R2R Electric MKI Pro Fuzz | Strat Tones!
The best Tone Bender ever made, now with Stratocaster single coils. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
In this episode the R2R Electric MKI Professional Tone Bender / Zonk Machine returns for its second demo — this time featuring the Giordano Guitars '60s S-Model, into the Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander with the Benson Tall Bird Reverb in the effects loop. The R2R Electric Vintage Wah, Effectrode Tube Vibe, and Strymon Volante also feature throughout.
Watch the first demo with the Frank Brothers Ultralight and Lollar Low Wind Imperial Humbuckers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQDwI-UY-4M
The MKI Pro houses two fully independent vintage fuzz circuits switchable via a front-panel toggle — a Tone Bender MKI and a Zonk Machine — built with hand-matched Philips/Mullard OC75 and Texas Instruments 2G308/303 NOS germanium transistors, vintage CTS/Stackpole potentiometers, 1960s Aerovox and paper-in-oil capacitors, and NOS resistors throughout. Every R2R build is unique in its specific component selection but verified for tonal consistency before shipping.
What single coils reveal in this pedal that humbuckers don't: the Giordano's Stratocaster-style pickup response is faster and more transparent at the input of the fuzz, meaning the Bias control's sweep has a wider audible range — the transition from starved and gated at minimum to full and blooming at maximum is more dramatic and more musically useful across the sweep. The middle pickup position and bridge/neck comparisons expose how differently the two circuits interact with varying input impedance and output level, even within the same guitar.
The Bias control is the primary creative variable throughout this demo: minimum bias gives spitting, dying-battery MKI chaos; maximum gives the full bloom and sustain the circuit is capable of. The Rapid Comparison section at 11:19 puts both circuits directly against each other at identical settings — the most direct way to hear what Tone Bender MKI versus Zonk Machine actually means in practice.
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🎸 Giordano Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/_giordanoguitars_/
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
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🎸 Giordano Guitars '60s S-Model
🎛️ R2R Electric MKI Professional | NOS Germanium | OC75 + 2G308/303 | Tone Bender MKI + Zonk Machine | Bias Control
🎛️ Also: R2R Electric Vintage Wah | Effectrode Tube Vibe | Strymon Volante
🔊 Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" | Benson Tall Bird | Boss Waza TAE
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R121 & R10 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11
