CSP265 Bonamassa FET Driver

The MXR Custom Shop Joe Bonamassa Fet Driver. We were watching this as the Dunlop marketing campaign slowly introduced it to musicians. This particular pedal was interesting to us as Dunlop literature at the time maintained that it was based on the Chandler and Butler Tube Driver pedals, employing FETs (Field Effect Transistors) in place of vacuum tubes.

Later, Joe Bonamassa also made available a limited run of 300 blue-colored FET Driver pedals on the shopping page of his website. They have also long since been sold out.

• Thermionic Studios has one(1) MXR Custom Shop Joe Bonamassa FET Driver available for rental

Controls

Image from Shop.JBonamassa

• Knob 1 - "Level": This knob sets the volume level; turn the knob clockwise to increase the volume level.
• Knob 2 - "Hi": This knob controls the high frequency tone of the pedal. Turning the knob clockwise increases the high frequencies in the affected signal.
• Knob 3 - "Lo": This knob controls the low frequency tone of the pedal. Turning the knob clockwise increases the low frequencies in the affected signal.
• Knob 4 - "Drive": This knob controls the distortion intensity. Turning the control completely counter-clockwise minimizes the distortion. Turning clockwise increases the intensity.
• Button 1 - "Hi-Cut": This control engages or bypasses a capacitor that passes through more high-frequency content. Depressing the button causes some of that high-frequency content to be cut out of the signal.
• Footswitch 1 - "On/Off": This switch toggles the FET Driver between "active" and "bypassed".

General Information

The Bonamassa FET Driver can be a bit of a mystery. If you're interested in getting one, sometimes it's not possible to find a Bonamassa FET Driver anywhere for sale; othertimes, you can find one on eBay for a discount over the "new" price for the standard FET Driver. However, for the most part, when they are for sale on an auction site, they usually go for at least original list price or above. Timing is everything.

Dunlop only made 500 Custom Shop FET Drivers. But they then went on to release a standard cream-colored non-signature version of the pedal simply called "FET Driver" that is still available for sale today. Now, while Dunlop claims that there is no difference between the circuit of the Bonamassa and standard versions, people have taken them apart and dispute Dunlop's assertions.

Artists

• Joe Bonamassa

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Additional Sources

• https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/mxr-fet-driver-is-different-to-joe-bonamassa-signature-fet-driver.1629247/
• https://shop.jbonamassa.com/collections/music-equipment-pedal/products/joe-bonamassa-mxr-fet-driver-pelham-blue-special-edition