The MKII Tone Bender Perfected | Expresso FX Fuzz Bender MKII
Expresso FX returns to the channel with the Fuzz Bender MKII — Sof's faithful three-transistor recreation of the Tone Bender MKII circuit. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Expresso FX Fuzz Bender MKII pairs with the Giordano Guitars Tributo Korina Special — Sunbear '58 Reserve SB-PAF Humbuckers, Emerson Custom Treble Bleeds — into the Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers and Echo Fix EF-X3 Tape Echo.
Reach out to Sof on Instagram DM for current inventory: https://www.instagram.com/expressofx/ Learn about the Fuzz Bender MKII: https://expressofx.com/product/fuzz-bender-mkii/
In Sof's own words:
"Our Fuzz Bender MkII is a faithful recreation of the three-transistor-based fuzz circuit of the Bender family. This is an immaculate reproduction of a classic pedal, but with a few tweaks for performance and reliability improvements. We have sourced an amazing stock of rare and highly sought after NOS components — some amazing NOS Mullard and Philips capacitors, NOS Allen Bradley carbon composition resistors, and an array of top grade NOS Mullard germanium transistors. Every component used is of the highest quality, with absolutely no compromise. The circuit is housed in a high quality large aluminium enclosure, professionally powder coated to our exact specification."
This build is loaded with two NOS Mullard OC75 and one NOS Mullard OC76 germanium transistors. The Tone Bender MKII was the fuller, thicker evolution of the original MKI — three transistors producing more sustain and a richer low end than its predecessor, the sound behind the sludgier end of British psychedelic and early hard rock guitar. Explored on the Cunningham Custom 35's Tweed channel from 01:24, with the Bias knob sweep from 03:22 across both Sunbear '58 Reserve bridge and neck humbucker positions, and extensive volume knob cleanup from 04:13.
The interaction between Level, Attack, Bias, and the amp's own gain and compression is the real story of this demo — reducing MKII Level while raising amp gain sharpens the fuzz's top end edge (06:07), while lowering Attack and cranking Level pushes more amp compression (07:26). Max Attack, Level, and Bias together from 08:35, then pulled back for more clarity from 09:20. The demo closes on the Cunningham's Plexi channel from 10:32 for a final comparison with more amp gain on tap.
The Sunbear '58 Reserve (now '58 Archive) SB-PAF set — inspired by guitarist Bob Wootton's original 1958 Burst — gives the Fuzz Bender MKII a genuinely vintage-correct PAF foundation. Bridge Alnico II (~8.1K), Neck Alnico III (~7.4K).
🎛️ Expresso FX: https://expressofx.com 🎸 Giordano Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/giordanoguitars/ 🎸 Sunbear Pickups: https://www.sunbearpickups.com 🔊 Cunningham Amps: https://www.cunninghamamps.co.nz
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🎸 Giordano Guitars Tributo Korina Special | All-Korina | Sunbear '58 Reserve SB-PAF (AII Bridge ~8.1K / AIII Neck ~7.4K) | Emerson Custom Treble Bleeds 🎛️ Expresso FX Fuzz Bender MKII | NOS Mullard OC75 x2 + OC76 | NOS Mullard/Philips Caps | NOS Allen Bradley Carbon Comp | Level / Attack / Bias | Echo Fix EF-X3 🔊 Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC | Tweed + Plexi Channels
