MJM Guitar Effects Britbender

this is a follow up from some time back. i saw the comment about the 3 control versus the 2 control brit bender. the 2 control has alot more gain than the 3 control. it is brighter sounding. the 3 control may not sustain quite as long either. to counter the brighter 2 control brit bender when using humbuckers (or single coils too), just use your guitar's tone control. if your guitar's tone control doesn't taper well, just look into another type of capacitor(sprague?)to get your guitar to adjust.

mjm has plenty of versatility with his pedals. you can't go wrong with any of his fuzz's. i like the 2 control brit bender & the london germanium fuzz. and the 60's vibe is awesome. wonder if he'll try making a wah pedal. i should check his site to see.

built to be used over & over. i have older pedals of his--the big boxes. i like his new look with his pedals, but my old ones are great.

always answers emails quick. A+ rating here. he is the company.

he builds great effects. no discussion needed. made to be played.

way simple
always sounds good

perfect, over the top, wooly and fuzzy, lots of bite. ripping speaker tones

looks solid

mjm is great at returning emails and very helpful

amazing!
I owned other similar pedals and this is so open and saturated.
love it!!!

it's the perfect balls out fuzz -so easy to use.
2 knobs and it sounds great at all fuzz/boost levels. only thing to keep a heads up on is the requirement for a negative-ground power supply -if you don't want to use a battery. but that is the nature of this circuit.

perfect! so fuzzy! lots of snarl and spit and growl. loads of bite but still so very warm sounding. very balanced eq. great classic rock sounds. excellent for soloing, and also excellent for chording. tracking gets a bit wonky/hairy on the bottom end, but that's the point -it sounds so cool. this unit makes no apologies for being a fuzz.
the britbender sounds very British of course, but it also works great through a fender twin reverb. the louder i turn up my amp the better the britbender sounds.

looks solid.
inside looks super clean with simple circuitry.

talked to michael -he was always quick to respond to emails and really seems passionate about gear.

i play loud rock. the britbender is a killer addition to my sound. been playing 15 years. to me this is way better then the soulbender by fulltone. the soulbender was smoother. but this unit is fuzzier and more inspiring.
i would replace this unit if it were stolen.
great value -mjm uses top quality components.

Just plug it in and go! Works great with fender twin, marshal , and just about every other amp I've tried. No manual came with it, but none is really needed.

really bright fuzz, really nails the 60's Yardbirds tone, much more so than the prescriptions electronics yardbox, at least IMO. Has a really fat tone with humbuckers, but despite what MJM's site info, it works just fine with either humbuckers or single coil. No need for the two knob version, the three is way more versatile. My previous fuzz pedal was a BOSS and the MJM Britbender makes that sound like a cheap piece of sh*t.

No problems whatsoever, I am sure I could throw the thing out the window and it would still work just fine.

no need, but when I called to order the guy I spoke with was very helpful and informative. He advised me to go with the 3 knob version over the two knob, despite me telling him I mainly play a les paul. I had some worries because the website advised using the two knob version with humbuckers. However his advise proved true, couldn't be happier.

very easy to find a fuzz level. makes single coils real fat, not buzzy. humbuckers work well too. when keeping the fuzz setting low with humbuckers, it sort of sounds like a heavy overdrive.

this was the fuzz i was looking for. no knocks on other fuzz's, but this thing is fat, ripping, cutting, spitting in the way i wanted a fuzz to sound. the sound clips on his site are good, because i got what i was listening to. i actually think it goes beyond pages dazed & confused sound, which i think this effect is modeled after. this effect is clear--you will stand out with a big sound with it.

hand built, my impression is that mjm cares about his products. for what you pay, it is built well. he is easy to communicate with.

easy guy to talk to. i feel i got a great effect. listen to the sound clips on his site, they are good. he makes many effects.

think mississippi queen sound. but fresher, works well with the amp. not fizzy or buzzy. fat, popping notes. i like it better than the fulltone effects. fulltone's fuzz's are good, just not what i was looking for. where some fuzz's can hide a pickups color, this fuzz for me lets the pickup do its job--you can still sense it's feel with your picking.

This thing is easy. Nuff said. The adapter socket is a plus.

It is quiet when disengaged, and it sounds long and warm when engaged, tones seem to last forever and pulsate in a really nice way. Using it with a custom strat with 57 humbuckers and it just sounds awesome. ..dude

This thing is like a tank, its just a big metal box, which i love, just a box full of fire and brimstone.

I havent contacted them, have had no need, but their site is easy to navigate and informative, if I had to I'd probably get ahold of them quickly.

I got it for real cheap, and i'd pay more for it but the store owners that sold it to me dont know anything about anything, and frankly they'd ripped me off before so I thought I should rip them off at least once. I think they thought it wasnt worth much, seeing as it wasnt a name brand pedal. Works for me.

There is a knob for level (volume) and a knob for fuzz (amount of gain) - very simple. This is the Britbender Original, not to be confused with the three knob Britbender which has a tone control.

I have an Epiphone SG, Squire Telecaster, Peavey Supreme XL head, and Peavey 412 XXL cab. I wanted to get Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck tones from the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin and that's what I got, dead on! This is modeled after the Sola Sound Pro MKII, which many British artists used, so I am sure sure you can get those too (Pete Townshend, Keith Richards, George Hariison etc.). I have also tried this with a Fender Standard Stratocaster and even though this isn't the MJM London Fuzz (though still made with Germainium transistors), I got a decent Jimmy Hendrix sound.
At high gain settings there is noise, but the original Tone Bender was never sublte. I have a Dunlop Classic Crybaby Wah and the Britbender sounds great with that too, however at high gain settings, the sound can start to break up when sweeping the wah. It's probably the wah because when engaged there is a small signal boost which can be remedied by turning the guitar volume down. Also sounds great with some amplifier overdrive.
More than one sound can be achieved with this pedal, but basically one has a high gain, medium gain, and low gain sound. I wanted a searing, ripping lead tone from my favorite guitarists as listed above and that's what I got.

I have had it about six months and have not used it a show. However, it seems to be built solidly. It is housed in a hard metal case, so it's probably tough. Also MJM guarantees his work.

I have e-mailed Michael Milcetic a few times and he responded the next day with detailed answers. As the other reviewers stated, Michael goes out of his way to help you get the sound you're looking for. He earns every dollar.

I have been playing for a few years now and like the Yardbirds, Led zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, early Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, Santana, Jeff Beck, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. If this was lost or stolen I would definitely buy another. It is worth every penny. The pedal does exactly what it is supposed to while still letting one sound like oneself.
I think the price paid was absolutely acceptable. It is a vintage/"boutique" product, but not outrageuosly expensive like some other similar products. Before I bought it, I read reviews and listened to several sound samples of it and the Tone Bender versions of different producers. I found this to be the best and I believe that is what I got.
Because of my satisfaction with the Britbender Original, I have just bought an MJM Foxey Fuzz (Michael Milcetic's version of the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi), which I am sure will be awesome as well.

Mine has two knobs for fuzz and volume. #50 and its a beauty!

Monster fuzz with a Les Paul into a Marshall amp! Ive retired this pedal because its TOO good! Other pedals Ive retired (the ultimate compliment I can pay) are the Maxon 820 Overdrive, Blues Pearl Blue Screamer, Austone Fuzz Nutz and Banzai Cold Fusion. Those pedals are simply too good to use when I can break them out as NOS (new old stock) in about 20 years! In the ,eanwhile I use the Rocktron Sonic Glory Overdrive, Maxon OD 808, Prescription RX Overdriver (new white paint version with better switch!), Roger Mayer Axis and Spitfire fuzzes, Vintage Rat, Austone Millenium Overdrive, DOD 250 Overdrive and Fulltone Soulbender!

Nice build.

Good.

Worth the money. Im a blues-er. I wail on lead guitar- my idols are Roy Buchanan, Johnny Winter, Clapton, Hendrix, Frampton, and Larry Coryell.

Very simple. Two knobs, one level one attack (fuzz).

I am playing a 1958 historical LP Standard and "real" 1963 Tele into this and then into either a Dr. Z Route 66 into a 4x12 pre-Rola Marshall cab, a Maz 18Jr w/ 2x10, or a old 1968 50w Plexi into the 4x12.

Fuzz is very aggresive and there is perhaps not as much range as there could be. With attack turned completely counterclock-wise (off) there is still a ton of gain. Works best with the Tele into the Maz 18. Dead on Led Zep I with the gain backed all the way off and bridge P/U rolled off a bit. Also gets Beck's Yardbird's tone. This is NOT the pedal to cop Wheels of Fire or the JBG Truth though. That would be Fulltone's Soulbender + the LP into the bigger amps with treble or bass P/U rolled to about 6-7. The Britbender is far too intense and spitty for this (you have to roll off to about 3 on a LP to clean it up enough, even at its minimal setting, to get it into Clapton or Beck range. Perhaps the 3-knob version of this has that potential as well.

Does it clean up well? Yes and no. It is a bit too saturated at the minumum setting, but does have a very nice range of colors at all points as you back off guitar volume.

Only had it for 2 weeks.

I emailed the maker and he was very prompt and friendly. His response to the "over the top" question: that the 2 knob Sola Sound Tonebender pedal was never subtle. Fair enough.

It is what it is. If you've got an old rosewood neck Tele and the right amp, this will get you into early Zep territory right away. If the idea is to overdrive your LP like later Cream or early Beck, the three knob version is the better bet.

2 knobs, very simple and intuitive. It is hard to get a bad sound out of it...every setting is great.

Used with a variety of Gibsons and Fenders into Marshall, Vox, Fender and Matchless amps. This fuzz has made me sell all of my fulltones and other boutiques.

Uses the highest quality period correct components, including NOS Ge transistors. Assembly quality is very very good. I would be very surprised if there were ever a problem with it.

Michael is as nice and supportive as they come. I will be buying more of his pedals, because the tone and reliability is as good as they come, and his customer support is unparalleled.

You will not find a better sounding fuzz, or a nicer guy than Michael. Many have said they are not happy with the cosmetics of MJM pedals....I personally think they are sort of cool. Plus, when a product sounds this good and is this reliable, who cares what it freakin' looks like? This isn't a fashion show!