Mini Fuzz Faces — The JHS Show

One of my favorite pedals ever created is the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face. It's amazing, it’s iconic, but it's hard to fit on a pedal board, since this is arguably one of the largest pedal enclosures ever made. Don’t get me wrong. Jimi Hendrix loved it. I love it. I still want to use it. I just wish it was smaller, you know?

Well, the Genie from Aladdin (totally your call whether you want him to be played by Robin Williams, Will Smith, or James Monroe Iglehart) must be lurking around here somewhere, because my wish just came true. Dunlop made it come true.

Dunlop is already a pretty baller pedal company, and they own a lot of trademarks to vintage gear and different brands from rock’n’roll history. They specialize in bringing these vintage brands back to life. Sometime around 2014, they took the Fuzz Face trademark that they owned, and their two lead engineers, Jeorge Tripps and Sam McCray, took some classic Fuzz Faces like the blue version from the ’70s, and they shrank it down into a miniature version.

Think of it like Willy Wonka putting that chocolate bar the size of a mattress into that magic television, and it coming out the other end as a normal sized candy bar. Same basic principle.

These are called the Fuzz Face Mini series, and the best way I can brag on them is just to jump right in. Let’s do this.

Silicon Fuzz Face Mini FFM1

First off, I want to show you guys the FFM1. Let’s start with the price. It's a hundred bucks. Really. $100 total. I mean, that's like paying $10 just ten times**. That's really achievable. Mow a few lawns, shine some shoes, and you can easily afford this pedal. And this thing sounds fantastic. It has this feeling that's more like a distortion. That's what I like about silicon transistor fuzzes, especially the ’70s Fuzz Face. The FFM1 clones this effect very, very well.

**Yeah, I know math. I’ve seen Multiplication Rock.

As always, the best way to truly appreciate this pedal is by going back to watch the JHS Show episode. I know you’re a busy guy or gal. You’ve got things to do, places to be, but I’d still take a quick break and watch the episode in its entirety before you keep reading. This article is going to make a lot more sense if you do.

In our jam session, I played this pedal with my Black Strat guitar, and we also plugged into the Panther Cub Delay. The results were magical. If you don’t believe me, watch the episode.

Germanium Fuzz Face Mini FFM2

Next up we have the FFM2, which is based on the Germanium Fuzz Face. It's red. Now, you’ll want to note that there are two red Fuzz Faces, but this one is shiny red and has black knobs. It’s based around the classic 1960s germanium Fuzz Face, and it's $130, which is a killer price. For reference, the full-sized vintage germanium Fuzz Face is selling on Reverb for $3,691.32. Plus $50 for shipping.

This means that -- let me do the math here, carry the one, “i” before “e” -- yeah, you save a butt-load of money by purchasing the mini Fuzz Face. Roughly $3500, if you want to split hairs.

Also, this pedal (and the silicon FFM1) clean up really nicely. You can’t put a price on that. When we jammed with this Fuzz Face, we entered a kind of Twilight Zone-style alternate reality, and we dared to ask the question: what would Hendrix have sounded like if he’d been a grunge artist? I mean, he was born in Seattle. It could have happened.

Spoiler: it sounded awesome.

Joe Bonamassa Fuzz Face Mini FFM4

For a mere $150, Dunlop has a pretty sweet offer: the Joe Bonamassa Fuzz Face Mini FFM4. It comes in a beautiful, glossy black case.

This thing sounds great. It has newly made old stock Russian germanium transistors, and those transistors are lower gain. It's a magical circuit for humbuckers, and compliments the style of music that Joe plays really, really well. One feature I really enjoy is that this pedal has a little dash of spring reverb. Not a lot, just a dash.

In our jam session, I plugged into the FFM4 and the Electro Harmonix Holy Grail reverb, and the guitar we used was my gold top Les Paul with two humbuckers.

Band of Gypsys Fuzz Face Mini FFM6

Next up is the Band of Gypsys Fuzz Face Mini Pedal FFM6, and it starts at just $120. This is a second Hendrix fuzz in the same series, because why not? He had so many different unique styles of the Fuzz Face over his career, largely thanks to sound tech/pedal guru Roger Mayer.

This one has a really cool story. So from ’69 through ’70, there's this mysterious red Fuzz Face with white knobs that appears in a lot of rock’n’roll photography. You see this at Woodstock, places like that, and it's just been a mystery. What is it? Yes, another red Fuzz Face already exists, but it’s not the same pedal. It’s just not. When you listen to these recordings, it sounds different. To clarify, it sounds like Hendrix, because it is Hendrix, but to the distinguishing ear you can tell there's something different going on with this pedal.

So, basically, Jeorge and the other engineers followed the breadcrumbs that Hendrix left behind, went down the rabbit hole to try and figure out what in the world was in that red and white enclosure, because it had obviously been modified by Roger Mayer.

Roger Mayer was Hendrix’s sound tech, and Hendrix is quoted as calling him “the secret of my sound.” He famously took these Fuzz Face enclosures, messed with them, took out the circuitry, put in his own stuff, and passed them back to Hendrix. This means that in a photograph, even if a Fuzz Face is clearly shown on the stage or in the recording studio, we can’t be sure that the fuzz that Hendrix was playing is actually the pedal shown. It could be (read: probably is) one of the enclosures that Roger gutted and totally revamped.

Jeorge and his team tracked down a unit in a museum, which was essentially the Roger Mayer Octavia, but without the octave circuit. They recreated it into the FFM6, and tweaked the sound/effects to Hendrix’s albums released during this time. They did this all by ear.

The FFM6 is the most unique fuzz in the series, hands down. I’d even call it drastically different, but in a good way. It’s extremely cool for a Fuzz Face. It has all the feeling of a Fuzz Face, it'll do those things that a Fuzz Face does well, but it also does an incredible distortion. When I play with this pedal -- and I definitely play with this pedal; it’s one of the more fun pieces of gear in my collection -- I have a hard time sticking with the typical fuzz style. This pedal almost has more of a Rat-style tone, much more rock’n’roll, a lot more aggressive (again, in the best way).

In the jam session, I played the white Strat guitar, ’cause that's what Hendrix played at Woodstock. I also used my Unicorn Univibe, which helped turn this session from straight-up aggressive rock to a slightly more swirly, twirly vibe.

Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face FFM3

Last in the FFM Fuzz Face Mini series is the FFM3. And you know what? Now that I'm putting this list together, I'm realizing there was not an FFM5. We went straight from FFM4 to FFM6. Maybe I'm onto something. Maybe there's a secret conspiracy by Dunlop and Eric Johnson to release the FFM5 at the end of time or something? I don't know. That's pretty extreme, but 2020 has been bananas so far. This makes as much sense as anything else.

Seriously, though. This pedal is selling for $120 new, maybe $80-$90 used on Reverb. We’re talking eighty bucks for Hendrix's signature fuzz. No big deal. It's obviously one of two signature fuzzes, but this is more accurate to the standard Hendrix Fuzz Face that's on most of his recordings, which is why it’s called the Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face. He definitely favored silicon over germanium tonally and for consistency. It's a little bit hotter. This is my favorite of the new Dunlop Fuzz Face Minis, hands down.

In our jam session, I played a 335 style guitar by Collings, which complimented this fuzz perfectly. It’s my favorite in the series for a reason. I think it would be your favorite, too, if you gave it a shot.

In closing, I want you guys to have a good day, so I’m going to offer some sage advice here: play some fuzz, listen to some music with fuzz, and just be fuzzy. Channel Fuzzy Wuzzy the bear a little bit. Or Jimi Hendrix. I don’t think you’ll regret it either way.