Fender Blender

What could be simpler

I used it with a '62 SG thru Twins, a Gibson Scout, and a Bassman(Head w/2X12) The wierdest ability is to dial in a VERY sustainy, gnarly sound, and mix clean sound with it, via the blend control- I would compare it to playing clean while someone doubles your part on Kazoo or something- it really can sound like 2 guitars at once.

solid as Fort Knox.

I play a lot of stuff, and mostly reserve this for when I need something different. Good for covers of Doors tunes, for some reason. I'm amazed none of the other reviewers caught on to the blend function- its one of only 4 knobs,for cryin' out loud.

This thing is like Hendrix in a box. You cannot go wrong with just about any setting.

It has THE smoothest, most wicked fuzz I have ever heard. I have A/B'd it to my Sam Ash Fuzz Boxxx and my Sho-Bud Bosstone and the Blender wails over both of them. It even has an Octavia-like effect when you kick on the "boost" function that really pushes it over the top. I use it with my relic Strat--Klon--Clyde--Deja Vibe--Matchless DC-30 setup and it really works well at putting the "stank" on it.

I'm not really sure how reliable this thing is. I have only used it a couple of times on the gig, but so far it seems to be working fine.

I don't think Fender would know what to do with this thing now.

I give this thing a perfect 10 because it beats the crap out of all of these remake fuzzes that have come out recently. I haven't heard the Fuzz Factory by Z. Vexx, that is the only one that I think would come close to the nastiness that this thing dishes out. If you ever see one of these things for sale, do yourself a favor and get it. It rules!

Step on the switch and by golly there's sound. Turn the various knobs if you don't like what you hear.

In another life I might have liked this and I'm sure many people do, however, I could never conceive playing with this thing. I can't make out what I'm playing, so why play whith it at all really.

It will certainly outlive me and no, it doesn't eat batteries. I've had it sitting around switched by mistake for weeks and it still works.

The people that designed this thing are probably dead by now, or else they can't remember designing it (it was the sixties after all).

It doesn't complement my playing at all. I don't use any effects really. If I want distortion I turn my amp up, I do have a Fender Reverb though 'cause Bassman's don't have that feature.

The Blender is one of the best pedals i have! it is really easy to use! there is alot of tonal differences in distortion. 4 knobs. 2 swithces. plug it in, and back up!

I think it is noisy at all ten settings or, close to that. the effects does sound a little weak on the regular mode. but if u put the boost on; get ready for the end of the world! this is one of my favorite pedals of all time!

THIS THING WILL NEVER BREAK!!! it is built like a silver tank! it has the thickest metal on it i have seen in a while!

i have no fucking idea how i would get it repaired by fender. since, it is such an old pedal!

i would buy it again if i had some money! if u are a smashing pumpkins freak like i am, u need this pedal! nothing can come close to this pedal!! it is for my solo or combine it with another dist. if u have the money, get it!!!

How hard could it be to operate, with only four knobs and two switches? Generally, I turn the "Sustain"(Distortion) to 10 and the Tone to 6 or 7 and leave them there. Then I fuddle with the Volume and Blend to get what I want for the situation. But watch the Volume setting when using the Boost switch... If you tweak it just right, it will give you just enough boost for a solo. If not you might drown out the rest of your band when you kick it in.

It's got the UGLIEST fuzz sound you'd ever want... when you want that! The threshold point where the distortion kicks in is kind of tricky... I recommend using a REALLY beefy pickup, and don't put any effects in line before it. Not even a Wah. With the blend set about 1/2 toward clean, it's almost like having two guitars... one clean & one dirty. Also,it's really good for bass, because of the blend. Regarding noise, of course it's noisy... it's a vintage stomp box! Regarding the caregory rating, it sounds terrible - it's supposed to! One final note: Don't use any kind of battery oher than an old "transistor" type battery (Ex: Ray-o-vac nine lives, etc.) If you use a Duracel, Energizer or alkaline it won't sound like it was designed to. This may sound like nonsense, but try it!

The Fender Blender is built like a German Panzer tank. I really think you could literally run it over with a car, with little or no ill effect. The knobs are recessed which protects them from damage as well as setting change when you go to stomp on it. ( I hate stomp boxes with the knobs too close to the switch(es) It DOES eat batteries like crazy, but for $.79 a gig who cares? I got mine used after looking for one for years, and it's never crapped out yet, although it's got to be 30 years old. I wrap the battery with a "baggie" just in case, because the way it's arranged the battery could touch some contacts.

When I first got mine used, it sounded horrible. I called several different numbers for Fender but they told me that since it was such an OLD product that they had turned the support over to another company (I forget who...) Those guys wanted me to fork over a bunch of money to get schematics, etc. So I called up and old friend of mine who has been a Fender authorized technician since the early 60's. HE told me about the battery (something to do with the germanium transistors) and it's sounded perfectly ugly ever since! He also told me that George Harrison used one!

If you see one of these for sale, get it! They are rarer than hens teeth! It's got a great ugly sound you can't get from anything else. I finally got rid of my Big Muff after getting a Zoom Driver, but the Blender I'll keep forever! (I'm still looking for one of those old red and blue Univox Super Fuzz boxes, to round out my arsenal.)

There really is no "getting a good sound" out of this box, because everything it can put out is grossly over saturated with gain & noise. It's very easy to use however. There's an on/off switch & then there's a tone boost switch (Beware of this tone boost because it is massive). If you've never seen one before you'll be surprised to look at it, it looks so simple, almost like the footswitch for an amp.

It is VERY noisy! It also colors your tone of your clean because there is no bypass. :\ The effect is intense. If you crank the sustain you get this incredible unconceivable saturation of fuzz, it's really wild. You start off with way too much gain & then you hit the boost button & it's over the edge. It's crazy. Timid looking, but ferocious. You don't use this for regular work! Only to be used for added emphasis! Use a Big Muff for regular rythm work! I only use the Blender for solos in songs that are intense & harsh. One song I do is VERY intense & then it regresses to quiet & then comes RIGHT back to smack you in the face with a loud, feedback filled crazy solo & the Blender is PERFECT for that!

I would absolutely depend on this pedal! It's amazing. I would never use it to the point where I'd worry about wear & tare because as I said, it's only to be used sparringly! It's solid however.

Everyone else in this area has said it's used by Billy Corgan. That's true, he has one, but the source of his distortion is mainly a JCM 800 Marshall head & Electro-Harmonix Big Muff pedals. If you're looking for Smashing Pumpkins sound, get a Marshall. He's used one on very few of his recordings. There's one part in XYU where the speakers come in very distorted & you can hardly recognize any tone in the guitars in the end & I would bet that's this pedal. USED SPARRINGLY!!!!!!!! It's evil!

simple to use... crank everythign up to 10 for maximum sickness... it has a volume, a sustain, a tone and a blend button, with the tone being switch on/offable via the second pedal.

this *is* the sickest pedal ever made... on low settings the distortion is chunky but a little shallow. it's still pretty weird though. cranked up maximum is the best... just an onslaught of fucked up harmonics in a thick distorted mess! beware though; it never actually bypasses the signal so there's some low buzzing in it's off 'mode'. this is the kind of pedal that knocks you to the ground when you switch it on without you even touching the strings. it's perfect for ridiculous soloing

it eats batteries like a bastard, and there's no AC socket. but it's worth it.

this is the sickest vintage pedal i own... and though it's pretty redundant for strumming with (or playing anything intended to be remotely distinguishable :P ), it just kills when used in solos. or just jamming for hours with the stupidest noises you can get from your setup.

Plug it in and kick some ass! It sounds good and it is easy to use.

The distortion is awesome. It never craps out on me. A must for all alternative guitar players.

I would trust it with my life!

NA

I would buy it again, and again and again. Billy Corgan uses one.

I just crank all the knobs to 10 and it sounds great.

It's pretty much noisy on any setting. It produces even more fuzz than my vintage Big Muff. And that's before you step on the "boost" button!

It's built like a tank. (A vintage tank, even).

I was lucky and got it for cheap, I know they are up to $200 already just because the guy in Smashing Pumpkins uses one. It is the sickest fuzz I've ever had (and I've had most of them).