"While it draws inspiration from a Tone Bender, it's versatile enough to be seen as a classic fuzz— and we're using that term positively: A review of the Electro-Harmonix Bender Royale."] - Guitar | Technique

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What is it?

(Image credit: Future/Phil Barker)

The Tone Bender, that classic British fuzz pedal born in the mid-’60s, was produced in several variations and under several different brand names back in the day, a practice that still continues as pedal companies bring out new creations based on the vintage circuitry.

Standard Volume and Fuzz knobs are still present, but you get individual Treble and Bass knobs, rather than a single Tone control. There’s also a Bias knob to adjust the input bias voltage of the fuzz circuit, and a Blend knob that gives you the full fuzz sound when set at its maximum but will blend in some dry sound as you roll it back.

A Fat switch brings in more low-end and middle frequencies, plus you also get a switch offering two biasing diode options for the final germanium transistor fuzz stage.

PRICE: $149/£149

ORIGIN: USA

TYPE: Fuzz pedal

FEATURES: True Bypass, adjustable series impedance into the fuzz circuit, latching and momentary footswitch action

CONTROLS: Volume, Fuzz, Treble, Bass, Bias, Blend, Fat On/Off, Clip (Ge/LED) switch, internal impedance trimmer, bypass footswitch

CONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard output

POWER: 9V DC adaptor (supplied) 12mA

DIMENSIONS: 70 (w) x 111 (d) x 50mm (h)

Electro-Harmonix

Usability and sounds

Electro-Harmonix Bender Royale – the feature-packed fuzz pedal is finished in a black enclosure with orange graphics/text, and is photographed here in warm tones against a wooden background. — (Image credit: Future/Phil Barker)

Plugging in the pedal, its Tone Bender DNA is immediately apparent and it comes with two distinct but equally useful voices via the Fat switch, which transforms the leaner basic sound to something thicker and closer to the sound of our vintage Mk II Professional.

The other toggle switch provides a more subtle change, with the LED option endowing a rougher edge to the sound than that of the smoother Ge setting.

That’s four combinations available right there, but you can then adjust the Bias knob, which has the most conventional Tone Bender voicing around noon and which can also dial in gated and sputtery (although not too extreme) drive-like crunch.

Add those very effective Tone knobs and the blend options, and you have great-sounding fuzz with extended flexibility.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★½

The Bender Royale may well be based on a Tone Bender – and it can certainly deliver that familial sound – but, with that expanded feature set, this Electro-Harmonix offering can also be considered as a generic fuzz, and we mean that in a good way.

Guitar World verdict: The simple fact is that this amount of user-adjustable variation in a fuzz pedal is a real treat, facilitating a wide range of everyday fuzz needs from thick and smooth to raspy and raucous – plenty of versatility for your ’board in a single compact pedal.