Fulltone Soul-Bender

Ok. It has three knobs. Just turn the fuzz all the way up, tweak the tone one way or the other, depending on taste, and put the volume whereever. It's real simple. There is an additional pot within the unit to sculpt the tone to taste. I haven't felt the need to use it.

I use this with strat-style guitars mostly, but I plug my SG into it too. It isn't noisy, and the only way I've been able to get a less than satisfying sound out of it is to have it set too bright. It likes my '65 deluxe a lot, but the best combination is the '63 Princeton. The tone there is magical. This pedal jumped out at me in the store. I tried the '69, '70, and Ultimate Octive. They are all good, but this one had me hearing colors (if you've been there you know what I mean). It's awesome.

It looks very dependable. The inside of the unit has a good layout and I feel I can depend on it. I take it everywhere. It is the only pedal I never leave the house with.

I've emailed Mike Fuller. He's responded to my questions and I think his customer service is first rate.

When I want to do Cream or Hendrix influenced fuzz, this is the pedal I go for. It's really hard to get a bad sound out of it. It's really easy to use, and the tone is so rich and colorful. I have a hard time using other effects now because I like this one so much. It's nice to have a pedal that does one thing and does it so, so well.

As additional info, I've been playing for about 10 years and was a long time, guitar - cord - amp kind of guy. I thought pedals were just ugly little boxes with no tone until I met Mike Fuller's Fulldrive 2. From there I knew that I needed one of his fuzzes. This is the one.

the soulbender is hard to get a bad sound out of it just wails there are three knobs one for tone (which works backwards from most pedals)one for volume and one for gain also it has an internal pot that changes how agressive the fuzz is I have messed with this pot a lot and I keep putting it back were mike left it

I use this pedal with a les paul standard, a clyde wah, and a phase 90,(you may think i'm trying to copy jimmy pages early setup but what I am actually trying to copy is mick ronsons setup they just happen to be basically the same) which is a great setup the soulbender takes care of all my fuzz needs and is the only distortion effect I usually use. it isn't any noisier than any other fuzz or distortion. this pedal is a very creamy fuzz it is great for leads and power chords or 3rd chords(just ditch the 5th) take note metal heads it is hard to get artificial harmonics, and palm mutes don't chug like on mashalls but thats not really what a pedal like this is for, its really not for conventional metal, thought the breakup is amazing with power chords

I can totally rely on this pedal I don' gig but If I did I would probably bring something along in case of emergengy but I wouldnt worry much about it

mike fuller is the best I have emailed him a couple of times and he alway respond within a day and all his effects carry limited lifetime warranties

I play spacey music in the vain of space needle and pink floyd this pedal is great for that all I need it a good delay now. I have been playing for 9 years. some other distortion pedals I have used are the sovetech big muff, boss ds-1, korg g-1, boss hyper metal, dunlop fuzz face(the worst)and a rp-10. all these pedals are good at certain things (except the fuzz face which isn't really good for anything) but when I just want to play and have fun I will always plug in the soulbender. if it was stolen I would buy it again imediatly

This one is deceptive. You can get a tremendous amount of tones from it, especially if you like to tweak you guitar volume and tone nobs, as well as you amp settings. I would say this pedal requires a lot of experimentation to get the most out of it. You can ake it out of the box and plug it in and it will sound great, but you're only getting part of the pedal. To get it all, definately experiment. For a three knob, pedal, this one is complex.

My only complaint here is it is a bit noisy in combination with other pedals. By itself, it is clean and quiet at low volumes with a barely noticable hiss at high volume. Other pedals that are not so quiet seem to apply that hiss at high volumes. However, this is probably typical. When it comes down to it, this thing is really quiet for what it does.

I use it with a Strat through a Super Reverb. Personally, I think everything sounds outstanding through this rig so I throw that factor out.

What I like is the range of it. I can get settings that sound exactly like Jimmy Page, which is amazing given what I play through and what he played through. I can also dial in some very cool Clapton tones, in addition to some useful blues tones. I love blues, but let's face it. So many blues players have virtually the same tone. I fall into that given the Fender influence, but this pedal really throws a distinguishing factor to my sound. If you like to burn a little, this pedal is a must. It is nothing like a tube screamer.

Fulltone pedals basically have the reliability of a Honda. It's never a concern...ever.

I have talked to Mike once. He's nice. He also stands behind his stuff, which is rare. Rock solid in this category.

I would recommend listening to one of these before you buy one. Not everybody is going to jump right in to this pedal, but you'll know after you here. It's a very nice option to have, very versatile, and you can dial in sounds that are not common or easy to get.

3 pots, quite versitle, but it takes a bit of time to get the sound you are looking for. it's easy to get good sound, but that specific fuzz you want takes time, so please, write down your favorite setting for later use

SG Special through the SoulBender, Vox Wah to a Fender RocPro1000. great tone. Use it on the clean channel to make it thick and fuzzy or thin and brittle. very sensitive to your picking attack and guitar volume. kick this in on the overdriven amp and welcome to fuzz/compression bliss, i can get that David Gilmour solo tone (ie "Time") or Mr. Page's "Heartbreaker". i love this piece of equiptment. one gripe, by itself (on the clean channel) you can't get the fuzz to the relm of superFuzz, but you can on the OD chan, so no big whoop

mine is an older (not old, made in 96) model, not housed in the white casing, but in the cast zinc unpainted. the wiring looks a bit sloppy and the battery clip is in a rather bad location, but the knobs are secure and it takes transport very well, i gig w/o back up.

never made the call, hope i never do

the sound is amazing, but $200 is a hunk a dough for me, but i am extremely happy with this pedal

Has 3 knobs: Volume, Tone and Dirt. This pedal has many tone possibilities.

I use this with my Fender Deville and I have a Marshall Bluesbreaker on order. I can hardly wait to hear it through the Bluesbreaker. The pedal sounds great at volume of course. Its' fuzz is smooth and creamy like the topping on a Starbucks latte. It is in its' own league because it isn't exactly a Hendrixy fuzz nor metal distortion. Very British sounding to me. It sounds alot like the first Zep albums, Jeff Beck, Cream, and old Santana. I burn while the Disreali Gears CD is playing and it is close, very close. If you want sounds of the 60's get one immediatly. This pedal has been in my rig about a month and I am in love. Mike Fuller makes great sounding stuff. He even included a small potentiometer inside the casing to dial in your own sweet spot depending on your amp.

Simple rugged and ready for battle. Arrrrrrrrrrrr!

Mike is great. It has been a pleasure collecting and playing his pedals and getting his feedback on setups etc.. Very nice guy who is doing a wonderful job in the pedal world. He gets my effect business for all time. I have the 70', Fulldrive2, Clyde Wah, Dejavibe, and the pedal here. All are great and no sign of problems yet. I think he would take care of any problem that comes up. I doubt it will come to that.

I play nothing but Fender Strats and Frey Strats in a blues/rock band and they like the sounds from this pedal. I play clean alot and I wanted to convey a statment everytime I do a lead with distortion. It does this with character and style. This shapes my style of playing well. It is expensive but well worth the wait. You have to pay for tone that is the bottom line in my book. After having Boss pedals and the like for years, I never want to go back! For what this does it is the best I've heard. A combination of Tc Electronic pedals and Fulltones is ultimate IMHO for what I'm doing.

This unit is pretty straightforward to operate - volume, tone, and fuzz controls. One thing to be careful of is putting it after an effect with a buffered output in your signal path. This wrecks the signal of any germanium powered fuzz. Like most good fuzzes and overdrives, this unit is dead simple to use.

This is a recreation of the SolaSound Tone-Bender that Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck used in the late sixties. If you have ever heard Jeff Beck's album "Truth" then you know the sound. I play a strat and a flying V through it into either my Super Reverb or Peavey Classic 50. I set the tone control all the way to the bass side, the fuzz all the way up, and the volume so that there is a little boost for a loud lead tone. You can then back off on your guitar volume for some cooler medium distortion tones and rhythm sounds. The sound of this pedal is very expressive and vocal in it's midrange - MUCH more so than a Big Muff. It is not a do everything sound, but for it's intended purpose it KILLS.

It seems to be built extremely well. The chassis is heavy duty steel and the pots seem of very high quality as does the footswitch (this ain't no Electro-Harmonix/Sovtek, DOD, etc...). I would have no problem gigging without a backup.

I haven't had the unit long enough to say, but in the time period when I was trying out pedals and when I first bought it I e-mailed Mike Fuller (owner) twice and he was very nice and answered me back promptly. This, combined with his stellar support reputation, leads me to believe that if the moon turns blue and something goes wrong with this unit, he will be very pleasant to deal with.

This pedal blows away other supposed Tone-Bender clones such as the Yardbox. It is also light years better is sound quality from the supposed "reissue" Vox Tone-Bender. I got it to replace my reissue Big Muff which is just not expressive or dynamic enough. I hope to get the '69 pedal also, or possibly Way Huges Foot Pig (both pedals based on the Fuzz Face). If it were stolen or lost I would cry and start saving money for another. These pedals are expensive, but coming from someone who has spent a bundle on numerous lesser-quality devices over the years I can say it is worth it to buy one great pedal.

Ok, 3 controls. volume, tone, and dirt (gain). end of comment right there. oh, yeah, but the battery replacement is a bit of a bitch. it's just clipped to the lid, so watch out!

if you like Yardbirds tone, stop right here. the most convincing Tone-Bender reisue that is w/ in my price range (after months of saving up the $$). like Page's I and II era tone and Beck's super buzz of the Yardbirds and early post-Yardbirds progects. One thing: no smooth settings, allways a buzzy/fuzzy sound. your guitar's volume is extremely effective with this box, too.

would gig w/o back up, i don't have a back up. electronics (ie: circut boards) look a bit shakey, though.

pricey, but captures the priceless Page/Beck and even Gilmour tones. love it. PS: ignore the next entry be Gypsy, it's one i made after only 2 months.

great, three knobs [volume, tone, dirt] and on/off

good, quiet opperation, but hard to get wide range of tones, the dirt just barely cuts down that big ol' fuzz. Reel bright w/ treble, nice and muddy w/ bass. more controllable than a BIG muff or some other come-out-from-under-you pedal

metal housing, like a mini-tank. never had a problem

haven't talked yet

expensive, but worth it. Like it more than other absolutely out of control stuff. nice page/beck agressive edge to the tone. Not REEL hindrixy, but good. Great for syco(floyd) stuff

This is too easy to use! Three knobs; vol., tone & dirt. The instruction sheet is Extremly clear.

This unit(as all Fulltone products)is very quite. Use in the studio would be NO problem! The range of fuzz is good and the tone control is great. You can turn up the tone with out it being brittle or harsh.The fuzz cleans up very nicely when you turn down the vol. knob on your guitar

Like all of Mike Fullers' products, They are built to go through the war.I doubt if it would ever break.It's bullit proof!!!!

Mike's support is one of the best in this business. I work for a major bass amp manufacter and I know customer support is exretemly important to everyone. You can have a great product but if you can't help the people who use it then you're screwed. Without the customers you're nothing!! Mike is one of the BEST!!

I would recomend that anyone who is looking to duplicate the tone from Jeff Becks' Truth album or the early Led Zepplin records BUY this pedal!!This is THE SOUND.Better tone than a Fuzz Face. Very smooth and musicial. I've been trying to get this sound out of TS-9's & Gov'nor pedals. This Nails it to a Tee. I would get another one of these without any hesitation.