We’ve got a real treat for you all today, one of the most anticipated and highly-hyped effects pedals of the year…maybe the decade. A collaboration between Boss and Sola Sound, the TB-2W Waza Craft Tone Bender is a fuzz pedal that brings vintage tone into the modern world. Based on the classic Tone Bender MKII, the TB-2W has been painstakingly scrutinized and researched, to bring you possibly the finest Tone Bender recreation EVER.
To begin this project, Sola Sound lent the Boss staff something from their archives: Tone Bender MKII, Serial No. 500. With this retro machine as their base, the crew set to work, starting with locating, sourcing and testing rare and vitally important Germanium transistors, for the heart of the circuit. Being that only so many of these were available on the entire planet, the TB-2W had to become a Limited Release, meaning only 3000 of these were made. Period. Now, there’s been a lot of hype and debate about this, but you simply can’t make more pedals if you don’t have the correct components, right??
Moving on, Boss had to detect and solve other problems, such as power supply considerations and resistance to environmental changes, paying attention to the finest of details along the way. Along with the usual Level and Attack knobs, there are a couple of wonderful additions to the TB-2W Waza Craft Tone Bender that really make it stand out. One is the Battery switch, which lets you simulate different battery voltages of 7V, 9V or 12V, for 3 distinct and unique-sounding tones. There’s also the ability to select from True or Buffered Bypass mode, perfect for inserting this Waza Craft Tone Bender into any rig or pedalboard.
The details of this recreation stretch so far as to include the same chicken-head knobs, hammertone finish and even the font used on the original Tone Benders (again, that attention to detail). It looks great, yes, but the SOUND….the years of research and analyzation have created a smooth, musical tone that accentuates each individual’s playing dynamics and guitar volume. In short, CHECK OUT OUR DEMO BELOW! We run through all of the sounds and settings, using both single coil and humbucking pickups at various points through the video, for a wide-ranging spectrum of sounds you can coax out of this grey beauty. Head to the Boss website for the entire backstory and more info, and, if you can find one of these, don’t hesitate to snag it!
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