Legends of Fuzz Series In 1966, salesman Ivor Arbiter noticed a demand for fuzz effects in the burgeoning British rock scene and wanted to make his take on this trendy sound known to the public through his company, Arbiter Electronics, joining other London guitar product companies. Seeing the circular base of a microphone stand gave me the idea to house the effects in a similar circular enclosure that looked like a face (with the two knobs as the eyes, the footswitch as the nose and the brand label as the mouth). And so the Fuzz Face was born. That same year, an American guitarist named Jimi Hendrix visited London and the Fuzz Face designed by Ivor became his instrument of choice. There's no need to explain what happened after that. The Fuzz Face was built using germanium transistors in its early years, but when germanium was completely replaced by silicon devices in 1969, the Arbiter followed suit, using silicon transistors. Jimi Hendrix preferred the silicon version over germanium for its sound, aggressive bite, and inconsistent performance depending on the environment. The JHS Pedals Smiley is a faithful recreation of the great sound of the original silicone Fuzz Face. By analyzing a selection of vintage units from Josh Scott's collection, we were able to perfectly capture the magic of this era. The Smiley is clear and articulate, straddling the line between distortion pedal and searing sustain, with the intense sustain, extended low end and mid-range bite you expect from a vintage Arbiter unit. One of the most revered features of a good Fuzz Face is its ability to clean up by simply turning down the volume knob on the guitar, and the Smiley certainly replicates this feature. ■Specifications Input/Output Terminals: 1/4" Input Jack, 1/4" Output Jack Controls: VOLUME, FUZZ Switches: MODE switch, bypass switch Power supply: DC 9V center negative Current draw: 4mA・Dimensions: W 9.2mm x D 14.4mm x H 5.1mm・Weight: 385g
