Guidance For ToneBender MKII

[bobbythegoose]

Hi guys,

It's my first time trying to build a tonebender mkii. Can someone guide me with these results from the transistors i tested? WHat should i use them for the build q1,q2,q3

 

[Harry Klippton]

Check out @PedalBuilder's mkii build report. His builds are always incredible and well researched

Thread 'Tone Bender Mk. II Clone'

Jun 18, 2024

What to say? It's a Tone Bender Mk. II with a few slight modifications. Sonically, it's unmistakeably a Tone Bender Mk. II. I tuned it to have a little more gating and less cleanup. It does the Zeppelin thing in spades—whenever I turn it on, I invariably find myself wanting to start playing Dazed and Confused.

I used some NOS Siemens AC153Y transistors for this build. The transistor measurements are:

Q1: hFE 82, leakage 226 µA
Q2: hFE 84, leakage 354 µA
Q3: hFE 109, leakage 330 µA
Measured on a Peak DCA55 at 73ºF

The collector voltages are:
Q1: -7.76v
Q2: -0.11v
Q3: -8.34v
VCC...

• PedalBuilder
• Replies: 5
• Forum: Build Reports

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[leadfoot]

The three you have shown look reasonable for the positions. I just built a ToneVendor Mk1, Tone Vendor Mk2, and a Soul Vendor using some Russian Germaniums that worked out really well.

I referenced the values I had in all of them in this thread about a Tone Vendor MkI transistor choices:

Thread 'Tone Vendor MK1 transistor options'

Aug 26, 2025

Hi all,

I've got a Tone Vendor MK1 ready for transistors and I'm wondering if what I've got on hand might work. The BOM calls for an OC75 and a pair of 2G381's. I looked these up and the OC75 seems to have a minimum HFE of 55 and the 2G381's have a minimum of 75.

I've got a bunch of MP39A's and a pair of MA287's on hand, the MP39A's range from 14 to 49 HFE and the MA287's are 70 and 84 HFE. Are these in the ball park and worth trying out, or should I quest for some more appropriate transistors? Thank you for any input!

• Song Naga
• Replies: 7
• Forum: General Questions

 

[darwin999]

@bobbythegoose -

Check out this old post for detaills on the ToneBender Mk II

Fuzz Central -- Colorsound Tonebender MKII

One of the largest sites for do-it-yourself guitar effects builders. Schematics and Printed circuit board layouts for rare pedals like the Tycobrahe Octavia, Clyde McCoy wah and lots of vintage fuzz pedals!

fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com

 

[PedalBuilder]

@bobbythegoose -

Check out this old post for detaills on the ToneBender Mk II

Fuzz Central -- Colorsound Tonebender MKII

One of the largest sites for do-it-yourself guitar effects builders. Schematics and Printed circuit board layouts for rare pedals like the Tycobrahe Octavia, Clyde McCoy wah and lots of vintage fuzz pedals!

fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com

I strongly recommend against relying on Fuzz Central for information about the Tone Bender Mk. II. It is an outdated and unreliable source of information. Among other problems, it incorrectly recommends biasing Q3 to -4.5v (you actually want somewhere between -7.5v and -8.75v, depending on your power supply and personal preferences). If you want a more reliable source, I’d recommend looking up are some of the threads on FSB, DIYSB, and David Main’s forum that have transistor and voltage measurements from a bunch of original Mk. II/Supa Fuzz units.