Dunlop JH-F2 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face

fuzz's are tricky, it's not quite as simple as it seems, but this one is just as EZ as the others. The thing is.... there IS a SWEET SPOT .. you find it by balancing your pedal / guitar's / amps contols ... it takes some doing .. well worth the effort..

i was afraid to buy this red jh-f2 reissue based on some of the bad reviews here .. i'm writing this to let YOU know don't be..... i have a tele w/paf(alnico) in the neck semi-hot & I using a vintage series nomad (50watts) w/4x12 cab - i like to keep it simple as far as effects goes, i have a analog crybaby wah >> ts9 >> bd-2 >> cs-2 >> JH-F2 FUZZ FACE >> CH-1 >> reel echo >> amp >>> I paid $50 EBAY... ... I USE IT a freakin lot ... of you find one for around a half a bill, jump on it! as others have said - use your guitar vol - get your amp vol to correspond - i don't turn the fuzz all the way up don't need to w/ the paf's - if you spend time finding the right setting can't see anyone NOT LOVING THIS - i prefer the germaniums... to me IMHO they're warmer the sillicones splatter and need more dailing in - good in a different way - i'm giving a 10 to make up for the unfair reviews givin to it by chuckleheads - BTW this pedal might not be right for you if your tryin to imitate metallica or techo or something but it DOES DELIVER WHAT IT"S SUPPOSED TO just like a good fuzz should ..and it's a great value ,

Good sounding fuzz that can go from subtle to outrageous. Simple manual for a simple pedal. Stock re-issue.

I find that humbuckers do not sound good at all. They tend to get real muddy and thick. Single coils is where this pedal excels. When using my fender Texas special bridge, it is still a little hot but sounds much better, more definition. Anyone who says that this pedal can be bass heavy, probably is using the wrong setup. You need single coil pickups to retain the high end.

I would depend on this, but would always bring a backup.

Never had to deal with Dunlop.

I would probably buy this again, but would test and compare it with other fuzz pedals before I purchased this again. I don't like that the pedal is not that versatile when using humbucker pickups. I don't know if you could use this all the time in your pedal chain, but it is fun and inspiring to use.

Pretty easy, theres only 2 knobs, one for volume and one for fuzz. The only problem is the fuzz knob dosn't do very much for the first 3/4 of its turn, then it's very sensitive in the last 1/4 or so of it's turn, qhich you can look at two ways, it makes it hard to get that exact setting you want, but it's also very configurable

The sound is excellent - it's a fuzz pedal not an overdrive pedal, most people give fuzz's bad reviews because they don't know the difference - It's quite bass heavy and tends to cut the highs a bit, but I like it like that and it could always be changed with an EQ pedal

It's built entirely out of metal, weighs quite a bit considering theres only a tiny pcb inside the giant red casing. The only thing wrong with mine is that the stomp switch is acting up, sometimes when I turn it on it cuts most of the volume and I have to push it halfway down again to get it to work properly, this is intermittent but annoying when it happens, though nothing changing the switch shouldn't fix if I could be bothered doing it

Never dealt with Dunlop

I mostly play classic rock and blues, this pedal is a must for any Hendrix fan. I'm running it with an Epiphone LP Limited Edition with stock pickups into an Epiphone Firefly 30 DSP (a VERY good amp for all the price of it). If it were stolen I would definatley replace it, it's my main distortion pedal.

Too Easy....

I am using a number of guitars, Strat, LP Classic 1960, Tele, Epi Sheraton II, Parker Fly, etc etc. I am running this through a seperate loop using a Tonebone Loopbone. I have put all of my NON true bypass foot pedals through the 2 available loops on the Loopbone (you must get one of these bad boys). I run first into a Keeley Compressor to the main input on the Loopbone. Here is how the loop with the Fuzzface looks(loop 1). Crybaby-Fuzzface to the return of the loop. In the other loop I have a Univibe (newer one)-MXR Phase 90-Electric Mistress-MXR Microamp-English Muff'n-OctaFuzz-MXR Smartgate back to the return. I run out of the Loopbone to the input of a Mesa Boogie Tri-Axis. I use a Digital Products Ground Control to switch midi patches between the Tri-Axis and an old school Alesis Quadraverb. I am also running an Danelectro Fish&Chips EQ (nicer than you think)-MXR Chorus-Boss NP50 Noise Reduction unit. I have isolated all my available loops with some sort of gate. My theory is a little in key places is better than a lot in one place. This set up allows me to use the Fuzz face with a number of textures and tones. The main thing you have to keep in mind with a fuzz is that is does not and is not supposed to shine much when playing chords. It does however, offer some interstesting harmonic depth (especially in the lower subtones)to lead playing and even nicer when you double the lines while recording. I basically crank this sucker up to about 3:00 on the volume and max blast or close to it on the fuzz. From there I control the amount of distortion with the volume on my guitars. It works particularly nice with the Strat stock pickups(Late 80's USA). Truly captures those Hendixesque moments. At lower volumes on the guitar you get a nice high end but it is not over powering. It's actually a fairly clean tone but has a nice bite and just a little snarl. At medium volume on the guitar it starts to beef up on the bottom end. Remember, I am talking about notes and solo's here. It truly adds a bottom end to the note that is familiar to many when listening to Hendrix, Eric Johnson and even SRV (English Muff'n nails his sound). As you crank it towards and all the way up on the guitar, it starts to over load and fart out from the bottom end on the lower strings particularly. The tone of the note disappears into a low end subtone with no particular note quality HOWEVER, if you are nimble and quick, it give a very intersting and musical "suggestion" of notes..in other words you don't have to be as accurate as you do quick. It's alive, not a canned sounding linear output distortion pedal. The bad news is that it is pretty noisy. Various configuration are better and worse i.e. compressor in front of it (wow! very loud). The built in Loopbone boost (great booster)=noise. The Microamp spells NOISE. however, you really can run it pretty much on it's own. It has a certain compressed sound to it and runs through time shift devices pretty nicely at low volumes but turns into a jet airplane at high volumes (on the guitar). Used with some delay, hall reverb and the UniVibe with the guitar turned down gets a very fluid sound that calls Robin Trower to mind. Anyway, the unit is a pleasure to play around with and have and do use it on gigs and while recording. If you are looking to beef up your lead tones and are willing to get a noise gate, this might be what you are looking for. If you want modern tones or metal, this is not the one you want.

Seems like a tank and about the same size as one.

No idea. No Problems

I mess around in a lot of styles but it's all rock oriented. I like classic tones that range from Hendrix to AC/DC (English Muff'n nails them). I bought the fuzzface out of curiosity after reading about all of the artists over the years who have used them. I can play fine without it but it does add another stitch the fabric. I have stomped on it for solos a number of times lately while playing live. It makes lead lines fluid and fatter. You have to learn to control this wild dog but once you get it down, you will likely use it like I do, selectively and with no regards to any musical rule whatsover!!

FEEL IT?? PLAY IT!!

This review is of a pedal that I took the guts from and reboxed them since I sent the box to Mike at Analog Man to get the Sunface conversion installed. I figured I'd keep the gut of this pedal- rebox them with new jacks and pots- doesn't affect the sound one bit (probably better quality assembely when I did this, more on this later). This is super easy to use. Not exactly easy to get a great sound out of it (more on this later).

Fuzz can be difficult to get a good sound from. You really need to have a fuzz pumping into a overdriven tube amp to get a really good sound but that doesn't excuse this thing. With the sound of this I might as well have the DOD Grunge pedal or something else that takes away all expression in you playing.

I also have an earlier version of this pedal (so early in Dunlop's production that it came in blue paint). That thing sounds pretty good for a mass produced pedal. If you look inside the 2 Dunlop's I have you'll see the reason why they sound so different. My old version has an exact copy of the original circuit; about 9 parts on the board. That must have been too expensive for Dunlop to produce and get reliable sound from because the new version has about twice the number of components (lots of trimpots, etc.).

A lot has been said about new production germanium transistors, I don't think that's as important as someone sitting down and tweaking components to get the right sound. They don't do this here. You're better going with one of the many Fuzz Face clones than this thing, you can find one that'll run you about the same price that someone cared about the sound. My first attempt at building a Fuzz Face (with way too high gain silicon transistors sounds better that this, and I had no clue what I was doing). I won't say there's no good sound from it, there's about one place on the dials I was able to get something passing but good luck finding it.

I bought this brand new and opened it up and on of the solder joints on the board was almost non existent. Just remember that this thing was made for the highest possible profit margin. The box is like a tank but I don't trust the board construction.

Haven't tried. I can do most necessary repairs myself.

You're better served buy one of the multitude of Fuzz Face clones. Some of those are going to be more expensive (Diaz Square Face, Analog Man Sunface, Phoenix Custom Electronics Fuzz, all of which I own and love for their things) but are better than this thing. There are pedals out there for the same price or less that will sound so much better, just check Ebay for "fuzz". It has the vibe with the cool box but the sound just isn't there. Don't think you're going to get the Hendrix sound when you buy this.

2 knobs...one stomp switch...it`s easy even for drummers.

Just like I`ve read above, Fuzz pedals are made to sound like crap and this one is the crappiest of all. Just plug your guitar into a good "TUBE" amp and there you go! Beautiful fuzz tone.
It`s not noisy at all...I guess I`ll dare to say that this is the most quiet pedal in my chain. I have a Fender JapStrat 68`Reissue trough the FuzzFace, a RatII and a Small Clone Analgog Chorus trough a 64`Fender Tremolux Blackface 35watter head with a 2x12 60`s Bassman cabinet.

I bought this pedal beacuse:

1) I love Hendrix.
2) I needed some Red-lightsaber attitude in my solos and riffs.

This pedal is NOT for metalhead losers! This is the Real Deal for serious people looking for serious tone.
Go get one and you`ll be admired by the other guitar players around you.

It`s built like a Panzer.
Made to survive bombings and nuclear attacks.

I`m an engineer, so if something happens I`ll do my own costumer support or I`ll find somebody to do it for me.

I play rock n`roll. Been playing for 11 years and never tried anything better.

Its easy to use but I don't like the battery being loose inside, only thing holding the battery is the terminal connection.

Gibson Les Paul Custom with a Marshall 1959 -- fuzz face sounds like crap no matter what settings. same guitar with a fender twin reverb--this pedal sounds awesome, sounds like Hendrix on "Like a Rolling Stone" Marshall doesn't need any effects like fuzz, distortion, or od, just turn amp up past seven. This pedal needs to be used with an amp with a clear and clean sound. I give it 10 because when i use it with my fender twin reverb, it has a very warm and soothing tone. The volume on the pedal will also make the amp go even louder.

Does what it's supposed to do every time for 10 years.

N/A

I've been playing for 25 years. I bought this because Hendrix had one. I will never hot rod or modify this, it's fine the way it is. If it ever breaks or something, then I might change some of the resistors to get a different sound, but I'd buy another new one too. It has always been a part of my set up, couldn't be without it.

???I don't get it? plese help???! LOL, you get the idea. This is as easy as an on pf lamp with a dimmer.

I give it ten here, because the Fuzz it gives is exactly the fuzz it sells! I play along to the Hendrix DVD's and I can get his live sounds with my Jap Fender and My Fender Twin amp. Chain Setup:My Fuzz into the Vox Wah into my Octavia, into my univibe and finally the Leslie 147 unit.

no problems in two years. It took me this long to get all of the above gear. Can't rate these untill you rate them in there environment. unlike the many others we see below :/ ??

never saked with no problems ;)

Please checkout the sound section, it's all there, right where it belongs..... in the Sound! ya dig?

2 knobs ... fuzz and volume ... tunr them to 12 o'clok then play.
if you want to clean up your sound, just roll back your guitar volume ... want more fuzz, cranck your guitar volume to 10 !

note that my pedal (a Crest Audio ri. type 2, with BC109 transistors ... not a Dunlop in fact) has been modified by Olaf Nobis of Banzai Effects (best pedals on earth) who installed me a true bypass switch ...

i play a Gibson LP Jr. or Fender Telcaster us > Fuzz Face > Cry Baby (true bypassed) > Marshall Blues Breaker ri.
sounds just perfect, can play everything with this set-up, blues rock, funk, 70's hard rock etc etc ...

i've tried a lot of drive box before buying a fuzz face, and to me, nothing sounds better than this through a Marshall plexi ...

this pedal is really dynamic, transparent, it responds well to the volume variations from the guitar.

the original switch was really crappy ... but with then new Banzai one, i think this pedal will be in my setup for a long time !

for me it's a ten ...
don't need to buy a 150$ clone like a MJM, Fulltone when you can find this mid 90's reissue on Ebay for around 70$/?.

if it were stolen i would try to buy an original one, or buy a SolaSound Tonebender ri.

if you're looking for a good old 70's sound, just check this pedal !

It is very easy to use! (only a volume and Fuzz knob), but still very difficult to get a good sound out of it! There is a manual (more like a drawing) in case you need to switch your empty 9 volts battery! This is a standard unit! No mods! A Jim Dunlop reissue of the Dallas-arbiter fuzzface distortionbox (JHF2)Serial number 932168, and both potentiometers read R1379337, which suggests that this pedal/ these potentiometers was made in the 37th week of 1993. I believe that, cause i baught it in 1993! there's no adapterinput, which is true to the original, but NOT very practical. More on that lateron..

My setup: A Japanese Fender stratocaster '68 reissue into this fuzzface, into a 100 watt 1959 Superlead "Plexi"reissue thats connected to a 1960TV (Tall vintage) 4x12 speakercabinet, loaded with standard 25 watt greenback reissuespeakers.

I've also tried it with the same guitar into a little Fender champion 110 transistoramp.

I gues this pedal needs volume! The louder the volume, the better the fuzz! The potentiometers work just fine, the fuzz and volume climb up nicely from 0 to 10. The fuzz likes your low e string!..So much that it seems to neglect your other 4 or 5 strings..more on that later. I tried to get the Hendrixvibe, but i can't say i nailed it! (this has nothing to do with my ability of playing!) I guess the pedal has a sound of it's own.

For people looking for a tubescreamervibe: look elsewhere! Fuzz is NOT distortion, and it's also NOT overdrive!

I wish the pedal would spread the fuzz over all six strings a bit more! I believe the sound is there, but it doesn't come out! Like if you were listening to it with a big stuffed cloud of cotton in your ears! This is a 5.6!

Well, it seems to be build like a tank! However, 2 things have happend:
The backplate is hold with one center screw. If your being very enthousiatic about your bands music, this screw can (and will!) bend when stepped on hard! I havent found a replacement screw in a hardware store somewhere. Also, this mid nineties version came with crappy tiny supersmall black rubberfeet. Again: When stepped on hard, these feet can (and will) brake. It's funny to see that jim Dunlop changed these feet on more recent pedals.

The switch reads "Mexico" on it. Why import cheap switches??

Sorry, never dealt with them!

The price i payed: 199 dutch guilders back in 1993!
(which is about 90 and a half Euro's today!)

Well, It's meant for that 60's type stuff. Vintage rock. And, to me it doesn't do quite well. therefore: TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!! If it was stolen, I personally wouldn't get anotherone: Try all of them and you'l choose another brand! Guaranteed! But some buy these for there cool looks and change the innards! Maybe i will also in the future.

I got my first guitar 10 years ago, so i still have a lot to learn.
I love the looks about it, and also the fact that it just has 2 knobs. I hate the fact that it's a battery-only pedal!I also hate the hype about it!This is not Hendrix in a stompbox! Be real! There are also stories of Jim Dunlop relabeling cheaper transistors with "NKT275" to be more true to the original. I don't know if its true, but the sound this pedal makes needs to be heard before you buy! The original will sound MUCH different! (Thats why there are a lot of peole offering upgradekits!)

Years after i bought it, I was able to compare it to a Roger Mayer Mongoose fuzz,a Roger Mayer Axiss fuzz, and a Roger Mayer voodoo axe!Conclusion: Compared to these, the Fuzzface is a JOKE!(Must admit: the fuzzface looks VERRRY cool!) But it's not only looks we are after here..

Buy it secondhand,to save some bucks (and take it to a guitarshop to compare it with a new one!)..if you get a good deal,you can always change the innards in the future!

I wish it had a adapterinput!..and a Roger mayer spitfirefuzz sound!
I also wish the fuzz would be more spread on all six strings! No chords can be played here!..And i wish mine was hammerite grey!
(instead of standard red!)The knobs don't look like the original to, something you would expect from a reissue! Nowadays, i don't use it very often..Dont believe the hype! The looks are simply greater then it sounds! No wonder you can always find them on ebay! These opinions are handy, but there only opinions! Get a great deal on something that sounds right to YOU! Try before you buy is really the best advice!

Un-balanced and un-controlled. Fuzz pedals have these traits some anyway, but this pedal has them to an extreme. It's hard to use.

Strat into RI Plexi, '67 Deluxe, or Mesa Blue Angel. Weak gain, huge range loss, harsh useless tone, no note definition.

I tried to use it for the Hendrix & general 60's stuff. This pedal is a joke compared to the MJM London Fuzz, Analogman Sunface, Fulltone '69 pedal, and a host of other available. You can get a real fuzz used for the same price and new for $50 more. I sold it for $35 to someone who wanted the enclosure to put a real fuzz in.

pretty simple, two knobs: volume and fuzz, just set it however you want !

i use and ibanez rg320qs through a vox wah->Boss os-2->fuzz face->uni-vibe->marshall g215rcd and it sounds great, it's funny that the fuzz face sounds totally different when it's after the os-2, it all depends on the signal and the ordering in the effects order. and by sound u definitely can get the warm hendrix and clapton sound, man together with the uni vibe and the vox wah...it's awesome !!!

it's full of metal...very hard and stiff, the only downside for it is the one only screw in the back...if it's loose it's definitely not safe.

never had to deal with dunlop.

i play mostly classic rock and some metal...from the fuzz face i really get the sounds i really love. it really sounds great, it all depends on the ordering of the pedal. i've been playing for approx years, when i started i never played with pedal except a multi-effect which sucks...after i got my fuzz face i found the real meaning of good sounds !

Man, how easy do u want it? Volume and Fuzz, thats about as simple as it gets, spose a tone control would have been useful, though i can live without.

ok, at the time i bought this thing i was looking for a fuzz that gives me that hendrixy grinding sound, you know, that bassy sort of midlish sound. I checked out the big muff (Russian and American)and it didn't deliver what i wanted, the boss fuzz is uterly disgusting, let alone disturbing (it sounds like your guitar signal being run through a snare drum). I find that the fuzz control doesn't allow much variation, its either alot of fuzz, or alot more fuzz. I play a fender american standard strat with a hendrix wah, rotovibe, boss octaver, and a danelectro delay pedal, all through a sovtek mig 100, (make sure you check out this things ratings, super) anyhow to rap up, excellent for what i want, though suppose i would have liked more control over this thing, maybe a tone adjuster and a little bit more range on the fuzz.

yeah, you could probably get a bit worried over the fact that it doesn't have a power adaptor thingi connection in it, so make sure keep a spare 9 volter in ur back pocket, other wise, built like a brick.

no idea, ummmmmmm, till it breaks down, which is hopefully never, i will think this one over, the face is with dunlop now so that is reassuring i spose, anyhow, happy fuzzing!

For Hendrix sounds, this pedal is just right someone important said that roger mayers axis fuzz sounds just like this thing with only more range, so how hendrixy can you get?! this was the first distortion device i have ever bought, mostly because nothing else ever tickled my fancy, if it were stolen i would definitely replace it, but i would make sure i checked out the equalizer fuzz thing by electro harmonics, but just remember, I went for the bassy grinding fuzz, if its nasal trebley stuff that you want, look else where

Ease of use could not be more simple. Volume, and fuzz, that's it. It would be nice if it had a tone control but on the other hand it makes it more straght forward. Less to think about with this pedal.

The sound quality ranges from ok to poor depending on the situation. For solo leads the pedal can produce sixties sounding leads that have a pleasant thump behind them, much like a maxed out tube amp. Unfortunetly overall the sound is not very usefull, in my opinion. Compared to a bigmuff its crap. The muff has this powerfull musically rich tone. A sound that just seems fully developed, while the fuzz face, albeit really cool to look at, sounds weak, murky and undefined and is rather unispiring to play with. I play an sg and a strat through a twin.

sturdy, very sturdy.
No AC jack means that the battery could and probably would run out in the middle of a gig, like all battery pedals.

N/A

Over all the pedal looks so cool I bought even though I new it wasn't as good as my muff. I figured i could use it for something and it was nice just to have lying around. Sound really isn't that great, but then again I am optimistic that i can find some uses for it though. It may be good in conjunction with some other pedal, or with a certain song ect.

No manual, but come on there are 2 dials! Fuzz and Volume! How hard can that be, there nice and big dials so you can turn them with your foot. Unfortuantly no one/off light but a small gripe.

OK I'm playing a Fender Strat into this, there is an EH Phaser, 1970's rackmount phaser/flanger and an EH Big Muff before it, and a WAh and Delay after it, this used to go into a fender solid state but now goes into a yummy Vox tube amp. I only really use this pedal with delay also turned on, and occaisionally some wah. With the vol on the guitar turned right up its nice singing sustain, like Time by Pink Floyd. Turn the vol down a bit and you get a similar volume coming out your amp but with less fuzz, thats why a like it lots, i can leave it turned on nearly all the time. I heard some of these are rubbish, but I guess I was lucky. I originally bought one of the silver Dallas Arbiter (no Dunlop) remakes, and those were rubbish, avoid. The red ones are the ones to get. They also really sound so much better through a tube amp. However, on chords there is a bit of white noise in the background, but not so much to wreck your sound. Thats why it gets an 8

I've used it in gigs and it hasn't broken, if it did I'd just use the Big Muff. It feels like its built out of iron or something! well maybe not but it is v.strong. The swith is abit flimsy though so if anything were to go I'd put money on it being the switch

I play vaguely psychedelic stuff, I use it for rythym and lead playing and its great. Turned down it gives a nice little bit of crunch.

Not so hard to get a good sound,but the knobs are pretty interactive...
this is a blue early/mid 90's germanium version.

I guess some of these aren't so good sounding,but this one is-it isn't much different than the Diaz TSF I AB'ed it with(maybe a bit less midrange cut)...it works well with a Mesa Tremoverb and a Tele-you can leave it on all the time. I have another one(red)from a trade deal that sounds the same.

I like the heavy enclosure and the knobs/pots/jacks/switch aren't flimsy or loose-wouldn't really worry too much even if i had just one...

n/a

I've tried/owned other boutique type FF clones-the best out of those is the Diaz,but that one is quirky sometimes,as well...haven't tried any other Dunlops,but these 2 sound good-maybe i just got lucky.

2 knob affair...easy enough.

this was modded,although i don't know exactly how-supposedly it has different germanium transistors and maybe some other tweak to make it a little quieter...also the in/out jacks were switched to normal and an LED was added. with a mesa TOV it's smooth and a bit dark with a kind of raw,powerful tone when the guitar volume is up all the way-backed off a little bit it's much cleaner but still pretty fat...it sounds a bit better(but less versatile)to me than the Fulltone 69' and much better than the PE Face Lift and WellsNYC 5:00 Shadow-the closest to this was the Diaz TSF which i traded off for something else.

the case is heavy duty and the wiring looks very good-haven't had it very long,but i'm not too worried.

if it broke,i'd have to try to track down the guy who did the mods.

for a Fuzz Face it's the best i've tried yet-it would be cool to compare it to a good vintage one or possibly another that has been modded by someone(analogman,etc)who knows what they are doing with these...i'd even like to see how a stock Dunlop compares to this.

In stock form this reissue sounds bad but after I had mine moded I am very pleased with it. The mod doesn't change the design, so it works the same as any Fuzz Face.

Out of the box, about a 1 or 2 (I read other reviews saying the thing sounds horrible and it's rated at 10?), after Tone Man finished with mine I now give it an 8.

Don Butler gives a 90 day warrenty. Only time will tell but I feel it's better than when new.

Don was good with info, ect. He also sold me parts to mod my Vox wah at a good price. Seems like a great guy. He's listed in the database.

Turned full it has that early Cream sound. With the guitars volume rolled down a little it makes a great "on the threshold of distorion" sound that is usefull even for country. I really like this thing now, In the original JH-2 shape I would not use it. It's easy enough for a player like me to sound "horrible" without the aid of some pedal. I look for something in the other direction.

Two knobs. Pretty damn easy once you find the sweet spots. The only real hassle is the lack of a AC adaptor jack and the inputs and outputs are in the reverse order of most effects on the market making setup a pain. I realize this is a "vintage reissue" but these seem like small things since the overall look would be the same and they wouldn't have any effect on the sound quality. (How come companies are so particular about making their vintage reissues look exactally the same but seem to drop the ball when it comes to making them sound the same?)

I play mostly noise pop and vintage rock (50's 60's and 70's). I own many killer tube amps and several American Fender and Hamer USA guitars. For effects I use mostly fancy (i.e. expensive) boutique pedal effects.

I bought this pedal because I wanted the Fuzz Face sound since I already had a Big Muff and a Boss Hyper Fuzz. I didn't have a vintage Face to compare it to, but for the most part I liked it. I wasn't able to get the punchy type of fuzz sounds I was looking for, but it got me closer to it than either of the fuzz units I owned at the time. I bought a Fulltone '69 pedal and got what I was looking for. I sold my Hyper Fuzz and Fuzz Face and now use the EH NYC Big Muff and the '69 for all my fuzz needs.

Seemed fairly well made. I only owned it for 2 months before I got rid of it.

The Dunlop Fuzz Face reissue is a pretty good pedal, but when compared to a Fulltone '69 pedal, it becomes obvious that you can do better than the Face as far as tone and versatility. If you're looking for a good vintage styled fuzz without forking out the bucks for a Roger Mayer or a Fulltone, the Fuzz Face reissue is worth considering. If you have the money to spend, Get the '69. You won't be disappointed.

this is the fuzz face. The master behind the great sounds of Jimi Hendrix and Iron Butterfly. It may be a distortion, but you can not substitute the sound of this wit any distortion. It has 2 big knobs: 1 is the volume and the other is for how much fuzz or distortion do u want. I play this wit songs like in-a-gadda-da-vidda and purple haze. It is also great for strong feirce solos. I strongly recomend this

i play the fuzz wit my fender strat and my 25r frontman fender amplifier. this line up kicks ass and most of the time i will add my vox wah wah to the chain of power. The way to get the best sound out of the fuzz is to crank the volume and fuzz to the max and play wit as much power behind it. Of course even wit a small amp u will get feedback which makes it sound really bitchin.

I can really depend on it. When I took it to school to try it out, my music teacher said cool, and it looks like it is industrial built. It is very sturdymake completely out of metal on the outside.

n/a

Icovered all the feature so just go out there and buy one damnit u will be thankin me.

Two knobs volume and fuzz how hard is that? well it sounds like my Boss ds-1 with the tone turned down a bit from half way. I like a high ammount of distortin with my sound so it was a good match but why spend another $90 for the sound i all ready have? so but the one i played sounded great!

well i did not buy the pedel and the amp and guitar were just simmlur to it. I run a Washburn wi 64 with a dimrizeo air zone in the bridge and an air clissic in the neck. in to a boss ds-1 to a dunlop rotovide to a dunlop cry baby wah wah to a zoom gfx707 to a crate tv-120. so the guitar and amp i used at the store were not the same but close. the fuzz face is one of the best that i have played i liked it a lot more then the boss fuzz i played the fuzz face sounded a lot more like a classic fuzz then the boss i played (gee i wounder why?)

good from what i saw. full metal and all so it would hold up well to a giging musican. rating i give is becasue i only played it in the store and can't relly tell what it would be like if i played it on a gig.

how the hell should i tell?! i only played it in the store.

damn good! i gave it the rating i did cusase i olny played it in the store and did not buy it. but it sounded damn good to me! but my oppion is mine try it for your self it fit my style great but it may not fit yours.

Extremely easy to use. Don't have to be a rocket scientist to be able to use this. There's only input and output jacks and volume and fuzz knobs.

When I got the idea of getting a fuzz, I heard that this is the pedal NOT to get. Well, I haven't tried many fuzzes, but with this one I can get the sound I'm looking for. The sound is very warm and combining this to my Fender Am.Strd strat and Custom ordered strat, reissue ts-9 and Classic 30 amp (+ few compressors and delays etc.) I can get the sound I'm looking for. This pedal gives very rauncy and DIRTY sound. This one gives the sound I want and with a minor budget. For not being a vintage freak and not only looking for the brand, this I recommend to thou.

I've had it only for couple of days, so I don't about this one...

To getting that dirty Hendrix sound, this is good and cheap choice. If your other equipments are good, this sounds also good. This fuzz pedal is difficult to review because fuzzes actually sound HORRIBLE, but I think that's the whole point! Sounding horrible is what fuzzes should be!

it's really easy to use with only fuzz and volume,i don't get as good a sound out of it with humbuckers so i use my strat

I have used mine with just about every guitar and amp combo.i use a bass EQ to help with the tone but by it self it just to much noise and feedback.with the EQ i can get the hendrix& clapton tones but it's just to much work. I've played four orginals and the blow these away

2 knobs, fuzz generally sounds best full up - fine tweakage needed on the volume pot cause it acts very much as a tone control

Okay, this is an update on my last review that I gave some months ago. setup = different so maybe that's what makes this thing sound so damn cool. I got a new strat with nice singles & without the previous dimarzio humbucker in the neck -sorta noisey but put up with it


Got this pedal back a week ago from a friend who'd had it for MONTHS and hadn't contacted me to give it back - no real loss I thought - it was merely a matter of principal that I got it back

This pedal (and god alone knows what happened to it while tammy had it) has changed - I've tried new batteries etc - it sounds way smoother, more responsive, & funkier than I ever remember it sounding. WARM - SO WARM - and a s**t load of bottom end - those of you with valvestates will understand this:I have to disengage the power dimension switch to get a tone that wont make my 12 " fart on a flat eq - this is fine cause my strat likes it that way - bottom end a go-go baby!
My main prob with it earlier was that it had little sustain for leads - yeah, well i guess it just aint built to play bon jovi wailings - a very subtle fuzz that likes an 'up' power amp knob - but back of the o board) volume to get rid of the splattery buzz

Analogman.com has good info on those with fuzz faces on how to beef up a crappy one - dunno why mine sounds good but hey - it does - every one of the notes on his page rings true for my unit - especially where it says that putting other units in the chain with the fuzz face makes the sound radically diffent - even in bypass - why this happens i dunno - any unit put in front of the 'face will give grater sustain on leads but changes the tonal characteristic to a real fuzzy buzz without the same bottom end (not sure how tru bypass effects this tho). turning down the guitar volume also gives very pleasing results - funky clean yet grunty notes (very hendrix) that you can bring up to a fat sustaining growl with a SHORT twist of the vol.

the knobs are mounted in a raher suspect fashion & the rubber feet suck - fundamentally Id have to say that this unit is a tank

this may not be the ticket for those after a pumpkins style fuzz, but for THE warm 60/70s fuzz tone you cant go past this - foxey lady intro? - no problem. you just have to get your fingers round the shorter sustain factor when noodling- a player's effect.

Two knobs and a switch...could it be easier?

I heard about a lot of bad ones out there and I must say...i must have got one of the best ones cause I can match Hendrix and Cream on the dot. It sounds really great on Sunshine of Your Love!

I could depend on this thing more than myself!!!

I play anything from Hendrix to Heavy Metal...and it matches a lot of what I play! I just wish the damn thing had a tone control for more versatility.

Two knobs---volume and fuzz...That's as simple as it gets.

I play a 1997 American Standard Strat through a Fender Deville Tube Amp...Basically you need a good overdrive pedal combined with the fuzz if you own my setup. The amp has very little kick and the fuzz combined with a clean sounds is easily disposable.
I bought a Boss SD-1 Overdrive pedal and put the the drive to half way and threw the fuzz to 3 o'clock. That produced probably the best sound I could make with my setup. I also have a DD-1 Danelectro fab tone---you can combine the fuzz with this pedal only if you drop the fab on the DD-1 to low levels. Otherwise you'll have too much noise to handle.
It did work very well with my compression pedal, a boss CS-3...really tightened up the tone without losing the attack of the fuzz.

I've had it for about nine months now...its been excellent. Its gone through only one battery since. However having to unscrew the back to replace the battery can be a pain...given how easy Boss and Danelectro pedals are to replace batteries.

I don't care much for Dunlop's customer support....I haven't had trouble with this pedal, but I have talked with them before.

I like this pedal in the right setting. If I had a marshall amp with stronger drive than what my fender has, I'm sure this pedal would have gotten a higher rating, but I just feel like my setup holds the pedal's potential back a little. Its very tough to get those clean, fuzzy sounds heard in Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" and that's the tone I was kind of looking for....but this pedal will get the job done when combined with a little kick.

These babies seem to be a topic of hot debate. Okay then, heres my two cents. To get a good sound out of this unit is pretty easy depending of course on what your prefeance in tone is. The manual however is pants. Easy as piss to use

I'm running this with a Epiphone strat copy loaded with Dimarzio airzone & air norton humbuckers + a marshall VS100R combo. In terms of getting singing feedback from this ala hendrix on Foxy lady, forget it, she's quiet baby! (which pisses me off a bit). Both controls maxed gives a spitting buzz (very middy)thats pretty damn compressed & dialling down the knobs gives a good 'red house @ Woodstock' tone. Combine moderate pedal settings with some preamp dirt (from marshall) & she goes into Fu Manchu/ Mr Corgan territory (respect). However, you need to tweak pedal/amp settings carefully for this. Good singing feedback & lethal bottom end ripping in this mode (even through a 1X12 open back!) Not at all hendrixy thru my rig but I think a Valve power amp would be a large cause. Hardly any sustain when run into a clean amp. Wicked with a bass! Havent tried running it thru my other effects. Dont try running it in an FX loop.the pedal by itself sounds nasty - "my god, someone put a beehive in my cab!"when used clean. NOT hendrixy at all, but interesting nonetheless - BUT THIS IS A GOOD THING - Yes it sounds terrible.Great definition of notes but very inarticulate'

YES - always switchin on time. I'd definately gig without a backup. (however, the rubber feet are didgy as f**k - as with all dunlop stuff - sort it out lads)

Customer support = not at all friendly or good - but hey, were dealing with some broken rubber feet here.

I play anything from Blues to riff rock & folk (also into groove sampling & doing tracks for dance cuts).been playing for 4 years or so & I also own an old Ibanez compressor (ochre colour), an Ibanez chorus (which is totally unreliable - dont buy soundtanks!), a DOD Grunge pedal (Hmmmmm), A Boss "green" phaser (excellent) & a DOD Buzz Box (messy sub octave fuzz - exquisite). If I had it stolen I'd consider buying a new one but would look at some more high gain fuzzes first to try & get a monster sound with only 1 stomp (prescription experience or Big Muff?). Ilove the uncontrived nature of the distortion - you stomp, it spits. I hate the price tag for such a simple unit + the battery acess. I love the configuration of the in/out sockets (perfect for us left handed cats!) + the fact that everybodys fuzz face from day one sounded different. I would like some more susain though - Its loose like siamese dream through my rig but the sustain aint there. I A/B'd it with a black Big Muff reissue but that sounded like s**t through my amp - I was really let down. The 'face thru my VS100 just sounded looser & less 'solid state'. In terms of writing, this forces me in new directions cause it sounds so different to my other distortions & it has to be played enirely differently - 'zero' is out of the question - this puppy has less harmonics that a frozen sausage

Volume, Fuzz and a footswitch, it doesn't get much easier

I also own an old Fuzz Face with silicon transistors and I prefer it's sound. This puts me in the minority, most people seem to prefer the germanium transistor sound ( which the Dunlop has ). The Dunlop I have sounds about the same as an original germanium Fuzz Face I borrowed, and about the same as the Prescription Electronics Facelift and Fulltone 69 Pedal. There are some bad ones out there though; see overall rating.

Never had anything break on it.

As I said some of these sound bad, if you look at the Fuzz Face info at analogman.com he explains all the different versions and tells why some Dunlops sound good, some terrible. He offers various mods to correct some deficincies, but one you can do yourself involves no more than adding one resistor (on some of the bad versions ) and it really works well. So see his site before you throw the thing away.

Very easy to use. One knob for volume and one for fuzz.

THIS one I have now sounds excellent! I have searched far and wide and I finally found one that sounds great. I have tried many before: most sounded like garbage that was farting. They sounded very, very bad. However, if you shop around and try a few out, you will eventually find one that sounds killer. The one I have was purchased at MARS Music in Atlanta, GA. It does not discriminate between single coils or humbuckers. They both are full, rich, fuzzy, edgey, yet creamy. By lowering the fuzz some and boosting the volume you can get good, meaty drive while still retaining the distinct "fuzzy", scratchy tone. It honestly works good for most types of rock music: Hendrix (of course), Cream, Zeppelin, Beck/Yardbirds, etc. For all of you Nirvana fans out there: it will cop a good fuzz tone for that style as well. Just keep in mind: if you don't shop around and find one that sounds good, you'll either think I'm crazy or lying. The bad ones are really that bad.
I'd give mine a 10, but if I averaged the ratings throughout all of the others I tried I'd rate THEM at 1. I realize that is both ends of the spectrum but if you search hard enough, you'll understand what I mean.

Never had a problem. But I can say that it is built very ruggedly and is made to be stomped on. The switch can take the beating and the housing too.

Never had to contact them.

Like I said, it sounds great. For distortion/fuzz, it's got the tone. For "straight" overdrive, get a Visual Sound JH-1 (see review there also if you like). It was well worth the wait.

Volume Knob, Fuzz Knob, Switch Easy to get a good sound. Little bit more practice to get a great sound. The manual was not much help, unless you usually have problems installing the battery.

I play a Gibson Les Paul through a little Peavey Classic 20. I have a crybaby wah, but rarely use it with the FF. I can get a good distortion for power chords, but it is best for leads. Gives a great lead sound especially if followed by reverb/deley/echo. Obviously, if you are looking for a heavy metal type distortion, this is not it. But for a good classic rock sound or some early punk (think Ramones) or some Smashing Pumkins this thing kicks!

I have had it for about a month and it seems to be built well. It survived a fall from about 6 feet onto concrete, so it must be built well. I would use it without backup, but that is probably because I don't have enough money for a backup.

never dealt with them....heard they're decent

I play a little of everything: Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Punk, Smashing Pumpkins, and a little blues mixed in. This pedal sounds great for everything. I was not after an EXACT replica of Hendrix's sound, and that might be a good thing. I can not seem to get a perfect Hendrix tone....with the volume at a little less than half and the fuzz a hair less than cranked, I can get a great Pink Floyd lead sound, especially if I follow it with an echo. It gets a nine because it just can't quite get the exact Hendrix sound. It is really cute, though.

This rascal couldn't be any easier to use! Gloriously simple!

I am using a 1981 Gibson Les-Paul, and a Peavey Backstage-50, solid-state, amp. For a primitive, and simplistic, fuzz it is not that noisy incredibly. I find that the quality of sound is somewhat unpredictable in nature. At times it is happenin', at others very glitchy/scratchy. When happening, it produces a warm and smoky type sound that has a "nasal" quality to it. All though this may just be my amp(?). I find it works best as a "boost" to an already crunchy or distorted amp tone! By itself, to my ears, it is a little weak and lacks sustain for leads, all though it seems to be Ok for power chord rythym playing. I also find that the sound quality changes depending on what, and how many, FX are used along or in conjunction with it! Along with a Wha-pedal (Dunlop Mr. Crybaby-Super, and in line AFTER the wha) it produces a thin and "quacky" sound to my ears. I am able, at lower/subtler fuzz settings to approximate a slightly overdriven/natural amp/speaker breakup type tone with the "Fuzz-Face", as well as on the edge Hendrix, early Neil Young tones, and even nasaly sounding Clapton-esque sounds as well! My favorite aspect of this pedal though woild have to be it's "unpredictable" nature! It's a fuzz-filled sonic journey into the unknown every time ... I like it! It gives your ears a sonic "walk-on-the-wildside" indeed!

Seems to sturdly constructed. Yes, I would gig without a backup for this gizmo!

I've yet to experience any trouble with my "Fuzz-Face", but I do believe Dunlop is a reliable and reputable outfit!

I play a mixture of Blues/R&B, Classic Rock, and pyschedelic music, and find the "Face" adequate for these styles. I lost or stolen, yes, I would purchase another one!

Volume and fuzz controls and a switch. If you can't figure it out you must be "special" or something. That aside, finding THEE sound is strangely difficult for such a setup...more on that below...

I use this thing with a 65 Jaguar, a 65 Jazzmaster, a re-issue Strat, and a 62 Fender Super amp. I love the way this sounds but I have to say that one thing really bugs me: unity gain (matching volume when effect is on or off) only occurs with the volume control most of the way up...who the hell needs a volume CUT with fuzz? That aside, I love the way this sounds. I am NOT after a Hendrix/Clapton tone...I'm trying to nail that late '60s Davie Allan & the Arrows biker movie soundtrack fuzz sound and THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS!

Seems really solid...I just hate having to have a screwdriver handy to change the battery! Oh yeah, the rubber keeps coming unglued...where's my Contact Cement?!

Never dealt with 'em, but I've heard EVIL things about Dunlop...but that's hearsay.

I really like this thing, it totally nails the 60's biker movie soundtrack fuzz sound to a "T" and it looks way cooler than generic rectangular stompboxes. I marvel at the fact that people buy these things and expect versatility...come on there's NO TONE CONTROL! Like I said, for what I do, it totally fits the bill and I'm very satisfied.

Two knobs, volume and fuzz. Very easy to use. Fuzz to the maxx. I'm pretty sure mine is a recent reissue.

Play Strats and Teles through this and other effects (tremolo, chorus, OD, etc) into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. It's a noisy effect. Only use it for certain things. It's fairly out of control, but it's exactly what I wanted. Chords turn to total fuzz with no discernable notes. Strictly for single or two note combinations. Volume pot on guitar has no effect unless you turn down halfway! Can't hear tremolo or chorus or anything else. Sounds a little thicker if you have the signal overdriven rather than clean before you hit the fuzz, but not much difference. Sometimes even if you hit the wrong note you can hardly tell! It's like a beast that takes over your setup. Pretty cool.

No problems. Eats batteries for lunch.

Like I said, I play surf, and this is so over the top for certain parts in like four songs we do. It's a fuzz monster. My only complaint is that the battery seems to be an independent variable that's hard to control. As the juice goes down the volume and fuzz go down. I've heard that Hendrix used these for awhile and actually preferred them when the battery was low. Starts to sound totally trashy and unintelligible, still cool. I wish it had an AC input like my other effects. If you're looking for the ultimate fuzz, I think this is it. In my search for a comparable (or even somewhat close!) fuzz pedal with an AC power input (to avoid batteries), I've played the Way Huge Foot Pig, the DOD Classic Fuzz, the Ibanez Soundtank 60's Fuzz, the Boss Hyperfuzz, and the Voodoo Labs Bosstone. All these pedals, with the exception of the Boss (which had two types of fuzz: one sort of Smashing Pumpkins or Industrial, one more classic-sounding and okay, still too metallic for me), never came close to the Fuzz Face for total wacked-out fuzz.
As an addendum: I thought the little "face" on this pedal (the black footpad with the white smile through it) was kind of dumb, so I tore the pad off, and painted the thing like a "Danger: radiation" symbol: yellow, with three black sections radiating from the center. I'll never sell it!

It's just two knobs so it's pretty easy to figure it out

This WQN"T give you Jimi's sound...It eats the tone right out of a Strat and makes it sound like any Plain jane cheapo distorted guitar. It is completely one-dimensional. The best you can do is crank the volume and gain both about 8 ot get a real screaming lead tone, but forget about chords - PURE MUD!!! With the gain at any less than six, you have to turn the volume to ten just to get the same output as a Fender single coil pickup and this creates loads of high end hiss. As the name says, its got tons of fuzz but it won't really crunch

I can't comment. I've used it about 12 hours worth and it sits in my closet now.

I've been playing seriously about 3 years, play blues and wanted a Hendrix like crunch tone. I'm not sure how much it differs from the 60's models, but this pedal just dosn't make a Jimi like sound. I tried every setting I could (whch are few with only 2 knobs) and couldn't even come close too a "Dolly Dagger", "Message to Love" or other '69-'70 Jimi tone. The effect totally squashes and compresses all the sparkle and nuance of my Strat. I've played a Real Tube Driver and it allows the guitar's true sound to come thru much stronger. The Fuzz Face makes my $700 Strat sound like I'm playing thru my Quantum 10W $80 dollar beginner amp. I can't really say anytyhing positive about this pedal. It's a shame that so many people buy it b/c in Roger Mayer's words it's "Straight out of any early elctronics book...it's a minimum parts count circuit." And that's just how it sound..CHEAP!!!!! Don't buy it to copy Jimi's sound if you don't have a Marshall. It saddens me that Dunlop profits from an inferior product b/c suckers like me associates it with a legendary musician.

This pedal is definately not for everyone. It requires the player to be very attentive to all that is going on, as the player must not only play his/her guitar, but also this pedal. I've been using it for 3 ears now, and using it is now second nature to me, but it takes a little work to figure out the dynamics and so forth.

I've noticed that most people are saying this unit isn't very good. i'm surprised. i tried out about 5 different ones, and I lucked out, because I got an excellent sounding fuzz. The pedals on my board, in order are: Digitech Whammy Pedal (original), Voodoo Labs' Micro Vibe, Ibanez Tubescreamer Reissue, Fuzz Face and finally a DOD analog echo pedal (FX-96). These pedals go straight into the front end of a cream-tolex Fender Blues Deluxe tube amp. My guitar is a 1975 Stratocaster. It sometimes can get a bit noisy, as it will occasionally pick up AM radio waves, and of course, single coil pickups will cause a 60-cycle hum, but that can be diminished greatly by dipping your pickups in wax. I have a virtually noise-less setup, although, when I saw Eric Johnson live, his was picking up AM radio too! In my experience, this pedal has always sounded great. I play original music much in the vein of jimi Hendrix's more ethereal work, such as Angel and New Rising Sun. I also do a lot of instrumental guitar music very much like Eric Johnson (who I believe to be so much like Hendrix.....). I don't use a wah, because I haven't found a new, innovative use for it. I use the whammy pedal for octave effects (like Joe Satriani) and also the detuning for a slight chorus. I've found that , unlike most fuzzes, the wah sounds better AFTER the fuzz. Also, contrary to something I read on this board earlier about it not working with Vibe clones, it DOES, but the vibe needs to be put BEFORE the fuzz in the effects chain. So far, i've read that most people are saying the fuzz and volume need to be maxed. I haven't found tat to be true. Actually, it sounds best with the fuzz at about 11 o'clock, and the volume at about 2 o'clock. This produces a fat, warm violin-type tone that sounds great with vibrato'd notes. There isn't much sustain from the pedal alone, however, coupled with an overdriven tube amplifier, it sounds magnificent. This pedal is the basis for my lead tone. The Tubescreamer is then used for a gain boost when even more sustain is needed. It sounds best BEFORE the Fuzz Face, with the gain at about 11 o'clock, volume at 1 o'clock, and the tone around 9 o'clock.

I would definately use this pedal without a backup. It is a tank. I have never had a problem with it. I'm only 16, and don't make much money outside of gigging (and that money goes into my recording studio usually), so I can't afford to be buying pedals all the time. It is definately a dependable pedal.

I have never had a reason to deal with the company.

I play an ecelctic mix of blues, rock, and jazz/fusion music. I'm 16 years old and have been playing guitar for 7 years, 4 of those professionally. This pedal is a great match to my music, and is the foundation of my lead tone, however, one must take the time to learn how to use it. It is only two knobs, but there are so many different sounds available through the use of playing style, that one must LEARN the pedal, or it will seem like a waste of money. The dynamics are great. It gets wonderfully warm and clean when the volume knob of the guitar is turned down. I compared this pedal with a Sovtek/New Harmonix Big Muff pi and decided absolutely this was the one to get, however, I had to try about 5 different ones before I got a good one. The red ones seem to be more consistent in design and tonal quality... for some reason the blue ones don't sound as good.

I has 2 knobs, volume and fuzz, turn them up. Not Hard.

I use a cheap fenders standard to fuzzface to Marshall JTM612. Sounds very well when the marshall is set to around 17 on the gain channel. It adds a great boost to the signal, BUT YOU MUST TURN THE VOLUME DOWN ON THE GUITAR. If you don't, your amp sounds like it will explode (which is cool though.) My advice is to only use this throuh a tube amp, if you dont have a tube amp you probably shouldn't even be using a fuzz face, try something cheaper to match your amp.

2 Knobs and a battery harness. How can it break? Duh.

Sounds most like Hendrix's "Beginnings" from FROTNRS. If you dont know what FROTNRS stands for, throw away your guitar.

It's easy to use: two knobs, volume and fuzz; it only works when both knobs are tweaked all the way up.

I use it with Mexi strats and a Laney tube amp. It is noisy, but it's OK for a fuzz pedal. It's not exactly like the original fuzz faces; this one has bad dynamics and doesn't work with a wah-wah. It's too wretched for chords and at it's worst for playing rythm-lead at the same time. To get a good sound out of it, you have to tweak your amp's gain a bit, and roll off the guitar's volume to 8-9. It's too tubey when the guitat volume is on 10. For a better fuzz, I would go for a Fulltone 69 pedal; and it works with a wah-wah too!

It's made out of gold and can't be sold; it has a ton worth of steel in it!

My style goes to a mix of blues-rock and Hendrix-Vaughan-Clapton. Again, I would go with a Fulltone fuzz and won't be gigging with this! I also have a Big Muff pi reissue, but I actually prefer the Fuzz Face better, since Big Muff has a much compressed, unnatural distortion to it. I guess it's better for Dunlop to review this effect and put out a more efficient version of it; this is literally worthless for it's money.

The two knobs on the pedal didn't seem to do anything at all except to make the fuzz more unusable and noisy.

One dimentional. Had a sort of compressed sound that limited the attack and overall dynamics. I used it conjunction with a 1963 Strat and a newer Les Paul through a 1965 Blackface Super.
Overall, the sound seemed weak, sort of like a compressor that squashes the sound and "breathes" too much. I may have received a bad one. In that case there would be a quality control issue here. I expected an exaggerated , slightly bright, fuzzy late 60's era sound (if that makes any sense). What I got was weak, no balls, no character. I would recommend maybe trying out a few. I got mine through the mail and did not have the opportunity to hand-select one.
The control knobs on mine really didn't do much which supprised me. I have not had the opportunity to play an "original" but I'm quessing that like so many reissues they may not be true to original specs.

I got rid of it as quickly as possible so I have no idea if I would have retained that horrible sound for ever.

I've already got a Big Muff, a TS-9 (wonderfully modified by Analog Mike) and a Fulltone Soul Bender and the Fuzz Face was by far the worst of the lot.

The Dalllas Arbiter Fuzzface reissue by Dunlop has two dials on it and a button to turn the fuzz on or off. It is very basic technology, thus it does not have any editing patches. The manual is pointless, because this fuzzface is very easy to use. The Fuzzface has not been upgraded in any way, nor does it need to be.

I use this beast with my Fender Tweed Blues Deville. The Fuzzface sounds great through an all-tube set-up. I have not heard one through solid-state, but it probably would not sound as good. The reason the Fuzzface can get away with being a solid-state device is because most people use this creature through a tube amp.
The effect is basic but it sounds great. The fuzziest, most distorted sound I have ever heard out of a pedal. The sounds of alternative groups such as Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins are easily achieved by this red roundfaced demon. It can give more distortion than any tube amp is capable off.
Sure try and put seven AX7 TUBES in the pre-amp section of your guitar amp. You still won't get the distortion and fuzz of the Arbiter Fuzzface.
I personally don't like going through the Fuzzface when I am not using its fuzz (when the units off), due to a little signal decay. I tryand stay away from that if I can.

I would depend on The Fuzzface whereever I was playing. It's set-up is so simple and direct that its longevity is assured. The Fuzzface's steel body painted red is built to last for an eternity. Its body is not cheap plastic, nor is it poor qaulity metal. This creature could withstand even the most brutal treatment!!!!
I have had this transistorized mostrousity for about 2 years. Yes, I would use this pedal without a backup.

I have never had to get any Jim Dunlop product fixed, but they were nice enough to send me some brouchers, I had asked for about their products. So I can say they are quite friendly.

I play all sorts of alternative music with this machine. The Fuzzface is a good match for my Fender Tweed Blues-Deville. Both units are extremely portable too!
I have been playing electric guitar for about 20 years. And yes I would buy this unit again if it were stolen.
I love its tone, its simplicity, its appearance, its durablilty, its ease of use, and its distinct sound.
I really hate its high price, but in the long run this re-issue is worth it. I would but another one if I could get it for about $60 Canadian used.
My favorite feature is its thick, distorted sound. I have tried other distortion pedals with no luck, but once I heard this metal transistor fiend, I had to buy it!!! I chose the fuzzface because of all the reasons above, plus I needed something very portable and strong.
I wish it had a lower price tag. The Fuzzface has about $20 Can. of electrical parts on the inside, so I think Jim Dunlop could lower the price.
I would suggest and recommend this round pedal to anyone I remotely liked. This is the best distortion/fuzz pedal I have ever tried or owned. I love it almost as much as my Peavey Valverb, but that's another story.

Bonehead trivial

Disappointing. Yeah, it sounds 'like' a Fuzz Face, but not as good. Too much upper midrange grit that you just can't roll off from the guitar. Rolling off treble at the amp makes the sound too tubby, congested. At its best, the original Fuzz Face had a ballsy violin-clarinet sound. The reissue just doesn't hit the mark. In contrast, the Fulltone '69 not only reproduces the best tones of the original, but will let you tweak for different guitar/amp combinations, even soften/sharpen the attack.

Dependable. Yeah, just what I need. A dependable mediocre-sounding device. It's utterly without failure because I never use it.

never tried

Poot. Good for tweaking and hacking, just to see if it can be improved. If a guitarist stole it, I'd shrug & laugh. I chose it because the originals I had in '68 and '73 sounded so good. Not so the reissues.

2 knobs ony an idiot wouldn`t be able to operate it

It`s a bit noisy but it`s a fuzz pedal what do you expect. It gets wicked sustain when you use it in front of another distortion pedal, like a boss turbo overdrive. I use the turbo OD for chords and bring in the fuzz face for the leads. Never use this pedal to play rythym guitar it`s shit for that.

I would buy it again

The Fuzz face is very easy to use it has two knobs, fuzz and volume. It came with instructions for another pedal.

It sounds just like Hendrix which is why I bought it. It hums pretty loud when it is on a single pickup but so does everything. It always sounds great

I have not had a problem yet except my three support legs ripped off but the origonal model did not have them anayway. I would use this at a gig without a back up.

I don't like the way Dunlop always

I would buy it again although I don't know why I would have to. I think it is one of the best investments I have ever made. I use it with my vox wah and it sound fantastic, if your going to use this setup though do the opposite of what Dunlop says. Hook it up Fuzz, Wah, guitar to get the best sound

Two big knobs and a metal button. Not too tough to figure out. It took me a long time, though, to get a sound I liked out of it

While many great guitarists swear by it, this pedal just didn't have it in my opinion. The "fuzz" is more aptly entitled "buzz." It is wretched for chords, but it does have a cool scratchy lead tone. Hendrix and SRV used this pedal at times and thier tone was pretty damn good. I need to try out a couple more, I think maybe this one was a dud.

I can't say for sure ( I didn't keep it) but it seemed built to last.

I didn't keep this pedal; it just didn't do what I wanted. Though I am picky about distortion- I tried a Muff, a few Boss/DOD pedals (Hyper Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal??? What's with all these gross 'metal-pedals'?" and was disapointed by all. Ibanez Tubescreamer is my favorite, and I'm getting a Boss DS-1. If you want that Hendrix-y vibe, try this thing out, but remeber it is not a versitile pedal.

Nothin' to it. Just crank the fuzz up ALL the way and adjust volume as desired.

This pedal only gives you one sound. As luck would have it, that sound is fantastic. It's warm and fuzzy, and never sounds shrill or tinny. It definitely likes to be run wide-open. This is not a subtle pedal. I've found it sounds best with the fuzz turned up all the way. However, you can get a slightly more mellow sound with the fuzz control knob set around 60%. This pedal creates a very authentic Foxy Lady/Manic Depression tone. It's not so good for replicating The Master's tone on Wind cries Mary. The sustain is endless. Which leads me to my next point, this pedal is really for lead playing. Full barre cords sound horrible with all the over tones. Generally, power chords work OK. Playing unison bends or octaves can produce an interestingly dissonant sound, whether the sound is cool or not is entirely up to you.
One thing however, this pedal doesn't work with my Vox Wah-wah. If the two pedals are on together, the fuzz sounds awful, and no wah sound can be heard. Another review on this page says the Dallas-Arbiter fuzz is incompatible with the Vox, because of it's Germanium transistors. I have never heard of this sort of "incompatibilty" problem before...
It's remarkably quiet, has lots of bottom end and drives your overdrive channel into wonderful feedback quite easily.

It has never failed me. I've had it for about 8 months. I did have a problem with the batttery compartment screw getting stripped. This is it's one major flaw. The bottom is secured with only one screw. It could have beeen better designed...Other than that, no problems, but an adapter jack would be nice.It is suprisingly good on batteries, but there' s no LED to fade, so keep track of how old the batteries are.

My store salesperson fixed it for free, but when I wrote to Dunlop to whine, they sen me a very polite letter. How helpful they would of been if I had really needed them is anybody's guess.

I would buy it again in a second. It costs about the same as your average Boss pedal, is better made than the Sovtek Muff re-issue, and is very reasonbly priced in this age of $150 TS-9s and $300 Univibes. It also happens to be the coolest looking pedal ever made. Just heed my warning-It's not versatile, there's not tone knob, and it only really sounds good with the fuzz CRANKED. Watch out for the volume control, it adds quite a boost!!! If you can explain to me why it won't work with my Vox, e-mail me!

This is a reissue (remake) of the Germanium transistor Fuzz Face that Hendrix used during his earliest recordings. It has two knobs, Volume and Fuzz, and is in a disk shaped box with true bypass, no LED. You have to turn both the Volume and the Fuzz up pretty high to achieve unity volume. The pedal is really not that easy to get sounds from. It has one or two "sweet spots" and that's it. Most importantly, because it has Germanium transistors it is incompatible with a wah-wah pedal and is incompatible with most other stomp boxes, including uni-vibe clones. Hendrix switched to silicon Fuzz Faces for this reason back in late 1967.

The tone is a fat, thick, dynamic fuzz tone -- not fizzy or ultra brittle. It rolls off the high end, so it sounds warmer than other fuzz pedals. However, it gets brittle sounding with the fuzz turned up high. It's a one-trick pony; there aren't a lot of different sounds to be had. You can control the fuzz response with your guitar volume or by pick attack. It doesn't have much sustain, but you can't have both high sustain and good dynamics in a pedal.

Very well made box. However, different batteries will change the sound. To that end, the tone is a little unpredictable. As mentioned above, you simply can't use this pedal with other pedals, especially if they don't have true bypass.

Didn't keep the pedal long enough to find out.

I love vintage style stomp boxes, but I just can't recommend this pedal to most people because it is a one trick pony that is incompatible with most other effects. I traded mine back. Literally, if you put another pedal in front of the Fuzz Face, the Fuzz Face tone changes (becomes harsh) --even if the other pedal is turned off! This is because of the NKT 275 Germanium transistors. You can't put a wah-wah in front of the JHF2, for example. People assume that this pedal is an essential ingrediant for the Hendrix sound, but that's false. Hendrix used this pedal only for very early recordings. After that, he used silicon Fuzz Faces for their compatibility with other pedals (Univibe and wah). If you have to have the Fuzz Face sound, check out a Roger Mayer Voodoo or Voodoo Bass pedal. They can replicate the early Fuzz Face tone, plus a whole lot more, and they're compatible with other pedals. If you like rounder fuzz tones, then also try a reissue Big Muff.

Two knobs, volume and fuzz. The manual that came with it was for another pedal, but I didn't need a manual

With both the volume and fuzz cranked, I got what I expected from this pedal - a warm, full, fuzzy distortion. Turning the fuzz switch down led to some dissapointing, weak sounds. I found it much better to leave the fuzz at max and change the volume knob on my guitar. This pedal gives a big volume boost, and I have to turn the volume (on the effect)down quite a bit to match the bypass volume on my amp. As for noise, you come to expect noise on most dist/o.d. effects, but the Fuzz Face was much more quiet than I expected. Unless I'm saturating my distortion, I don't need a noise gate.

It is in a pretty rugged, metal box - fairly sturdy. When I first started using it I would hear rattling if I picked it up. It turned out to be the battery bouncing around inside, so I taped it down.

Haven't had a problem yet.

The Fuzz Face gave me the warm fuzzy tone I expected from it - it is great for the Hendrix Star Spangled Banner sound. Other than that, I was dissapointed in its inflexibility. I'm keeping it, but I'm still looking for dist/o.d. boxes to give me a wider range of tones.

Simple!! 2 knobs: volume and fuzz

Awsome!! Just like it was 30 years ago when Jimi Hendrix used it!! Beautifully full in all ranges!

Another metal case! big and bulky but really strong!

Don't know, never needed it! :)

I dont think ill ever HAVE to buy it again. It's a great pedal and i would recommend it to everyone!! no matter what music you play its great. it can be loud for metal or soft for blues and even country!!

Extremely easy to use. Two knobs, volume and fuzz.

An unusual type of fuzz. Sounds best when the fuzz setting is full on. Using the volume on your guitar can make you go from warm overdrive to complete insanity!

Only had it for one month. Although it only runs on a 9 Volt battery. No adapter outlet.

N/A

If your after an original sound, something different, check this pedal out. It may not be everybodies taste however. Very Hendrix sounding. The only thing I dont like about it is it only runs on batteries. I prefer the reliability of adapters.

Just two knobs, volume and fuzz. Uses original style germanium PNP type transistors. Doesn't have a lot of gain but it is very big and fuzzy sounding, very Hendrixy when the fuzz is way up and used before an overdriven amp. The fuzz cleans up when you turn your volume knob down on your guitar for an easy transition between rhythm and lead amounts of gain

Not extremely noisy for fuzz box but it is fuzz. Almost always sounds good and is a good choice for a classic sounding Fuzz box. Famous users of the Fuzz Face include Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Gilmour and Stephen Stills.

I would depend on it. Have never had a problem with any dunlop products Maybe in 20 or 30 years I would worry about the transistors wearing out but until then...

called Dunlop once with a question and they were courteous and answered my question.

This is one of the all time great fuzz boxes and should be owned by all fuzz fans. I would buy it agian definitely and if they weren't so damned expensive I'd get an original. My unit is blue which is not available anymore and I prefer it to the red paint that is now standard. I kinda wish it had a tone control but it's not necessary for a great sound.

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