COLORSOUND SUPA & JUMBO WIDE BODIED TONE BENDERS

[Kitrae]

If so, thats the same layout. They are both later versions. I've had two of those black and gold Jumbo's. One was '79 the other was '81.

Yes, those two. And this one is the earlier version. EDIT - sorry wrong pic. Heres the right one.

[Electric Warrior]

There's no difference in part count. Same number of components as the later versions

[The Captain]

Pot codes are 2-5.
Who knows how it ended up with that circuit, though? Maybe it was a custom order or something?

Dig it! Never seen that one before. I guess it was born around the same time as this?!!?

[Laundromat]

Oops... sorry, wrong thread.

[theemadcap1]

Not to convolute and go off the discussion already taking place...
I heard from someone that the first 2 Supa ToneBenders, which were built for Steve Hackett, had the top hat Germanium transistors in it and that he requested they use silicon transistors...
I guess till one of those germ. Supa TBs actually surface, it's still just a rumor...

Yeah, I'd call bullshit on that

Prolly...
But it would be cool if one did show up...
If it was true and that early, seems it would be in that early orange Supa TB case.

[Kitrae]

There's no difference in part count. Same number of components as the later versions

I just compared all the pix of those two versions. Hard to tell looking at a top views alone because a cap can hide a resistor, and vise versa. There is one extra 15k resistor in the first version. Same number of caps.

[Stu]

No, they both have the same parts count.

[Electric Warrior]

Dig it! Never seen that one before. I guess it was born around the same time as this?!!?

hmmm.. styroflexes and two carbon comps..

Some '78 Vox MKIIIs (yes, those got the Jumbo circuit, too ) are very similar. Wonder if I got the pot codes wrong?

This one's stamped 29 Jul '78:

424261879_o.jpg (224.57 KiB) Viewed 3960 times

same date, more similar to the one in your pic:

!B5ri5D!!mk~$(KGrHqUOKnQEy1LF9EobBMuo4M0dfQ~~_12.JPG (36.01 KiB) Viewed 3960 times

No, they both have the same parts count.

Exactly. Keep looking harder and find your missing resistor you will.

[Kitrae]

No, they both have the same parts count.

Exactly. Keep looking harder and find your missing resistor you will.

Got it. Hidden by that big greenie on the left!

The emailer could have referred to the size of the enclosure. Colorsound called a lot of things "Jumbo" on the packaging when it had the wide enclosure...

He referred to the Tonebender Jumbo graphics on the case, so I don't think so. He sent the pic because I said the Jumbo had three tranys.

Cool box pic though.

[Graham]

I've never seen a Jumbo with four transistors, nor a Supa with three.

Same here. 4 transistors, it's a Supa. 3 and it's a Jumbo. That's the way I've always seen it anyways.

Agreed here although I too have seen the odd pic of exceptions - I have never doubted for a second that in these 70's - even some of the 60's - pedals - where the assemblers would most likely have had a box of complete or nearly fully constructed boards in front of them AND another box with cases - it stands to reason that a few mixups would have to have happened - either perhaps somebody ran short of pre-built boards to fill their quota and snatched a couple of boards from a different box to make up their days work (or finish a batch in time to ship to a dealer) what would the guys have worried - I'm sure Doug McDonald or one of the Macaris would have raised an eye brow but they werent there all the time - anyway even if they were - imagine they had been taking sh*t from the store for fresh supplies and had a batch needed/promised - I always just assumed a few would have been criss crossed that way - same deal with the earlier Sola peds .

I had not realised that this old thread had come to life again and will happily dig into the wide bodied chaps to add some further info & appropriate pics - I know from extensive chats with dear Gary (much of it filmed for the record) that he said it had reached the point by the early 70's where he doubted whether Mike Matthews or Larry Macari actually knew for sure themselves which of their companies or staff members had originated a specific circuit - he insisted that with increased transatlantic travel - by the bands as well as the dealers - the beginning of the bigger trade shows and easing of legal difficulties (taxes, import levys and such) there was a far greater degree of "movement" re. designs - and not a little bit of deliberate plagiarism!! Add in a sprinkling of "need / boardroom pressure" to come up with innovative "product" (even if only cosmetically ) Many of the old timers who actually had the job of selling these things have told me of the endless pressure to be turning over superficially new models to keep up with the (for a decade or so at least) seemingly endless demand for their product..

In Gary's words "everybody was at it!" by then (late 60's early 70's) he was safely esconced in Italy though still actively involved in the now global pedal biz - I guess the genie was out of the bottle and have concluded personally that after the mid seventies with Japan & Italy playing a far bigger OEM role in the musical gear game - it would be pretty futile to attempt complete accuracy on the timeline.

Even the mk1/"1.5"/2 - all of which had a 1k pot and a 100k pot with 2 or 3 trannies - so you can choose to say that they all owe their DNA to the tweaked FZ-1 Gary modded - but that is not to say he exclusively did them all - only that he had undoubtedly played a major and important role in their genesis - it as a nice popular circuit so was picked up worldwide - some lines he kept up with out in Italy others had nothing to do with him beyond that early DNA link back to Tin Pan Alley - and doubtless even earlier DNA from Kalamazoo...

In my own efforts the mkIII has taken up a couple of years one way or the other of my time - by the time you include the Buzzaround and Dizzytone it drives you mad - The varying influences on them were undoubtedly numerous/enormous - though clearly there was a doffing of the hat to what came before (always the way) - and little difference (to my ears anyway) between many mkIII versions and the contemporary wide bodied CS peds - well they were being built at the same time and by the same people in the same place - doubtless even using the same soldering stations and parts bins - through the early 70's. Even in the later 70's I'd defy many folks to blind test a silicon mkIII against a Muff ..

Anyway - back on the merry go round!! - chicken and egg - backwards and forwards the game went!

I will get some better wide bodied gut pics together anyway

And just when I was making a little ground on component dates on the earlier peds too - oh well that will have to wait for a bit!!

Cheers - G