The Tone Splendor Mod® Electronics DIY Effect Pedal Kit

The Mod® Electronics Tone Splendor MK1S is a silicon fuzz pedal kit based on the original germanium Tone Bender MK1. The MK1S generally has a raw, primitive fuzz character which fits the early design of the original, but it is also capable of long sustain and modern fuzz sounds.

The original MK1 design depended on the leakage current of its germanium transistors to function properly, which gave the original a high degree of temperature sensitivity. Modern clones typically require special care when it comes to transistor selection or manual biasing, and are notoriously difficult to get “right”. The Tone Splendor MK1S takes the hard part out. It eliminates the requirement for leakage current, operating off of common silicon transistors instead. There are no requirements for special transistor selection, no manual biasing needed, and it has negligible temperature sensitivity while capturing the raw fuzz sound of the original.

The MK1S generates dense harmonics with its high degree of asymmetrical clipping, which is perfect for cutting lead sounds. On lower notes, the sound is aggressive and harmonically rich in a way that can dominate the frequency spectrum.

The Tone Splendor MK1S is the third entry in the Nexus Series from Mod® Electronics. This series features a PCB base rather than the Mod® Electronics’ traditional point-to-point wiring kits to offer builders a wider variety of effects to build. The MK1S operates on 9VDC, and it can operate on battery power or with a standard center-negative 9VDC power supply (not included). Unlike the original circuit, the MK1S can be daisy-chained with other pedals without issue.