Jim Dunlop Siete Santos Octavio Fuzz

The Jim Dunlop Siete Santos Octavio Fuzz is a fuzz pedal with a built-in seven-band graphic EQ, made by Dunlop as a signature pedal for Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top. Its circuit is based on the Jimi Hendrix Octavio Fuzz, the octave-up fuzz design Hendrix made famous, updated with an EQ section and an AC power jack for Gibbons¹.

Dunlop tells the story this way: back in 1968, Jimi Hendrix introduced Gibbons to the Octavio Fuzz, and Gibbons went on to pair that fuzz with a 7-band EQ for his solos. Dunlop decided to put that recipe into a single pedal, so players can shape what the maker calls "wild, fiery fuzz tones" without a separate EQ unit on the board¹. The pedal ships in the classic Octavio cheese wedge enclosure, finished in a custom color scheme with the "Pinstripe Billy" design¹.

An Octavio fuzz with a seven-band EQ

The Siete Santos (model number BFG07) combines two things players normally buy separately: an octave fuzz and a graphic EQ. MusicRadar's reviewer Trevor Curwen described it as Dunlop/MXR combining "both the octave fuzz (with circuitry based on its Jimi Hendrix Octavio fuzz) and a graphic EQ in a single pedal," now endorsed by Billy Gibbons²³.

The EQ section is what sets the pedal apart from a straight Octavio reissue. Delicious Audio's Christopher Scapelliti wrote at the pedal's NAMM 2019 introduction that "The EQ section is what sets this pedal apart, with a 7-band graphic EQ to help sculpt the sound," with the EQ running from 100Hz up to 6.4kHz and up to 18dB of boost or cut on each band⁶. For a fuzz pedal, that is a wide palette: you can scoop the mids, tame a harsh top end, or push a solo forward without touching the amp.

Guitar.com's Richard Purvis reviewed the pedal in May 2019 alongside a Jerry Cantrell Cry Baby wah, describing it as "an octave fuzz with seven-band EQ created for boogie-blues beardsman Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top," made in the USA⁵. His take on the pairing was measured:

The controls and EQ range

The control layout carries over the two knobs from the original Octavio and adds the EQ sliders³.

The seven EQ bands span 100Hz to 6.4kHz, and each can be cut or boosted by up to 18dB¹. MusicRadar's reviewer found that "Those EQ bands cover all the salient areas of guitar/amp tone with a range from 100Hz to 6.4kHz"². The sliders have center detent positions, so with everything flat the pedal produces what Curwen called "a bright gritty fuzz"².

Dunlop's manual gives a straightforward starting point for new owners⁴:

1. Set the FUZZ and LEVEL knobs at 12 o'clock.
2. Set all GRAPHIC EQ sliders to 0dB.
3. Adjust from there to taste.

One ergonomic note from the MusicRadar review: "the front-mounted Fuzz and Level knobs are not the easiest to set," a side effect of the cheese wedge enclosure, whose sloped face puts the knobs at the front edge².

Powering it

The pedal can be powered three ways: a 9-volt battery accessed through the bottom of the enclosure, a 9-volt AC adapter such as the Dunlop ECB003 or ECB003EU, or Dunlop's DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brick power supplies⁴. RockBoard's spec listing gives the adapter input as 9V DC, center negative³.

From the Hendrix Octavio to a Billy Gibbons design

The Octavio Fuzz itself traces back to Jimi Hendrix, and Dunlop has reissued it in several forms over the years, including the Jimi Hendrix '69 Psych Series Octavio Fuzz and the MXR Octavio Fuzz. The Siete Santos takes that circuit and reworks it for Gibbons, whose connection to the pedal goes back to 1968, when Hendrix personally introduced him to it¹⁷.

Dunlop's manual frames the pedal as the Octavio "updated and dressed up sharply for the Bearded One, the Reverend, Mr. Billy Gibbons," with the added AC power jack as the modern convenience on top of the EQ⁴. The enclosure keeps the classic cheese wedge shape of the original, in the custom Pinstripe Billy color scheme¹.

What reviewers said

MusicRadar's review came away positive, listing the pedal's pluses as an authentic-sounding vintage octave fuzz, a very flexible EQ, smart styling and blue LEDs, with the verdict line "Authentic-sounding vintage octave fuzz"². Guitar.com's review was more reserved about the EQ as a fuzz partner, calling it not obvious but potentially creative⁵. Both reviewers agreed on the core: the fuzz side delivers the vintage octave-up character the Octavio is known for, and the EQ is there for players who want to shape it further.

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