Dunlop Jimi Hendrix '69 Psych Series Fuzz Face Distortion

The Dunlop Jimi Hendrix '69 Psych Series Fuzz Face Distortion is a fuzz pedal from Dunlop that puts two Fuzz Face Distortion voices in one small box: the aggressive silicon-based crunch Jimi Hendrix used in his later years, and the warm, smooth germanium-based fuzz of his early years. It sits in an MXR mini housing finished in the kaleidoscopic designs of the UK design group ILOVEDUST, part of Dunlop's '69 Psych Series built around Hendrix's 1969 era¹².

What it is and where the circuit comes from

Dunlop describes the pedal as combining "the two different flavors of Fuzz Face Distortion tones, aggressive silicon-based crunch and smooth germanium-based saturation" in a mini MXR housing¹. Rather than reproducing one specific vintage unit, it gives you both halves of Hendrix's fuzz history in a single pedal, selected by a switch.

The Fuzz Face circuit itself has a long lineage at Dunlop. The standard Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face (JHF1) is, per its manual, a "meticulously faithful reproduction of Jimi's 1969-70 Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face," built on a hand-wired brown circuit board with no solder mask and circuitry matched to the original specs³. Dunlop's product page for that pedal notes Hendrix used the 1969-70 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face on classic albums such as Electric Ladyland⁴. Of the '69 Psych Series pedal, Dunlop says the Fuzz Face Distortion, in all of its incarnations, was the fuzz pedal Hendrix used more than any other¹.

The '69 Psych Series also included two sibling pedals, both now legacy products as well: the Band of Gypsys Fuzz, based on a mysterious Fuzz Face Distortion Hendrix used at several shows between 1969 and 1970, most notably the Band of Gypsys performance, and the Octavio Fuzz⁵.

The controls

The pedal carries the classic two-knob Fuzz Face layout plus a set of switches. Dunlop's manuals for the related Fuzz Face pedals describe the core controls:

The two knobs follow the original Fuzz Face formula: fuzz amount and output level, nothing else. The switches are the modern additions, and they are what set this pedal apart from the standard JHF1, which has no tone shaping beyond its two knobs³⁶.

The SI/GE switch: two fuzzes in one box

This is the pedal's main draw. In its default mode, the pedal delivers the aggressive silicon-based crunch Hendrix used in his later years. Dunlop's page puts it this way: "Hitting the SI/GE switch engages the warm, smooth saturation of germanium-based fuzz that he used in the early years"¹.

For a player, that means one pedal covers both ends of the Fuzz Face sound. Silicon fuzz is typically the brighter, harder-clipping flavor; germanium is the warmer, smoother one. If you want to compare the two circuits in dedicated pedals, Dunlop sells them separately in mini form as the Dunlop FFM3 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Mini Distortion (silicon) and the Dunlop FFM2 Germanium Fuzz Face Mini Distortion (germanium).

The Buffer switch and bypass

Unlike most Fuzz Face variants, this pedal does not simply run true bypass. Dunlop says it "uses buffered bypassing by default, allowing for a greater range of tones and full cooperation with wah"¹. The Buffer switch lets you defeat that and run true bypass switching instead¹.

That default matters for how you place the pedal. A buffer in bypass keeps the pedal cooperating with a wah ahead of it, which suits a Hendrix-style signal chain. Players who want a completely untouched bypass signal can flip the switch. By comparison, the JHF1 and the Fuzz Face Minis are straight true bypass designs³⁶.

Power

The pedal has a 9-volt power jack and 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 included¹. Dunlop does not publish a current draw figure for this pedal; for reference, its manual lists the JHF1 at 500 µA and the FFM3 mini at 3.4 mA, both on 9 volts DC³⁶, so the family draws very little current and is easy on a power supply.

Who uses the Fuzz Face circuit

The player most associated with the circuit is Hendrix himself. Dunlop documents that he used a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face in the late '60s, including on classic albums such as Electric Ladyland, and a mysterious Fuzz Face Distortion at several shows between 1969 and 1970, most notably the Band of Gypsys performance⁴⁵². The Fuzz Face Distortion, in all its incarnations, was the fuzz pedal he used more than any other, according to Dunlop¹. The circuit has since appeared across Dunlop's range in many forms, from the full-size JHF1 to the mini housings and the Eric Johnson signature model.

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