FUZZ- MXR Classic 108 Mini Fuzz ...Fun With Fuzz Face Fuzzes :-)

MXR 108 MINI FUZZ

$100.00 USD

Let me state from the get go the obvious. Strats and a Fuzz Face can be a killer sound. BIG but! Humbuckers and a Fuzz Face  ...not so much, maybe never :-)

MXR/Dunlop have owned the Fuzz Face for decades and make full size, and Mini FF's in the round enclosures and have had a series of Hendrix ones in a 'B' box and mini casings for years. Even this one was first offered in a full size Hammond 1590 box. Yes you can still buy that one too. Do they sound different?  Only if we are told they do, lol. This Fuzz is not the old germanium but even Hendrix switch to the silicon. 

If you had all 8 of the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face pedals it is unlikely you would pick the original NKT275 just due to the odds. It is considered the warmest and is very mid focused but very woolly and arguably a bit muddy. The BC109C has the most definition and has better lows and is the harshest. This is all a bit ironic as part of the charm of any Fuzz is a harsh sound, LOL. 

In a band the germanium Fuzz hash gets lost in the mix and the 

silicon definitely can jump out and cut better.

I have had and still have a few old germanium Fuzz pedals. 

They are 'NOT' on my board as they caused all their classic 'problems'.

original Fuzz Face!
WTF !!!

It is all rather ironic just how much fuss is made out of a pedal consisting 

of 9 parts in it's circuit. We are all mad! Some us will pay thousands for an original.

The colors define the models. Red, black or silver gray are germanium, blue and black are silicon. The black is the American made silicon which was the first Dunlop made F.F.

CONCLUSION

What's not to like. First this pedal uses BC108 transistors  and was the first American made silicon Fuzz Face. 

You get a classic sound with all those nasty germanium problems solved. It has been 'buffer proofed'. You can run anything in front of it, even a wireless. No need to worry about buffers in some of your pedals. No need to worry about the thing failing because of hot days or hot stages. Reliable and well made. It will be an easy resale if and when you want to move on and you finally get around to seeing if the Fuzz Face is your thing?

For the record the final model that Hendrix used had the BC183 transistors. It is far more aggressive ...some even say say Muff like but it was the only one Hendrix could live with and not mod.

So I got the 108 and teamed it up with a guitar with Hendrix's fave '74 Strat PU's and put the obligatory Uni-Vibe after it. Yep ..that's the sound!!!

LOL, LOL, LOL ......only a guitarist is this nuts !

GERMANIUM  vs. SILICON 

...Compare for yourself, the 108 Mini is in effect 

the blue pedal in the video.

A NANO FUZZ HISTORY

The first available Fuzz was the Maestro  Fuzz Tone. The second was the Tonebender. A version 1 was followed by a version 2 but during that time a few versions 1.5 were sent out invoiced as version 2. Officially they did not exist, lol. The Fuzz Face is a version 1.5 clone :-)

One final irony. Recently Boss brought out a Ltd Ed Tonebender that was near impossible to get because guys were buying them up to flip for over double the money. The Boss is a Tonebender 1.5 .