1965 Sola Sounds Ltd (Gary Hurst) Tone Bender MKI

The Holy Grail of Fuzz Boxes!!!
Oh my!! the day that I never thought I'd see has occured!! I have in my hands a 1965 Gary Hurst made Sola Sound(s) Tone Bender MKI!! Steady now, I better sit down before I implode from a fuzz overdose.
I have searched high and low an all over the globe for one of these things. The story goes that only 50 were ever made so how many actually survive to this day is unclear, so I knew my chances were slim to none. Then, kaa-pow! right out of the blue I get an email asking if I'd be interested in purchasing such an item, hot dog!! would I ever! Well you know what they say, if you put mind out it will come to you. Maybe it's true.

Like with most of the old timers I seem to aqquire it has a intereting and colourful history behind it. To quote:

"I've had this pedal since circa 1972 when I started to play electric guitar in a jazz rock band (having previously concentrated on acoustic). A friend of mine, who was a 'roadie' for 'The Grounhogs' at the time, lent me a Burns Bison guitar (a black one with the 'Wild Dog' tone setting), and this pedal. I returned the guitar and bought a Les Paul Custom, but he gave me the pedal along with a Fuzz Face and Wah Wah. I've long since given the other pedals away, but somehow the Tone Bender survived in a box filled with old cables, guitar leads etc. So, I'm not sure about the provenance of the pedal, but it seems likely that it may have belonged to Tony McPhee at some stage"

Can this get any cooler!! maybe and only maybe this ye olden fuzzer could have been used by The Groundhogs! it's close enough for me, The Split LP by the Hogs is a true master piece.

Well, here we have it. The holiest of the holy....the Tone Bender MKI!! Mucho Gracias AP!