Hendrix-like fuzz for under £100 brand new?

JamesC01

What's a good build-quality hendrix style fuzz for under £100 brand new? Ideally something that doesn't have the pots/jacks directly soldered to the pcb, which is a common thing that breaks in cheaper pedals.

soma1975

Isn't the actual blue Dunlop mini Hendrix fuzz often found around that price?

If so it's excellent. Best of the non boutiques and can hang with them.  

JamesC01

soma1975 said:

Isn't the actual blue Dunlop mini Hendrix fuzz often found around that price?

If so it's excellent. Best of the non boutiques and can hang with them.  

Thanks, but they're like £130 second hand, £170 new. I'm looking for something that's probably max £100, mainly leaning towards the lower end around £50-£70. There's some cheaper ones, like the TC rusty fuzz, which looks decent for £40, but I might be better off getting someone for more.

soma1975

Ah ok in which case check camelfish on eBay. 

Great maker that does lovely pedals very inexpensively. 

Edit

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176077315139?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=O-6Cl6QjSC6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=4UnfybZeTWO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Dunlop mini for £112

 https://reverb.com/item/77375462?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=77375462

Dave_Mc

soma1975 said:

Ah ok in which case check camelfish on eBay. 

Great maker that does lovely pedals very inexpensively. 

Edit

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176077315139?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=O-6Cl6QjSC6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=4UnfybZeTWO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Dunlop mini for £112

 https://reverb.com/item/77375462?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=77375462

Another good cheap maker on Ebay is websmurfer- I haven't tried his Fuzz Face but his treble booster was very nice. As long as you don't get into a bidding war with someone else, they're usually under £30! Not sure how he does them so cheap... EDIT: He seems to be away over the holidays... looking through his completed listings I don't see a Fuzz Face, I'm not actually sure if he does one or not, I just sort of assumed he would!

(Those camelfish ones look very nice, they don't ship to Northern Ireland unfortunately or I'd probably try one!)

Dan

The MXR classic 108 mini fuzz which is apparently the same circuit as the Hendrix FFM3. 

Just so happens I’ve got one im letting go for £80 inc, if it’s any interest to you? 

roberty

Can vouch for websmurfer but it doesn't look like they have anything listed atm. This is the website https://www.otalgiafx.co.uk/

If you are after economy then something like this will do: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005362020653.html

You might get lucky on this auction: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166518511112?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=-eWkrLlEQze&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=BbDFiMRkTca&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The fuzz face circuit is simple and well known so you're mostly paying for build quality, brand, features etc imo. Electrically they are crude devices (which is why we love them). If you shop smart for a brand one you'll likely get your money back on resale so there is that to consider 

Good luck

roberty

Dan said:

The MXR classic 108 mini fuzz which is apparently the same circuit as the Hendrix FFM3. 

Just so happens I’ve got one im letting go for £80 inc, if it’s any interest to you? 

^^^ this sounds like a great option. The 108 mini has a switchable buffer so it is more flexible than a standard FF

roberty

If you want hand wired pots and jacks for under £100 you're probably looking at a DIY jobby tbh. Fuzz Dog will build you one for under £100

Edit: fuzz dog will solder the pots into the PCB. They are easy enough to desolder though if they go bad

Fiddlesticks_

Dan said:

The MXR classic 108 mini fuzz which is apparently the same circuit as the Hendrix FFM3. 

Just so happens I’ve got one im letting go for £80 inc, if it’s any interest to you? 

This is well worth considering.

Another one to consider is the JHS 3 Series Fuzz - under £100 brand new and is a brilliant sounding Fuzz Face type circuit. I am assuming that the pots and jacks are PCB mounted, but JHS are reliable in my experience.

AntonHunter

JamesC01 said:

soma1975 said:

Isn't the actual blue Dunlop mini Hendrix fuzz often found around that price?

If so it's excellent. Best of the non boutiques and can hang with them.  

Thanks, but they're like £130 second hand, £170 new. I'm looking for something that's probably max £100, mainly leaning towards the lower end around £50-£70. There's some cheaper ones, like the TC rusty fuzz, which looks decent for £40, but I might be better off getting someone for more.

Bloody hell, gutted I let mine go for £40 to mate. Wonder if he'd sell it back to me at that price.

[Edit: actually, ebay completed sales look like £70-90, still a considerable hike!]

ICBM

Most modern mass-produced pedals will have the pots soldered to the PCB - not an issue if they're also chassis-mounted, it's very unlikely that enough force can be applied to break the soldering. Even PCB-mounted jacks are OK if they're also supported with metal chassis nuts, and if the pedal is going to be on a pedalboard then it's not really an issue.

The most common failure on any modern pedal is neither of these anyway - it's the 3PDT switches. Those *are* a pain if they're PCB-mounted - not because they fail more, but because they're much more of a pain to replace. If you want to avoid that, buy something with Boss-type electronic switching, either with a full Boss-stye enclosure or a momentary-type metal switch.

photek

I highly recommend one with a clean trim pot like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276253720649?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=kPd1tH4cQk6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=Qa-Ye7e3ROW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Once you get over the awesomeness of the full fat bloated fuzz sound, that trim pot is magic, reduces input gain and lets it work with humbuckers, Wah pedals and even turns it into a nice fuzzy overdrive. One of the reasons the Analogman Sun Face is so popular.

guitargeek62

Not new, but:

https://reverb.com/item/77584410-dunlop-gypsy-hendrix-fuzz-second-hand

Fiddlesticks_

photek said:

I highly recommend one with a clean trim pot like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276253720649?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=kPd1tH4cQk6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=Qa-Ye7e3ROW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Once you get over the awesomeness of the full fat bloated fuzz sound, that trim pot is magic, reduces input gain and lets it work with humbuckers, Wah pedals and even turns it into a nice fuzzy overdrive. One of the reasons the Analogman Sun Face is so popular.

The 'Fuzz' control on the JHS 3 Series actually reduces input gain rather than control the amount of fuzz in the traditional Fuzz Face fashion. So the Fuzz control is basically pre-set to max and the fuzz is controlled by the input gain.

Petepassion

photek said:

I highly recommend one with a clean trim pot like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276253720649?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=kPd1tH4cQk6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=Qa-Ye7e3ROW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Once you get over the awesomeness of the full fat bloated fuzz sound, that trim pot is magic, reduces input gain and lets it work with humbuckers, Wah pedals and even turns it into a nice fuzzy overdrive. One of the reasons the Analogman Sun Face is so popular.

I found turning the guitar volume down a fraction had the same effect as winding down the trim pot a bit.
   But I guess it can be a bit more hit and miss when relying on the guitar volume to be in just the right place compared to a trim pot tweak and guitar volume on ten.

Cimmerian

How about the Fender Hammertone Fuzz for a left field option? 

photek

Fiddlesticks_ said:

photek said:

I highly recommend one with a clean trim pot like this:

The 'Fuzz' control on the JHS 3 Series actually reduces input gain rather than control the amount of fuzz in the traditional Fuzz Face fashion. So the Fuzz control is basically pre-set to max and the fuzz is controlled by the input gain.

Ooh, I didn’t know that, excellent option!

camelfish

Dave_Mc said:

soma1975 said:

Ah ok in which case check camelfish on eBay. 

Great maker that does lovely pedals very inexpensively. 

Edit

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176077315139?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=O-6Cl6QjSC6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=4UnfybZeTWO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Dunlop mini for £112

 https://reverb.com/item/77375462?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=77375462

Another good cheap maker on Ebay is websmurfer- I haven't tried his Fuzz Face but his treble booster was very nice. As long as you don't get into a bidding war with someone else, they're usually under £30! Not sure how he does them so cheap... EDIT: He seems to be away over the holidays... looking through his completed listings I don't see a Fuzz Face, I'm not actually sure if he does one or not, I just sort of assumed he would!

(Those camelfish ones look very nice, they don't ship to Northern Ireland unfortunately or I'd probably try one!)

Sorry, didn't realise that Northern Ireland or the Scottish Highlands was not set up on my ebay delivery - now changed

Cheers

Camelfish

Dave_Mc

camelfish said:

Sorry, didn't realise that Northern Ireland or the Scottish Highlands was not set up on my ebay delivery - now changed

Cheers

Camelfish

LOL no worries, that's great news, thanks for letting us know

(There are a lot of sellers who don't ship to NI- I wonder if that's happening to a lot of them?)

soma1975

camelfish said:

Dave_Mc said:

soma1975 said:

Ah ok in which case check camelfish on eBay. 

Great maker that does lovely pedals very inexpensively. 

Edit

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176077315139?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=O-6Cl6QjSC6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=4UnfybZeTWO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Dunlop mini for £112

 https://reverb.com/item/77375462?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=77375462

Another good cheap maker on Ebay is websmurfer- I haven't tried his Fuzz Face but his treble booster was very nice. As long as you don't get into a bidding war with someone else, they're usually under £30! Not sure how he does them so cheap... EDIT: He seems to be away over the holidays... looking through his completed listings I don't see a Fuzz Face, I'm not actually sure if he does one or not, I just sort of assumed he would!

(Those camelfish ones look very nice, they don't ship to Northern Ireland unfortunately or I'd probably try one!)

Sorry, didn't realise that Northern Ireland or the Scottish Highlands was not set up on my ebay delivery - now changed

Cheers

Camelfish

Didn't know you were on here mate. Absolutely love your treble booster I bought from you. Recently took it to a Fretboard meetup and had it up loud and it was widely appreciated. Great stuff!