incoming mki tonebender

allicio

Thought id share a little pedal porn!
Just received a PIC of a mki that I commissioned a while ago. Its got some new old stock oc75s inside and is in a yy enclosure which is pretty rare these days.
I'm really looking forward to this!!

equalsql

Is that a Thorpy made pedal? ... cos that's a nice finish.

allicio

Its made by a guy in Canada called Andrew who has a pedal company called arcane Analog.http://arcaneanalog.bigcartel.com
I have quite a few of his builds now. There absolutely top tier,

allicio

Not that I'm saying thorpys pedals arnt top tier, that might have come across wrong!! Doh!

TheCount

I like a good Mk1, what's the 3rd knob for??

I'm after a DAM mkII at the moment if anyone has one they want to offload for not absolutely bonkers money

allicio

Its a bias knob.
Your not gonna get a cheap dam mkii! The Americans have driven the prices sky high.
This is mine, oc81 loaded, beautifully smooth and the finest fuzz ive ever played!

TheCount

I know, prices are stupid, I expect to pay about £400 if i can find one in Europe but if I buy from states it's going to be quite a bit more when you put duty etc on so not an option unfortunately

The gain control on a mk1 biases Q2 so wonder what that one does. How does it affect the sound?

allicio

There are other builders that are just as good for less money. I chose the enclosure, the plate on the front, the knobs, the transistors, how I wanted it to sound. A truly custom build. With dam you get what your given, and for that sort of money to me that simply isn't good enough.

TheCount

Thing is with David Main is that he's had direct access to many vintage Tonebenders, taken them apart and picked out the good from the bad, I don't know if there's anyone else that knows the circuit any better. That's not to say there aren't other good ones being made, it's just like an insurance policy for those that want it as close to the original as possible. Some people will want that, others will want another good builder that they know and trust to tune it to their ears, different strokes and all that:) 

But with a DAM it's going to be a sonic replica of the finest vintage fuzz he's laid his hands on and the market has forced the used prices up because of that. 

I don't think DAM's retail pricing is unreasonable, when you could get a new mark 2 from him for less that the price of a klon Ktr.

Glad you're mk2 is a corker, if i didn't need the 'insurance' of the DAM I'd definitely consider Arcan Analog

breadfan

There are plenty of builders out there making a great MKII for less, but the DAM does sound incredible (& it doesn't look half bad either    )  

Used, they usually hold their value - I haven't seen one sell above what Macaris are charging for a new one.

Great score on the MKI, allicio - I sold my Electric Eye earlier this year & have been eager to replace it ever since!

allicio

TheCount;392640" said:

Thing is with David Main is that he's had direct access to many Ivintage Tonebenders, taken them apart and picked out the good from the bad, I don't know if there's anyone else that knows the circuit any better. That's not to say there aren't other good ones being made, it's just like an insurance policy for those that want it as close to the original as possible. Some people will want that, others will want another good builder that they know and trust to tune it to their ears, different strokes and all that:) But with a DAM it's going to be a sonic replica of the finest vintage fuzz he's laid his hands on and the market has forced the used prices up because of that. I don't think DAM's retail pricing is unreasonable, when you could get a new mark 2 from him for less that the price of a klon Ktr.Glad you're mk2 is a corker, if i didn't need the 'insurance' of the DAM I'd definitely consider Arcan Analog

Stu Castledine, jerms, Steve at pigdog, pigeon fx and indeed arcane all have original units that they tune from so I wouldn't say thats some sort of 'insurance' policy', the insurance you have with dam is that they hold there value. But your paying over the odds to start with in my opinion.
There all exceptional builders so don't limit yourself and your wallet is my suggestion!
To answer you bias question,
Straight from Andrew at arcane

" Very easy answer - the "Attack" control on a MKI simply biases the second transistor. The added "Bias" knob on my MKIs biases the third transistor in the exact same way."

allicio

breadfan;392647" said:

There are plenty of builders out there making a great MKII for less, but the DAM does sound incredible (& it doesn't look half bad either    )  

Used, they usually hold their value - I haven't seen one sell above what Macaris are charging for a new one.

Great score on the MKI, allicio - I sold my Electric Eye earlier this year & have been eager to replace it ever since!

To be fair they do look incredible don't they!!
I know I sound like a broken record trying to push a builder you've probably never heard of but if you wanna replace your electric eye with a pedal thats not only comparable, built to your specs and also cheaper get in touch with arcane Analog.
I cannot reccomend him enough!!
Further reading!http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1110901

allicio

Gut shot of the mki

Gagaryn

I made my own - http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/20307/these-are-quite-cool-and-germanium-tranny-advice-required#latest

Forge

@TheCount DAM MKII in vintage correct enclosures are truly wonderful things, I worship mine and use it as a benchmark for my builds. If you struggle to find one I would recommend hunting for a JMI, the units built by Steve Giles are amongst the best pedals money can buy and you will know he built it if his signature is inside the box.

TheCount

Cheers Forge:) I'd like to pick one up soon - ish but I'm not in a huge rush. I'll keep an eye on the bay, maybe someone will need some xmas money;)

Heard too many bad things about JMI to risk it, they're also involved in the 'British pedal company' I believe. 'established since 1966'. I smell ball hang.

joeyowen

The guts on this thread are so nice!

Really nice work by the builders

allicio

I wouldn't touch jmi either, far too dodgy and corrupt!

Forge

allicio said:

I wouldn't touch jmi either, far too dodgy and corrupt!

Agreed but Steve Giles (now retired) units really stand out by a mile. The man knows the Tonebender circuits very well indeed. Maybe I should think about selling the DAM...

Forge

joeyowen said:

The guts on this thread are so nice!

Really nice work by the builders

ICBM

It's a shame that with the undoubtedly neat and careful build quality of a lot of these things, the makers don't know how to wire a true bypass switch properly.

All these look like they have the usual crap scheme where the bypass path goes through both switch poles in series and the circuit input is not grounded - which maximises unreliability and can leave the circuit open to oscillation.

No shakeproof washers on the jacks either.