Boutique Pedal Manufacturers: TomKat Pedals

There aren’t many pedal manufacturers in Brooklyn (the cost of housing certainly doesn’t  attract small businesses), but at our recent Stompbox Exhibit we had the chance to familiarize with a really interesting boutique one, called Tomkat Pedals. The company seems dedicated to rei-imagining classic fuzz circuits and incorporating some more modern modifications to them. Their newest design is the Bender fuzz, their take on the venerable Sola Tonebender Mk II (considered by many one of the very first guitar pedals).

The Bender features increased low end and germanium transistors, as well as a ‘Texture’ knob to tweak the bias on one of the transistors in the circuit. Also featured in this design is increased output over the original Tonebender. Standard ‘Fuzz’ and ‘Level’ controls are present, manipulating the amount of input gain and output volume, respectively.

Any player who is a fuzz faithful would do well by checking out the items that Tomkat has to offer. This is another company breaking new ground and building on classic ideas, while producing beautiful looking pedals. – Brandon Stoner