thanks guys the idea to own both is actually pretty nice :D and since the NYC reissue is quite cheap - why not we’ll see

about the TS circuit… i don’t lov it so much but it’s part of my double distortion pedal, visual sound jekkyl and hyde.. the older version. And i love the distortion part :D and buying anothe OD seems kinda crazy to me :D to have mig muff (or two, yay), TS overdrive and more of a classic distortion and another OD seems like an overkill to me (i’m not one of those guys who prefer to have 6 dirt pedals)

aaand another question… i could have a chance to trade my Sovtek for BM with tone Wicker… what do you think?

DarkAxel - 14 February 2010 12:14 PM

aaand another question… i could have a chance to trade my Sovtek for BM with tone Wicker… what do you think?

ignore that

well i just got back from a massive jam session and my Sovtek Big Muff was just a big dissapointment :( when i stepped on it it was like i stepped on a big black mute switch… i got lost in a mix of… wait for it… one bass and drums. Ridiculous… and i have Tone on like 2/3

on the other hand i have to say that we plugged in a bass the sound was just massive

i’m really thinking about trying to trade it for NYC version :(

did you ever had this kind of experience with it?

All Sovteks need extensive modifications to sound good IMO! But they can sound great with little time spent as the mods are very quick to do.

a few days ago i tried an american Muff… i can’t believe how different it sounds to the sovtek in real (i don’t think that youtube can really show the difference)

sweet sounds

modalmood - 30 October 2009 01:40 PM

I have been agonizing for weeks about which fuzz pedal to get. One thing I discovered is that most of them are MAD expensive. I couldn’t find one cheaper than $150 (Fuzz Face RI, MXR, a few others). The rest of them were closer to $200 and more (mostly boutique). I liked the idea of a BM but was concerned about the fact that some people refer to it as a overdrive/distortion pedal. The Volume, Tone and Sustain knobs would imply that as well. I already have three ODs - OCD, Full Drive II & a Tube Screamer plus a compressor (Analog Man Bicomp). I didn’t want a duplicate of what I already had. Of course I was watching YouTube vids but this didn’t satisfy me. Finally I bit the bullet and bought a new BM. I got an incredible deal - 56 bucks! Well, suffice it to say, when I got the package yesterday, I brought it home and played all night! All my worry was for naught. This thing is about fuzzy as I could want. Who cares what the knobs say? For the record, mine is not noisy at all. And when I run the OCD in front of it, the roar is completely over the top!

Sorry to blather on. By the way, here is a great demo comparing the “Ram’s Head” BM to a current version. The vintage pedal blows the current one away. But, not having a vintage Muff to compare mine to, I’m very happy with my new pedal. This clip is by gearmanndude who makes the best pedal demos on YouTube (along with Proguitarshop.com).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMkLL_sgPqI

Funny… I spent 3 months also thinking “which fuzz should I get”. When a new batch of muffs arrived at my favorite shop (Which I pay a visit at least once a week) I had to give it a go… walked out of the shop with a brand new BMP!!!!

Couldn’t be happier with the pedal… I use the gain about 9hours and boost it either with an MRX overdrive or a Microamp for leading solos….simply amazing!!!!

It won’t leave my pedalboard unless it dies!!!

efilho - 29 April 2010 12:51 AM

Funny… I spent 3 months also thinking “which fuzz should I get”.

No no no, you’re both doing it wrong. The answer to “which fuzz should I get” is “all of them” :D

chisa - 02 December 2008 09:44 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0ELhLsVONs

noisy as hell

Got the Tone Wicker and am having the same issue. Got good cables and a good amp. Any ideas?

DarkAxel - 26 February 2010 01:51 PM

DarkAxel - 14 February 2010 12:14 PM

aaand another question… i could have a chance to trade my Sovtek for BM with tone Wicker… what do you think?

ignore that

well i just got back from a massive jam session and my Sovtek Big Muff was just a big dissapointment :( when i stepped on it it was like i stepped on a big black mute switch… i got lost in a mix of… wait for it… one bass and drums. Ridiculous… and i have Tone on like 2/3

on the other hand i have to say that we plugged in a bass the sound was just massive

i’m really thinking about trying to trade it for NYC version :(

did you ever had this kind of experience with it?

I used to own a US Big Muff and it killed me in the mix. That problem never happened when I used a Sovtek Muff. Kinda wierd as I was playing in the same band (drums and bass) both times. However I recently got a BMPTW and am VERY PLEASED with it, especially enough to stop using my Sovtek.

remedyblue - 03 May 2010 12:34 PM

chisa - 02 December 2008 09:44 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0ELhLsVONs

noisy as hell

Got the Tone Wicker and am having the same issue. Got good cables and a good amp. Any ideas?

Get rid of it and buy a Hoof or a Stomp Under Foot or one of Ron’s Hairpies (Sorry EHX).

Muffs are high gain pedals. They will be noisy when you max the sustain, and even more so if you run them with boosters and compressors. I have yet to find one that I would call quiet. Lower gain Muffs like some of the Sovteks have less noise. Most of the clones I have played are no better - Skreddy, Musket, Hoof, Trifecta, Cornish, BYOC, SUF, et cetera. That’s just the nature of the beast. Skreddys are among the noisiest and SUF among the quietest, but they all have the Muff circuit hiss and hum. The noise never bothered me when playing in a band mix because it is not noticeable to me.

As far as getting lost in the mix, Muffs have a “scooped” tone circuit, meaning the mids are scooped out of the tone. That’s what gives them their huge, mean sound, but it also means Muffs occupy the same frequency in a band mix as the bass guitar, bass drums, and some keyboard sounds. The Bass Big Muff and Sovtek Muffs have more mids, so they stand out more, vintage USA Muffs and the USA reissue have less, so they can get lost. You have to set your guitar amp and bass amp EQ so there is more separation when using a Muff. Adding some compression boost the clarity of the tone, and adding a booster pedal to color the EQ a bit can both make the muff stand out more. Boutique Muffs like Skreddys and Cornish have more mids built in, and some others have mids switches, like the BYOC and Musket. They are easy to make stand out in a mix.

You may also not hear yourself in the middle of a band mix when playing, but others listening may hear fine. Thats a problem people like Billy Corgan had playing live, so he stopped using them. Others like J.Mascis huge wall of Muff sound, have no problem at all. Gilmour has no problem standing out, but he just uses them for solos. Sometimes your ears can’t handle all that sound at once when you are right in the middle and you just seem to “disappear”.

You just have to work on the right EQ mix. Some people just can’t get along with them, some can. Muffs are tricky to learn how to use, but once you get there they can sound incredible.

I have a 73 ram’s head muff that’s quite quite and a 77 Guild Foxey lady ram’s head, both with FS36999s, and neither is really noisy—sure there’s always some, but not too bad. My DAM Ram Heads are as quiet as you can get with such a high gain pedal. OTOH I had a 3034 that sounded like you were standing next to a helicopter and my tone wicker was worse than that. I’ve had a half dozen Hoofs over the eyars and none of them came close to the noise levels of the TW or that 3034. A little buzz is acceptable but the overly loud jet engine WOOOOOOOSH is a deal killer (for me anyway).

My TW is not any noisier than my LBM or USA reissue, until you kick the wicker on and max the sustain, but that’s adding more gain to the circuit. I only had one hoof that I demoed and it was about as noisy as a USA reissue. I have not played the DAM yet, but it’s all just a balance of component values to keep the noise level low, and using good quality components. My noisiest Muffs are the vintage ones. The absolute loudest noise has come from the V6 Muffs. V1 and V2 Muffs are hit and miss. I have a couple of really quiet V2 Muffs, and one really noisy one - which just happens to be the one that has the best tone - urrgg!

I have only ever had one so noisy that it was unusable and it had a bad cap. But my point was Muffs are noisy by nature, some worse than others.

Hi again!:

Here’s my review after almost ten years using Big Muffs:

* ORIGINALS: I currently own three different units but they are IC instead the 4-transistor circuit. These are the following:

- OP-Amp Big Muff Pi w/Tone Bypass (v5 maybe?): This version is certainly different. I find it less bassier and seems to have more definition. About the so called “cutting through the mix” issue, I think this version performs quite well no matter you set it from lower to brighter sounds (but a bit raspy at max. tone values).
When playing at home with an small tube amp + 1x12” cab. I liked more the bypassed tone position than the standard one. But when used at rehearsal space with bigger amps & cabs (much louder volume settings, of course), it’s just the opposite: Bypassed tone position is just OK while the “stock” tone control provides much more possibilities.

I purchased it with a “True-Bypass” switching mod, the standard DPDT wiring (“Carling” type switch) without LED.

- Deluxe Big Muff
  a) EH-1330 (Blend On-Off version): Pretty cool sounding. The addition of the compressor helps to make the Big Muff sound clearer. As I play in mono, I use always the Blend position. It has enough output and gain to crank any amp. It’s fine for riffs but it goes better for solos. I remain it “all-original”, with the AC-cord (125 volts) - but I use it with an external transformer (for European voltage).

b) EH-3054 (Parallel/Series 2nd version): Like the other Deluxe Big Muff I own. This one is less brilliant than the “Blend On-Off” version. After many hours tweaking and switching between Parallel and Series, I like it more on Series than Parallel: The former is more aggresive while the latter is a little bit “dull” unless you crank it up. This version was changed to “True Bypass” (the usual 3PDT); an AC cord was re-installed again instead a 9-volt socket that previous owner installed.

Both Deluxe BM are pretty cool, but I think i’ll have to take much more time to experiment with them in studio (espceially the use of both output at the same time).

* AMERICAN RI’S: Also, I currently own three USA Big Muff Pi RI’s

a) First Reissue (Early 2000’s): I own two of these. One of them is completely original, and the other has been wired to “True Bypass” using the stock (“Carling” type) DPDT switch + Millenium circuit. It has lots of bass, and not as amazing when more tone is dialed in (i find it too raspy past 3 o’clock). But is quite nice. This version makes a good team with the Octave Multiplexer RI.

b) Second Reissue (2.003 - 2.006?): This is one version with the “A” letter carved in the circuit board. Supposedly, almos identical to early 2.000’s reissues but I find a slight difference in the tone pot performance. Also they feature “True-Bypass” with a 3PDT switching. This version (at least the one I own) has a narrower range at tone comparing it with early RI’s, so it is less “versatile”. Tt works better at low tone values (bassier). I used it with guitar for almost 4 years (2005 to 2009) but I began to use it with bass, which I found mor useful (leaving early RI’s for guitar). Also, it pairs well with the Octave Multiplexer RI. Now I have come back to use it on guitar as I’ve found another Big Muff more suitable for bass frequencies.

* RUSSIAN VERSIONS: Also, I currently two russian-made Big Muff Pi RI’s

a) “Military Green” Sovtek/EH Big Muff Pi: The “thick graphics” version. Well, this has been one of my favs. It’s rather a distortion than a fuzz because it has lots of definition and the tone range is extremely wide. In fact, is the only BM which I can set tone past 12 o’clock without getting raspy and poor. It’s my “little secret weapon”, green, heavy and amazing. I keep using it but a friend of mine had rebuilt it again but housing the new circuit board into the original case. Also, the original “tank-like” switch has been wired to “True Bypass” using DPDT + Millenium system. I regard it as one of the best BM’s I own.

b) “Black Russian” Big Muff: This is one of the latest RI’s (with 3PDT switch for “True-Bypass”. I made it to be modified. First, adding a Boss type 9 volt-socket to get rid of batteries. Second, “reversing” the jacks again, so they are now like most pedals.

I always disliked it for guitar, but the reason for owning one of these is that the “Black Russian” Big Muff is KILLER with bass guitar. And as I’m beginning to use bass more frequently for supporting my side (studio/experimental recs) projects, it’s a key piece to get a huge fuzz sound. A good friend of it is the amazing EH Hog’s Foot Bass Booster from the 70’s.

Yes!, take a Fender Bass, plug into an Ampeg full-stack, place the BRBM and ... wow!

I’ll keep it updated for some more Big Muff experiences.

Regards to everybody.

S.W.

I’ve been using Big Muff playing my bass through it and it loses a lot of the lower thrust I like. Is there another pedal you’d suggest instead.

OK I did try the Bass Blogger but I didn’t like that pedal - it had not the versatility I would expect from a Bass distortion. has anybody tried the Bass Big Muff - and give me what to expect before bying?

Thanx a million - Stoner rock