soft and compressed
with the perfect give
and take between pick
attack and grit, and
the highs are present
without be harsh or
piercing the way some
Tone Benders can
be. Where the pedal
really shines is in the
midrange. While the
scooped nature of so
many fuzz pedals can
make your guitar fade
into the background,
the Mini Bender Mk
1.5 has just enough
midrange to sound
strong and up front in
the mix (especially at
higher Attack settings).
rhythm parts. As you
dial it higher you get an
increase in thickness,
sustain, mids, and
highs—all great things.
WHAT WE LIKE
Somehow, the Mini
Bender Mk 1.5 offers
serious gain with
virtually no noise. Even
with the gain control
at the max, there is
no notable hiss. And
the Mini Bender offers
much of the germanium
clean up without any
of the temperature
instability.
CONCERNS
Getting incredibly
picky, the “Formula
B” on the front edge
of the pedal is a nylon
decal. It’s possible that
it could peel off with
heavy use, but that’s
not really something
that would worry me.
Speaking of the
Attack control, it has
a surprisingly useable
range. I’m not sure
anyone will find a use
for the tones that occur
at the lowest settings,
but I found lots of great
tones from roughly 9:00
to full up. And I love
the way the EQ voicing
changes as you crank it
up—you get mellower
and darker tones in the
9:00 – 2:00 range, which
are great for riffs and
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