Jim Dunlop Band of Gypsys Fuzz Face Mini

The Jim Dunlop Band of Gypsys Fuzz Face Mini, model FFM6, is a fuzz pedal from Dunlop that aims to recreate the biting, aggressive fuzz tone Jimi Hendrix used at the Band of Gypsys show and other iconic performances¹². Dunlop describes it as nailing "the aggressive, biting fuzz tone Jimi Hendrix used at some of his most iconic live" performances, and it comes in a pedalboard-friendly Fuzz Face Mini housing with an AC power jack and an on/off status LED³.

What sets it apart from other pedals in the Fuzz Face family is its circuit. According to Dunlop, it is not the typical Fuzz Face clone but a different design based on the Octavio circuit with the octave-up signal removed³. It was initially available at limited international retailers and exclusively in the U.S. at GuitarCenter.com and MusiciansFriend.com beginning November 1, 2014, through the end of that year¹.

The controls: volume and fuzz

The FFM6 keeps things simple with two knobs, and that is the whole control set⁴⁵.

There is no separate tone knob. Players who want a three-knob version of the Band of Gypsys sound can look at the Dunlop JHW4 Band of Gypsys Fuzz Mini, which Guitar Pedal X lists with Output, Tone and Fuzz controls⁵. The FFM6 also uses true bypass switching, so your clean signal passes through unchanged when the pedal is off².

Power and connections

The pedal has a mono input and output, a nine-volt adapter jack and an easy-access battery compartment, along with an on/off status LED⁴. The battery door makes battery swaps straightforward on a crowded board, and the status LED is a feature the original 1960s Fuzz Face never had. The mini housing is the main practical draw: it is built to fit the Fuzz Face sound onto a pedalboard where a full-size Fuzz Face enclosure would be awkward³.

Where the circuit came from

The Band of Gypsys Fuzz Face Mini is not a straight recreation of the standard Fuzz Face circuit. Dunlop says it is based on the Octavio circuit, the design behind Hendrix's octave-up fuzz, with the octave-up circuitry removed and a few tweaks made³. Guitar World's review described it as built around a rare vintage fuzz circuit rather than a standard Fuzz Face clone⁴.

The connection to Hendrix is the whole reason the pedal exists. The Band of Gypsys era, the live group Hendrix formed with Buddy Miles and Billy Cox, is the reference point for the tone Dunlop chased here³. The FFM6 sits in Dunlop's broader line of Hendrix-affiliated fuzzes, alongside pedals like the Dunlop Octavio, the circuit this pedal is derived from, and other Fuzz Face Mini variants³.

What reviewers said

Guitar World reviewed the pedal in February 2015 at a list price of $171.41⁴. The review highlighted the unusual circuit heritage, noting it is based on a rare vintage fuzz design rather than the typical Fuzz Face build⁴.

MusicRadar's reviewer spent time with the FFM6 and found that, even though the octave-up circuitry is removed, octave overtones still come through on ringing chords, especially with the fuzz control turned up⁶. That behavior tracks with the pedal's Octavio ancestry: the octave-up signal is gone as a dedicated effect, but the circuit's character still leans that way when pushed.

Reviewers were positive about the FFM6. One writer called it "extremely cool for a Fuzz Face," describing it as drastically different in a good way and one of the more fun pieces of gear in the writer's collection¹⁷. The pedal also earned a Gold Award, with the review stating that "this pedal absolutely nails those fat and bold tones" and that it cleans up when backing off the guitar's volume control⁴.

How it fits among the Fuzz Face Minis

Dunlop's Fuzz Face Mini line puts several circuits into the same compact housing, and the FFM6 is the Band of Gypsys variant of the family⁶. The line also includes germanium and silicon Fuzz Face Mini versions, such as the Dunlop Fuzz Face Mini FFM2 Germanium and the Dunlop Silicon Fuzz Face Mini, which carry the classic Fuzz Face circuits in the same small box³.

The practical differences between the FFM6 and its siblings come down to circuit and controls. The standard Fuzz Face Mini models run the classic two-transistor Fuzz Face circuit, while the FFM6 runs the Octavio-derived design without the octave³. And where the FFM6 gives you two knobs, the JHW4 Band of Gypsys Fuzz Mini adds a Tone control to the same basic concept, with Output, Tone and Fuzz knobs listed by Guitar Pedal X⁵³.

For a player comparing the two Band of Gypsys options, the choice is between the simpler two-knob FFM6 and the three-knob JHW4 with its tone shaping. Both trace back to the same Hendrix live era, but they are different products rather than versions of one pedal³⁵.

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