JHS 1966 Italy Tone Bender Pedal

Classic Germanium Fuzz at Its Finest
The JHS 1966 Italy Tone Bender — a Sweetwater Exclusive — is a very limited edition classic germanium fuzz pedal, handwired by JHS owner Josh Scott using his own new-old-stock components. The classic "Tonebender" circuit of the 1960s, produced in Italy by a certain well-known English amplifier company, captured the tonal imaginations of a generation of electric guitarists. The earliest production runs were particularly aggressive sounding, while later versions sounded thicker and woolier. In the opinion of many players and engineers at Sweetwater, the JHS 1966 Italy straddles the middle ground; delivering a powerful — yet articulate — fuzz tone that's tweakable to suit a wide range of musical settings.





Each batch unique





Remaining true to the original, Josh employed high-grade carbon composition resistors, oversized capacitors, and two germanium transistors that he hand-matched to the circuit. Italy is being handcrafted in small batches — each of which will use different transistors (it's a challenge to find reliable sources of germanium transistors in larger quantities). The Italy is identical to the original except that Josh adjusted the taper of the pots to feel more intuitive. He also added a single power supply filter capacitor to help lower noise. The switching is true bypass. Each pedal will have an identical form factor; however, due to variables in component tolerances and a slight variance in the transistors, they will all be unique! The JHS 1966 Italy is an extremely Limited Edition — and it's only available at Sweetwater. Grab yours while you can!






Dirt and more dirt
Josh Scott designed the 1966 Italy to have a lower output than many fuzz boxes, so you'll typically have the volume near maxed, which is as intended. He also advises maxing out the Attack control as well and using your guitar's volume pot for gain control. As with most classic fuzz pedals, Italy sounds best with more dirt after it in the signal path — be it from an overdrive pedal or high-gain amp.
Note: The 1966 Italy circuit uses vintage positive ground voltage, so do not daisy-chain your power with other pedals. Inside the 1966 Italy is a battery snap, or you can use any isolated power supply with a normal-polarity power cable like your other pedals. Also, make sure to always have the Italy pedal first in your signal chain; due to the impedance it requires on its input, your guitar must be plugged into its input jack — no exceptions!




JHS 1966 Italy Tone Bender Features:

Sweetwater Exclusive Limited Edition
Classic germanium fuzz pedal based on classic "Tonebender" circuit of the 1960s
Powerful, articulate fuzz tone tweakable for a wide range of musical setting
Handwired by JHS owner Josh Scott using his personal NOS components
High-grade carbon composition resistors; oversized capacitors
2 germanium transistors, hand-matched to the circuit
True bypass switching





Tech Specs

Pedal Type: Germanium Fuzz
Analog/Digital: Analog
Inputs: 1 x 1/4"
Outputs: 1 x 1/4"
True Bypass: Yes
Features: Handwired by Josh Scott
Power Source: 9V DC Isolated power supply required (sold separately)
Batteries: 1 x 9V
Manufacturer Part Number: JHS 1966 Italy


THSS:www.music-blvd.com 399USD
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