DAM Professional MKII - Tone Bender MkII Replica

Submitted on September 30, 2005

The D*A*M Professional MKII is a rebuild of the mighty Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional MKII that was produced between 1966 and 1968. The D*A*M MKII is the only straight on exact replica that D*A*M produce and with good reason too. The Sola Sound Tone Bender MKII basically needs no improvement!! With the right kind of set-up it is one of the finest sounding British fuzz boxes ever made. Our MKII is a part for part sound for sound recreation of an original Sola Sound made pedal. Several vintage MKII's and Supa Fuzzes (A Marshall branded MKII) have been used as reference to fine tune and perfectly replicate the exact tone of an original vintage MKII.

Your MKII will be fitted with high quality British made Mullard,Philips,NKT(Newmarket)germanium transistors to ensure the same lush fuzz tones that the originals have. Your MKII will usually be fitted with a trio of OC75's but I have used many different Mullard types in the past including OC71, OC78D, OC82D, OC84 and when available the legendary OC81D's. Good quality germanium transistors certainly don't grow on trees hence the necessity to have to switch from one type to another. Our store listings will state the transistors used in a said pedal or if you are on a wait list for MKII I can inform you of the parts to be fitted for a particular up coming wait list.

These pedals are built like the original units and therefore do not feature a power socket or a LED indicator. This classic fuzz box sounds far superior when running from battery juice and has very little current drain so a DC socket is not necessary. The use of Zinc battery types is highly recommended. A no hassle battery drawer is fitted to make that battery change over a breeze. As for the lack of a LED indicator?...well you'll know when this beastie is on that's for sure!!

Your D*A*M MKII is as close as you can get sonically and construction wise to owning the real thing but of course minus the heavy duty price tag, it would be considered very reasonable to pay £800+ for a real MKII. The Vox badged MKIIs have been known to change hands for around the £1'200 mark! Your D*A*M MKII has the exact same parts values as the original units and does prefer to be used with vintage voiced pick-ups. Modern high output humbuckers will work perfectly well but you may experience a slight loss in output level on the fuzz tone when compared to your clean tone. Single coil or PAF style humbuckers are recommended. Just like the original Sola Sound Made MKII's the D*A*M MKII uses British made germanium transistors. These devices are carefully selected to create the exact tonal character and break-up of the original Sola Sound made units. Ero Vishay & BC Components capacitors are also used along with Carbon film resistors to help create the true sound and experience of a real 1960's MKII.

The DAM Professional MKII features...

High quality gain selected trio of germanium transistors that are correctly set up to produce a bold clear dynamic tone with a good amount of sustain. A set of OC75's are just always used but will vary depending on stock levels and availability.
High grade parts including Ero Vishay metallised polyester film capacitors, BC components Electrolytic capacitors, carbon film resistors, Audio grade Alpha potentiometers, Daka-ware Chicken head knobs and Cliff jack sockets.
A heavy duty UK made cast aluminium enclosure finished in a highly durable stove enamelled hammer tone paint job.
An easy access tool free slide out battery drawer that makes battery change overs a breeze.
Low noise circuitry featuring the heavy use of internal shielded cable, short signal paths and single point grounding.