GuitarSystems Tony's BenderTool Junior review

Pedal with a Sola Sound soul

  • £199
  • €219
  • $249
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The original Tone Bender was used by some of rock's biggest names

MusicRadar Verdict

Smooth 60s fuzz with extra EQ, and it won't swamp your board.

Pros

  • +

    A practical Tone Bender clone with really nice tonal options.

Cons

  • -

    Not much.

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Developed for Tony Spinner (Paul Gilbert, Toto), Tony's BenderTool Junior is based on a Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional MKII, one of the most revered fuzz pedals from the 60s, used by Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

"A fat, smooth fuzz sound with plenty of sustain is the remit"

While the original featured three Germanium transistors, this has a hybrid setup of one silicon transistor with two Germanium ones.

A fat, smooth fuzz sound with plenty of sustain is the remit - it's great for long sustained notes that you can coax to take off naturally into feedback, and it sounds like the real deal - we tested it alongside a rare 1960s original with three Germanium OC81D transistors and the sound and feel were close, although the newer pedal had more output.

There's a nice linear clean-up with your volume knob and, while we liked the full-range sound with our single coils, the TMF (Tone Middle Full) knob can make it leaner if desired.

Trevor Curwen

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.