Dunlop Band Of Gypsys FuzzFace Mini

The pedal itself has been lost to history, but its unmistakably unique tone lives on in the recordings of those three iconic shows, and Hendrix aficionados have tried to cop that sound for years. We are happy to say that their tonal quest can finally come to a glorious end. Thanks to the inconsistent quality control of the original Fuzz Face pedals, Jimi Hendrix carried six different Fuzz Face pedals with him when he was on tour and chose the one that was behaving the best before that night’s gig. Over the course of ’69–’70, Jimi Hendrix appeared at his most noted live appearances—Live at Woodstock, Live at Berkeley, and Live at the Fillmore East—using a mysterious red Fuzz Face Distortion with white knobs. That fuzz box sounded like a completely different animal from any of the other Fuzz Face pedals in Jimi’s arsenal, snarling with a far more aggressive, biting tone. Poring tirelessly over all of the different customized circuit designs Jimi used over the years, our engineers narrowed down this elusive fuzz tone to a version of the Octavio® circuit that didn’t have the octave up signal. After making a few tweaks, they nailed it with the Band of Gypsys Fuzz Face Mini Distortion. Now, you can get the same Fuzz Face tone Jimi used to woo the masses at some of his most famous performances. It comes in a pedalboard-friendly Fuzz Face Mini housing, complete with an AC power jack and an on/off status LED. Eventually, he settled on an unusual (and possibly custom) red Fuzz Face pedal with white control knobs. He was seen using this unit onstage during his legendary Woodstock and Fillmore East/Band of Gypsys gigs. That pedal vanished long ago, but the mad sound scientists at Jim Dunlop have duplicated the exact same sizzling, aggressive character of Jimi’s red box. Even better, they’ve packed it in the ultra-compact Fuzz Face Mini package that is much more compatible with today’s pedal boards. FEATURES The Band of Gypsys Fuzz Face Mini is a faithful reproduction of a vintage Fuzz Face, featuring only volume and fuzz controls and a mono input and output. However, in addition to its compact package it features modern upgrades like a nine-volt adapter jack, an easy-access battery compartment, an on/off status LED and true-bypass switching. PERFORMANCE According to Dunlop, this pedal is not the typical Fuzz Face clone but rather a different circuit based on the Octavio, but without the octave-up effect. That explains why Jimi’s later Fuzz Face tone befuddled experts and pedal collectors all these years. Simply put, this pedal absolutely nails those fat and bold tones. Full out, it delivers crisp, speaker-ripping treble, but it cleans right up when you back down the guitar’s volume control. Whether you’re a Jimi or fuzz freak, this pedal delivers first-class fuzz. THE BOTTOM LINE With the Band of Gypsys Fuzz Face Mini, Dunlop has finally nailed the elusive bold body and sizzling aggression of Jimi’s latter-day fuzz tone.