Stone Bender MKII Pro operating instructions.
We hope you enjoy the the ThroBak Stone Bender MKII Pro. Below is a rundown of the features that we feel
make the Stone Bender MKII one of the most versatile Tone Bender Clones on the market.
Level Knob: This knob increases the volume level of the effect when rotated clockwise.
Attack Knob: This knob increases the level of fuzz when rotated clockwise. Increased noise with clockwise
rotation is normal.
For internal trim pot adjustment refer to the instructions below.
No adjustment is usually necessary to the
internal trim pots. Although it is somewhat guitar and amp dependent, play with the pedal for several
days before considering any internal adjustments
. The level, attack and pre gain switch offer a wide variety
of tones once you get familiar with them.
1. The Pre Gain input trim pot is label TR1 on the circuit board. The Pre Gain trim is set to work well as an
overdrive when used with humbucking pickups as well as many single coils. Activating the switch increases
low note clarity when the pre gain pot is properly adjusted. This trim pot is activated into the circuit when the
switch on the top front center is in the left side position. When the switch is to the right the pre gain pot is
bypassed.
Before making any adjustment make sure this switch is pushed to the left, the effect LED is on, the level
adjustment all the way up and the attack all the way down (counter clockwise) your amp is on low volume and
your guitar is connected. With the back open, locate TR1. Rotate the pot while playing on open low E or A on
the guitar. Turn the pot from left to right and notice the change it makes in the character of the played notes.
Adjust until the desired note clarity is reached.
2. The transistor bias trim pot is labeled TR2 on the circuit board. My own personal advice is don’t adjust this.
It is preset to the “correct” bias voltage. In reality other voltages will work fine and will subtlety change the
character of the pedal. So this is your call. As a general rule rotating the pot clockwise will loosen the character
of the distortion and counter clockwise rotation will tighten the character of the distortion. As with the Pre Gain
trim pot adjustment and experiment while playing the guitar.
3. On the lower right side the color switch this is a new feature that when in the up position changes the color
of the tone. This setting is useful to take some of the edge off the fuzz tones.
About Batteries and power supplies:
WHEN THE BATTERY IS NOT IN USE WRAP A PIECE OF TAPE AROUND THE 9 VOLT BATTERY
TERMINAL TO AVOID THE RARE POSSIBILITY OF A SHORT.
The best sound and lowest noise operation will come from cheap dollar store 9 volt non alkaline batteries like
the one included with the pedal. The down side to these cheaper batteries is that they are more prone to leakage
when they get old. So one must make sure that old batteries are removed. When using batteries be aware that
