Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Collaborations with originators.

Moderator: The Captain

User avatar
hamoftruth
Posts: 223
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2021 2:54 am

Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Post by hamoftruth »

...ghost town 'round these parts in the Sola Sound subforum :whistle:

Here I am trying to slow down and downsize, and Macari's drops a surprise MKII...of course :catfight:

Screenshot_20220518-121330_DuckDuckGo(1).jpg
Screenshot_20220518-121330_DuckDuckGo(1).jpg (275.14 KiB) Viewed 1589 times
Screenshot_20220518-121323_DuckDuckGo(1).jpg
Screenshot_20220518-121323_DuckDuckGo(1).jpg (85.48 KiB) Viewed 1589 times
There was one made with OC82Ds, so an undercover Green Bastard...Gold Bastard??

The other four were OC83, fat and choppy according to Ant. Stars aligned and I managed to snag one. They're not getting any cheaper, but the latest direct drop was 999gbp sooo.

I'm sure the reference to Led Zeppelin is no coincidence, if you subscribe to the belief that Jimmy Page's gold box Tone Bender was a MKII then one would assume this is going for that vibe.

I'm a blessed man, fortunate to have a OC84 Pro MKII and a Blue Meanie, so I will report back with how this compares.
Last edited by hamoftruth on Sat May 21, 2022 2:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
All You Need Is Fuzz

Good Dealings /w - SovtekFuzz, Doctor X, daCod, dangergirlstarship, TeleSoul, sideasoundlab, DBBlues
User avatar
1bottlerocket
Posts: 8558
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 8:45 pm
Location: The Land of Milk and Honey

Re: Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Post by 1bottlerocket »

Congrats on the score!
Never argue with an idiot, they bring you down to their level and beat you with experience
-Garfunk M. Rafferty
_________________________________________
For all things stomp: http://www.effectsdatabase.com/
Big Muff History Page: http://bigmuffpage.com/
User avatar
Nick
The Artist Formerly Known As nightraven
Posts: 2234
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2009 7:25 pm

Re: Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Post by Nick »

It would be extremely unlikely for Page's gold Tone Bender to have had a MKII circuit inside, because the original gold-painted pedals that are known to survive both have guts that predate the MKII period by a fair margin. The gold cases were apparently among the earliest that Sola Sound used after they moved away from the steel-bodied MKI's.

For a gold Tone Bender to have a MKII circuit, it would have to have been a 'souped up' MK1.5 (AKA "short board" MKII), and the vast majority of those upgraded MK1.5's that have resurfaced are unsurprisingly built from relatively late-production MK1.5 bases (in grey enclosures, with various other late-ish features). I do have a (broken, lol) "short board" (AKA MK1.5-conversion) MKII that has been built off a rather early MK1.5 foundation, closer to the 'gold' period, so it is theoretically possible that some gold converted MK1.5's/"short board" MKII's exist. But yeah, given how scarce the gold sandcast enclosures are, it's pretty unlikely. That being said, there could just as well be some sort of crazy anomaly-bender MKII that hasn't yet been discovered, seeing as Sola Sound were still using gold paint for their Rotosound MKII's after the MK1.5 was discontinued.

I also quite like to think that Page's gold bender had MKI guts :marx:
User avatar
hamoftruth
Posts: 223
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2021 2:54 am

Re: Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Post by hamoftruth »

Nick wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 12:56 am It would be extremely unlikely for Page's gold Tone Bender to have had a MKII circuit inside, because the original gold-painted pedals that are known to survive both have guts that predate the MKII period by a fair margin. The gold cases were apparently among the earliest that Sola Sound used after they moved away from the steel-bodied MKI's.

For a gold Tone Bender to have a MKII circuit, it would have to have been a 'souped up' MK1.5 (AKA "short board" MKII), and the vast majority of those upgraded MK1.5's that have resurfaced are unsurprisingly built from relatively late-production MK1.5 bases (in grey enclosures, with various other late-ish features). I do have a (broken, lol) "short board" (AKA MK1.5-conversion) MKII that has been built off a rather early MK1.5 foundation, closer to the 'gold' period, so it is theoretically possible that some gold converted MK1.5's/"short board" MKII's exist. But yeah, given how scarce the gold sandcast enclosures are, it's pretty unlikely. That being said, there could just as well be some sort of crazy anomaly-bender MKII that hasn't yet been discovered, seeing as Sola Sound were still using gold paint for their Rotosound MKII's after the MK1.5 was discontinued.

I also quite like to think that Page's gold bender had MKI guts :marx:
Yeah I usually don't like to open that can of worms because so many people are dead set that the MK2 is "the" Jimmy Page fuzz and will fight you if you say otherwise, and personally I don't really think it is. I hear more MK1 and MK1.5 in his time in Yardbirds and LZ1, but I guess so much of it is rig dependent that it's hard to tell. Plus I'm sure he had units sent to him as new circuits were being developed and revised so he probably has several old Tone Bender fuzzes. The fuzz solo on "Walking Into Clarksdale" sounds almost undisputedly MK1 to me, though.
All You Need Is Fuzz

Good Dealings /w - SovtekFuzz, Doctor X, daCod, dangergirlstarship, TeleSoul, sideasoundlab, DBBlues
User avatar
Dullboy
Posts: 894
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:49 pm
Location: Adriatic Riviera, Italy

Re: Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Post by Dullboy »

Wow I saw the Macaris' post yesterday...is there a link to look, although they are sold out I can imagine?
"Sometimes the nicest thing to do with a guitar is just look at it."
Thom Yorke


(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")
User avatar
1bottlerocket
Posts: 8558
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 8:45 pm
Location: The Land of Milk and Honey

Re: Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Post by 1bottlerocket »

They sold out rather quickly and the page disappeared.
Never argue with an idiot, they bring you down to their level and beat you with experience
-Garfunk M. Rafferty
_________________________________________
For all things stomp: http://www.effectsdatabase.com/
Big Muff History Page: http://bigmuffpage.com/
User avatar
hamoftruth
Posts: 223
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2021 2:54 am

Re: Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Post by hamoftruth »

Yeah I take screenshots when I can because the pages go down not long after they sell out. Instagram posts stay up, but there wasn't much detail in the post itself for this'n, just hammerite pr0n.
All You Need Is Fuzz

Good Dealings /w - SovtekFuzz, Doctor X, daCod, dangergirlstarship, TeleSoul, sideasoundlab, DBBlues
User avatar
windjamma
Posts: 429
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011 5:40 pm

Re: Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Post by windjamma »

Congratulations that's a beautiful looking and sounding pedal i bet. Never even got wind of these.
User avatar
hamoftruth
Posts: 223
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2021 2:54 am

Re: Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Post by hamoftruth »

First impressions - it's a MK2 with some saggy MK1.5 flavor. It's not as composed and focused as my OC84 Pro MK2, and not as wild and loose as my Goldie MK1.5, somewhere in between.

The Blue Meanie by comparison is the brightest and clearest, while still being more aggressive and choppy than the OC84.

It's not a drastic difference, but it's what I imagined a Dave Main OC75 Pro MK2 would sound like, though to be clear this one has OC83/OC81Z. Ant was right in describing it as "fat, choppy, and musical." It's not like a "Fat Copper" or "The Judge" by any means, in that it doesn't have any added low end compared to a traditional Tone Bender voicing.

I like it! It's a toss up between the Blue Meanie and Trojan Horse for my favorite MK2s I've played, most likely. I personally don't think I'd enjoy a Green Bastard, beautiful as they are, since the OC84 is already bordering on "too polite" for my tastes. My personal tastes align the absolute most with the Goldie MK1.5 though, I love how loose and flabby its character is while still retaining the traditional Tone Bender leanness in the lows.
All You Need Is Fuzz

Good Dealings /w - SovtekFuzz, Doctor X, daCod, dangergirlstarship, TeleSoul, sideasoundlab, DBBlues
ombudsman
Posts: 67
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 8:20 pm

Re: Trojan Horse MKII Goldie

Post by ombudsman »

hamoftruth wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 5:54 pm I personally don't think I'd enjoy a Green Bastard, beautiful as they are, since the OC84 is already bordering on "too polite" for my tastes. My personal tastes align the absolute most with the Goldie MK1.5 though, I love how loose and flabby its character is while still retaining the traditional Tone Bender leanness in the lows.
Would that be a Goldie with OC84s ?
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests