There is always something about the 60's & 70's that makes musicians and purists draw breath and let out that long sigh about the sounds that were the essence of today's music. Today there are many who criticise the digital age and all its possibilities, back in the early seventies if you could not afford, nor had the space to use, a Marshall Stack, a Vox AC30 or fender Twin, all driven into overload then Sola Sound in London, England offered the Supatonebender. Here we have a brief look at this simple but effective unit and what it could offer the bedroom to Church Hall guitarist.
The product featured is an original early 1970's unit, totally untouched and owned since new by the reviewer. What it offers is a combination of Sustain, Overdive (distortion) and Fuzz (a sort of distortion of the tone, rather than just being overdriven). This unit excels the limits required by anybody, it could be described as crude yet lovable, it delivers beyond expectations and certainly more than you should ever desire. the sustain if cranked to maximum would see you play one note into the next song quite comfortably. it is not a subtle unit, it could not be used continuously for fear of driving your audience to the ear clinic, but if used with constraint would enhance those solos which are longed for at low volume when practicing, or in a small gig environment. It is simple in design and robust in construction. A 9v battery operates the unit via a stomp on/off switch. The three pots are self explanatory and all interact with each other, thereby offering sustain, overdrive or both. these units were reissued in the recent past and because of this the original ones are fetching high prices.