Guitarsenal: Bending Tones

For this edition of Guitarsenal, we are going to look into one of Jimmy's most notable guitar pedals, the Sola Sound Professional MK II

Many guitarists seem to think that their heroes have that one piece of gear, that one special guitar, or amplifier, or pedal that must be the secret to unlocking that elusive tone they hear on their favorite records. Jimmy Page has this with his guitar (a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard), his amps (Silvertones), and when it comes to pedals it is his Sola Sound Professional MKII.

The Tone Bender line of pedals was created by Gary Hurst around 1965. According to well circulated tales, the renowned session guitarist, Vic Flick (you might know him as the man who created the unforgettable James Bond riff) walked into a music shop in London and asked the owners, Larry and Joe Macari to obtain for him a better fuzz pedal than the Vox Maestro FZ-1. Hurst designed what later came to be called the Tone Bender MK I, and later came out with a MK 1.5. Eventually Hurst hit the sweet spot when he released his Professional MK II, a three transistor, germanium designed fuzz pedal.

Gary Hurst and a Tone Bender

Much in the same way that the 1958-1960 Gibson Les Pauls gained their notoriety, these pedals have been elevated to a higher plane by the guitarists who used them to record and play some of the most spectacular songs in the Rock and Roll pantheon. Among those guitarists are Eric Clapton (who used it during the recording of Cream's "Disraeli Gears" and of course, Jimmy Page.

The receipt for Jimmy Page's Tone Bender

 In an interview with "Hit Parader" magazine in 1968, Jimmy stressed the importance of his Tone Bender:  
"It's called a Tone Bender. I had somebody custom make it for me and I get 75% of my sound with it. It's very similar to a fuzzbox, but I can sustain notes for several minutes if I want to. It just has an on and off switch and it also has a fuzzy sound. It's not manufactured at all. A friend of mine made it by hand for me"

Jimmy Page in 1969, you can see the Tone Bender on the floor to the right

Jimmy used his Professional MK II Tone Bender extensively during his stint with the Yardbirds and in the early days of Led Zeppelin. This pedal can be heard on "Dazed and Confused", "How Many More Times", and "You Shook Me" all from the first Led Zeppelin album. Jimmy also used this pedal during live shows during Led Zeppelin's infancy, from 1968 until its final appearance at a show in Montreux, Switzerland on August 7th, 1971 (Jimmy brought it to the gig, and it was in his loop, but never actually used).

Jimmy's last seen use of his Tone Bender while in Led Zeppelin

Jimmy brought out this pedal again later in his career for the 1998 Page/Plant album "Walking into Clarksdale". Shortly thereafter, the pedal failed and was cast off, however in the documentary, "It Might Get Loud", Jimmy is clearly seen to be using a replica of his original Tone Bender. There is much speculation that the famed guitar tech, Roger Mayer, might have made modifications to Jimmy's Tone Bender, or replaced the circuitry entirely, but these have never been confirmed, and are apocryphal at best.

A still from the film "It Might Get Loud" you can see the Tone Bender replica on the right

There are many legends that swirl around about this particular pedal, and many boutique pedal makers have gone to great lengths to manufacture astounding replicas that could be had by all. One replica in particular that I think is probably the best facsimile out there of the real thing is the Hudson Electronics Stroll On, named appropriately for the Yardbirds tune that Jimmy played on. This is of course only my opinion and everybody has wildly divergent views about musical gear and especially vintage re-creations.

Hudson Electronics Stroll On

The Sola Sound Professional MK II Tone Bender is a fabulous pedal and has contributed much to the sound of that early blues rock movement coming out of England in the late 1960s. While I do acknowledge this fact, I can't stress enough however that at the end of the day a person's tone comes from their fingers primarily, and while having a Tone Bender in your effects chain may get you closer to sounding like Jimmy Page, no matter how hard you try or how close you may get, you will never be able to replicate it 100%.