NPD Sola Sound Yellow Hybrid Tone Bender

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zisme
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Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 1:49 pm
Location: Norfolk, VA

My second fuzz pedal from Macaris!

This one is the Yellow Hybrid OC140 Tone Bender by Jake Rothman

It's a TC Tone Bender circuit with a combination of silicon and germanium transistors

When I first caught the bender bug late last year it was between this one and the freakenbender. The regular power supply option being a big plus for both, as well as being some of the more "affordable" (and available) sola sound/colorsound pedals. I was blown away when i received the fb for christmas last year. The sound and build quality were everything I expected and more. It has been my primary fuzz in my band setup ever since.

The trouble is I only play with the band once a week, and my board stays at our practice space. Since I now work from home 99% of the time, most days I pick up the guitar for a bit. While my JHS Muffuletta is a fine fuzz, it just doesn't scratch the same itch.

I've been very disciplined about my gear spending this year and had some wiggle room in my budget. After about the 50th time of having this thing in my cart I finally pulled the trigger. I'm really glad I did, because I seem to have snagged the last one in stock. The wait list notice appeared on the page immediately after my purchase. For a moment I was worried I'd get a backorder notice. Fortunately I got the shipping information pretty quickly. Fedex zoomed this thing over from the UK in less than a week.

First impressions - definitely an awesome fuzz. nice gain and treble ranges. Smoother and less spitty than the freakenbender (less rage overall), which I'm assuming is due to the germanium. Still this things gets rocking pretty quick and has some gate-y velcro sounds at the end of the fuzz knob. And the mojo is off the charts of course.

I will test yellow out with my band rig tonight. I'm guessing though the freakenbender will stay on that board, and this guy will be my home fuzz.

This oughta do me for these until I make the trip out to the UK and visit Macaris in person. It's on my bucket list. Very sad I'll never get to see the Denmark Street shop (closed last year), but hopefully their current location stays open a while.
20210428_095132.jpg
frogs love to eat flies,
the devil's name, Beelzebub, lord of the flies
evil spirits love to spiritually feed upon those whom Beelzebub rules

joined AGF March 20, 2013
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aullucci
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That's so awesome. I'm completely jealous. The Pedal Show guys are serious Tonebender enablers and I'm trying to stay out of the rabbit hole myself. It's just that they sound...soooo...goooooood. Was looking at the RambleFX Twin Bender, but going straight to the source really does seem to make sense...

Enjoy that pedal!
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zisme
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Tried yellow out for a bit at practice last night. Sounds pretty wild in front of my twin. It can hang with the freakenbender better than I expected.

Still going to keep this guy at home for now though. This morning I worked it into my home board
20210429_093200.jpg
frogs love to eat flies,
the devil's name, Beelzebub, lord of the flies
evil spirits love to spiritually feed upon those whom Beelzebub rules

joined AGF March 20, 2013
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zisme
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aullucci wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:00 am That's so awesome. I'm completely jealous. The Pedal Show guys are serious Tonebender enablers and I'm trying to stay out of the rabbit hole myself. It's just that they sound...soooo...goooooood. Was looking at the RambleFX Twin Bender, but going straight to the source really does seem to make sense...
TPS is a problem lol. I was doing well keeping GAS at bay until i started watching their channel.

there's a lot of great bender options out there (the ramble is VERY cool), but these do something special for me. they do sound incredible, but the character/mojo thing they have going is uncanny. i love the colorsound aesthetic and they are beautifully constructed. not the easiest to squeeze onto a pedalboard, but I love a challenge. they are certainly an investment, but they do not disappoint!
frogs love to eat flies,
the devil's name, Beelzebub, lord of the flies
evil spirits love to spiritually feed upon those whom Beelzebub rules

joined AGF March 20, 2013
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aullucci
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I'll admit part of the reason I'm drawn to the Twin Bender is because it intentionally looks the part. There is something about that non-traditional box that just calls out to you... The originals are obviously much groovier looking. Any time you find a box that inspires, it's a great score.
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