cap blend & "smooth" control for tonebender MK

[bluesdevil]

Please weigh in: Would both a cap blend (ala Joe's Easyface) and "smooth" control (ala bias control for Fulltone Fuzz and Phillip's Axis fuzz) be too much to use with a germanium Tonebender MkII?  I use active humbuckers, but l would like to make the pedal versatile enough to use with a stock strat also.
   I'm hoping it wouldn't just turn it to a hissy mud box, haha!!!

[soundcollage]

The active pickups on your guitar are not freaking out the tonebender? I have a parker fly deluxe and a '72 ovation breadwinner and neither is on friendly terms with the mkii pro, or three knob tonebender that I built.

[bwanasonic]

I was also under the impression that active pickups and *vintage* fuzz effects are like tootpaste and orange juice when mixed together (not pleasant). I would be interested in field reports of active pickups and *vintage* style effects. I was thinking of putting EMG SA's in my old Ibanez Strat copy to test how well my builds work with actives. As for the original question, I don't have first hand experience, but sounds like a job for BREADBOARD MAN look up in the sky!, It's...

Kerry M

[bluesdevil]

The active pickups on your guitar are not freaking out the tonebender? I have a parker fly deluxe and a '72 ovation breadwinner and neither is on friendly terms with the mkii pro, or three knob tonebender that I built.

I haven't built it yet, but am preparing myself for problems I might have with the active pickups.  I'm hoping the 50k "smooth/bias" pot right at the input will do it.  Also might try a  1:1 transformer there if that doesn't work.
   I'll give it all a try and report back here later to keep you posted. Just waiting for Smalbear to reopen so I can get the the trannies.

[analog kid]

FWIW , I put a cap blend mod (apprx. .22 to 1uf bass side TO .0033 to .01 treble side) and it ALWAYS works well , so far, As Long as you tweak the parallel cap values to jive well with the tone response of the given circuit.
It's a very good mod to use , for me at least, on all Fuzz Face derivitaves which are so bad about being overly bassy and farty sounding with different pickups.
Don't use Actives in anything other than my basses so can't comment

[AL]

I stuck an input cap blend control on one Fuzz Face. It's a good idea but it seems to take away some of the growl for some reason. I prefer using a switch to go between caps.

AL

[bluesdevil]

Sorry, I forgot to report back after the build!!  The only mods I ended up doing is make the output cap 10 X the value because I wanted a fuller sound without making the circuit sound too soggy. Also put a .001uf cap across the outer legs of the volume pot to mellow the highs a bit. Changing the output cap really made a big difference and got me where I wanted.
       My active bridge pickup is a bit too strong for it, but all I have to do is roll the volume back a hair or two and it's fine. BUT it does sound best with my passive humbucker neck pickup, especially with the tone control rolled all the way down..... killer ass thick sustain on single note leads!!!  I can get the pedal to do the Blue Cheer "Summertime Blues" sound with those mods and guitar settings!! I'm real happy with it.
        I also made the "Easy Face" with the input cap blend but just ended up using the thickest setting 'cause that's just what works best for my ears. That's a great pedal for a '67 Hendrix sound..... a friend from Portugal demanded I make him one, but just ended up giving him mine so I need to make another., maybe the "boutique" fuzz face instead.  The Tonebender MKII Pro with cap(s) values modded to taste rules all, though!!!