Skinpimp Handcrafted

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Fat Sound's Take

SkinPimp's 3OD is one of the best, non-clone, fuzz pedals you'll ever run your signal through. We love how wonderfully it manages to balance the out-of-control, special effect nature of dedicated, pure fuzz bombs with the easier going and more manageable nature of fuzzes like the best of the Big Muffs.

Highest Gain level settings yield fuzz tones requiring a mildly adept fuzz control technique if you want to keep things truly under control.......putting you right on that wonderfully adrenalin rush inducing, knife's edge of huge, lard laden distortion that begs you to miss a step so that the 3OD's trio of NKT transistors are momentarily free to open a tiny whole in the net that is your safety zone......just large enough for you to suddenly slip through and, much as Alice discovered via her local rabbit hole, leaves you bewildered in an unfamiliar and frightening world of pure chaos. At this point you have to decide whether you are a creative genius or floundering completely out of your element. Do you find inspiration and revel in a moment of otherworldly, spiritual channeling or do you quickly kill your guitar's volume and regroup?

Most fuzz pedals that offer this sort of slippery slope quickly become tiresome because they refuse to be reigned in. The 3OD, however, has almost as many personalities as Sybil. With a slightly lower Gain control setting even the least fuzz adept player will feel snug and secure in the MKII's gloriously thick, almost refined addition to their rhythm work....even aided in their lead work by the pedal's thick fluidity.

An even lower setting of the 3OD's gain control....say around 11:00....and your pristine clean platform is pushed into a wonderful gain level that's no longer truly recognizable as a fuzz tone, but more accurately described as a a controlled, iconic, rock-n-roll zone of moderate distortion as utilized by a handful of The Greats back in the day when using pedals to create distortion wasn't considered cheating.

Yes, Fat Sound has discovered quite a few Fuzz pedals that we recommend very highly and with full confidence; we are thrilled to be living in an age where so many wonderful tone generators are available to guitarists. We understand that the field is extremely thick these days, unlike the late 60's or early 70's when you just used whichever of the 3 or 4 original fuzz pedals your local Music-and-Pawn shop happened to stock, but we will state for the record that Skinpimp's 3OD is one of our favorites. A true standout. It's one of a dozen or so pedals we've experienced that we feel every guitarist (unless they're fusion jazz fans) should just buy....no questions asked....and that we guarantee will be inspirational and easily rank as one of those rare gear purchases that you never second guess or regret.

Yep.......Highly Recommended!!™

From Skinpimp

Skinpimp's 3OD is a 3 NOS Germanium Transistor overdrive designed from the ground up by Skinpimp. With a very unique, amp-like response the 3OD can produce mild breakup to sweet, classic overdrive. The 3OD is extremely responsive to pick attack making it one of the more dynamic fuzz pedals on the market. Roll off the guitar's volume and the 3OD cleans up beautifully while retaining its original tone; crank the volume on your guitar for loads of beautiful germanium overdrive; fluid, singing and sweet with tons of sustain. As with all Skinpimp pedals, the 3OD is 100% handmae in the USA with the highest quality parts available.

Features and Specifications

• Engine: Trio of NOS Germanium Transitors
• Controls: Level, Tone, Gain
• Construction: Handwired, Turret Board PTP
• True Bypass Switching
• Battery Power only (battery clip adapter available for use with power supplies

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Fat Sound's Take

We're pretty sure that the number of Baldwin-Burns Buzzaround clones/reproductions far outnumber the original units that were actually built in the 60's. In fact, so few original Buzzarounds were manufactured that there may well be more individual builders creating clones or their own modified take on this early fuzz/distortion pedal than there are actual Buzzarounds in existence.

Since the Buzzaround was actually (subjectively) in many ways a more evolved, dare we say better sounding, distortion pedal than the other, more notable/successful fuzz units of the day it's possible that the Baldwin-Burns somewhat carelessly designed user interface may have had a lot to do with its minimum acceptance by the rock-n-roll pioneers of the day. The Buzzarounds wedged, large slice-of-cake-like shape with controls that faced away and out of sight from the guitarist while in use didn't exactly result in a particularly user friendly unit.

However, what Baldwin-Burns created with their Buzzaround was a pretty fantastic pedal that was capable, not only of the expected, 60's "fuzz" type of distortion, but that also could be dialed in for the tighter, more focused, less special effect type of gain tones modern guitarists usually associate with the natural tube distortion characteristics of modern, high-gain amplifiers.

The original was designed with three user controls: "Balance" (Output Level), "Timbre" (Tone) and "Sustain" (Gain). It's surmised that Baldwin-Burns may have chosen to call the output level control "Balance" because changes in the pedal's Timbre setting would also change the pedal's output thereby requiring tweaks of the Output Level control so that the chosen Timbre setting could be balanced either to unity gain (same volume with pedal turned on as when turned off) or to a slight boost in volume when the pedal was engaged.

Skinpimp Handwired pays homage to the original Buzzaround by using the same names for three of their version's controls, but Skinpimp has wisely chosen to add a "Level" control to more intuitively aid in the setting of the pedal's overall output.

The Skinpimp Buzzaround is a truly fantastic version of one of our all-time favorite, 60's-era distortion pedals. It's capable of delivering gain styles that are instantly recognizable as classic rock "fuzz", but that is also very adept at creating modern, high-gain distortion tones that, frankly, would sound right at home if they were created naturally by a well designed, high-end tube amplifier.

The Skinpimp Buzzaround is an excellent pedal choice for any guitarist wanting to add both vintage fuzz tones and higher-gain modern tones to the colors available via the sonic palette of their pedal boards.

Skinpimp does it again!!!!........We're diluting the impact and exclusivity of our Highly Recommended!!™ rating with our Skinpimp reviews, but it would be disingenuous of us not to, once again, award this Skinpimp offering with our highest praise.

From Guitar Player Magazine (1974)

On stage I use three pedals on a pedal board: A volume pedal, fuzz-tone, and wah-wah. The fuzz-tone and wah-wah are pretty rubbishy. I'm not sure what type of wah-wah it is. The best fuzz-box to use is a Burn's Buzz-around which they discontinued making in England about six years ago.

-Robert Fripp, King Crimson

The predominant school of thought is that Fripp also utilized the Baldwin-Burns Buzzaround during the 1976-77 David Bowie Heroes sessions.

From SkinPimp Handcrafted

The Buzzaround is Skinpimp's modified take on the Baldwin Burns pedal of the same name from the late 60's. Skinpimp has added a level control to make it more user adjustable; it's output is adjustable for tweaking to suit any situation. Very crunchy and articulate tone lending beautiful, complex harmonics and a ton of sustain. The Buzzaround tends to have more has more gain on tap than many vintage fuzz units and can also be dialed into more of a Big Muff sonic and gain range. Definitely more aggressive than the Tone Bender genre of fuzz pedals. All Skinpimp pedals are 100% handmade in the USA with hand selected parts for quality and consistency.

Features and Specifications

• Engine:  3 Germanium Transitors
• Controls: Level, Balance, Timbre, Sustain
• Construction: Handwired PTP
• True Bypass Switching
• Battery Power only (battery clip adapter available for use with power supplies)

[Order Status] The Face Plant is one of those pedals that everyone seems to want and therefore we immediately encountered a supply/demand issue. Your best bet is to pre-purchase via the Add-to-Cart button above. Current reservations are for a shipment due to arrive mid-February. Ordering in advance also comes with the bonus of Free USPS Priority Mail delivery within 2-3 days of shipment.

Skinpimp's Face Plant is a classic, dual germanium driven fuzz tuned with a bit more attitude and grit. Based on the classic Fuzz Face design, the Face Plant takes this classic design to a new level of versatility. Roll the guitar's volume back for a mild, sprakly overdrive. Kick the guitar volume up for a full-on, classic Fuzz Face assault with a slightly more modern twist. The Face Plant is an excellent addition to any pedal board. All Skinpimp pedals are 100% handmade in the USA with hand selected parts for quality and consistancy.

Features and Specifications

• Engine: Two Germanium Transitors
• Controls: Level, Attack
• Construction: Handwired, Turret Board PTP
• True Bypass Switching
• Battery Power only (battery clip adapter available for use with power supplies)

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Fat Sound's Take

While Keith Richards most likely used a Gibson Maestro Fuzz when he casually plugged-in to lay down one of the most famous guitar tracks in rock-n-roll history, Skinpimp's Skin Bender MKI does an extremely convincing job of delivering the infamous Satisfaction tone. (Not to pigeonhole it because it certainly isn't a one trick pedal)

Besides, vintage Maestro pedals are difficult to find, have a brutal user-interface similar to the Baldwin-Burns Buzzaround and no one that we're aware of really makes a convincing, modern clone of the Maestro anyway. There might be a reason for that. Plus, anyone who knows anything about the creative process of guys like 60's-era Richards knows it's highly unlikely he didn't spent hours researching or even trying every fuzz pedal available. No, it's a pretty safe bet that he just used whatever distortion pedal the studio had lying around or that his tech happened to pick up for him somewhere along the way.

In the 60's it was rarely about The Gear and more about the creative process. The Pioneers that are so revered today and whose music still sounds fresh and inspiring four and a half decades later simply took the gear that was at their immediate disposal and figured out how to create magic with it.

Generally speaking, the tonal chips just fell where they did.....maybe with a bit of massaging from some of the early studio engineers who were equally god-like in terms of their ingenuity and creativity. But it really wasn't about perfect guitar tone.....it was about overall context and how individual tracks meshed with each other.

I happen to believe that the worst thing to ever happen to my favorite genre of music was the creation of recording consoles with more than 8 tracks. If Gimme Shelter could be recorded and mastered with a mere 8 tracks then I rest my case and don't even get me started on what The Beatles managed to create with half that number.....but I digress.

Fortunately the Powers That Be were paying attention and it's apparent that they made sure the sonic odds were heavily in favor of the pioneers of this genre of music that you and I love so much. Or maybe it's simply a matter of the old adage that God Watches Over Fools and Drunks. Of course, Keith was no fool!

One of the things I love about the Skin Bender MKI is that, unlike later Tone Bender generations (which I also love, but for different reasons) The MK I requires a bit more of a fuzz-specific control technique. If you know how to control the earliest, more primitive fuzz designs then you'll make magic with this pedal right from the start.

If your fuzz technique needs work then this might actually be a better investment for you than the easier to play, more refined MKII and MKIII generations because once you master the right-hand technique required to make a pedal like the Skin Bender MKI sound magical, you'll be Master of Your Own Universe.

And, once mastered, it's up to you whether you want the MKI to deliver explosive, special effect fuzz bombs or relatively controlled distortion that works both for creating fat, cholesterol laden rhythm tones as well as searing lead tones.

As a final note I offer up this reminder:

Fuzz pedals are called "Fuzz" pedals" because in the mid-60's "Fuzz" was a cool, catchy name with which to labile these newly invented, revolutionary pedals intended to be used to create distortion at a time when most amplifier designs either did so poorly on their own or were simply clean, clean, clean! But don't confuse the poorly biased, worn out, vintage fuzz pedals you may have played at some point with what great, properly working fuzz pedals are supposed to sound like.

What were coined "fuzz" pedals in the 60's are actually just distortion pedals that are somewhat primitive by comparison to the next generation of pedals like the MXR Distortion + or what BOSS and Ibanez later developed and certainly more primitive than some of the highly-evolved, very boutique-amp-like distortion-esque pedals of recent design. But Man (!), the guitar tracks that the most truly talented, creative genius pioneers of rock-n-roll were able to lay down with the early 60's "Fuzz" pedals is holding up a hell of a lot better than I believe anything I've heard recorded with the more refined pedal creations or multi-thousand dollar amplifiers sans pedals of the 21st Century ever will.

Historically significant, creatively challenging, capable, in the right hands, of sonic transcendentalism.

Rock is raw, not refined. Experience it first hand!!

From Skinpimp

Skinpimp's MKI Bender is a circuit replica of the original MKI Tone Bender of the mid-60's. While not for the faint of heart, many players find the original, raw MKI series Tone Bender circuit to be exactly what they need to achieve "Satisfaction" from their tone! The MKI is capable of tones from raunchy, full on classic Tone Bender fuzz to crunchy, spitty overdrive. With more than enough sustain on tap to create leads that sustain forever! Ripping midrange that will cut through any live mix and leave your drummer needing his own volume control in order to compete with you. True to the original MKI Tone Bender, Skinpimp's Skin Bender MKI will bring back those tones that made you want to start playing in the first place. The MKI is totally unrefined. You'll be convinced this pedal is trying to kill you while you desperately try to contain it.....which is why everyone who owns one loves it! If the more refined overdrive of the later Tone Bender models is what you're after, try the MKII or MKIII. If you want to make your own mark and leave your audience drained, dazed and potentially nauseous, you'll most likely love the MKI! All Skinpimp pedals are 100% handmade in the USA with hand selected parts for quality and consistency.

Features and Specifications

• Engine:  Two Germanium Transitors
• Controls: Level, Attack
• Construction: Handwired, Turret Board PTP
• True Bypass Switching
• Battery Power only (battery clip adapter available for use with power supplies)

Photos including the original style, Sola Sound Tone Bender MKII feature a non-vintage, David Mains (D*A*M Effects) built Tone Bender licensed by Macaris of England who currently owns the Sola Sound and Tone Bender names. These photos are included for visual cool factor only and are not intended to depict a vintage Sola Sound. And yes, the Macaris/Mains unit is also extremely kick-ass!!

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Fat Sound's Take

A quick Google search will turn up a boat load of reviews and comments of and about this pedal that all say the same thing......"a faithful recreation of the Sola Sound Tone Bender MKII"........we stand ready, fully ensconced in our bright orange, flame retardant, UL approved, HAZMAT suite and having actually put the Skinpimp MKII right next to an excellent example of an original MKII rather than having relied merely on our auditory memory or personal interpretation of Skinpimp's own stated aspirations and say.......well, we actually think the Skinpimp MKII is better than Sola Sound's original. Mad props and loads of love to Sola for creating a series of pedals that inspired Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page to lay down some of the most historically significant, elegantly ingenious and truly revolutionary guitar tracks ever recorded, but Skinpimp has managed, with their "faithful recreation", to capture the sound, soul and vibe of the original while upping the game with a few pluses like better tone at low volume, slightly more gain available for a tighter, more controlled fuzz if desired and just enough extra top-end content that a tone control isn't missed as often as with an original Sola. Honestly, after 40 years, we'd expect nothing less that a "faithful recreation" that's actually a bit better.

That's it. Isn't that enough? Skinpimp's MKII will get you to your Sola Sound destination in safety, but in a way that we actually prefer!

From Skinpimp

Skinpimp's MKII is a great tribute to the coveted Sola Sound MKII Professional.....one of the all-time great, most recorded fuzz tones in rock 'n roll history including "A Whole Lotta Love". Skinpimp spent tons of time pouring over original MKII's in order to ensure their circuit design would consistently offer the classic MKII tones from pedal to pedal. Parts are meticulously selected and each pedal tuned to provide tone consistent with the best example of the originals. The MKII is very articulate, is on the lower end of the gain scale versus other Tone Benders while still offering a very healthy dose of distortion and sustain. Note definition is excellent allowing you to hear everything with great separation. As with all Skinpimp pedals, The MKII is 100% hand built in the USA with hand selected parts for quality and consistency.

Features and Specifications

• Engine:  Two Germanium Transitors
• Controls: Level, Attack
• Construction: Handwired, Turret Board PTP
• True Bypass Switching
• Battery Power only (battery clip adapter available for use with power supplies)

Photos including the original style, Sola Sound Tone Bender MKII feature a non-vintage, David Mains (D*A*M Effects) built Tone Bender licensed by Macaris of England who currently owns the Sola Sound and Tone Bender names. These photos are included for visual cool factor only and are not intended to depict a vintage Sola Sound. And yes, the Macaris/Mains unit is also extremely kick-ass!!

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The Skin Bender III is the pedal that started it all for Skinpimp. It has grown in popularity and rightfully so. Offering fantastic, classic fuzz tones, but also very fitting for modern players. The MKIII is Skinpimp's interpretation of the Vox Tonebender MKIII. With a modified gain control, Skinpimp's version allows for lower gain settings. Fitted with a 3-way toggle to allow for varying shades of low end and overall tightness. Skinpimp also added a CAM Mod to the MKIII which is a hi-cut control to help tame the high-end content on brighter amps or guitars. All Skinpimp pedals are 100% handmade in the USA with hand selected parts for quality and consistancy.

Features and Specifications

• Engine: Dual Germanium Transitors
• Controls: Level, Tone, Hi-Cut, Fuzz, 3-way Bass Tuning Toggle
• Construction: Handwired, Turret Board PTP
• True Bypass Switching
• Battery Power only (battery clip adapter available for use with power supplies)

Photos including the original style, Sola Sound Tone Bender MKII feature a non-vintage, David Mains (D*A*M Effects) built Tone Bender licensed by Macaris of England who currently owns the Sola Sound and Tone Bender names. These photos are included for visual cool factor only and are not intended to depict a vintage Sola Sound. And yes, the Macaris/Mains unit is also extremely kick-ass!!