Jimi Hendrix’s Marshall Supa Fuzz

A receipt from Sound City music store in London, dated January 1967, shows that Jimi Hendrix purchased a Marshall Supa Fuzz. [The Jimi Hendrix Experience, a collection of original Sound City receipts 1966 – 1967] This receipt was recently auctioned, alongside another receipt for a Fender Telecaster Bass purchased for Noel Redding.

Although the receipt refers to the pedal as a Marshall “Super” Fuzz rather than “Supa,” it’s likely this was simply an error by the person who wrote it. While there was a Univox Super Fuzz pedal sold around the same time, it’s far more plausible that the name was misspelled. Supporting this theory, Jimi was photographed with the Marshall Supa Fuzz (although at this occasion it wasn’t even plugged) just four days after purchasing it, on January 24, 1967, at The Marquee Club.

Jimi Hendrix with Marshall Supa Fuzz. January 24, 1967, The Marquee Club. Photo source: www.themarqueeclub.net

From the photo, it’s clear that Jimi’s Supa Fuzz was a 1966 version (MKI), identifiable by the closer spacing of the control knobs compared to the MKII model. This MKI model was based on the Tone Bender MKI circuit but featured a modified tone section that gave the Marshall version its distinct sound. Interestingly, the fuzz level on this model was fixed at maximum internally.

For more on the history of this pedal and its relationship to the Tone Bender, see The Tone Bender Timeline.

Reciept from the Sound City music store in London, dated January 1967.
Reciept from the Sound City music store in London, dated January 1967.

Studio Use

It’s difficult to determine whether Jimi ever used the Marshall Supa Fuzz in the studio or if it was merely a short-lived addition to his gear that saw use on a few isolated occasions.

To explore the possibilities, in January 1967, Jimi met Roger Mayer, who developed the Octavia pedal. Jimi used the Octavia to record the solo on “Purple Haze” and some parts of “Fire.” According to Mayer, the Octavia was typically placed after a fuzz unit, and at the time, the fuzz effect was a separate device (Mayer later combined the fuzz and Octavia into a single unit).

Jimi placed the Octavia after a fuzz and wah unit in most cases so it would react to the combined effects of both the wah and one or more fuzz boxes. […] It then became obvious that both a driver section and the Octavia section should be combined into one box.

Roger Mayer – Octavia

Unfortunately, Mayer doesn’t specify which fuzz pedal was used during these recordings. It’s possible that the fuzz was the Marshall Supa Fuzz, but it could also have been an Arbiter Fuzz Face, which Jimi began using extensively later on. While there’s a chance the Supa Fuzz saw some use, we may never know for certain.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

3 Comments

Continue browsing