~1968 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face

Offered for sale:

Vintage c1968 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face.

This icon is in very good condition, showing some normal playing wear. We added rubber feet as the original feet were too short to lift off center screw. The knobs have been changed. The pots could be original but we haven’t seen them in other Fuzz Face photos.

The volume pot codes are inked as follows:
RV4NAYSD504A
HMP-500K
PF

The fuzz pot codes are stamped as follows:
RV4NAYSD102A
5303-1000-S
19-7606

The black plastic shell transistor codes are as follows:
185SK
3444
EBC

The metal shell transistor codes are as follows:
16G 10-75

As one of the original classic Fuzz pedals, the Fuzz Face has seen many variations by many makers over the years.

Arbiter Electronics Ltd. first issued the Fuzz Face in 1966. Later units bear the "Dallas Arbiter", "Dallas Music Industries Ltd.", "CBS/Arbiter Ltd." or "Dunlop Manufacturing Inc." name.

The pedal features Volume and Fuzz controls in a chassis inspired by a microphone stand mount. The arrangement of controls and logo on the box suggests a face.

Even within the first phase of Fuzz Face production, there is some variation to the circuitry as well as to the color of pedal. Later Fuzz Faces were produced by Crest Audio and later by Dunlop. At some point, a switch was made from Germanium transistors to Silicon, and these early pedals are much more collectable.

The circuit is based on the shunt-series-feedback amplifier topology - a standard in engineering textbooks. Sola Sound and Vox had been using the same circuit topology for their Tone Bender pedals earlier in 1966. The Fuzz Face is particularly similar to the Sola Sound unit known today as the "Mk1.5" Tone Bender. The main difference is that the Fuzz Face is biased slightly colder, making it more usable in warm environments. The original instructions even described the Fuzz Face as a "Tone-Bending" unit.

Dallas Music Industries made a final batch of Fuzz Face units in 1976 or 1977, shortly after moving to the United States. The company bought Crest Audio in the 1980s and although it was operating under that name when it reissued the Fuzz Face in 1986, the units still bore the Dallas-Arbiter name. They made about 2000 Fuzz Faces until 1990. In 1993 Dunlop Manufacturing took over production, making a variety of Fuzz Face units until this day. Several germanium and silicon models are available. In 2013 smaller versions with status LEDs and AC power jacks were introduced.

In the late 1990s Arbiter reissued the pedal as well.

The circuit uses only a small number of components, plus a battery. Its sound is mostly dependent on the selection of transistors (type, hfe and leakage in case of germanium transistors). As germanium transistors are sensitive to temperature, the amount of leakage is variable. Thus, the bias voltages will shift up and down, so the sound produced by a germanium Fuzz Face may change as the equipment heats up or cools down. Also, the battery is part of the circuit. Variances in voltage and internal resistance can make an audible difference.

According to Jimi Hendrix’s guitar tech Roger Mayer, Jimi would buy half a dozen Fuzz Faces and mark the one he liked best only to find out that he didn't like it in a different environment.

Despite popular belief that Arbiter used randomly selected pairs of transistors, Dennis Cornell, one of the engineers who worked for Arbiter in the 1960s, described in a 2016 Guitarist magazine article how he auditioned them for their sonic properties.

Early units used NKT275 germanium transistors. Later on, BC183L, BC183KA, BC130C, BC108C, BC209C and BC239C silicon transistors were used. The American made versions used BC109C transistors. Arbiter reissues used AC128s. Hendrix also switched to the silicon transistors, but they created additional difficulties on stage, since they are much more susceptible to receiving AM radio signals, which were then audible through the guitar amplifier.

Own an original!

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*Please note: we do our best giving descriptions of used pieces. We have found it impossible to describe every mark on an instrument or amp that is not in the "mint" category. Also, what's important to you may not be important to someone else. For example, you may say, "I don't care what it looks like as long as it plays or sounds well." Another person may say, "Body cosmetics are very important to me so tell me about every scratch, nick and blemish." So, please ask the questions that are most important to you. If you ask they will be answered. They are free and there's no limit. Additional photos can also be made available.

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