Mr. Robot Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Relax Moderators! This is about guitars. I once owned an Electroharmonix Big Muff back in the 70's. I liked it, but it was so goddam noisy - everytime I turned it on you could hear a loud hiss from the speakers - very distracting. Somewhere along the line, I lost it. Now I notice that they are back on the market. Has anyone tried the new ones and do you have any comments, recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiz Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I have one of the newer (it's about 5 or 6 years old) American Big Muff Pi's. I like it for recording. Live it kind of makes your signal drop a bit when you step on it. I think that the Russian ones sound better, but I got the American version because it has a 9 volt adapter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat&mouse Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I have a Little Big Muff Pi, it sounds great but it is just a tad too fuzzy and doesn't really have hat full rounded tone so I often pair it with an overdrive. Sounds real good but I'm not so certain it's best for my speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I have an original for sale. Shoot me a PM if your interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FennRx Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 My rhythm guitarist had one' date=' IMO it made his Gibson LP Studio sound like a big ole wet fart when it was turned on.[/quote'] +1 i tried one maybe 8 or 9 years ago and thought it sounded like shite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoyt Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Had one of the 1970s model. When you wanted some distortion/fuzz, it sounded awesome. But it was noisy and altered sound even when off. Sold it for about 4 times what I paid to a guy in France. I don't think the newer ones sound the same, but that doesn't mean they sound bad. I've settled on a Frantone Peachfuzz which is much quieter, more usable as a fuzz or even a boost, and doesn't alter the sound when off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solacematt Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I have an American Big Muff and I love it. It doesn't produce any hiss noise when it's clicked on and not playing, nor is their a signal drop of volume reduction unless you haven't EQ'ed the thing right. The Big Muff is also an acquired taste. If you wnt one to do Metallica-like distortion you're really wasting your money. The Big Muff is great though if you want to get a Smashing Pumpkins distorted tone (like that one Siamese Dream and partially on Gish and other recordings). It's also the integral part of Kyuss and Queens Of The Stoneage guitar sound, as well as The White Stripes. If you're looking for an Eric Clapton Cream sound it's great too. My only qualm with it is that it's very tough to find some sort of middle ground with it as far as using it as your main distortion. I used it to get that Smashing Pumpkins sound and to do that, in a live setting you compromise your high's a lot. Though Electro Harmonix just released a new version with something called a 'Tone Wicker' that apparently enables you to keep that low end dirge the Big Muff is famous for, also also bring some high's in as well if needed. I've personally never tried it because even though Guitar Center has it on their site, they don't stock them in-store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckomf Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I have a small collection of Big Muff pedals of all varieties. The one thing that holds true about all of them is that there isn't one magical setting that works for all guitars. What sounds good with a Tele through an AC-30 sounds like crap in a LP/Marshall setup. You really have to tweak it to get it to sound just right. The great thing about them is that the controls make a noticeable difference all the way through their rotation. With some pedals, the tone from 1-3 sounds about the same, then there's a jump from 3-6, then 6-8 and 8-10. With the Muff Pi circuit, everything is really even all the way through, and the way the controls interact make it a really dynamic pedal. They're capable of some really thick distortion or fuzz, but they're also capable of sounding like a shower fart if you don't dial them in to fit your rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G u e s t Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 . . Biggest pedal mistake I ever made - sold my Ram's Head all-purple Muff EH-3003. I could cry sometimes when I think of what I let go..... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I have a small collection of Big Muff pedals of all varieties. The one thing that holds true about all of them is that there isn't one magical setting that works for all guitars. What sounds good with a Tele through an AC-30 sounds like crap in a LP/Marshall setup. You really have to tweak it to get it to sound just right. The great thing about them is that the controls make a noticeable difference all the way through their rotation. With some pedals' date=' the tone from 1-3 sounds about the same, then there's a jump from 3-6, then 6-8 and 8-10. With the Muff Pi circuit, everything is really even all the way through, and the way the controls interact make it a really dynamic pedal. They're capable of some really thick distortion or fuzz, but they're also capable of sounding like a shower fart if you don't dial them in to fit your rig.[/quote'] I only have 2, an old green Russian one (supposedly "made from tank parts" but I have my doubts) and a black one (not sure if it's Russian- or American-made but it's flatter in shape). I agree that the knobs are so dramatic in their respective 'sweeps' that it can make for a fussy dial-in on tone. It is a dynamic effect pedal... but at the same time it compresses LAMF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSG_Standard Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I had a Big Muff from the '80s I think, and it was terribly noisy...I traded it and a Peavey Decade amp to a fellow for a Boss GT-3... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solacematt Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 The one thing that holds true about all of them is that there isn't one magical setting that works for all guitars. What sounds good with a Tele through an AC-30 sounds like crap in a LP/Marshall setup. You really have to tweak it to get it to sound just right. This is sadly very true. What's worse is that it varies from guitar to guitar. With the settings I used on mine I got from a picture of Billy Corgan's floor board, and was lucky that at that time he was using a Les paul instead of his strats. Those same settings with my strat (which is a replica of his at that time) it just did not work right at all. Waaay to compressed sounding. Had to go back to square one and tweak everything to match it to the album for a strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max2343 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Those are nice and Everybody has used them. Hendrix was even known to have Hooked-up 5 of them up at once which was unheard of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solacematt Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.'s Big Muff collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.