Dunlop Jimi Hendrix '69 Psych Series Band of Gypsys Fuzz

The Dunlop Jimi Hendrix '69 Psych Series Band of Gypsys Fuzz is a fuzz pedal from Dunlop that packs a Hendrix-era fuzz circuit into an MXR mini housing. It is part of the Authentic Hendrix '69 Psych Series, four mini pedals that Dunlop announced at Summer NAMM 2019, downsizing Jimi's Fuzz Face, Octavio, Uni-Vibe and Band of Gypsys effects into the smaller MXR enclosure¹. The pedal carries the kaleidoscopic artwork of UK-based design crew ILOVEDUST on its housing².

Dunlop describes the pedal's sound as the "unique and bitingly aggressive Band of Gypsys fuzz sound," delivered in the mini housing with a Tone control for fine-tuning². The circuit is based on a mysterious Fuzz Face Distortion that Jimi Hendrix used at several shows between 1969 and 1970, most notably the Band of Gypsys performance².

A Hendrix-era Fuzz Face circuit in an MXR mini housing

The Band of Gypsys Fuzz sits in the same MXR mini housing Dunlop uses for its compact MXR pedals, which makes it far smaller than the round Fuzz Face enclosures the company also builds. Alongside the Tone control, the pedal carries modern appointments: a status LED, true-bypass switching and a 9-volt power jack².

The series it belongs to was announced at Summer NAMM 2019, when Dunlop debuted four Authentic Hendrix '69 Psych Series mini pedals covering the Fuzz Face, Octavio, Uni-Vibe and Band of Gypsys¹. MusicRadar's coverage of the launch noted the four pedals downsize Jimi's iconic effects into the smaller format¹.

Within the series, the Band of Gypsys Fuzz differs from its siblings in both circuit and controls²:

The Fuzz Face Distortion in the series uses buffered bypassing by default, with a Buffer switch for true bypass, while the Band of Gypsys Fuzz and the Octavio Fuzz are true bypass throughout²³⁴.

Power and connections

The pedal runs on a 9-volt power jack. Dunlop says it can be powered by a Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter, or by the DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brick power supplies, none of which are included². The status LED and true-bypass switching round out the modern features on the housing².

Where the circuit comes from

The story behind this pedal starts with the fuzz Hendrix actually used. Dunlop says the Band of Gypsys Fuzz is based on a mysterious Fuzz Face Distortion that Hendrix used at several shows between 1969 and 1970, most notably the Band of Gypsys performance². MusicRadar's review of the related Band Of Gypsys FFM6 Fuzz Face Mini describes the target as "a mysterious white-knobbed red Fuzz Face that accompanied Hendrix on stage"⁵.

Dunlop's engineers traced that sound to a version of the Octavio circuit that did not have that pedal's famous octave-up effect². That makes the Band of Gypsys Fuzz a sibling of the Octavio Fuzz in the same series, which updates the original cheese wedge Octavio circuitry and adds a switch to toggle between the octave-up sound Hendrix made famous and a silicon saturation mode³. Players who want the octave-up effect should look at the Octavio rather than the Band of Gypsys Fuzz, which has no octave mode.

For context on the wider Fuzz Face family, Guitar World's 2014 review of the Fuzz Face Mini noted that its circuit was identical to Dunlop's JHF1 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face, itself based on Hendrix's own Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face from 1969 to 1970⁶². Dunlop's full-size Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Distortion is a reproduction of that same 1969 to 1970 Dallas Arbiter unit⁷². The Band of Gypsys Fuzz instead captures the rarer, later fuzz associated with the Band of Gypsys shows.

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