace the battery, you'll have to remove the bottom, which is really only a problem if you don't have a screwdriver at hand.

This is not a subtle effect! The fuzz range on this box goes from total buzz-fuzz to insanity. With the fuzz knob on zero, there's still a lot of fuzz. So this thing won't do any "slight crunch" or "creamy overdrive" sounds, but as a fuzz it's wonderful. Really *fuzzy*, very 60s-70s sounding. The real versatility lies in the tone knob, which goes from really trebly "chainsaw" shatter to a very dark muffled buzz, with everything in between. I usually keep it in the middle and let the rest of my gear dictate the small adjustments. I play rock and blues with it, mostly when I want a heavy late 60s sound. Works good with both single coils and humbuckers in my experience. Does enhance noise quite a lot, but it doesn't bother me.

Despite it's nickname "Thin case" it's really sturdy. The knobs are large and exposed but I have had no problems so far. Inside it looks really simple - one PC board (three transistors, germanium?) and a sturdy battery holder (no wires and foam), no loose parts. I gig without backup. I also have overdrive on my amp that I can use for the fuzz parts if anything against all expectations goes wrong with the Tonebender.

Bought the pedal (as well as my wah reissue) directly from Steve and Anthony Macari at Macari's/Colorsound in London. Very helpful guys - great E-mail communication and fast shipment. They even took a wah apart to answer my questions. Visit them at http://www.macaris.co.uk

I play mostly 60s-70s rock, blues and funk. This pedal nails that really fuzzy fuzz of the 60s and 70s - great for Cream, Mountain, Hendrix, etc. Not the most versatile fuzz on earth (a Fuzz Face, for instance, is more dynamic fuzz-wise), but the tone control on this thing adds many possibilities. The retro style casing, paintwork and electronics makes Colorsound the coolest pedals around if you're into vintage-style 60s-70s reissues. If this was stolen or lost, I'd be depressed for a week and then maybe check out their "Supa Tone Bender" or get a new one of these. Good price too, especially compared with the real vintage. I can also recommend their wah-wahs (both vintage and reissue) - they're the coolest wahs around.

As stated in other reviews, with only two knobs - Level and Attack - it' doesn't take a rocket scientist! It should be stated, though, that the Attack acts somewhat like a tone control. As you dial in more fuzz, the tone gets brighter as the level of harmonics increases. Lower Attack settings yield a very blusey midrange sound.

Currently I use a '97 Gibson Custom Shop ES-335 as my main guitar, along with a '65 Gibson Melody Maker hot-rodded with a P-90 pick-ups. When I play out, these go through a '97 Hiwatt Custom 20 amp (reviewed in the amp section); at home they go through a '53 Gibsonette.
This is a hand-made, exact re-issue of the 1967 Tone Bender Professional Mk II pedal originally made by Sola Sound (and later made for Vox and Marshall as well). Colorsound also produces three other versions of the Tone Bender: the three-knob Tone Bender TC (based on a 1973 pedal), the Supa Tone Bender (originally done for Steve Hackett), and a new unit simply called Fuzz (which has only one knob - Fuzz!). I mention these other units only because there isn't just one "Tone Bender" sound - there are many. And it's important to know what it is you're comparing when you read a review.
The Professional Mk-II uses germanium transistors, yet is quite happy in line after my Cry Baby pedal. The sound is inspiring! (Be warned - true to its "just like the original roots" its also quite noisy...) I still rate the sound a 10, though, because I think that the noise sometimes is a necessary compromise to getting the TONE. (Kind of like using a turntable as instead of CDs - which I also do!)
At low Attack settings, the tone is quite midrangey and fat - like "You Shook Me" off the first Led Zep album. At higher Attack settings, the sound is like the Mick Ronson "Ziggy Stardust" tone - rich in harmonics, quite aggressive, yet still musical. With the Attack on full this sucker gets totally raw (and quite noisy) - behaving like a blusey sounding Fuzz Face - except that it can take the signal from a humbucking pick-up without choking on it (something that a Fuzz Face tends to do - of course that pedal was designed for Jimi's Strat...).

Just bought it...

Never tried to contact them...

I have to qualify this rating because at $225, the Tone Bender is hardly a bargain! To be fair, though, I've seen original Tone Benders advertised between $325 and $500 - for something that is a good 30 years old (remember, transistors don't last forever - and once you replace something, its no longer "vintage"). So I'm comparing the price to that of a vintage unit - and in that regard, it is a fantastic value.
That said, I'd have to say that this version of the Tone Bender helps me sound like ME - and actually inspires me to play! I can't think of a higher compliment to give any musical tool.
You might want to check out http://www.kissmyamp.com/colorsound.htm for more information. (The official Colorsound website has only one page at the moment...)

This is an original 60s unit which uses germanium transistors not an op amp like the reissue. Has controls for volume, fuzz and tone which has a good range. Sounds range from big bassy fuzz and overdrive to brittle trebley fuzz. Gain range is not great. More gain than a Fuzz Face but less than a Big Muff.

Is fairly noisy, but it is old and it is fuzz. Sounds very good at most settings but can get over trebley. I bought it because I read George Harrison used one in the later Beatle days. It does sound a lot like many of the fuzz sounds from the white album like Helter Skelter,Yer Blues, and Happiness is a Warm Gun.

I worry that the transistors might start to go bad as they do in many early fuzz boxes but if they do I might be lucky enough to find some original replacements. I'd gig without a backup since this isn't my main fuzz.

The original designer has started reissuing a couple of the Colorsound pedals but they are not 100% accurate. That's not to say they won't sound good, but they won't sound like the originals. Of course the original company has been gone since the 70s.

I'd buy it again. I know it's expensive and it's the most I've ever spent on a pedal, but since it's vintage and will hold its value I don't mind so much. If you're looking for a Beatlesque sound circa 68 this is an excellent pedal, costly but great. I havn't actually heard an original myself so if you wanna spend less bucks it might be a good substitiute.