The Hartman Tommy Bolin Signature Fuzz is a fuzz pedal made by Hartman, built to recreate the fuzz tone Tommy Bolin used during his time with Deep Purple. Announced by Premier Guitar in October 2008, it was developed with the assistance and cooperation of the Bolin family and estate, starting from an original model of Bolin's go-to fuzz and refined against isolated guitar tracks from his recordings1.
Where the design came from
Premier Guitar's announcement describes the pedal as beginning "with an original model of Tommy's go-to fuzz and refined against the original, isolated guitar tracks of Bolin," with the result "a definitive palette of tones from deep within the Bolin zone"1. The maker's own product pages for related circuits describe the underlying Sam Ash Fuzz as "used by Tommy Bolin during his time with Deep Purple"2, and a later Hartman document repeats that the modified Sam Ash Fuzz, the basis of the Spectrum fuzz-booster recreation, was Bolin's during his Deep Purple years3.
The controls: Attack, Tone and Volume
The pedal is a three-knob design1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Attack | Turning clockwise adds distortion and clipping to the signal; counterclockwise reduces the amount of distortion and overall volume1 |
| Tone | Adjusts the amount of bass (counterclockwise) or treble (clockwise)1 |
| Volume | Master volume for the unit; used together with the Attack control to set overall volume once the desired amount of distortion is achieved1 |
Because the Attack control sets both the distortion level and the overall level, Hartman's guidance is to set the amount of dirt first, then use the Volume knob to match the output level1.
How it responds to the guitar
Premier Guitar notes that "as with many early fuzz circuits, this pedal is highly responsive to the settings of the electric guitar's controls"1. In practice, that means the guitar's volume knob can control the amount of dirt the pedal delivers, an interaction players of vintage-style fuzzes use to move between clean and distorted sounds from the guitar itself1.
Power
The pedal ships with a new 9V battery installed1. It can also use external 9VDC power through a tip-negative, "Boss-style" 2.1mm jack1.
The power jack is tip-negative, the standard Boss-style polarity used by most modern pedalboard supplies, so a standard center-negative supply cable is the correct match1.
Videos
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Questions
Does the Hartman Tommy Bolin Signature Fuzz come with a battery?
Yes. According to Premier Guitar's announcement of the pedal, the Hartman Tommy Bolin Signature Fuzz ships with a new 9V battery already installed, so it can be played straight out of the box without an external power supply.
What power supply does the Tommy Bolin Signature Fuzz need?
The pedal can run on external 9VDC power through a tip-negative, Boss-style 2.1mm jack. It also ships with a 9V battery installed, so either power method works.
How does the guitar volume knob affect the Tommy Bolin fuzz?
Premier Guitar notes that, as with many early fuzz circuits, the pedal is highly responsive to the settings of the electric guitar's controls. That means the guitar's volume knob can be used to control how much dirt the pedal delivers, cleaning up as the knob is turned down.
What does the Tone knob do on the Hartman Tommy Bolin Signature Fuzz?
The Tone knob adjusts the amount of bass or treble in the signal. Turning it counterclockwise adds bass, and turning it clockwise adds treble.
How much does the Hartman Tommy Bolin Signature Fuzz cost?
When the pedal was announced in October 2008, it was shipping with an MSRP of $189.99.
Sources (3)
- Hartman Releases Tommy Bolin Signature Fuzz, Premier Guitar, 2008-10-30
- Custom made, BSM (treblebooster.net), 2025
- bsm-treble-boosters-2019.pdf, treblebooster.net, 2019
