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Hey, first off. The sales info will be coming soon. Hang tight. This thread is just about the workings and reason for this pedal being. I have finished them all and wanted to do this while its fresh in my mind....and rest my head from soldering for a little.
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Solid State Pre-amplified Germanium Overdrive!
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Uh? What you talking about? Plain and simple, it’s a fuzz box.
Tone Benders. I likes them. Especially those old crusty germanium fuelled ones. I guess you do too seeing as you have interest in our sexy little pedals. I’m pretty well acquainted with those early Tone Benders now, they are well and truly rooted right in. I find the Professional MKII particularly interesting but I also have much fascination with the MKIII and MKIV Tone Benders. It’s a pretty smart arrangement circuit wise. I kinda dig its shrouded history too. The whole relation to the Baldwin Burns Buzzaround and the Elka Dizzytone. Which came first? Who influenced whom? That kinda thing. The other cool thing is how a slight change can make the same circuit sound pretty different. For example, early MKIII’s being gated and choppy and later MKIV’s being soupy and gooey. Same shit, different flavor so to speak.
Grease up your baby.
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So any huw. The Grease Box. It is at heart, a MKIII/MKIV Tone Bender. Its bare bones and the circuit blue print are very Tone Bendery. The idea here was very simple indeed. What if Colorsound still made the Tone Bender MKIV in 1981. What would that sound like?
The main factor at play from the early MKIII’s made in the late 1960’s to the late MKIV’s made in the mid 1970’s is time. Time, yes time. Time made the changes. Fuzz was heavy and farty in the 60’s. Pedals mainly designed for single note runs that sounded something like a wacked out electronic saxophone. The 1970’s called for more balls and attitude. Big dirty hamburgers of fuzz. Guitars changed, amps changed and more importantly people and their needs changed.
What’s wrong with your face?
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So its 1981. MTV, The Space Shuttle, The Fall Guy, Roland Reagan...Peter Sutcliffe, Britney Spears is born. Satan rules supreme. Awesome times are awesome. What the hell is happening in music that has a spark with guitar players where they desire a fresh new exciting sound of their own? Heavy mother fucking Metal! Yes, Heavy Metal. The beast awakens. Marshall amps, long hair, cool moustache, humbuckers in yer Strat, can I palm mute on every song? Why yes you can. It’s happening and it’s happening now. Welcome to Hell.
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Problem. I want to sound like Brian Tatler. Help me Womba! What you be needing, good sir, is a Grease Box. Old school new school. The synthetic organic 100% solid state overdrive…fuzz. More midrange bite than what is good for you. Can’t cut through the mix? Blamo! No problemo. The Grease Box will make nipples erect at the drop of a hat with its most excellent sonic clarity and a vast supply of gain. I can’t hear you! Yes you can! I has Grease Box. Need volume? You got it. The Grease Box has lots and then a little more. It wouldn’t be Metal if it wasn’t loud. The Grease Box also features a state-of-the art LED status indicator. Is it on? Yes it’s on. I think I’m blind in my right eye. The future I see it. In the future people will have pedal boards. A whole board full of pedals! Crazy! The Greaser has a DC socket so when you are in the future you can glue it to a piece of ¾” ply and power it with the magic of a power supply. Awesome! I love it. I’ll take it. Can we watch some Christy Canyon movies now, please?
Greasing up your box.
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Okay so, gibberish aside. The Grease Box is a fuzz box that thinks it’s an overdrive. It has a lot of midrange cut and a good amount of clarity. It is responsive to pick attack so comes over as quite dynamic for a fuzz box. You’re not gonna get the transparency of a TS-808 or other such things; it is a fuzz box at heart. Remember that. It’s kinda like a Distortion + and extra gooey Tone Bender MKIV meeting somewhere in the middle. The ‘Level’ control has a linear taper so retains a good dose of the highs as it’s rolled off. The ‘Overdrive’ control will darken the tone somewhat as it’s rolled back. The nature of how both of these controls react will give you a lot more scope than you’d think from a two knob fuzz box. It’s Greasy, ay.
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Germandude, dude!