The Toetags Electronics Toe Bender MkII is a germanium fuzz pedal built as a homage to the Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional MkII, the circuit made from 1966 to 19681. It is a fuzz pedal in the classic three-transistor mold: the original MkII took the earlier two-transistor Tone Bender design and added an extra transistor gain stage at the front end, and that is the arrangement the Toe Bender recreates with new-old-stock parts12.
What it does
The Toe Bender MkII aims at the sound of the Sola Sound Professional MkII, and Premier Guitar's reviewer came away hearing it: the review's pros list reads "Authentic Tone Bender MkII tones. Fantastic touch sensitivity at lower settings."1 The circuit is tidy, point-to-point-wired on a piece of fiberboard roughly 1 1/2" by 3", and uses three new-old-stock germanium transistors of Japanese and German origin1. The review unit also carried an internal trimpot that Toetags' J.C. Royer says adjusts the bias and gating characteristics of the attack control1.
Size is part of the deal. The Toe Bender is about two-thirds the size of 1960s units, which the reviewer still called gargantuan next to most modern pedals1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level | Unity gain between 9 and 10 o'clock depending on the attack setting; past that it gooses the openness and complexity of the fuzz effect1 |
| Attack | Sets the fuzz amount; its bias and gating characteristics are adjustable via an internal trimpot1 |
The circuit it comes from
The MkII design the Toe Bender honors dates to 1966. As Guitar World's history of the Tone Bender puts it, describing the Sola Sound circuit: "It's the same kind of two-transistor circuit as a 1.5 or a Fuzz Face but with an extra gain stage at the front-end."23 Fuzzboxes.org's history agrees: the circuit closely resembles the earlier two-transistor Tone Bender, but the MKII has an extra transistor gain stage in front4. TONEHOME describes the Sola Sound MKII as a three-transistor circuit using OC75 transistors, based on the MK1.5 version with an additional amplifier gain stage5.
The original Professional MkII's transistors varied by production run. The MKII circuit featured three Mullard OC75 transistors, but the pedal was also made with three Mullard OC81D devices6. MusicRadar, in a piece on a modern MkII-style pedal, notes that the 1966 MkII "reverted back to a trio of germanium transistors, but with a crucial twist; the third transistor" acts as an extra gain stage at the front end of the circuit3.
Background and pricing
"Toetags Electronics' new Toe Bender MkII is a moderately priced homage to the legendary Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional MkII made from '66 to '68."
Questions
What is the Toe Bender MkII based on?
Premier Guitar describes it as a homage to the legendary Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional MkII, the three-transistor germanium fuzz made from 1966 to 1968. The original MkII circuit took the earlier two-transistor Tone Bender design and added an extra transistor gain stage at the front end, which is the arrangement the Toe Bender MkII recreates with new-old-stock parts.
What transistors does the Toe Bender MkII use?
According to Premier Guitar's review, the Toe Bender MkII uses three new-old-stock germanium transistors of Japanese and German origin, wired point to point on a small piece of fiberboard. The original Professional MkII used three Mullard OC75 transistors, and some units were made with three Mullard OC81D devices instead.
Sources (6)
- Toetags Electronics Toe Bender MkII Review, Premier Guitar, 2016-09-22
- The history of the Sola Sound Tone Bender, Guitar World, 2021-03-26
- “A feral supernova awaits if you dime those dials”: EarthQuaker Devices Barrows Fuzz Attacker review, MusicRadar, 2025-11-12
- Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional MKII • Fuzzboxes, Fuzzboxes.org, 2021-05-18
- TONEHOME, TONEHOME - the World of Vintage Guitar Effects Pedals
- A Little History, www.stompboxes.co.uk, 2017
