Fulltone Soul-Bender

Three very interactive knobs. Adding "Tone" reduces volume, adding dirt adds volume. Very dynamic and responsive to pickup combinations and other effects.

Perfect lead/riff tone. Anything from Zep's BBC sessions or The Very Best of Cream is possible with this pedal. Great sustain with just a bit of bite to it. Easy to get feedback at low volumes as well.

Only seems to like power chords when it comes to rhythm. The Soulbender really is a one-trick pony, but it is one awesome trick.

True bypass is an important factor, espically since mine is off 80% of the time.

Looks like it'll outlive the rest of my pedals

Never dealt with Mike Fuller.

I play primarily blues-based music and the Soulbender comes in handy when I want something beyond the tubescreamerish OD you hear on 90% of blues/rock leads. I wish it was more versatile, but I don't think that was ever an intention of the original Tonebender.

Easy to use - no question. I take back my comment on the internal trimmer this time. I warmed up to it a bit - quite cool

I like this pedal best when using it with no other effects or just another Fulltone pedal(ie. octafuzz). I have been using this pedal for about 2.5 yrs now. I have had 3 switches brake on me. Mike repalced all three and put a heavy duty one in for me.

3 broken switches, all repaired quickly by Fulltone. just cause its metal doesnt mean it cant brake.

Fine

Been using it for almost three years happily. It has real nice sustain and sounds great with a 4 input marshall -not so hot with my vibrolux.

im using it with a prs custom into a roland blues cube and i have to say after 20 years of playing the guitar professionally this is the creamiest lead tone I've ever had.It is capable of being very smooth without muddyness or the high-end gritt I have struggled with for so many years.The only bad thing is that because it is true bypass running it with some other effects can comprimise sound quality.

seems to be built like a tank.Have had it for a short period of time.

While I would not use this for every solo with the country artist I play with,this would be a good match for anyone requiring a fat singing lead tone.I have used it with my jazz-fusion group with unique results.

My particular version of this pedal is unique unto itself. At the time I bought this, I was very impressed. The pedal sounded better than any other reissue Fuzz that I had tried; however, I was not 100% satisfied with the sound of this particular box. You see, I own just about every Fuzztone you can imagine, from 60's Fuzzfaces, to the original Sola Sound MKII Tonebender. I have the MKIII as well, and that seems to be the model that this box was modeled after.

O.K. so I wanted a pedal that was new, but sounded vintage. This comes very close, but the brand new version of the NKT-275 Germanium transistors were used were a bit to brittle to my ear. That's the problem with all newly produced Ge transistors. I have yet to come accross a newly manufactured Germanium, without hearing that Raspy Grit and those high pitched odd level harmonics. SO WHAT DID I DO? I did not return the pedal, and I'll tell you it is the best sounding fuzztone in the history of my using Fuzz effects. I'll explain!!!

A long time ago ( about 91), I stopped by this Vintage Guitar Shop and saw this weird echo unit called a Soundette. It was made by Fender. I asked about the price, and the dealer told me it was broken. I usually can fix anything in the store, but this thing was shot!! Now to make a long story short, when I opened the unit, GUESS WHAT!! There were no less than 6 NKT-275 transistors in it. I looked on the back and it said MADE IN ENGLAND BY ARBITER ELECTRONICS. I then asked the dealer how much he would sell it for, broken. I got it for 20.00.

So I had these transistors up until a dealer bought 3 (He paid me very well because he had 4 old fuzzfaces that had shorted transistors. For as much as he paid me, he still made 100 times his profit.

The 3 I had left, were tried in several reissue Fuzzboxes, including the Vox Tonebender. The result was O.K. but the output was less than when the pedal was in bypass mode. I guess you can't always substitute just any Germanium.

NOW getting back to Mike Fuller's Soul Bender. I had it for 2 1/2 months before I said WHAT THE F*%$. Even though I paid 160.00 for the pedal, I had to find out if it would sound better with original 60's NKT-275's instead of the newer versions that were in the pedal. I know that many of you may think I'm crazy, but I did it because the pedal is not vintage yet, and I'm darn good with a soldering iron. There is no way that you would be able to tell, if I removed stuff and put it back.

WELL WHAT WAS THE VERDICT. I can only give my own opinion as to how good it sounds now. It has a tiny bit less output than before, but this pedal had so much output anyway that the small decrease may have cut the output from 11x to 10x of the original signal. How does it sound now? Compared to before, all the harsh overtones are gone. The tone of the output of my strat changed incredibly. The pedal sounds 100% identical to "Echoes" from Pink Floyd's "Live at Pompeii" video. I will go further. It sounds BETTER than Dave Gilmour's Fuzzface from the film. It is deeper, thicker and smoother than any of my vintage fuzztones. It rings out the guitar tone to more than any of them !! How would I compare it to Hendrix and his effects? I'm not going there, because if I told you that this sounded better, I think it would cause too much controversy.

THIS THING IS PERFECT. THE VINTAGE TONE IS MORE VINTAGE SOUNDING THAN ANY OF MY FUZZTONES. Eric Johnson would cream his pants if he heard this thing.

I was very fortunate to find all of those vintage NKT-275 transistors, and I did not butcher the Soundette, without knowing that repairing it was hopeless. The magnetic wheel was missing, and there was nothing I, nor anyone else could do to fix it, but obtaining 6 NKT's was well worth the $20.00 I spent.

In my opinion, Mike Fuller makes the best sounding reissue Fuzz, but if you are willing to experiment you may be surprised.

It sounds SOOOO GOOOOD!!!

Cast Iron Tank. No worries!!

Haven't had the pleasure of talking to Mike, but even if the pedal had problems, I would be able to tackle them.

Owning one of Mike's pedals, like the Soul Bender is all that you could hope for in a reissue. I just took it one extra step!!

I'm glad I did!

Very easy to get a good sound out of this pedal. Actually the only setting I like is the volume about 1/4, tone at 10, and dirt at 10. No need for a manual.

I use 2 amps for my setup, I am using the Soul-bender through a Marshall JCM 800 combo amp for my lead sound. As far as noise this pedal is a little noisy but I can live with that. A good noise gate would resolve the noise issue. This pedal sounds great! I have read this pedal can get the early sounds of Beck and Page although I have not tried to approximate their guitar tones. I am using the Soul-bender to get a fat, warm, fuzzy, guitar tone. At my last gig guitar players from the other bands asked me how I got that wonderful fuzzy guitar sound. Go to http://roborecords.com/ and check out my band Big Methuselah if you want to hear this baby. Click the Big Methuselah link and listen to the MP3 Breathe into me.

These pedals are very dependable. They are made of steel (not plastic), and the hard wired, the switches are sturdy, etc. I would gig without a backup. If I lost this pedal I would buy another one.

Their customer support is ok. Mike tends to be a little short I usually let my sales rep deal with him.

My playing style ranges from Eric Johnson to Stevie Ray. I use the Soul-bender for Big M's orginal material. If I start doing the 3 piece guitar thing again I would be using it for Eric Johnson stuff only. This pedal only does 1 sound, but it does it well.

There isn't a whole lot that is complicated about this unit(thank God)! Three knobs, for volume, tone, and distortion/fuzz. THere is a small wheel inside that adjusts the overall flavor, but it is not at all diffocult to operate, and since there are virtualy no unusable tones, working the wheel is hardly a chore.

YES YES OH GOD YES! This box gets it right. Perfectly replicates that 70's distortion/fuzz sound of Boston and Kansas. But it doesn't stop there. I was easily able to atain in no time, near perfect Hendrix fuzz, wonderful Dave Gilmour(of Pink Floyd fame) distortion that even on my Strat seams to leap into the sky and never come down. It is very volume respnsive and cleans up very well. If I run my guitar at half volume and put a wah full up I can get late 60's Stones or Beatles fuzz. It even does Pantera! My setup goe like this: Home-made re-issue '54 strat with Lindy Fralin pickups and graphite bridge saddles, RMC3 wah, Soul-Bender, Way Huge Green Rhino, Danelectro Dan-Echo, Boss CE-2 chorus. I generaly leave the volume on my guitar full up. The Soul-Bender is unbelievably quiet. It onlyu gets noisy when the guitar volume comes all the way down. Then It starts to pick up radio signals(I incorporate these into songs). This is easily the best sounding, and one of the most versitile fuzzes I have ever used.

It is built like a tank. I would definatly gig with no replacement. I don't think I'd want to use anything else.

I have never had any problems with it however I have conversed via e-mail to Mike Fuller with questions about other pedals of his. He has a very blunt way of writing and speaking. Streight to the point. He answers e-mail more quickly than one can expect(sometimes there are same day answers!).

I play everything from old style rock n' roll, to hard-er rocking stuff, all the way up through the Heavyest metal. This box does it all and never complains. I have run it for at least an hour every day since the end of March 2000(it is now mid-May) and have jnot even had to cahnge the battery! THe best pedal I have ever known or purchased!

Three knobs, and l.e.d. light, and a big hunk o' metal. Far from a do-it-all pedal (thankfully) created to represent a certain era fuzz. Like many Fulltone effects, it's very difficult to get "bad" sounds out of this unit. Any setting sounds good, finding your own sweet spot with your rig will take some effort, though.

Sound quality is what you would expect from the Fulltone line--amazing!! Quite simply put, I feel their effects (I have a Deja-Vibe and a '69 Pedal too) are among the most musical available today--far removed from the "circular saw tone" of many newer distortion/overdrive boxes. I don't think this pedal would fit metal/thrash/satan music well, but for rock/blues it is a must have.
Very quiet for a fuzz unit, generates very little noise and has fantastic overtones. Not at all dated or out dated sounding for that matter (good tone NEVER goes out of style--thank God) and seems to cooperate well with other effects.
I currently use it with the other aformentioned fulltone effects and also with a Budda Wah, Ibanez Delay Champ, and a Budda Phatman. Amps are either a Budda Twimaster (beast), Budda Stringmaster (mo' beast), Soldano Hot Rod 50XL (LoUd), and a 1966 Fender Bassman (coool). The SoulBender sounds unique with each amp set up, but always retains it's signature tone. While Beck, Page, and Clapton golden era sounds are certainly attainable, I recently pulled some similar sounding tones from the new ZZ Top record (XXX)

Heavy Steel casing--yeah, this would be a hard one to hurt!! I have a slightly older model and the switch seems a bit flimsy when compared to the '69 and DejaVibe, but I'm not too concerned.

Mike responds very quickly to e-mails and questions. He is extremely blunt with his answers. In this day and age of endless amounts of bullshit from everyone, his approach is oddly refreshing. He is a one man show, so time is precious. Running your own business is tought enough as is.

I play a wide variety of music, but lately due to work and other obligations, I've been more interested in blues and more roots oriented rock. I recently ditched a rack rig to go back to the (great)amp/stomp box/guitar thing and certainly do not regret it. In fact, I really never thought I'd be able to sound as good as I currently do (sorry to sound conceited folks, but my rig do sound good--have mercy:-). I would suggest you try, before you buy. The SoulBender sounds nothing like the '69 pedal--even though they both fall into the "fuzz" category. The Budda and Fulltone stuff sounds about as good as you can get--if it was any better--I couldn't work (no kidding!!). On a final note, I forgot to mention that most of the new ones have an internal trimmer pot in them. Mine does not, it has a preselected sweet spot and honestly, I wouldn't change it for anything. It really has it's own unique voice.
If you think the Fulltone stuff is expensive, consider this. In most situations it costs 10% more to go first class, why not spend bit extra and make yourself, your rig, and your listeners VERY happy.
If ya gonna play---PLAY

Very easy to use, the suggested setting from the manual are a good reference point. It also has a internal trimpot, that can alter the respons of the pedal quite a bit. The tone knob are a treble cut kinda design, opposite most toneknobs.

Using the Soul-Bender for leads. British sounding, very smooth and musical with a edge. Its all I ever wanted in raunchy lead tone. It can nail most of the classic Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton lead sounds if you want it to. Its a spin on the old SolaSound Tone-Bender theme, with 3 germanium transistors. Has more gain than the Prescription or Roadrunner takes on the theme to my ears. Using this box with a wide assortment of guitars Les Paul (Buckers and P90's), Strats (Fralin Blues Spec. and Vintage Hots) Tele's (Bardens and Duncans). It works great with all my gigging amps Kendrick 2410, '64 AC30 TB, '67 50W Marshall and Mesa Heartbreaker.

Never thought that I would rate any Fulltone box other than a 10. The build quality are great as all Fulltones, like a tank. The switch broke just after a couple of weeks, it was a Fujicoma and felt flimsy compared to a Fulltone or Carling switch.

Depends on the day I guess. Mike Fuller are always prompt with his replys. His bluntness are his style, and that isn't a problem with me usually. I did not like his respons when I asked about the quality of the Fujicoma swithces, then again perhaps I was thin-skinned that day.

Playing mostly 70's rock and blues. The Soulbender are a inspiring stomper, so I guess it help me with my music. I collect stompers and have a fair collection of "Boo-teek" and others (80-85). Soundwise this is one of my absolute faves. Its expensive, but worth it, just hopes that Fulltone gets that thing with the switches straight. Would buy a new one ASAP if I lost it, the Soul-Bender has become a part of my sound.

Very easy to use, turn the tone and dirt all the way up and set the
volume to your liking. This is the best sound for me. The tone gets bassier as you turn it up, which is what I like. Need to use a battery because it does not take a standard adapter, but a small price to pay for sound.

I'm using an American Tele and Strat thru a Fender 2x12 Deville. The amp has a great clean and overdrive sound, however I was missing that insane dirt sound to go over the top. This is it. I'm amazed at how it cleans up when you turn your guitar vol down, and even when you pick the strings softer. It's very dynamic. With the bridge PU on my Tele, it's that 60's Jimmy Page sound, that's a good thing. Not at all outdated. This effect sounds especially good w/ my Boss VB-2. Not too noisy either, I use all Monster cables, so that helps. True Bypass is another great feature.

Only had it a month, but it is sure made well and very sturdy.

This is a real 10. Mike replied to all my emails, and we spoke on the phone for a half hour. He was helpful in my purchase, I didn't know what I wanted at 1st, but eneded up finding out and getting it. This is very rare in this business. The guy signs each unit and stands behind them.

Would be a 10 but it is very expensive. However, you get what you pay for. Playing Fenders thru Fenders, the tone they are known for doesn't give that thick fuzzy sound I need sometimes, but with this pedal, it made my entire setup so much more versatile. Couldn't be bothered with tone sucking mediocre pedals half the price of this.

I have been using the S.B. for the better half of six months and can say that it is quite easy to use - My only complaint is the internal switch that allows you to shape the creamy tone. It is a bit misleading (should have nixed this feature).

I use this with a 79' Fender strat a Vibrolux reverb and a 71' Marshall half stack. At low volume it is so Hendrixy and nasty it is laughable - great. When you go out on stage and play at high volumes it seems to loose its fuzz - almost thins out a bit. Could be my pedal line which I run it first in though(benefit of the doubt)

This pedal is well built and I use it just about 4 days a week on gigs

Mike is cool - I emailed him back and forth quite a bit and he is helpful. If you must return an item make sure it is in pristeen condition though! To be understood of course.

I play in the vain of Hendrix and all those sixties cats, so all the Fulltone pedals are my desire. All that I have heard are great. I have not tried this pedal in the studio yet but will soon. Can't wait for that.