NAMM 2007 Highlights: Dunlop

Jimi Hendrix once again proves himself the hardest working dead man in guitardom, with a couple of new FX launches to his name.

The Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face is a faithful repro of the 1969-70 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face that Jimi used on his Band Of Gypsys albums. Dunlop´s engineering department examined hoards of vintage Fuzz Faces, honing in on a few units which possessed that Jimi 'mojo'. The BC108 silicon transistor is as on the originals, as is the hand wired brown circuit board. A vintage turquoise hammertone finish completes the picture.

The Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Octavio is another “new” product. Jimi used an Octavio effect on Purple Haze and Fire, and to build the repro the Dunlop engineers copied a unit - claimed to be Jimi´s original - that now resides at the Experience Music Project in Seattle.

Yet even as it was launched, Hendrix FX guru Roger Mayer questioned whether Dunlop had got their facts straight. “The unit that is in the museum in Seattle was made by me but never authenticated by me as being owned by Jimi,” says Mayer. “It was made at least a year after we recorded Purple Haze and Fire and was not of the same type as used on the record. It is totally incorrect to claim that this device or a clone of this device is an authentic replica of the device Jimi used on those records when I was present.”

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