Dunlop JDF2 Classic Fuzz Face Pedal Reviews

Often imitated but never duplicated. I've played and payed tons for improved clones but Dunlop's JDF2 is the archetype! Yeah I know, I know, better fuzz pedals are out there but there's a charm to this simple to use pedal. It's almost a rite of passage playing this pedal. It's backwards, it has no led light indicator, only runs on 9volt batteries but the sound it produces is simply incredible. Lower the fuzz and you have a klon like overdrive. Dime the fuzz and become that local interstellar guitar hero! We need you to rock and the fuzz face will help you melt faces.

Built like a tank, this pedal will probably outlive us. The casing is indestructible, the pots are wonderful quality. it comes with those little rubber hats on the knobs that we all know and love, they're meant to make the controls adjustable with your feet. They also work to protect the knobs from wear and tear.
I think the foot switch on it is the toughest of any of my pedals, it's honestly impressive how solid it feels. You know the tones. They're here. My only complaint, if you'll let me whine unashamedly, is that the jacks are in reverse order and there is no 9V DC Jack.

Then again, that would make it vintage accurate wouldn't it?

The Fuzz Face is such a very versatile pedal! Really surprised me the first time I played through it. With your volume rolled back it has this pretty cool overdrive tone perfect for some rhythm with the tastiest of dirt on it and then dime it and push the guitar and it gives you that glorious Fuzz you crave and need. Provides amazing 60s Hendrixian and 70s style Fuzz but I found it also very useful for a Black Keys/Garage Blues rock kind of vibe. I've always wanted one of these and believe me there is a reason that so many of the great guitarists of lore have had one of those cool round fuzz pedals at their shoes.

I finally broke down and bought one of the FuzzFace pedals and I was so surprised when I plugged into it. It sounds great on nearly any setting and is very easy to adjust to get the tone you want. There is no muddy distortion and/or confusing adjustments with this pedal. It just makes your guitar sound very cool and fun to play. I have used mine with many different guitars and amps and it always is very cool and sounds great. You won't be disappointed with this pedal. I bought this model because it uses a plug-in power source or a 9 volt battery. Then I read on a forum where they said that the daisy chain plug-in power sources were really too much juice for this and that the FuzzFace runs better/cooler with just the 9 volt battery so, that's what I use. If I had it to do over again, I would just buy the original. You'll be happy when you get any one of them. Rock on!!!!!

Historic and does what it needs to.

I've been playing through a Dunlop germanium Fuzz Face as my main dirt pedal for the past 6 years or so. Ever since I got my hands on one, I've been hooked. It has helped define the sound of my band. I play a Les Paul with a Pearly Gates in the bridge and a Shaw Humbucker in the neck. The two controls on the Fuzz Face are always dimed and the pedal is on 99% of the time. I use the guitar's controls to achieve a wide range of tones. Back off the volume and it gets super touch sensitive.

It can be finicky with temperature fluctuations and I have one Fuzz Face that has slightly more gain than the other one. Put a buffer in your wah if you want to use it in front of the fuzz. The impedance thing can be a problem with some setups. I've tried the Fulltone 69, the London Fuzz, the mini Fuzz Faces. The big red Dunlop dominates them all. Gritty and smooth at the same time. Heavy as I need it to be and cleans up like nothing else I've used. Depending on the guitar and amp it can be punchy, thick, warm, nasty, biting, complex and more. Lots of character from such a simple circuit. Experimentation will be rewarded. It's cliche, but truly I get compliments on my tone every gig I play with this thing. It has basically become my voice.

Not only gives exact retro sound of Hendrix, but this must-have fuzz is EXTREMELY DYNAMIC! Great for any style of Music and offers a huge range of grind using your guitars' volume-pot. WORTH EVERY PENNY!

I bought this and man let me tell you it sounds exactly like hendrix. I'm running it through a fender mustang practice amp and it makes it sound like a real expensive amp. If you love that bold of love sound this pedal is for you. its really easy to control and even works great at the lowest volume setting. You will love this pedal trust me.

Words can't describe how awesome this fuzz is. It is like a time machine that transports you back to the late 60's.

It's that traditional dirty fuzz face sound. Need I say more

Had one of these back in the early days of rock to get that great fuzz needed for all the rock tunes. I used a couple of different models over the years... But had to go back to the old standard. Fuzz Face is the best.

This has great sound once you get it dialed in to everything including your amp, guitar other pedals etc. It took several tries to get it in the right spot in the pedal chain and tweaked for amp and guitar. The sound changes depending on the guitar and how you strike the strings. You can get a lot of different tones out it based on every variable. It is a great pedal and has great tone. Be patient, don't give up. It can be tamed. An OD pedal right before it really helps push it.

I purchased a JDF2 back in the early 70's it was great for the need back then the thing is back then I paid $ for this unit.

...and I don't mean the size. It's not a plug and play pedal, you have to find the sweet spot for it between guitar and amp. Crank the amp a bit, crank the vol & fuzz, maybe bring them back a little to lower the hiss, and ride the guitar volume pony (2.5 to 8ish for me)! Some days, I don't turn this thing off. Everything from clean-ish to 800lb violin. Biggest complaint is how it's assembled. The pcb is now attached to the bottom of the switch instead of bolted to the housing. This gives VERY little clearance between the exposed bottom of the pcb and the bottom plate. I spent a month trying to figure out why it would intermittently not turn on when I would use it the next time. Input jack unplugged, fairly new battery. Getting to the point, when you change the battery, don't over tighten the screw; snug is too tight. This might make the pedal turn a little when you try to hit the switch so watch out. When the screw is too tight, it bends the backplate toward the exposed pcb and will short it out. Thought about returning it before I found this out but pretty sure they're all like this now.

Overall I am satisfied with this pedal. I bought it to get a more vintage fuzz tone than my EHX NY BMP. It performs very well with very little to no noise. Good basic fuzz pedal.

There were problems though.

Read the small print - I didn't. This is a recreation of the original Dallas Arbiter right down to the smallest details. Vintage pedals have some annoying details that modern pedals do not.
#1. The input jack is on the left rather than on the right. Most pedals have the input on the right hand side. This is kind of a pain if you are installing it on a pedal board that flows from right to left. I simply unbolted both jacks and swapped them....."in" is now out, and "out" is now in. No soldering required.

#2. It operates on batteries only. There's no 9v jack. I had to solder on a 9v jack and drill a hole in the case. Problem solved - but the warranty and return policy are now null and void. I do not use batteries, period. This would have been a deal-breaker for me. I would have returned it had I not made this modification.

After this modification I realized that the original fuzz face had a positive-ground, yet this pedal worked with a negative-ground power supply....it shouldn't have worked at all. So the circuit must include a voltage inverter, which isn't true to the vintage specs if I'm not mistaken. This doesn't bother me - but this might matter to someone else.

I gave it 4 stars mostly because the warranty is now voided because of the simple modifications I had to perform to make it suitable for my use. Otherwise I love the pedal.

I bought my first and only fuzz face back in 69. I always Thought something was wrong with it so I use to stump the hell out of it. I have to say they Dialed this in pretty damm good with out all of the hidden surprises in the performance. It's worth a shot. It has a lot of bottom you don't get from other boxes and retains a wackiness.

Dunlop's Fuzz Face is a traditional, classic fuzz pedal, but it does have a BIG drawback. READ CAREFULLY!

IF you have a so called "high gain" Marshall amp like a JCM 900 50 or 100 watt amp with diode clipping (4100 etc) or SL-X 2500 type amp. you probably will blow some or all your preamp tubes AND possibly one or more POWER TUBE/Valves!

This applies especially to those of you who use SHUGUANG 12AX7-A high gain preamp valves.

I blew all 3 of my Shuguang preamp tubes last week, and it sounds like I ruined at least one of my JJ 6L6 Power tubes. BECAUSE Fuzz Face hits the tubes with a sledgehammer of loud raucous distortion.

With excellent low volume Fuzz Pedals such as the Wampler Velvet Fuzz or the Boss Mega Distortion pedal, that are harmless to preamp tubes. there is no reason to risk your precious and costly Tube/Valve bottles, by hitting them with Fuzz Face.

This is junk. I got one as a gift and it didn't work. The replacement failed as well. And, relies on 9v only. Crap.