Fender Blender (original)
Year: 1974-77
Made in:
Fame: Cult Status
Mojo Factor: Somewhat high for the original. It is weird, old and has a few famous users. And it is a FENDER pedal which is quite unusual in itself.
Price: Maybe you could get a good deal on ebay I doubt it. Reissue or building your own are cheaper options.
General Sound Description:
A big wonderful wall of fuzzy harmonically rich fuzzy distortion. If you want note definition look else where.
Who it’s for:
Fans of the Smashing Pumpkin’s or My Blood Valentine sound. And those looking of a huge sound and something different. Noise kids will love it.
Controls:
Volume
Sustain
Blend
Tone
On/off (footswitch)
Tone Boost (footswitch)
Circuit: 2n3391 transistors & germanium diodes
Schematics:
Modibility:
The original is rare but a reissue and mod that.
Manufacturers Sales Pitch:
This pitch for the reissue.
There are few Fender products with as much “indie cred” as the Fender Blender. Once thought of as an overly harsh fuzz pedal, the Blender, thanks to players like Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins and Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, is now a coveted, and rare, vintage pedal. Original Blender pedals routinely sell on ebay for between $300-400. Like we have done with guitars & amps, we are reissuing this pedal to satisfy the demand that has surged past the supply on the vintage market.
The beauty of this pedal is that it does not sound like anything else on the market. It has a totally unique voice.
This is a pedal made for players who want to create instead of copy. With a bit of experimentation, a player can get countless sounds out of this pedal, some that were intended and some that were not.
The Blender can be used for leads by metal players looking for an ultra-aggressive tone. This will replace other Octave/Fuzz pedals on pedalboards throughout the land.
Famous Users:
Robin Trower
Billy Corgan
Keith Shields
Famous Riff:
Smashing Pumpkins-Bullet with Butterfly Wings
My Bloody Valentine-Loveless (entire album pretty much)
I have an original Fender Blender in mint condition. A cousin of mine sent it to me from W. Virginia over 10 yrs ago. He bought it at a garage sale for $2.00 Other than being dusty and with some use-scratches on the underside, the unit works perfectly. Printed on the inside of the circuit board is an old, machine-stamped black ink number: 1964. I presumed that the # was the date it was manufactured. However, my web research states that they were made from 1968-74 (not all sources agree, obviously…). I heard that original, working F.B.’s can fetch $400+ at auction.
Where did you obtain the “Made Year: 1974-77″ listed on your site?