SeriesElectro-Harmonix Big Muff

Electro harmonics has really dominated the effects world with such high quality and great sounding effects pedals. They're probably most well-known for their Big muff pedals that have really been the standard for fuzz distortion in the music industry. These pedals have a nice thick rich warm fuzz tone that sounds fantastic any amp or even a clean amplifier. This is the pedal that it's basically the exact same title as the American-built big muff pedal but simply this one it was made in Russia. UTILIZATION The special comes with three control knobs just like the American version. You have a volume control, you have a distortion control which would've been the equivalent of the sustain in the American version, and then you have a tone control. What up is also interesting is the foot switch button is a little bit bigger and wider than your normal clickers of the boss pedals or any other type of MXR pedal or Electro Harmonics pedal. SOUND QUALITY The tone of this pedal is quite similar to the Electro Harmonics big Muff American-made pedal. It has the same gainy structure with thick distortion as you would see or hear. It does come in a sort of military looking box which is quite appealing to me in some respects. It also comes with a nice wooden box for the overall case. The tone is cool and the only fuzz pedal that I would ever use. OVERALL OPINION These pedals come in used at right at around $260. They are fairy expense and a lot more expensive than the American-built. These are very cool pedals and if you can find one at a decent price I would suggest just grabbing it because it's a cool collectors item as well. Otherwise i would just go with the American built version which sound basically the same for much less of a price. Not as military looking but the tone and sound is there.

I bought this pedal brand-new for $59 bucks at Sam Ash. Throughout my playing years I've always looked for a distortion pedal that was heavy and thick. I used a Boss Turbo Distortion for many years because that was the closest distortion that fit my criteria. Recently I read a couple of articles in which Big Muff Distortion/Sustainer was mentioned. I decided to buy it, and I'm so glad I did. I really love the distortion - period. It's the type of distortion I've been looking for forever. The pedal looks great and is very simple to use. If you like heavy, thick, and warm distortion, this pedal is for you. I still can't believe I found the pedal of my dreams. The only thing I don't like about it is that it is powered by battery only. You can't plug an adapter to it - but who cares. This pedal is so well constructed that I think it's going to last for many years and still look great. It's very good looking pedal. This pedal is the best distortion pedal I have used and, believe me, I've used many different ones. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is a smaller version of the Big Muff Pi. I have a 1980's version of it. It has a Volume knob and a tone switch. The sustain on it is set at a predetermined amount, but can be adjusted by rolling off of the volume knob. It has an 1/8" style plug, not a BOSS style, so it can't be daisy chained without an adapter for it. It's center negative and 9V DC. UTILIZATION It is VERY easy to use. Hook it in, set the tone switch to one of two options, set the volume so it's equal when bypassed and rock out. Super Easy to use, and super-easy to get a good sound out of. SOUND QUALITY This sounds a lot like the Big Muff Pi's they make today. Thick, hairy, and aggressive. I can't comment on an older one because I've never played them. The tone switch has to settings. The the top, it seems to add more treble, like the tone knob on a Big Muff is cranked. At the bottom, it seems like the tone knob on a Big Muff is at half or less. It's a very thick and bassy sounding fuzz/distortion. Like a full sized Big Muff Pi, it lies somewhere between a fuzz and a distortion, while simultaneously being not quite either. The input is connected to the output via a buffer. Being an Electro Harmonix pedal, it's a good one. Not much treble loss while bypassed. OVERALL OPINION This is a great pedal. It sounds great and is very easy to use. I would still have it, but I don't like the Muff sound. I prefer a thinner, teblier, fuzzier fuzz. I am unbiased in rating this. It sounds great if you like the sound. This is one rockin' pedal that will keep rocking for a while longer.

I'm a big an of Electro Harmonics pedals. They are so simple and in expensive and yet so many people over look them as legit effect pedals. They do seem to come in big boxes and you can buy them at Guitar Center but they have a real analog purity to them that in my mind set them apart from many of their competitors. Much like the original Big Muff for guitarists this pedal is aimed at bass players who are in need of a little fuzz distortion. This pedal has similarities and differences to its founder but the fuzz is still the main attraction. The layout is as follows.... True bypass Tailor your drive/distortion sound with sustain, tone and volume knobs A dry switch that mixes your dry bass with the Bass Big Muff Pi's distortion Mini switch for bass boost EQ switch that reintroduces your low frequencies when tone is set for high frequencies Based on the Russian Big Muff Tough and compact die-cast chassis 9-volt battery included Optional 96DC-200BI power supply available On/Off switch Controls for Volume, Tone, and Sustain Dual outputs Rugged metal chassis UTILIZATION Very simple use in that it has three knobs and a mini switch. As you add tone is will change the darker feeling to a brighter tone much like a guitar tone knob would do. The more you add the sustain it will distort even more. Even adding the volume up will get he pedal to distort a little bit as you move it clockwise. The flick of the bass boost switch will of course add a bass frequency in case of needed bottom end when playing in a band. Sometime the bottom can drop out and this switch will help it you need that. To me I don't think it is necessary and it kind of makes the bass tone a little unnatural. Plus you have the option of that mini switch to add dry signal and mix it with the effected signal. This is much like a wet/dry setup that guitarists use. SOUND QUALITY The original Big Muff and Bass Muff have similarities but I think the bass version has a slightly tighter tone. It retains the bottom end a bit more where I don't think the Big Muff does as well. The Big Muff does retain the bottom end but it seems the bass carries it just a tad bit more. I like to keep the tone knob around noon and the volume as desired with the sustain around 1:00-2:00. This pedal in general is only used sparingly. It is more for certain type of songs with heavy bass riffing and so it is only used occasionally. This is the setting I have found to be my favorite. I used this with a Rickenbacker 4003 and an Ashdown Klystron amp into an Ampeg 8x10. Great set up and sounds fantastic with this pedal. I really got a good driving tone already with my rig and then when I hit this pedal it takes my tone into an aggressive rock tone. OVERALL OPINION A great pedal if you need a high quality bass fuzz tone that delivers tonal variations in a simple box. I like this pedal as well as EI's Bassballs which I'll do a review as well. I love the value you get out of this pedal. You can pick it up for about $80, and at that price you can afford to make a mistake if you don't like it. I recommend this pedal to any bass player looking to enhance his sound with a distortion/ grind box and who is on a budget. Great pedal for the money and a great pedal for the tone.

This is a (physically) smaller version of the legendary Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pedal. It is a heavy fuzz and sustainer, a unique combo when the Big Muff was first introduced. This pedal's larger predecessor became legendary after being used by David Gilmour and Jimi Hendrix, amongst many other, newer players. It is an analog pedal through and through. There are no excess connection types other that the 1/4" input and output, as well as the input for a power supply (sold seperately, unfortunately). This isn't rackable of computer/midi capable. UTILIZATION This is a really easy pedal to use, just like the original. There are three knobs, Sustain, Tone and Volume, all of which are rather self-explanatory assuming you know that sustain is virtually the same as compression. There is really no need for a manual. SOUND QUALITY When I first saw the Little Big Muff, I assumed that it was a less powerful, cleaner pedal than the original (whatever that means anymore) Big Muff. I later tried one out and was actually really surprised. This thing sounds very much like the Big Muff Pi, and has minimal differences from the larger ones that came out in the same year (2000). This is a supremely dirty, powerful fuzz pedal. It's great for really rocking rhythms. Some people complain about leads, I tend to either switch pickups and increase volume on the guitar or even use a boost of some type to get a better lead sound with it. When you have enough clarity and high end, you can really make this pedal sing! OVERALL OPINION This is a perfect way to make the Big Muff easier for most people. If you're crowding your pedal board to make room for your big muff, you might want to think about this alternative as you'll suffer virtually no tonal differences. The price is totally worth it for the killer tone.

***WARNING: THE FOLLOWING (RATED G, FOR GENERAL AUDIENCE) REVIEW APPLIES FOR THE BLACK RUSSIAN-MADE ELECTRO HARMONIX BIG MUFF (THAT ON THE PICTURE ABOVE), NOT THE EARLIER (USUALLY MORE EXPENSIVE) TANK-GREEN MODEL WHICH MAY SOUND DIFFERENT*** This analog stompbox is something in-between a distortion and a fuzz. The controls are Volume, Tone and Sustain (which also controls the amount of distortion). No D.C. in, and the input and output jacks are reversed compared with ALL other pedals that I've ever seen or owned... Please note that although some units (like mine) were provided with a true-bypass switch, not all were... This model is no longer produced, replaced by the U.S. Big Muff which is said to sound a bit cleaner. UTILIZATION Well, three mere knobs... could be worse, couldn't it? SOUND QUALITY It took me some time to get used to this very dark, grainy, almost experimental kind of sounds. I rarely use it alone, most of the time I have it follow a cheap overdrive which gives the Big Muff the mid frequencies that it lacks, and the whole provides for one HUGE distorsion sound... The way the tone knob shapes the sound is a bit surprising as you get in no time from an almost total lack of treble to a shrieking sound. This pedal is rather versatile as it goes easily from punk to vintage rock to a growling metal sound (needless to say that in the latter case you definitely shouldn't expect a sharp-edged sound -- hey, that's a FUZZ). OVERALL OPINION I've had this for 3 years now, although it's not always suitable for any situation it can be adapted to almost any style that needs heavy guitar sounds (some use it with a bass too, generally with great results). One among many versions of a true classic, always nice having one around...