MXR Classic 108 Fuzz Mini

The MXR Classic 108 Fuzz Mini is a fuzz pedal from MXR that packs the company's Classic 108 Fuzz circuit into an MXR mini housing. MXR describes it as giving "all the same vintage fuzz tones in a much smaller footprint" as its larger predecessor, the Classic 108 Fuzz¹²³. Like the full-size pedal, it is built around the silicon BC-108 transistor, which MXR credits with "a round and dirty crunch"⁴.

The circuit has a clear lineage. Premier Guitar's reviewer found that "while not a Fuzz Face in name, the Classic 108 Fuzz (Mini) is essentially the same circuit that's in Dunlop's Jimi Hendrix" Fuzz Face, a silicon Fuzz Face design⁵. Writing at Guitar Pedal X, Stefan Karlsson traced it further, calling it a Type II Silicon Fuzz Face circuit with BC108 transistors⁶.

A BC-108 silicon fuzz in a mini enclosure

The Classic 108 Fuzz Mini is the compact version of the MXR Classic 108 Fuzz (M173), a guitar effects pedal in Jim Dunlop's catalog⁷. The mini keeps the same silicon BC-108 transistor as the larger pedal, so the two share their core sound: what MXR calls vintage fuzz tones with a round and dirty crunch⁴.

The Fuzz Face connection matters to players comparing fuzzes. Delicious Audio's Griffin Jennings described the design as MXR "taking the exact Dunlop silicon Fuzz Face circuit and adding a buffered bypass option to it," solving the placement problems fuzzes can have in a pedal chain⁸. Premier Guitar's reviewer summed up the tones as a "nice range of silicon Fuzz Face tones"⁵.

Controls

The pedal keeps its control set simple, with two knobs and a side switch⁴²:

MXR's own guidance is direct: "just crank the Volume and Fuzz controls to your liking and start riffing"⁴. The Buffer switch is the one feature the full-size Classic 108 Fuzz does not share, and it exists for a practical reason: silicon fuzzes placed after a wah can behave unpredictably, and the buffer gives players a fix without reordering the board³⁸.

Power and connections

The Classic 108 Fuzz Mini runs on 9 volts from a Dunlop ECB003 adapter or an MXR Brick Series power supply, each sold separately³. Jim Dunlop's product page also lists compatibility with the DC Brick, Iso-Brick, and Mini Iso-Brick power supplies, not included⁴.

The bypass is listed in the manual as True Hardwire, with the side switch adding the buffered option³. When guitar.com reviewed the pedal in 2018, its features list described it as true bypass and powered by a 9V mains supply only⁹.

Where it came from

Dunlop introduced the Classic 108 Fuzz Mini at NAMM in January 2018, alongside mini versions of other classic MXR and Way Huge pedals; Delicious Audio filmed a video of it at the show¹⁰. MusicRadar's announcement piece carried the same framing the product still uses today: the same vintage fuzz tones as the larger Classic 108 Fuzz, in an MXR mini housing¹. The pedal carries the model number M296 in Jim Dunlop's catalog⁷.

What reviewers said

Published reactions to the pedal have been brief but positive. Premier Guitar's quick-hit review in 2023 praised the enclosure and the tonal range, noting the silicon Fuzz Face character and calling the housing itself "cool"⁵. Guitar Pedal X included it in a 2022 roundup of mini fuzz pedals, listing its controls as Buffer On/Off, Volume, and Fuzz, and identifying the circuit as the Type II Silicon half of the Fuzz Face family⁶. Delicious Audio covers it in its guide to Fuzz Face clones and variants, where the buffered bypass option is the feature that sets it apart from a straight Fuzz Face copy⁸.

At review time in 2018, guitar.com listed the pedal at £104⁹; Jim Dunlop's current product pages list it at $125.99 USD⁷.

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