 | Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face
The Fuzz Face is one of the most famous and misunderstood pedals in the world. As soon as Hendrix started to rip the paint off the wall of venues with his original 'ARBITER' Fuzz Face, every body jumped on the band wagon and signed up for the fuzz experience.
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| Whole Lotta Fuzz
The Fuzz Face was originally released in the mid 60's with players like Hendrix, Clapton and Jimmy Page instantly recognizing their value in creating an overwhelming rock/fuzz tone. The first Fuzz Faces used germanium transistors, which were capable of producing a wide range of tones, but they also came with their share of problems. The pedals were so inconsistent. In a batch of 10 Fuzz Faces you might find 2 that sounded great, and the rest were average at best. This is due to the lack of quality control in the manufacturing of the transistors. There are many stories of guitar store staff eagerly awaiting the next shipment of Fuzz Faces so they could go through them and find the few good ones for themselves. Also the sound of the pedal changes in different temperatures, again due to the instability of the germanium transistors. So in 69 they started using silicon transistors, which had much better consistency. They do sound different than the germanium Fuzz Faces with a touch more gain and a tighter bottom end, but it's a different flavour that indeed many prefer.
The Fuzz Face is a completely different concept than overdrives or distortion pedals. As such many people don't know how to get the most out of them. A classic OD pedal such as an Ibanez Tube Screamer with its rugged op-amp design is always going to sound pretty good no matter what you plug it into, but not so with the FF.
It is VERY sensitive to the guitar and amp you use. They can sound great into a wide range of amps including Marshalls, Fenders and Voxs but if the core tone isn't there, forget it. Make sure the Fuzz is the first pedal in your chain and use the volume control on your guitar to go from clean to insane. Final tip is to be aware that the Fuzz Face will expose any mistakes. There are many effects such as delay and reverb that let you get away with murder, but the Fuzz Face will expose any faff. It's this character that has many guitarists revisiting the Fuzz Face after they've reached a certain standard of playing.
How Much Should I Pay?
As you can guess the price for an original like this from 1969 is going to be staggering. You'll be lucky to get change from £250 for one, but as they all vary so much in tone I must urge you that before you part with your hard earned fun vouchers, it's imperative that you try it out for yourself. You may find the elusive tone you've been searching for your entire life, or you may well understand the reason the chap is trying to move it on.
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