Great video Joe! Some info, current Sola Sound pedals are sold by the Macaris family but build by various great British pedal gurus such as David Main (DAM), Castledine, Rothman, Williams (Pigdog) and others.
G'day Joe, Thanks for a great video. When I initially found this video, I thought; "Not again... I only bought a new Boss FZ-1W yesterday. Now I have to buy another new Boss fuzz pedal for my 2nd hand Boss pedal case. Crap!" But, after watching your intro, I changed my mind, and thought; "Ah hah! That's OK. I've already got an "early" Fulltone Soul Bender, and a Hylight Fuzz Man, complete with Gary Hurst's signature & date on the bottom. I'm OK." I'd also have to say that 3,000 units of anything is not rare - less than 1,500 is rare, but not 3,000. Finally, I must agree with you - Boss pedals are totally bullet-proof. I bought my TU-12 new in 1985, & it's still going strong, and has never failed to work. You can't kill a Boss pedal with an axe! Once again, thanks for a great video. I'll be back later to check out the rest of your videos. Keep up the good work Andrew
Thanks Joe!! Yeah - the big hype came and went. But - concerning to advantages over some other tone bender type pedals: Wasn´t there something about consistency from the first to the last unit by meticulous quality control and part selection , typical for Boss ( kind of having to half mass produce this pedal). Also I think, I have heard (back then), that those pedals might be less prone to failure by temperature changes. At least even the choice having a "real germanium fuzz" to be buffered or not, is rad, from a practical standpoint! Also consider the pedalboard friendly "Boss" footprint. For a Tone Bender! There you have it: This fuzz ticks a lot of boxes other fuzzes only can dream of, when you think about it!
My absolute favorite pedal. I sold my other tone bender types and got this one for about double of what it cost new. It will save me money in the end not buying more pedals to get that sound.
I agree 100% with your summary, to the word. To say I'm a huge fan of fuzz in a massive understatement. If I could only have one effects pedal, desert island, it would be a fuzz. I have A LOT of fuzz pedals. Nope. More than that. Yup. I read your mind. More than that. It's embarrassing actually. Great playing as usual. Out of all of the demos of the Boss Tonebender I've heard, yours presented the actual personality and sound of the pedal the best. I had an opportunity to buy one at the stock price when they were first released, and I played it, and decided against buying it. My experience playing it, and the demos I heard online validated my choice...up until your demo. You had me doubting my choice. I collected my thoughts before I watched your summary, and you, almost word for word, exactly reiterated my thoughts and experience playing that pedal.
I do think there is a big difference between the TB-2w and the one that's being sold at Macari's that's being built by David Main. The problem is that there's a long wait list for those with the ability to afford it.
Fun to see how this pedal inspired you... Heard shades of The Darkness. Sounds great. Glorious ending. I can see how it's a "must-have" for Boss collectors, but I would probably spend that kinda cash on other guitar goodies. I have an Amptweaker TightFuzz Pro that does a fine job.
It sounds like a silicon tone bender and they exist for $700 less than the Boss version. I honestly would take any germanium or hybrid MK3 over this at any price point.
I had one of these, purchased new when they first were released. I thought it was amazing BUT could not keep it what with the insane offers I was getting for it. I have Analogman pedals that more than satisfy my needs for fuzz.
I also have to agree with you 100% after watching your video. Yes, it’s a great TB-2 but, like you said, it just isn’t THAT much better than other TB-2’s I’ve hade the good fortune to play and own. If I collected Boss pedals I might feel differently. I just stumbled on to a list, rather late on the release. I had to wait almost 6 months, but in the end, got one for $349US. When the salesman handed me the box he said I just doubled my money. A few months later got over $1200US for it!
In a real live situation, no fuzz can surpasses the old Fuzz Face, I don’t know why. I ve been through many many fuzz boxes, boutique, mass production, cheaps, expensives , Macaris included, and in a live band context, the best musical sounding is the Fuzz Face to my ears.
It’s not astoundingly different from other tone benders, but it’s not astoundingly more expensive either. A little different and a little more expensive. It’s not the price of a Klon.
Best video review on the net! Well done, cheers!
Thanks mate! :-)
Great video Joe! Some info, current Sola Sound pedals are sold by the Macaris family but build by various great British pedal gurus such as David Main (DAM), Castledine, Rothman, Williams (Pigdog) and others.
Enjoyed this, Joe, thanks!
Thanks Kira - good to see you here :-)
G'day Joe,
Thanks for a great video. When I initially found this video, I thought; "Not again... I only bought a new Boss FZ-1W yesterday. Now I have to buy another new Boss fuzz pedal for my 2nd hand Boss pedal case. Crap!" But, after watching your intro, I changed my mind, and thought; "Ah hah! That's OK. I've already got an "early" Fulltone Soul Bender, and a Hylight Fuzz Man, complete with Gary Hurst's signature & date on the bottom. I'm OK." I'd also have to say that 3,000 units of anything is not rare - less than 1,500 is rare, but not 3,000. Finally, I must agree with you - Boss pedals are totally bullet-proof. I bought my TU-12 new in 1985, & it's still going strong, and has never failed to work. You can't kill a Boss pedal with an axe!
Once again, thanks for a great video. I'll be back later to check out the rest of your videos.
Keep up the good work
Andrew
Thanks Andrew - good to have you here :-)
They do exist as a shop still - but relocated to sleepy commuter town Haywards Heath - they're about 100 m from the station :)
Oh cool - didn't know that! Thanks for the info 🙂
Sounds superb!
Thanks Joe!! Yeah - the big hype came and went. But - concerning to advantages over some other tone bender type pedals:
Wasn´t there something about consistency from the first to the last unit by meticulous quality control and part selection , typical for Boss ( kind of having to half mass produce this pedal).
Also I think, I have heard (back then), that those pedals might be less prone to failure by temperature changes.
At least even the choice having a "real germanium fuzz" to be buffered or not, is rad, from a practical standpoint!
Also consider the pedalboard friendly "Boss" footprint. For a Tone Bender!
There you have it: This fuzz ticks a lot of boxes other fuzzes only can dream of, when you think about it!
Great video. Thanks dude!
No probs! :-)
My absolute favorite pedal. I sold my other tone bender types and got this one for about double of what it cost new. It will save me money in the end not buying more pedals to get that sound.
Tone Benders sound amazing into Blue based speakers in my experience. Sounds like electricity itself through your Z amp.
Nice one Joe 👍
Nailed it mate
Ta for lending it to me! 👍👍
To get the best out of vintage fuzz circuits, I highly recommend using a carbon zinc battery.
Exactly what this pedal was running on :-)
I agree 100% with your summary, to the word.
To say I'm a huge fan of fuzz in a massive understatement. If I could only have one effects pedal, desert island, it would be a fuzz. I have A LOT of fuzz pedals. Nope. More than that. Yup. I read your mind. More than that. It's embarrassing actually.
Great playing as usual. Out of all of the demos of the Boss Tonebender I've heard, yours presented the actual personality and sound of the pedal the best.
I had an opportunity to buy one at the stock price when they were first released, and I played it, and decided against buying it. My experience playing it, and the demos I heard online validated my choice...up until your demo. You had me doubting my choice.
I collected my thoughts before I watched your summary, and you, almost word for word, exactly reiterated my thoughts and experience playing that pedal.
Really glad to hear we both think along the same lines & that the video did an ok job of getting the vibe of this thing across to the listener! :-)
I do think there is a big difference between the TB-2w and the one that's being sold at Macari's that's being built by David Main. The problem is that there's a long wait list for those with the ability to afford it.
Never been able to try out a ‘real’ Macari’s fuzz, sadly :-(
Fun to see how this pedal inspired you... Heard shades of The Darkness. Sounds great. Glorious ending. I can see how it's a "must-have" for Boss collectors, but I would probably spend that kinda cash on other guitar goodies. I have an Amptweaker TightFuzz Pro that does a fine job.
The Darkness inspire a lot of what I play :P Agree - it’s a lot of money for what it is compared to what you get elsewhere!
11:43 sounds like Jimmy Page's Wasting my Time riff :) killer video
It sounds like a silicon tone bender and they exist for $700 less than the Boss version. I honestly would take any germanium or hybrid MK3 over this at any price point.
I had one of these, purchased new when they first were released. I thought it was amazing BUT could not keep it what with the insane offers I was getting for it. I have Analogman pedals that more than satisfy my needs for fuzz.
Yep absolutely - don’t blame you one bit for selling it on!!
I also have to agree with you 100% after watching your video. Yes, it’s a great TB-2 but, like you said, it just isn’t THAT much better than other TB-2’s I’ve hade the good fortune to play and own. If I collected Boss pedals I might feel differently. I just stumbled on to a list, rather late on the release. I had to wait almost 6 months, but in the end, got one for $349US. When the salesman handed me the box he said I just doubled my money. A few months later got over $1200US for it!
Finally, something expensive that I really don’t like or want.
Happy to save you the money!!
It would have been great to see how it cleans up with the volume knob ... but otherwise it's a good demo!
I do turn the volume up and down a fair bit throughout - not all the way down, but even just notching it back a touch helps control the sag.
Serious money.
In a real live situation, no fuzz can surpasses the old Fuzz Face, I don’t know why. I ve been through many many fuzz boxes, boutique, mass production, cheaps, expensives , Macaris included, and in a live band context, the best musical sounding is the Fuzz Face to my ears.
the sound to drive my parents insane. where can i get one?
To get the best out of fuzz circuits, I highly recommend using a tweed amp.
JTM 45 style circuit is almost the exact layout of a Fender Tweed Bassman with some minor tweaks and different tubes.
It’s not astoundingly different from other tone benders, but it’s not astoundingly more expensive either. A little different and a little more expensive. It’s not the price of a Klon.
🤘👍🏿 Love the intro, love the demo. The pedal? Meh.
I’ll take that! 😌
Vid starts at 5:30
I wanted one of these when they came out. I was let down by andertons customer service
Ah that’s a shame :/
Thanks for the demo, it's overrated and sounds bad to me. I'll take a fuzz face any day over it.
Two completely different types of fuzzes, apples and oranges.
You sound like you're the host of a kids tv show. 😂
There’s worse things…! :P