TB-2w Tone Bender (Waza Craft)

The TB-2W is Boss's recreation of the 1966 Sola Sound Tone Bender MkII, the germanium fuzz that Jimmy Page used on Led Zeppelin I and Jeff Beck wielded throughout the Yardbirds era. It's an unusual Waza Craft release: not a reissue of a Boss pedal, but a ground-up build of a classic British fuzz.

Three germanium transistors provide the gain staging, carefully selected for the warm, thick fuzz character that made the original Tone Bender legendary. The circuit is sensitive to guitar volume: roll back for gritty crunch, dig in for full fuzz saturation. Standard mode delivers the vintage Tone Bender MkII voice. Custom mode adds more sustain and a slightly fatter low end.

Level, Tone, and Fuzz controls in the compact Boss format. At 60mA it draws more current than most analog fuzzes due to the elaborate discrete circuit. Temperature affects germanium transistors, so the tone shifts slightly as the pedal warms up, just like the original.