Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzz

The Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzz is a family of fuzz pedals from Dunlop built around one idea: reproduce the 1969-70 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face that Jimi Hendrix used on classic albums such as Electric Ladyland. The core product, the JHF1 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Distortion, is a full-size round pedal in turquoise hammertone with a hand-wired brown circuit board with no solder mask, its circuitry matched to the original specs¹². Dunlop describes it as "a truly playable collectable for any Hendrix or Fuzz Face fanatic"¹.

The same circuit also appears in a smaller housing, the FFM3 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Mini, which Dunlop says delivers "the thick, smooth Fuzz Face tone that Jimi Hendrix made famous in a pedalboard-friendly size"³.

A Fuzz Face circuit in Hendrix colors

The JHF1's manual calls it a "meticulously faithful reproduction of Jimi's 1969-70 Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face"⁴. The pedal keeps the original's groovy circular chassis and tooled clones of the original Fuzz Face knobs, finished in turquoise hammertone¹. Inside, the hand-wired brown circuit board has no solder mask, and Dunlop says the circuitry is carefully matched to original specs¹.

Guitar World's reviewers described the Hendrix Fuzz Face as "nothing less than a meticulous reproduction of the original pedal"⁷. Premier Guitar has noted that the same circuit also lives in Dunlop's MXR Classic 108 Fuzz, calling it "essentially the same circuit that's in Dunlop's Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face."

The turquoise finish is itself part of the story. According to Dave Fox's Foxrox history of Fuzz Face reissues, Dunlop's standard Fuzz Face production stuck with red, so the turquoise JHF1 stands apart from the regular line⁸⁹.

The controls

Both the JHF1 and the FFM3 keep the original two-knob layout⁴⁶:

The FFM3 adds true-bypass switching, a status LED, an AC power jack and an easy-access battery door, modern touches the full-size JHF1 does not have¹⁰². A JHS Pedals demo of the related Jimi Hendrix Signature Fuzz Face identified the stock controls as a 1k fuzz potentiometer and a 470K volume potentiometer¹¹.

Power and current draw

The JHF1's manual lists a 9-volt DC power supply and a current draw of 500 µA, with the battery installed by removing the bottom plate⁴. A separate listing for the same pedal gives the current draw as 3.4 mA, so the two sources disagree¹². The FFM3's manual lists 9 volts DC, a 3.4 mA current draw, 10 kΩ input impedance and an output impedance below 16 kΩ at maximum volume⁶. The FFM3 can be powered by a 9-volt battery, a Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter, or Dunlop's DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brick power supplies³.

Versions: JHF1, FFM3 Mini and the limited edition

Dunlop's Hendrix Fuzz line has taken several forms:

The FFM3 arrived in 2013 as one of three Fuzz Face Minis, bringing the circuit into pedalboard-friendly enclosures¹⁴. MusicRadar's Michael Astley-Brown noted the Minis carry "modern-day appointments such as AC power jacks" and easy-access battery doors¹⁴. On That Pedal Show, Mick pointed out that the FFM3 "takes up waaaaay less pedalboard space" than the JHF1 and that the two cost more or less the same to buy¹⁵.

A JHS Pedals video on the related Jimi Hendrix Signature Fuzz Face explains that its circuit uses the specs and values Roger Mayer changed in Hendrix's original Arbiter Fuzz Faces, priced at $149¹¹.

Click to load

What reviewers said

Reviewers across the press have been positive about the Hendrix Fuzz circuit, with a few caveats¹⁴¹⁶¹⁰:

• MusicRadar's Michael Astley-Brown found the FFM3 "delivers classic Jimi sounds" and called it "the most versatile, mix-friendly of the Fuzz Face Minis"¹⁴.
• Vintage Guitar's reviewer found the Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Mini offered "a lot of sustain, great percussive pick attack, and a smooth-yet-aggressive sound," and that it worked well both as a stand-alone fuzz and as an added drive on top of a Marshall's overdrive¹⁷.
• Guitar World's mini pedal guide praised its "classic Sixties-style fuzz," eye-catching color and pedalboard-friendly housing, while warning that "distortion might be too over-the-top for some players"¹⁰.
• MusicRadar's mini pedal roundup highlighted its "excellent mid-range tone" and "awesome octave overtones," noting it is not super high gain overall¹⁸.
• On That Pedal Show, the standard JHF1 was named Mick's favorite fuzz overall¹⁵.

Reviewers found plenty to like across the Mini line. One reviewer wrote that the FFM3 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Mini "has all those heady tones that made it a classic in the first place"¹⁶, while another praised its hearty mid frequencies and its ability to produce tasty octave overtones.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Questions