Brian Mena's Law Bender is a Superb Example of an Extended Range 'Face Bender' - which combines the Best of Fuzz Face and Tone Bender Flavours in one Smart Pedal

I’ve mentioned a few times before on this site - the unique confection / merging of Fuzz Face and Tone Bender voicings in a single pedal - as exemplified by D*A*M’s Drag ’n’ Fly and Graveyard Tramp which both deploy hybrid GE+SI Transistors, I’ve also cited the 5-Transistor Boss FZ-3 as a decent candidate for that same category. While the featured Menatone Law Bender GE here really goes a step further in its overall versatility.

At its core the Law Bender superbly combines Fuzz Face and Tone Bender MKII tonalities courtesy of some truly smart controls. In fact to my ears this fuzz covers largely most of the Fuzz Face flavours - Versions I to III, as well as Tone Bender MK I.V, MKII, MKIII and Buzzaround. It doesn’t quite get into MKI / Zonk territory which has a slightly drier and reedier edge than this pedal is capable of - while the combination of Bias, Pork (Boost), Fuzz and Sag (Pre-Gain) controls can get you pretty much into most other Fuzz Face and Tone Bender territories.

To get the creamy TB MKIII style distortion you need to very carefully balance the Fuzz and Sag (Pre-Gain) controls to get smooth saturated distortion. In fact while I move Tone and Volume dials rather more infrequently - I am constantly adjusting the core 4 knobs of Bias, Pork, Fuzz and Sag. In fact a great starting point is to begin with each of those in turn at minimum / off values - and then combine the other three to create whichever flavour you’re aiming for. I would have preferred the Bias to have gone a little more Voltage-starved and spitty - as I feel that would have gotten me better into MKI territory - while it does cover a very significant range. Note also that there are the most amazing Overdrive and Fuzzy-Drive voicings to be found in this pedal - when you have Pork, Fuzz and Sag set fairly low. In fact I like so many different flavours in this pedal that it’s really hard to pick a favourite setting!

At its heart this is a 2 x Soviet Germanium Transistor Fuzz (2 x МП10Б) - so closest in core circuit design to Fuzz Face and MKI.V varieties - while its additional smart controls - Bias, Pork and SAG help give it a distinctive Tone Bender style edge, as well as ramp up the typical range of such a circuit. Brian has stated that he discovered these ’tricks’ along the way through a number of breadboarding experiments - and he’s truly crafted one of the most magnificent ’Face Benders’ out there to date. I feel it’s eminently plausible to get most of the Tone Bender voicings out of the same circuit - with the help of additional controls and tone components. Possibly a little bit more expansive EQ and a slightly extended-range Bias would be key components to that. While the Pork (Boost) and Sag (Pre-Gain) controls are very much key to the Law Bender’s prowess.

I acquired mine from an Israeli collector - courtesy of Reverb.com. The current regular Germanium variety typically has a Red ’Fuzz’ Knob - while I really preferred the purple one as featured here. Needless to say - that beyond aesthetic appeal, the knob colour really isn’t significant at all. There’s also a Blue-knob Silicon variety which has more typical Silicon Sharpness and higher Gain onboard - I will likely go for one of those too at some stage as this is such a smartly versatile format.

A number of readers have been regularly asking me about ’Face Bender’ recommendations - and this is one of the best for sure - and relatively easily acquired via the Menatone Webstore - where both varieties are priced at $189.

I wish there were more fuzzes around like this - and dare say with even a couple more controls - to help you get into MKI territory too. It doesn’t need to be a ’Face Bender’ either - it would be nice to have just a Multi-Bender on the market that was able to cover off all the key varieties of Tone Bender via single extended-range circuit. I’m well aware that Thorpy is working on another of his magical fuzzes currently - possibly more than one variety even - and I really look forward to seeing what smart extended-range executions he comes up with when that gets revealed at the end of this year / or possibly very early next - component supply challenges being as they are!

The Law Bender ’Face Bender’ variety though comes highly recommended - with wonderful versions of Fuzz Face, MKI.V, MKII and MKIII flavours in particular onboard!

How many of you have a Law Bender or are considering one - and does anyone own both varieties? Would be interested in hearing from those - as I’m almost certainly in the market for the Silicon version too!