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Vintage threads from the first ten years

Yardbox / Sola Tonebender comparison

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6/21/1999 11:35 PM

Yardbox / Sola Tonebender comparison

My friend just finished his Sola Tonebender clone, so we fired it up and tried it alongside my Yardbox. The Yardbox has more tonal range, from mosquito buzz to a darker muffled sound. Rolling the tone down on the TB lowered the volume as well. Too much at the bassy end of its tone pot. The Yardbox doesn't have this problem. They sound very much a like (depending on how they are set), with the Yardbox being a bit warmer and more musical. Swapping transistors did make a difference in the TB, with values around 80-100 sounding smoothest. Both could really nail the sustained Guess Who "American Woman" sound.

6/21/1999 11:56 PM
Toddy	A little while ago we discussed the Sola Sound Tonebender on this forum. There was a great time line, too! But we only said that the TBII was more widely used than the TBI. What are the differences between the TBI and TBII? Does anyone have a schematic posted on the net so we can compare? I may have missed them before but I don't think so. Thanks.

6/23/1999 11:22 AM
Tim	I love the sound of Yardbox, thanks for the comparision. Now that I replayed my 33 1/3 scratched up version of "American Woman" on the original album I bought in 1972, it put the hairs up on the back of my neck, a smooth sound. You've inspired me to make a Tonebender of my own...someday soon, I hope. Thanks. Tim

6/28/1999 11:44 PM
marrk	Just a quick follow up. The loss of volume on the tone pot was attributed to a cold solder joint. Fixing this up allowed the same tonal range/musicality as the Yardbox. The TB clone sounds awesome with 2n527 transistors.

6/29/1999 0:30 AM
R.G.	I don't know without poring through orders, Mark - is this a done-from-scratch TB clone or one from GEO? If it's a done-from-scratch, I'd appreciate a check against the GEO schematic for correctness. I've found that it's quite instructive to keep checking against various vintages of the same pedal for any variations.

6/29/1999 1:39 AM
Dave Chun	Marrk - Do you know what kind of transistors are in the PE Yardbox? Are the Ge or Si?

6/29/1999 2:28 AM
R.G.	I know that one. They're Ge.

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