Ibanez Tone Machine

The Ibanez Tone Machine is an Ibanez-branded version of the fOXX Tone Machine, an octave-up fuzz pedal made in California by fOXX, probably in 1975 to 1976¹. It is not a Japanese Ibanez product: TONEHOME describes it as an "Ibanez" branded fOXX Tone Machine, made in USA¹. It offers Fuzz and Octave in one box, with the octave control labeled "Octive"¹.

The pedal underneath the Ibanez name is one of the better-known American fuzzes of the 1970s. RockBoard's PedalPedia classifies the Tone Machine as a fuzz octaver and calls it "one of the most expressive and more extreme" fuzz boxes of its era². Players reach it today mostly through clones and reissues, because the Ibanez-branded units are among the rarest vintage pedals there are.

What it does and how it is controlled

The Tone Machine is an octave-up fuzz: a fuzz circuit with a switch that moves from standard fuzz to an octave-up fuzz, adding a note an octave above the fundamental³. Guitar Player's Barry Cleveland, reviewing the 2005 reissue, explained the effect as "octave as in adding an octave above the fundamental tone, a la 'Purple Haze,' which you do by flipping a sturdy" metal toggle switch⁵.

The Ibanez version carries the same feature set: Fuzz and Octave controls, with the octave control spelled "Octive" on the enclosure¹. Gearnews called the circuit "super simple"⁴.

Who made it, and where it came from

The design traces to Steve Ridinger Associates. The original fOXX Tone Machine dates to 1971, made by Ridinger Associates Inc of Chatsworth, California, and produced through the early to mid 70s, with a reissue in the 2000s³⁶. The Ibanez Tone Machine was made in California by fOXX, probably 1975 to 1976¹.

Gearnews reported in 2019 that there are apparently four prototype pedals labeled with the Ibanez brand instead of Foxx, and that a deal must have fallen through, so the Ibanez-branded version never got off the ground⁴. At the time, the shop Overkill music was selling one of them on Reverb⁴.

Ibanez itself is the brand of the Hoshino Trading Company, which Kit Rae's history of fuzz clones notes began having clones of Gibson and Fender guitars made in Japanese factories and distributed worldwide⁷. The Tone Machine, though, is an American-built OEM product rather than one of those Japanese-made Ibanez effects.

The Ibanez No. 91 Tone Machine

A closely related pedal is the Ibanez No. 91 Tone Machine, made by fOXX in California in 1974 to 1975⁸. TONEHOME identifies it immediately as a Steve Ridinger Associates made fOXX Tone Machine with a mere OEM branding, and notes that it is listed as a regular production model by the full name of "Ibanez No. 91 Tone Machine"⁸. It and its siblings, the Ibanez No. 90 Fuzz & Wa and a Wah & Volume model, are described as being as rare as hens' teeth today⁸.

How it differs from the Foxx original

The circuit is the same; the difference is branding and rarity. The Foxx original came in a big range of colors, with purple, blue and red the most popular and white and US stars-and-stripes versions the rarest of all³. The Ibanez-branded units are rarer still, with five known to TONEHOME¹.

The Tone Machine's influence outlasted the original. Premier Guitar's reviewer noted that the circuit has been cloned or near-cloned many times, with subsequent incarnations including the Prescription Electronics Experience, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, MXR La Machine, Greer Super Hornet, and many DIY clone kits⁹. Aion FX sells a DIY project based on it¹⁰. Pedal of the Day notes it was used in the early 70s by Billy Gibbons and Peter Frampton¹¹, and Dave Hunter's Guitar Player history names Peter Frampton, Billy Gibbons and Adrian Belew as players associated with the Tone Machine¹¹.

Prices, then and now

The 2019 asking price for the Ibanez-branded prototype is in a different category from any production fuzz. Gearnews framed it plainly: "For the ridiculous price of $20320.55"⁴. For most players, the circuit is reachable through the reissue or the many clones rather than an original.

Questions