Fulltone SoulBender User Manual

Model sb-2

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Congratulations on your purchase of the

In the early 1970’s, Sola-Sound England produced a very fat, warm, and juicy sounding

Distortion/Fuzz called the Tone-Bender MkIII. These were also sold under the Colorsound,

and Park brand names with slight variations in circuit and sound....my favorite being the

Sola-Sound. “3 knob Tone-Benders,” as they became to be known, were very different from

the more popular Fuzzface pedals in that they had more sustain and a lot of sweet mid-

range on-tap, which could give a thin Tele or Strat a very sax-like solo tone, especially with

the “Tone” control turned full clockwise. The ‘Bender tone control cuts treble and increases

Bass & Mids as you turn it clockwise, panning between a large and small capacitor, which is

the way different from most other pedal’s Tone controls which simply cut treble at the knob

is turned counter-clockwise. The magic of these “3 knobbers” is that they contain 3 germa-

nium transistors...all of differing gains, and the secret is you have to know the proper gain

each transistor needs to be in order to produce the best sound. I know, not because of

some schematic on the web (all wrong BTW) or “build your own” kit, but because I have

owned and repaired 40 or more original “3 knobbers,” and have almost 20 years experience

with this circuit, knowing what makes them sound great and sustain long.

The original Fulltone Soul-Bender

came out in 1995, it was inspired by this classic 3-knob

design, and was produced up until around 2006 when I could no longer parse suitable

transistors. Approximately 3107 units were sold during that period. Recently I have

re-established a relationship with one of the last remaining germanium transistor making

companies, which has allowed me to re-issue this fuzz-classic as the Soul-Bender

SB-2.

The SB-2 is in some ways better than the old Soul-Bender

in that I am now having the

transistors made-to-order just how I want them, and these wonderful skinny-tall TO-1 Ger-

manium transistor (with a top hat brim) that have just the right characteristics, including the

requisite low gain and low noise just like the vintage Sola-Sound pedals had. The

Soul-Bender

improves on the original 60's design by offering more available volume, a

more usable Tone control range, True-Bypass switching with my proprietary "silent switching

circuit,” better power supply filtering for less noise, and polarity protection to keep the sensi-

tive Germanium transistors from damage....you cannot fry this pedal if you accidentally use

the wrong power supply! Your SB-2 is roughly half the size of the original Soul-Bender

(or

Sola-Sound) and I left the IN & OUT jacks on the rear of the pedal like the original

Soul-Bender

so it will fit on even the most cramped pedalboard.

enjoy,