The NYC original. Hendrix and Santana were among the first to get a piece of the Pi, and for over 40 years the Big Muff Pi has been defining the sound of rock guitar. Revered by contemporary guitarists and rock legends for its rich, creamy, violin-like sustain, from Pink Floyd to The White Stripes, everyone still wants a piece of the Pi!
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Videosongster, Bayu Ardianto, checks in from Indonesia with his latest offering. The band’s (Lola Bangs the Drum) message is that love isn’t logical. Bayu says he used a lot of EHX effects in this production, as follows:
Back in the 1970s, EHX occupied two floors on West 23rd Street in NYC (the fifth and sixth) in an area of Manhattan known as Chelsea. Today Chelsea is home to numerous art galleries, but way back when it was the home of Mike Matthews and his crew who were cranking out Big Muffs, LPB-1s and this black & white catalog!
Guitar effects guru, Bill Ruppert, pushes the envelope (hard) of what is possible to achieve with “just” a guitar and a handful of EHX effects pedals. In this latest edition of Effectology Bill re-creates the synthesizers from the Pink Floyd classic “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” Check it out. This really is one of those things you have to see and hear to believe!
Please note: Bill will be in the EHX Forums to discuss his sounds, settings, and process. We hope you join us there.
We are very pleased to inform you that Mike Matthews has been nominated for Vintage Guitar Magazine’s Hall of Fame. The category is “Innovators” and this is an unabashed solicitation for you to cast your vote for Mike, a guy who truly is one of the most innovative characters in the music equipment biz.
A hollow boast? Hardly! Here is a short list of just some of the innovations Mike Matthews has been responsible for in his career at the helm of Electro-Harmonix:
First product to introduce the age of overdrive: LPB-1 Linear Power Booster
First portable, battery powered, guitar amp; Freedom Amp
First to introduce feedback with a phase shifter: Bad Stone
First electronic flanger: Electric Mistress
First with an analog delay: Memory Man
First inexpensive digital delay: 2 Second Digital Delay
First to pioneer an electronic looper: the 16 Second Digital Delay
First to introduce inexpensive sampling: Instant Replay, then the Super Replay
In Mike’s 45 year history of relentless product innovation, he’s also been responsible for iconic effects pedals like the Big Muff Pi and the POG2 Polyphonic Octave Generator. More recently, he continues to redefine the landscape of effects with products like the Freeze Sustainer, Ravish Sitar Pedal, Superego Synth Engine and the ground-breaking Crying Tone Wah Pedal with no moving parts. His successful battles against violent Russian mobsters only spiked his creativity!
Voting is easy. Just go to http://www.vintageguitar.com/hall-of-fame/
Log in and cast your vote. Oh, there’s an added benefit to you. Voters are entered to win a beautiful new D’Angelico guitar, so do it now! And many thanks for your support.
Effectologist extraordinaire, Bill Ruppert, defies the impossible to re-create the theme from the movie Blade Runner. Using “only” his Electro-Harmonix pedals and unbridled imagination, the maestro delivers an auditory tour-de-force.
Please note: Bill will be in the EHX Forums to discuss his sounds, settings, and process. We hope you join us there.
Effectology Volume 24. Soundscape for Dr. Frankenstein’s Laboratory.
Take a trip to the macabre with effects wizard, Bill Ruppert, as he transmorgrifies popular EHX effects pedals to create a chilling soundtrack fit for Frankenstein’s laboratory. Happy Halloween!
Please note: Bill will be in the EHX Forums to discuss his sounds, settings, and process. We hope you join us there.
Guitar Buyer magazine created “The Shortlist” of five, must try, distortion and overdrive pedals. The legendary Big Muff Pi appears on the top of that list!
August Guitar World magazine’s featured cover story is the “100 Greatest Classic Rock Guitar Songs of All Time!”
A panel of luminaries picked the tunes and talked about some of the gear used. Pink Floyd’s anthem, “Comfortably Numb,” scored the number 20 position right behind the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
What gear did David Gilmour rely on? Guitar World says: ‘69 Stratocaster, HiWatt DR103 amp, Big Muff distortion.
Bill Ruppert is a Jedi Master at the art of creating soundscapes that are truly not of this world. Travel along with Bill, into the astral plane, as he explores the outer limits of “Paranormal Guitar Effects.” In this latest edition of Effectology, Bill once again uses “only” his guitar and Electro-Harmonix effects pedals to conjure aliens, poltergeists and more!
Please note: Bill will be in the EHX Forums to discuss his sounds, settings, and process. We hope you join us there.
Want to put some thunder down under and some junk in the trunk? Check out the “Fuzz Bass” effect. It’s been used by The Beatles (“Think For Yourself”), Sly & The Family Stone (“I Want to Take You Higher”), U2 (“Get On Your Boots”) and countless others.
Running your guitar into an Octave Multiplexer and any one of the Big Muff pedals generates a thick, distorted, sub octave that will shake the walls. The Octave Multiplexer uses an analog flip-flop circuit to produces a unique, fat, grainy sub octave tone.
EHX’s Mike Matthews appeared live recently on the popular NPR Soundcheck radio show to talk about distortion in popular music and legendary Electro-Harmonix products like the Big Muff Pi.
From France, a nice demo of bass guitar played through a Big Muff Pi USA. The Bass Big Mufff Pi, which is tailored especially for bass, is, in our humble opinion, even richer sounding!
Bill Ruppert rises to the challenge in recreating one of the most respected musical instruments of the 20th century, the Modular Moog synthesizer. Using only EHX pedals, Bill reproduces analog filters, specific ADSR enveloping as well as the sweeping modulations that redefined the way people think about tonal creativity.
When Premier Guitar magazine decided to do a special pedal issue, the iconic Big Muff Pi was a natural. Inside the issue, I relate the topsy turvy history of Electro-Harmonix, with some never told tidbits.
Renowned artist, fantasy knife and sword designer, and self-avowed Electro-Harmonix historian, Kit Rae, has created this very unique website documenting the history of the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi.
Welcome to the 17th installment of effects guru, Bill Ruppert’s, Effectology Series. Watch and listen as Bill demonstrates how to create extraordinary bass and drum sounds using (just) his guitar and Electro-Harmonix effects pedals. From hand drums to bass pedals, and beyond, Bill picks, slaps and brushes his way through a collection of mind blowing sounds.
This is part of an interview in Guitar World Magazine with Phil Taylor, David Gilmour’s guitar tech.
GW: I notice David tends to use stomp boxes instead of rack-mounted effects. What is his reasoning?
PT: I think his general feeling is that while rack effects tend to cover a lot of areas, they don’t cover any of them particularly well. He feels that foot pedals such as a Big Muff tend to have more character.
GW: How does Dave achieve the classic sound that we hear on the solos of songs like “Comfortably Numb”?
PT: It think it’s just pretty much him. He is obviously using a couple of effects, like a Big Muff and a delay, but it really is just his fingers, his vibrato, his choice of notes and how he sets his effects.
Sonic sleuth, Bill Ruppert takes his EH pedal army to the forefront of Alien invasion. Bill’s creative combinations capture the eerie nuance and the tense attitude of the 1963 Dr. Who theme song. Integrating Electro-Harmonix pedals, Bill proves that EH designs deliver an amazing power whose outer limits are yet to be invaded.
Guitarist Bill Ruppert recreates Aaron Copeland’s elegant trumpet and French horn sections with the restrained grace that only Electro-Harmonix pedals can deliver. Dynamic Tympanis thunder in a CATHEDRAL concert hall environment where even the Big Muff Pi adds a realistic edge. to this powerful EH pedal orchestra.
In Effectology 14, pedal guru Bill Ruppert takes us on a journey to previously unchartered sonic territory. Using only Electro-Harmonix pedals and his guitar, Bill creates a series of “believe it or not” soundscapes. Whether it’s the sound of songbirds singing joyfully by a babbling brook or a vintage vinyl “lo-fi” recording complete with clicks and scratches, Bill’s mastery of effects will amaze you. As he says, “Never judge what an effect pedal will do by what you have heard it will do. Experiment and you will find new sounds not yet discovered!” Indeed!
Sonic master Bill Ruppert reproduces the legendary Pink Floyd synth textures from “Welcome To The Machine .” Using only his guitar and the perfect blend of EH pedals, Bill re-creates the amazing sound-scapes that made this recording special. Each EH pedal provides its own magic to reveal the complexity and textures of the EMS VC3 synthesizer with stunning accuracy.
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins discusses his “first recognition of the power that the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi” had in establishing his sound and early tonal foundation.
The established identity of the Big Muff Pi is well known throughout the music world. When it is talked about, first hand, the weight and humor of Billy’s recollection deliver one more powerful endorsement of just how important the Big Muff Pi and the Deluxe Electric mistress have had and continue to have to the entire guitar playing world. Special thanks to Kerry P. Brown of Coldwater Studio for his permission to present this insightful article.
Welcome to the fifth installment of EHX Effectology. In today’s episode Genius sound producer Bill Ruppert has produced another amazing “Effectology” sound clip. Using only Electro-Harmonix pedals and NO synthesizers, Bill recreated of Kraftwerks’s classic “Autobahn.”
When there, be sure to get a tour of the cellar. That's where you'll discover their contemporary art collection, which features an installation work composed of a pair of Les Pauls, Big Muffs, Marshalls, and a lot of birds.
The gear is left plugged in, and the birds actually "play" the guitars when they land on the strings. Michael wasn't too keen about the bird guano on the instruments, but c'est l'art:
This summer, look for the new documentary film "It Might Get Loud" featuring Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), The Edge (U2), Jack White (White Stripes), and directed by Oscar winner Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth").
Here's how producer Thomas Tull describes it: "I wanted to see a movie that captured the essence of why people are so fanatic about the guitar. While there have been a lot of performance documentaries, this one is really about the relationship between these three men and their instruments. We tried to show what drives the artists, what got them passionate as players, what made them pick up the guitar in the first place."
As for me, I was especially chuffed to see the movie's trailer, which begins and ends with Jack White playing a hand-made instrument through a Big Muff Pi. The trailer also includes the White Stripes' "Blue Orchid," one of the first tracks to feature the then-new POG (recently replaced by POG2):
But that's not all! You'll also get a quick look at The Edge sharing a tender moment with his Deluxe Memory Man at the beach:
You can watch the full "It Might Get Loud" movie trailer here:
Welcome to the second installment of Electro-Harmonix's new "Effectology" series. In the first episode, we transformed a regular electric guitar into a blues harmonica.
Thanks to Vicktor Stilling for pointing me to his music video for "Rock Scientists" by Danish indie band Gravy, with an opening cameo by the Big Muff Pi. Victor co-directed the video and tells us that it showed at SXSW.
SXSW Synopsis: "It took directors Victor Stilling and Mads Hjort 150 hours and lots of coffee to complete this partially animated, partially real life footage video. The video for 'Rock Scientists' is inspired by the featured band Gravy's 'naked to the waist' live performances (vastly popular among female fans). One of Gravy's two drummers is a highly skilled chef, and thus the idea of cooking up a rocking stew with all the bands' secret ingredients came to life. Have fun spotting the spicy references to Rock 'n' Roll History in the video."
btw, Jack's videosong rules are: 1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice). 2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds).
Robin Rose is a long-established painter specializing in 'encaustic' works[?], but back in 1979 he played guitar and synth for new-wave/punk band Urban Verbs (Warner) and regularly performed at clubs like CBGB here in NYC.
For Robin's new exhibit, titled "Cypher" (April 7-May 17, American University Museum, Washington DC, info/pics), he changes gears and revisits those roots.
"Ascendant" (below, starting top-right) captures the skyward joy that comes when you catch a good groove. Gearheads, from top to bottom: that's a 1965 Fender Stratocaster with reverse tremolo, gold guitar cable, Marshall 800 Lead Amp Head, 1960 Slant speaker cabinet.
"Isolation," the circular work on the left, is assembled from 50 guitar effect pedals, with interconnecting cables. Robin explained that each pedal is an independent entity (in reality, and metaphorically), and each is connected to its peers, but through a loop that never accepts external input or offers external output. So, we can use this to consider the social world, where social circuits can also loop closed and cut off outside contact.
Robin's daughter, a 16-year-old rocker, artist and Sonic Youth fan with Asperger Syndrome[?] color coded the pedals (note the rainbow gradation on the left side). Robin tells us: "When the decision came to arrange the direction of the pedals, she said 'there is only one way they can go, Pointing IN.' I asked why, and she replied 'that made them lonely.'"
And I catch that lonely vibe: I first imagine myself standing in the middle of a dream pedalboard, but then I realize they're all turned away from me.
We're honored that Robin placed the Big Muff Pi at the bottom-center position. Thanks to Hemphill Fine Arts for the introduction. Images courtesy of the artist and Hemphill. Photography by Brandon Webster.
Be sure to catch John Frusciante's comments on the English Muff'n in the April 2009 issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine: "The Electro-Harmonix English Muff'n tube fuzz has some really extreme EQ and a big, thick and meaty sound. I used it on the solo for 'Enough Of Me.' I turn the EQ up, but leave my guitar tone knobs down and use either the middle or neck pickup so the original source sound is really dark and plain. If you blast the tone controls on the effect, you get a really thick, beautiful sound that reminds me of an exaggerated Eric Clapton tone in cream, where you have this really smooth fuzz."
We recently discovered this hand-sewn Big Muff Pi cushion by German artist/maker Gwendolin Tñ¤gert. It immediately struck us as funny and wonderful. (Translated from the German: "Wouldn't you love to hug a Big Muff all the time? Now it is possible! A super cute large stuffed cushion in the form of the world famous guitar effects pedal BIG MUFF!")
However, there was a touchy complication: the Big Muff Pi is a registered trademark, and if we discover unauthorized uses of our trademarks, we're legally obligated to do something about it (we have no choice about that).
We're all too familiar with the endless lawsuits suffocating the world of music, and so we decided to do something different. Instead of threats, demands, and legal letters, we contacted Gwendolin, told her we loved her work, and offered a formal license in exchange for an option to purchase them at discount. So, rather than a new enemy we now have a new friend, and a beautiful Big Fluff Pi. Take that as a lesson, music-industrial complex!
(Thanks for the tip to 'Ned Flanders' over in the EHX forums)
In honor of Pi Day (3/14) we proudly present yet another splendid Pi shootout (Big Muff Pi vs. Little Big Muff Pi vs. Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker) by YouTube's esteemed gearmanndude. And yes, we know, some folks celebrate Pi Day on 22/7.
It's a little known fact, but a few years back we produced a very limited run of Big Muff Pi pedals customized for the experimental Scottish band Mogwai, thought you might enjoy seeing one...
A short excerpt from the documentary film "Fuzz: The Sound That Revolutionized The World" in which Electro-Harmonix founder Mike Matthews tells the story of EHX's first product, the LPB-1.
Fourteen year old YouTuber cville57 plays Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" (ed note: Pink Floyd's David Gilmour made heavy use of the Big Muff Pi and Deluxe Electric Mistress). Be sure to catch the switch at 2:00 -- cville57, you rock.
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