Dunlop Mini Fuzz Face

The Dunlop Mini Fuzz Face is a family of small fuzz pedals from Dunlop that shrink the classic Fuzz Face into a housing that fits a pedalboard. The original Fuzz Face's large round case made it awkward on modern boards, and the Mini line, introduced in 2013, keeps the round shape and the skip-pad "nose" of the original at less than one-third the overall size¹²³. Dunlop describes the line as "legendary Fuzz Face tones in smaller, more pedalboard-friendly housings" with modern additions: a bright status LED, an AC power jack and a convenient battery door⁴.

The range launched with three versions: the FFM1 Silicon, the FFM2 Germanium and the FFM3 Jimi Hendrix⁵¹. Each carries the circuit of one of Dunlop's full-size Fuzz Faces, so the choice between them is mostly a choice of transistor type and voicing.

A Fuzz Face shrunk to pedalboard size

The Mini keeps the look of the original but cuts its footprint dramatically. Vintage Guitar measured the change as shrinking the diameter in half, down to 3.5 inches¹³. Premier Guitar's reviewer called the FFM2 "about half the size of a traditional model, and a better fit for most pedalboards"¹⁴. Guitar World noted in its 2014 review that Dunlop even lowered the price to match the reduced size¹.

Beyond the size, the Minis add the practical features the original lacked. Each has an easy-access battery door, an AC power jack and a status LED, and all three models feature volume and fuzz controls¹. Dunlop's product pages describe the line as the classic tones in housings with "modern appointments"¹⁰.

The controls

The control set is the same two knobs as the original Fuzz Face, which is part of the design's appeal for players who want a simple fuzz. Dunlop's manuals describe them plainly¹⁵:

Guitar World's review of the Band of Gypsys Mini made the same point about the format: "featuring only volume and fuzz controls"¹⁶. There is no tone control, no EQ and no mode switch on the core FFM1, FFM2 and FFM3 models.

Power and connections

Power is where the Minis differ most from the vintage-style full-size Fuzz Face. Dunlop's JDF2 Fuzz Face has no provision for a mains adapter, where the Minis accept a 9-volt AC adapter such as the Dunlop ECB003/ECB003EU or a DC Brick power supply⁷. Each Mini also runs on one 9-volt battery, installed through a battery door on the underside of the pedal rather than by removing the bottom plate¹⁵.

MusicRadar's review of the FFM2 highlighted this as a selling point, noting the "modern power circuit design so that it can be used with a standard power supply"¹⁸¹⁰. The FFM1's manual lists its power supply as 9 volts DC⁷.

Is the Mini the same circuit as the original?

Dunlop's position is that each Mini carries the circuit of a specific full-size Fuzz Face, only smaller. The FFM1 Silicon Fuzz Face Mini is "spec'd from a 1970 Fuzz Face in our own collection," prized by Dunlop for its bright character⁴. The FFM2 Germanium is based on '66-'68 era pre-silicon Fuzz Faces¹⁰. The FFM3 Jimi Hendrix has the same circuit as the JHF1 in a smaller housing¹⁹, and Guitar World reported that the JHF1 circuit is based on Hendrix's own Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face from 1969-'70¹.

Delicious Audio put it simply: "Dunlop has shrunk the exact same circuit down to fun size for modern use"²⁰. The Germanium version uses slightly mismatched germanium transistors, just like the first version of the Fuzz Face from the Sixties, while the Silicon version uses silicon transistors like the later '70s Fuzz Face¹.

The Mini range: silicon, germanium and signature versions

The Fuzz Face Mini Germanium was one of three new small-format Dunlop Fuzz Faces at launch, the others being higher-gain models with silicon transistors¹⁴. Later additions expanded the line further, including the Joe Bonamassa Fuzz Face Mini FFM4 and the Band of Gypsys Fuzz Face Mini FFM6²¹²².

Reviewers found real differences between them. MusicRadar's Michael Astley-Brown wrote of the FFM2: "It's less abrasive than a vintage Fuzz Face, but not as finicky to dial in as the others in the Mini range"². On the FFM1, the same reviewer found it "proves the versatility of the original Fuzz Face design while adding a few modern twists to the recipe"⁸.

Premier Guitar's reviewer compared the FFM2 against boutique competition and came away impressed, writing that none of a half-dozen boutique and homemade germanium Fuzz Faces sounded better than the Mini¹⁴. JHS Pedals' history of the line was blunt about the FFM1's launch price: "It's a hundred bucks. Really. $100 total"²¹.

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