GUP Tech Tone Plier

The GUP Tech Tone Plier is a fuzz pedal from Canadian builder GUP Tech, based on the old Tonebender MK1.5 and MKII circuits¹. It runs on a matched set of real germanium transistors, the same class of parts that defined the original Sola Sound fuzz boxes of the 1960s, and it offers two voices in one box: an MK1.5 mode and an MK2 mode¹. GUP Tech describes it as one of their "pretty violent" fuzzes, with an easy two-knob setup¹. The maker's listed price is £77.00 GBP, as stated on the product page¹.

What the Tone Plier is and what it does

The Tone Plier is a two-knob germanium fuzz. Volume sets the output level and Attack sets the intensity of the fuzz, which GUP Tech calls an easy setup¹. The pedal's two modes come from the two vintage circuits it draws on. In the maker's own words:

So the MK1.5 side is the tighter, more controlled voice, while the MK2 side is the looser, fuzzier one¹.

The two circuits it borrows from are among the most influential fuzz designs ever built. The Tone Bender MK1.5 was, in the words of the fuzz history site Fuzzboxes.org, "an influential two-transistor fuzz box"², and MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley describes it as "a fuzz '60s classic that typically deployed a pair of germanium transistors in its circuit"³. The MKII that followed used germanium transistors in a different circuit design, as tru-fi's history of the Tonebender notes⁴, and Coda Effects' technical analysis puts it plainly: "The MK2 version used two germanium transistors to get fuzzy tones"⁵. Premier Guitar's Tom Hughes adds that the earliest versions of the Tone Bender used three germanium transistors, like the later MKIV⁶. The Tone Plier sits right in the middle of that family tree, with the MK1.5's pair of transistors on one side and the MKII's approach on the other.

Germanium transistors and why they matter here

GUP Tech specifies a "Real Germanium matched transistors set" for the Tone Plier¹. That matters for two reasons:

• Germanium parts are what the original Tone Benders used, and they clip and bias differently from the silicon transistors that replaced them in most later fuzzes⁶.
• Germanium transistors vary widely from unit to unit in gain and leakage, so matching them is how a builder gets consistent behavior out of a vintage-style circuit.

Other makers in the same territory make the same point: BLAMMO! Electronics, for instance, hand selects its NOS germanium transistors "for gain and leakage" for its own point-to-point Tone Bender MKII⁷.

Power and setup

The Tone Plier runs on 9V DC, center negative only, and draws just 2mA¹. That is a very light draw, so a single output on almost any pedalboard power supply will run it with room to spare. The center negative polarity is the standard for most modern pedals, but the maker's "only" is worth heeding: a center positive supply could damage it. No battery option is mentioned in the specifications.

• Voltage: 9V DC¹
• Polarity: Center negative only¹
• Current draw: 2mA¹
• Battery: Not listed in the maker's specifications¹

The Lab Series #30 Dual Tone Plier

GUP Tech also built the Tone Plier into a larger dual pedal. The Lab Series #30 Dual Tone Plier combines two circuits in one enclosure: the Germanium Tone Plier, based on the Tone Bender MKII and first in the chain, alongside the B(ee) Fuzz⁸. A send-return jack at the center lets you connect the two circuits in any order, and it is internally jumped when nothing is connected⁸. As the maker puts it, "If you can't decide between our Germanium Tone Plier or the versatility of the B(ee) Fuzz, our Lab Series #30 includes both"⁸.

How it compares to other Tone Bender takes

The Tone Plier is one of several modern pedals drawing on the MK1.5 and MKII circuits. The Brantone Electronics Tonemaster Mk1.5 Germanium Fuzz is a high end take on the same Tonebender type circuit, built tag-board style with Neutrik jacks and Alpha potentiometers⁹. In a video on the pedal, Just Nick named it his favorite version of the Tonebender fuzz for its expressiveness and versatility⁹. On the DIY side, General Guitar Gadgets offers its ToneBender Mark II Professional replica in PNP germanium, NPN germanium, NPN silicon, and PNP germanium with charge pump versions¹⁰, and GuitarPCB's Tonebender MKII board even suggests a hybrid build with a germanium Q1 and silicon Q2 and Q3¹¹. Within GUP Tech's own range, the Tone Plier's MKII side also appears in the Lab Series #30 alongside the GUP Tech Bee Fuzz⁸.

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