The Solar Bender starts
with a Level control that
has plenty of past-unity
wallop. Like a vintage
sound desk it sounds fatter,
wider and woolier as it is
cranked up, adding gain and
compression at maximum
volume. It then goes on to
a Bias control that changes
the texture and character
of the fuzz by adjusting
the transistor bias, from
mismatched zap and static
brrrraps to aligned planets
of searing sustain. The tone
knob has a perfect subtle
sweep, but I like it on the
brighter side to match the
clarity of my all-aluminum
EGC. I turn it all the way
up when I want a majestic
soaring Michael Rother
tone. He is a master of
musical moodscapes and
I was able to get scarily
close to his ‘70s Sterntaler
guitar sound with a Strymon
Dig set to Golden Ratio
repeats. As one might
expect, the Solar Bender
excels at searing sunrise
sustained lead tones—
particularly when the attack
is turned up. It could turn
the thinnest, tinniest wiry
dry tone into a fat sizzling
electro-storm-cloud of
harmonic sustain. Everything
blooms basking in the rays
of the Solar Bender.
WHAT WE LIKE
Beautiful functional
graphics, complete routing
flexibility and total tonal
control make for a scorcher
of a stompbox. I am also
happy to report that the
strange note disappearing
act that lesser MKII variants
all seem to exhibit from
time-to-time is wrung out
of this circuit. I had all but
given up on the fabled MKII
for my own uses until the
Solar Bender arrived on my
doorstep. Now I can soar
with my heroes when the
inspiration calls for it. The
Solar Bender also responds
amazingly well to guitar
volume and tone knob
tweaks. I love being able to
go on a Bender without fear
of repercussions.
CONCERNS
As with most fuzz circuits,
noise can be an issue with
higher gain amps, but the
noise floor on the Solar
Bender is much lower than
any others I have tried. In
fact it can be dialed out
completely with a little
patience. I recommend
using this box with lowto-medium gain preamps,
or, none at all. I love the
electrostatic feel of plugging
the Solar Bender straight
into a DAW with some
delay—a must-try.
ToneReport.com
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