The JDM Hot Plate Fuzz is a modern take on the Tonebender Mk3 with a few extras. It features vintage PNP Germanium transistors and a voltage inverter to easily daisy chain other pedals.
The main mod to the original circuit is a passive mid-bump switch that thickens the tone and allows it to cut through a dense mix.
If you are wondering how the Tone knob affects the sound, we’ll let the builder answer that question for you:
The tone knob ranges from truly skanky early 60’s buzzfuzz to Led Zep thickness, and the mid control takes all of that to a subtly cool other place.
You can hear how it sounds in the videos below.
The Tonebender Legacy
The Tonebender MK3 is fuzz royalty. Essential to the guitar sound of 70’s UK Glam, it’s also the source of some of Jimmy Page’s iconic guitar tones, offers all the sustain and harmonic feedback you can dream of for guitar-driven rock styles, and has a texture that makes Stoner rock guitar amps exhale sweet clouds of fuzz. Less finnicky than a Fuzzface, it sounds great with humbuckers or single coils, with a balanced response across the guitar’s range, from chunky, brash lows to sustaining high notes.
Buzzaround-Sound
The TB MKIII is also very close in design (and sound, of course) to the famous “Burns Buzz-Around” pedal. This was Robert Fripp’s fuzz of choice for many years, and with our “mid boost” modification, the JDM Hot Plate offers a thick lead guitar sound with extremely long sustain that fits beautifully into the mix.
Purple Glam Power
We’ve given the Tonebender Mk3 circuit our own treatment, and dug into our stash of vintage Germanium to serve up our own version of this iconic fuzz. The JDM Elektrika does those MK1 tones with our added “Gate and “Tone” controls, and the “Vindicator” cover the brash, thick MK2 territory. The Mk3 took a while to find the right formula, and over time turned into “that pedal that always stuck to the test board”. It sounded great at rehearsals and always fit in the mix when recording. The “Aha!” moment came when we spliced in a passive mid bump circuit and that “little extra something” was suddenly there and working really well.
In our usual style, the JDM Pedals “Hot Plate” Fuzz is a true-to-vintage Tonebender MKIII, but with a few extras. We’ve taken it to the next level with a passive mid-bump switch to enhance the tone when you’re fighting traffic against drums, keys, and vocals competing for midrange space. Or just to thicken the tone up because you can.
The JDM Hot Plate uses vintage PNP Germanium transistors, but we’ve also added an analog voltage inverter on-board so you can daisy chain this fuzz with your other pedals running on +9vDC. Battery power is also possible, of course.
And it’s purple, because, well, purple.
