COLORSOUND™ TONEBENDER™ (3-KNOB REPLICA) RTS PCB

A ready-to-solder PCB for our 3-knob ColorSound™ Tone Bender™ replica, a classic British fuzz. One board builds six versions, from vintage PNP germanium to an easy NPN silicon build.

About the effect

The 3-knob Tone Bender™ was sold as the ColorSound™, SolaSound and Vox™ Tone Bender™. Its thick, saturated fuzz is a big part of the late-'60s and '70s British rock sound. The project page has parts and layouts for these versions:

• ColorSound™ 3-knob (PNP germanium, positive ground)
• ColorSound™-like 3-knob (NPN germanium, negative ground)
• ColorSound™-like 3-knob (NPN silicon, negative ground), the simplest good-sounding build and our pick for beginners
• "Tone Burner" modified version by Tobias Karlsson (PNP germanium)
• "Boutique" version (PNP germanium)
• 4-knob Yard Box version (PNP germanium)

The NPN versions can share a power supply with other negative-ground pedals. The PNP versions need their own supply unless you add our charge pump circuit. For germanium builds, use the resistor values supplied with transistors from Small Bear Electronics.

Specs

• PCB dimensions: 5.5cm by 4.0cm
• Solder mask, plated-through holes and silkscreened component placement

Build resources

• Complete instructions for this PCB
• 3-knob Tone Bender™ instructions
• PNP germanium charge pump instructions

Trademarks mentioned here belong to their owners, not General Guitar Gadgets.