Fulltone Soul-Bender vs 69 fuzz guitar pedal shootout

[2001imsofly]

no u suck to me revereb is awesome

[mig1x]

i like the soul bender thanks

[bernab]

I love my Fulltone Soul Bender SB2. In fact, with a combination of MXR Phase 90> Volume Pedal > Fulltone Soul Bender >Reverb> Palmer Pocket Amp, I can emulate many parts of the Steve Hackett sounds and solos of Genesis from 1973 to 1977. Of course, Digitech Whammy DT or Electro Harmonix POG 2 for "Octivider sounds". Definitevely i like Fulltone Soul Bender, even more than my also lovely Big Muff.

[slugpumper1]

69 by a million miles - clear and crunchy - lovely grit and bite - the Soul Bender is a bucket of mud.

[LesterPaul01]

Where's the clean sound??

[JoePickel14]

definitly the 69 :D

[dirtyTony666]

Hi GMD,

thanks for sharing this great vid!! can you please tell what year is the 69 ??

[kennykanowski]

both sound like shit so does your original tone

[axeslinger013]

@kennykanowski I have to agree about the "Original-Tone" comment, but the Soul-Bender has a lot better BALLZ than the other, IMHO.

[Danthehorse]

Dude, demo-ing vintage type fuzzes.... play singlecoils!

[PopExpo]

@Danthehorse can't agfree you more........ i think he's more a Gibson dude anyay go figure

[iVai777]

Both of these pedals are coming back! WOOO!

[klepetar]

not still makin' the soulbender..

nice burb

[AviatorAndyK]

what music is that in the beginning?

[muellator]

this guy sounds like Jack Black

[brian71184]

Thanks! ;)

[NotveryevilTobi]

Hey GMD, maybe you should've put the right pedal on the right side ;-)

[spyants]

you must've burped through a reverb pedal, that'll help reverb pedals not to suck anymore :D

love ur reviews gearmandude/J Black or whoever u are!

[corosian]

Reverb does not suck, but the way you say it always makes me think about it lol

[karl198]

GMDs got R.L Burnside playin' as intro music! Awesome :D

[gangtwanger]

Roy Buchanan sure didn't think reverb sucked, and neither do I. Love that old-school Fender reverb.

[gangtwanger]

Try telling the millions of fans of SRV, Dick Dale, the Beach Boys, the Ventures, Keith Richards, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, and The Edge that reverb sucks. I think you'll find they disagree just like I do. Nothing beats that reverb you get from a '60's Fender amp. Even the reverb on my US-made Hot Rod Dlx sounds pretty-damn-good since I put in better tubes (That's a great midsized workhorse-amp, especially if you replace the stock speaker with a good alnico-magnet-type one - Smoothes it out).

[mistad00m]

@gangtwanger

i like delay and chorus more than reverb, though they are all great effects.

[chillichickenbones1]

you sound like jack black lol

[Isae3]

i own both .. and think the soul bender sound way much better then the 69 ..

turn the inner trimpot almost all the way up and it will growl , not sing , GROOOWL !!

it has a fantastic sounding attack ,and the sustain is awesome !! and you can turn your guitars volume down and you can get both clean sounds and a overdriven sound .. soul bender forever !

[AhmadHassanMusic]

Jack Black...Jack Black...Jack BLAAAAAAAAACK!!!

[jbmannon]

Fulltone soulbender vs throbak stonebender with same zeppelin tunes to judge by?

[jbmannon]

How about a fulltone soulbender vs throbak stone bender? Who else wants to see this throwdown?

[axeslinger013]

@jbmannon "I do"!!!.....Soul-Bender all the way!

[axeslinger013]

Respond to this video... "It's hard to beat the FULLTONE SOUL-BENDER...one bad FUZZ" !!!!

[Ncuab]

69 - rounder sounding

Soul Bender - has more treble

[hardasmum]

REVERB SUCKS!? Indeed it does! So many of the demos on here the guys have their amps drowning in reverb. How the hell can you tell what it sounds like?

Brian complains that the DR Z is breaking up, that's how I'd run my amp pre fuzz too, practical comparison. Gearmanndude rocks it again.

[skurtix]

You should do a demo where you demo reverb-pedals, preferrably more than one stacked into the other for pure reverb! :)

[mikeduckworth77]

Great video but I can assure you that Reverb does not SUCK!!! Just listen to the Beatles "I Feel Fine" or any cool surf tune. Blanket generalized statements like "Reverb Sucks" are what really suck!! Anyway, thanks for all the gear videos!

[Noseheros]

@mikeduckworth77 He was joking...

[goerge4]

the burp..was it coming out of the '69?

[Erock09291]

reverb sucks. i agree :)

[theoseopath]

I love when he says..."Ok...Clean Tone..." and its all crunch..LOL

[brent01b]

Fulltone sure does make a hell of a product. I already got a aoul bender. Wish I could find a 69 somewhere. Gearmanndude, your my hero! Ha

[bassandguitargreg]

eh..... still love the Hendrix Octavio sound and the Fuzz factory :)

[pavel108108]

Soul-bender sounds 2x better :)

[mikante]

Salute!

[Jeetkunow]

Soul Bender is BAAAAAAAD ASSSSSSS! I'm gonna still buy both you never know when a girl might come over and want to hear my fuzz collection. No for real Soul Bender dudes and dudetts.

[1PSYTEX1]

dude, you sound like jack black!

[barbwirebats]

Reverb sucks?? Thats because the crappy clean tone that he amazinging found with a good amp. Reverb with any crappy tone will suck.

[NewOscarGuy]

all reverb sucks...

[brian71184]

This has got to be the worst comparison I've ever seen. His "clean" tone is the amp well past the point of tube breakup. He sets the pedals to some unison settings as opposed to setting them where they sound gravy. However anyone with half an ear such as this guy can gather that the soulbender is more for musicians and the 69' more so for wankers. Enjoy!

[luizyoung]

@brian71184, fuzz pedals sounds better in the breakup point. 

[brian71184]

@luizyoung To quote myself " well past the point of tube breakup" opinions are subjective. I was merely stating mine. I personally love fuzz on a clean twin reverb with the amp set at about 4...which is clean but loud. When doing a demo of pedals it should be set relatively clean so you can tell the pedals characteristics. Love gearmandude, this demo just didn't seem to help anyone choose IMO as opposed to his other demos. He was probably drinking, so was I when I left the comment. Cheers!

[dcmak5]

@brian71184

weird comment... you don't know what you're talking about

they're similar circuits. one has a different audible texture than the other.

nothing to do with musicianship, dinkus...

[hiway52]

I like 'em both but I'm with you GMD- I prefer the '69... seems to cut thru a bit more while the soul bender sounds a little mushy-

BTW why the hell are tonebender clones such a big deal nowadays?? Anyone?

[atli94]

'cause the tonebender is a forever legendary pedal that is perfect for jimmy page sounds... wich millions of people like

[imasspeons]

And the '69 is based on the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, perfect for Jimi Hendrix sounds... "wich millions of people like"

[atli94]

also that. but he was talking about tonebenders

[joe44850]

I'm not too crazy about any of these sounds, but this video is hillarious

[TTmaniax]

Reverb sucks?

I'm supposed to believe what a guy who owns four OCD pedals is telling me? Haha.

Go get a real Fender Reverb instead of using that flavor of the month Doc Z junk. That ain't a Marshall, dude. Geez.

[lexist7]

hahaha. gearmanndude is going to school you.

[TTmaniax]

Gear man dude should spend more time practicing instead of testing out more gear that will always be second to the sound of success: Marshall.

Dr Z? What a pile of shit mate.

[lexist7]

Marshall? I love a good marshall but man. Dr. Z's are great amps. Never heard of Brad Paisley then I guess.

anyway, juding from your home page, not many people seem to like you. so i'll spare you the argument.

[TTmaniax]

Dr. Z makes an amp that plays second fiddle to Marshall, so what's the point?

This guy (jack black) seems to think reverb sucks but he has tons of other sub standard gear in his reviews, so why should I take his opinion on anything?

And no, when I'm on the computer, I don't get along with anybody.:)

[lexist7]

yeah, seems like it. you're entitled to your opinion though.

enjoy your marshalls man. z's are for vox-type people. it's more of a hot-rodded AC.

but when you're watching GMD's videos, it's universal - REVERB SUCKS. outside GMD world, a little is okay. Anyway, none of your marshalls come with reverb anyway. atleast none of the good ones.

[TTmaniax]

Vox is to thin and trebly in the back of the room. That's why I'm saying they play second fiddle, like most all other amps.

Says GMD reverb sucks. A simple case of USER ERROR.

[lexist7]

what kind of music do you play anyway?

[TTmaniax]

Only the good kind...lol

Mainly blues and classic rock along with some R&B and some originals.

How bout you?

I'm only complaining about the reverb comment because I felt the same way for a long time until I tried a real fender standalone reverb tank. After that, I was sold and won't gig without it.

[lexist7]

same here!

ok then. be nice now! :)

[jobefrosh]

It's not Jack Black for one and Marshalls are fine for one tone and one tone only. They fail at clean and there's about 1000 pedals that can not only mimic Marshall tone but IMO do a better job at it.

See: Rothwell Hellbender

[TTmaniax]

Marshalls have a plethora of tones to select from, so your one sided viewpoint can be easily dismissed.

They are excellent in clean channel, especially the amps using KT66's and 6550's, but I doubt you ever tried those to be able to genuinely comment.

And the thousand pedals that mimic Marshall tone do just that, mimic something greater.

See: Marshall Plexi.:)

[aektzis91]

marshall suck these days

[SamuelAging]

Marshall amps......

Never played one I liked. They are all thin and harsh.

Probably some good ones out there but EVERY Fender I've ever played has sounded a million times better than any Marshall.

I'll take the Dr Z over any Marshall anyday.

Just my op

[TTmaniax]

Dr Z and Marshall ain't even in the same class.

If you played a Z like a Marshall it'd go up in smoke. Couldn't take it.

Face it losers, Marshalls rule.

[PBasser84]

@TTmaniax-Marshall is a major player in the amplification market, no doubt, however their amps don't appeal to every one. It's just a matter of personal taste.

[screamingsymphony]

reverb sucks... jajajaj this guy rules....

[yes9310]

Also, the SB can clean up nicely but even cleaned up, you can still hear more hair than the 69 which really cleans up and the Bias and Contur and go from very trebly to fat and raunchy as you want. Not to the degree of the SB but as much as you'd ever need to do Jimi sounds. SB think Trower majestic along with a Deja Vibe as he did use on on his 2006 tour and it kicks all ass. Both are must haves and completely unique from each other.

[yes9310]

Thanks for the great demo! I have both and I know what you mean about setting them is tough. For example, to get more treble from the SB you have to turn the tone knob to the left instead of right or it gets darker as your turn CW. The 69 is perfect for slow version Voodoo Chile, Red House, in D etc. and SB is balls to the wall high gain but very smooth and velvety! Mine has NKT-275 x 3 in the SB and 2 snall top hat type in the 69 which was one of the last produced before Mike ran out. SB is 03.

[phatsound1]

Reverb does suck most of the time, right on. Reverb make's your tone hide ,smaller and generic. Totally kills your tone and dynamics. Not for say dick dale ,but Hendrix never used reverb.

[sixbladeknife44]

Soulbender uses NKT275's. It would sound a lot better if this demo were into a clean amp IMO. Fuzzfaces are great into a dirty amp, but MKIII's like the Soulbender not so much...

[PMcG6]

Soul Bender sounds sweet! Anyone know which germanium transistors were used in it?

[BSASDaVinci]

Your "clean sound" is an already overdriven sound. I would like to hear the pedals on a really CLEAN amp. To hear what they really sound like on their own... Just my opinion.

[GoodGawd]

Reverb sucks? Makes as much sense as 1:23

[MyManDan]

hell yeaaaa! REVERB SUCKS!!! AMEN MAN!

[zacharybroyles]

I wish i hadn't sold my Soul Bender :/

[guitarskater11]

Which pedal could get me closest the Cornish NG-2?I really don't want to pay $500 for that pedal.

[infernalhammer]

Good question about the Cornish NG-2. However you're looking at closer to $750 to $1000.

[bopplayer]

Frantone Sweet

[metallijames]

gearmanndude, what the fuck?

why do you seem to have every piece of guitar related gear i want? :(

i want a firebird. :)

[MistahhB]

Reverb owns tho :)

[tdawg0993]

how does the '69 fuzz differ from the '70 fuzz?

[LuisWahWah]

I believe that the 70 has silicone trannys and the 69 has germanium

[tdawg0993]

o cool, so how does the sound differ then?

[nenad1974]

Silicone has much more gain. Germanium is more transparent, cleans up nicely by rolling off the volume knob of the guitar. Hendrix used both : germanium around 67, silicone later.

[tdawg0993]

o cool, thanks!

[coughlintm]

in my opinion if you want a silicon fuzz the 70s fuzz is not my cup of tea. i really dislike the sound. get an mi audio gi or neo fuzz they own!

[sexpistolio]

reverb SUCKS!! It IS fact! my vote for Soul-bender...

[animalmother4]

how do you say reverb sucks when your name is sex pistol. sex pistols played with mad reverb.

[sexpistolio]

i don't care if they do, i don't like it.

[CaseySweetFace]

they both sound like shit, might wanna add some reverb.

[soren650]

you sound like Jack Black :)

[GuernB2]

the like the 69, it has ,ore hair on its nuts

lulz

[GuernB2]

i like the sould bender

it has more hair on its nuts

lulz

[oicsaywhat]

I agree reverb sucks,, nice demo I have the 69 myself and its my secret weapon

[bossmxr1]

dude, you rock. Your clean sound sounds like my dirty sound............LOL

[georgie4790]

sorry for double posting but the soul bender is just great it almost sounds like your playing 2 different guitars both on slightly different tones soul bender rocks!!!

[georgie4790]

love the soul bender that was my 11th pedal and i have 11

[retroman360]

k ive got a Line 6 Spiderjam, a Telecaster, a MXR phase 90, a DS-1 distortion, a DD-7 delay and a zakk wylde wah. what order should i put them in??? please help!

[bartboop]

Noisiest to cleanest is usually the best configuration to start out with. 1. Wah 2. Distortion 3. phase 4. delay I don't know what a spider jam does so I can't help you with that one. You can move them around if you like. generally the wah is always first, and he delay last.

[snubbs741]

soultone way fuzzier

[MarkDChapmanJr]

Two exellent pedals, I've tried them both out.

The '69 gave great Mick Taylor- Stones type tones.

The Soul bender nailed some great early Page tones, Heartbreaker really comes to mind.

Both are worthy pedals!

[ZRN959]

small pointless question: The Big Muff Pi is silicone or germanium?

[marker853]

silicon

[DiabeticYumYum]

reverb kicks ass!

[tweezyfosheezy]

what!? reverb sucks no ur boots suck

[IronDoll2]

GMD's boots are awesome man

[alanna55]

I have both. there is a way to set the soul bender to sound way different . Adjust the inside pot and keep the tone knob all the way to the right. Then you will be treated to the best singing lead tone I've ever heard. Also, The pedals would sound about 100% better if you didnt have them inline with each other. For some reason both of those pedals are more sensitive to that that any other germ based pedals i've had. The soul bender sounds way, way better if it is guitar,SB,amp

[NirvanaRockz]

The '69 is warmer but the Soul-Bender has more hair. Both pedals sound great but I think the Soul-Bender suits me more. I own a Analogman NKT 275 which is probably better than the '69. Both sound similar but i'm looking for a pedal that's a tad more wooly and less warm and controlled.

[TSchwarzendorfer]

1:34 clean sound?

[roccotanto]

gearmanndude is the man!

[SilverSkyline92]

why do you say reverb sucks?

[gearmanndude]

just a joke...I used marshall's for so long, that I just got used to never having reverb, and I still never use it, even on my amps that do have it...no offense meant to reverb...well....maybe just a little !

ROCK ON!

GMD

[fjlorente]

the 69 sounds way better!!

[britishhistoryz]

u sound like jack black

[Rugbymalcolm47]

fucken red neck

[gergface21]

you spelled fuckin wrong moron

[gearmanndude]

it's okay...I am a redneck...with a huge penis.

GMD

[sebm89]

you should drink beers before every demo! :P

[gearmanndude]

I think I do! Beer is good for your tone...

ROCK!

GMD

[sebm89]

Thats why i never play with out!

you should make a sweet sounds mojo vibe (rip) vs effectrode tube vibe!

Sebm

[playthecray]

I agree that the 69 is the better pedal, and besides the name is cooler.

[bopplayer]

GMD...funy video. You always come across nicely..like you are hanging out...fun watching..i'd like to have a beer or ten with you.

[jimmyjubejube]

reverb does not suck :P

[Junnage]

Most reverb on amps suck. The only amps that I like the reverb on would be the Fender Twin Reverb

[fjlorente]

i agree the twin's reverb is awesome!!

[Miikaleksi]

I don't care what you guys might say to this, but my AC30's reverb is great!

[RocketRacer]

wouldn't a clean tone be better for these pedal "shootouts"?

[meinshnake]

not necessarily... if it was a clean tone you wouldnt really hear much of a difference

[RocketRacer]

i'd beg to differ. a lot. but i really would rather not argue on youtube.

[lexist7]

some people think fuzzes generally sound better driving an amp that's already cooking. :)

[RocketRacer]

yes indeed. it does sound good. for comparison's sake, though, it's a bit easier to contrast them against a cleaner tone. that's all.

[lexist7]

agreed.

[Stratman78]

Hmmm.... I don't know! I think both pedals are fantastic, but it seems like the Soulbender has a little more 'oomph' to it.

But then again, I do love fuzz pedals.

[njonasgirl101]

You really do sound like Jack Black!

[kakakkotmensch]

the soulbender sounds bit like the univoxsuperfuzz

i will built both of them, the 69 and the soulbender.

yeah reverb sucks!!

rock on dude.

we all love you jabbles:D

[sexpistolio]

i like soulbender more

[yohy86]

Reverb does suck....this guys sounds like jack black

[scumcity14]

damn straight it was R.L. Burnside with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. From Asspocket of Whiskey album

[kwassacape]

Hi,

What song are you using in the into?

-Lucas.

[gearmanndude]

can't remember, but it sounds like some of the RL Burnside stuff he did with John Spencer...but I could be wrong...it would not be unlike me to be wrong...

ROCK!

GMD

[cream68]

soul bender wins...by the default that i like it

[Inzehambay]

hehe

you sound like jack black

great vid

souldbender all the way bluuuud

[Jamieakamusekid]

haha!! i was thnking exactly the same thing about jack black

[kissochbajslovski]

Haha what's up with the shoe?

[Flornmonk]

May I ask why you hate reverb so much?

[gearmanndude]

too many years with a marshall head and cab...just got used to never having reverb, and jokingly like to say how much I hate it...but you know...we all hate what we don't understand

ROCK!

GMD

[sonicdeath2]

REVERB RULES GEAR MAN DUDE!!!!!!

[gearmanndude]

but, you're wrong...it sucks...

GMD!!

[Relayer1968]

I like you gearmandude, but you insulted reverb and that really hurt my guitars feelings...

jk nice demo

[fierypenguin311]

nice boots lol

[bsuite123]

Jack! you can't hide with that voice! LOL!

big fan!

[mheldo]

Reverb does indeed suck...

Dr Z Maz 18's are great.

I dig both pedals!

[srvfan79]

Soul-Bender!

... but I dig red color. Choosing one is too difficult!

[stratoman686]

I couldn't help but notice at the end of the video. Your shoe was to the left of the pedals, but your hand was to the right of the pedals. Basically you just put your boot over there to make the video look better, right?

[gearmanndude]

you are correct! or are there two of me?

GMD

[tubeampguy]

I like both pedals. By the way REVERB does not suck!

[blahman178]

JACK YOU ROCK!

[dreadnought93]

im gonna have to agree with you the 69 sounds alot better than the soul-bender. much better tone to it.

[axisboldas]

Reverb DOES suck, I love you.