Electro-Harmonix Fuzz pedals

I bought this unit from Nevada, my local guitar shop in Portsmouth UK. It set me back £89.99. I boughtt it because i was in need of a top quality distortion pedal and i was aware of the big muff's excellent reputation as one of the best that money could buy. It is even featured in album titles (Superfuzz BigMuff by Mudhoney) and T-Shirts (Rock Action T-Shirt by Mogwai) by great bands proving it has a dedicated following! There is a few things that i really like about this unit but the main thing is the range of different distortions in relation to how few knobs there are on it. I've tried out quite a few distortion pedals over the past few months and the vast majority of them use four to six smaller, fiddlier knobs and yield a smaller range of sounds. The Big Muff is so simple and classic and really delivers a wide range of distortion sounds. The only other pedal that comes close tho it is the Marshall Shredmaster but i'd still go Big Muff every time There's very little that i dislike about this unit. The only thing i can say is that i would have prefered it to have been a pedal rather than a push button as this means that you have to wear shoes to use it or you hurt your foot. It's a little annoying if you're just playing at home or if you like to play bear foot at any point (or is that just me?!). But this really is the only thing i can think of that i didn't like and i'm really just splitting hairs here! The construction of the Big Muff is first class. The first thing you'll notice is the sheer size of the pedal. It's huge! I'll bet you it's the biggest pedal you ever seen. But it's not just that its big but flimsy, its made out of metal and the unit is heavy and the dials are big and sturdy giving you confidence to really stamp down on it when you're rocking out. Trust me, you wont break it. And if you do go for the big theatrical stamp when you're playing you wont be let down by a feeble sound coming out of it. It' loud! The bottom line is that the Big Muff is a quality unit. There are other pedals out there that you can get pretty decent sounds out of but they're all too small with fiddly buttons and you have to mess around with them for ages to get a decent sound. If you want a great distortion sound with top quality construction (and dont mind paying for it) the Big Muff is your only option. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is a fuzz pedal, basically a smaller version of the Big Muff, which is one of Electro-Harmonix's best pedals, and most legendary. There are two 1/4" connections, as well as an output for a power supply. It can also run on a 9V battery. This is an analog pedal, and as such, it cannot be edited through a Mac or a PC. It also is not capable of being MIDI-controlled. It is not rackable. UTILIZATION The effects editing of this pedal is exactly the same as the Big Muff. It's got three knobs, one for Volume, Tone, and Sustain (Compression). The setup is really easy to use, and the manual will explain it clearly, even though that there is no need for it really. I will say that it is much better to get the power adapter for this pedal, as it will save you money in the long run. You'll spend more on batteries in 3 months then you would on the charger. SOUND QUALITY I think that this pedal, while pretty solid in it's own right, pales in comparison to the Big Muff. At a high volume with low sustain, this pedal sounds great. This is good for a slightly less abrasive tone, good for lighter leads and even some rhythm. However, the more the sustain is cranked, the more obvious this pedal's weaknesses become. For instance, the pedal loses serious clarity as the sustain is cranked. It gets noisy, which is typical for both pedals, but the clarity of tone is lost significantly more in the Little Big Muff. I think that the potential for it to rock out as a high-gain fuzz (for both rhythm or lead). OVERALL OPINION I think that for the price, which is only slightly less than the Big Muff, this pedal really isn't worth it. Ten dollars is not much more for noticeably better tone. Granted, the appeal of this pedal lies in the fact that it is smaller in size than the original Big Muff, which is actually quite large for a pedal, but I don't think that is that much of a priority for me as I tend not to use too many pedals at once anyway. This pedal is better for a lower distortion setting, but honestly, why buy a Muff if you aren't going to rock out with it? It seems like a bad use for this pedal. Go with the Big muff.

The Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff Reissue is simply a smaller version of the Big Muff Pi. It contains the same circuitry and everything. The pedal is an analog one, with standard 1/4 inch connections for both input and output. It can be powered by nine volt power supply and isn't rackable as it is a stomp box. UTILIZATION The Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff Reissue has the most basic parameters for a distortion pedal possible. You've simply got parameters for sustain, tone, and volume. The sustain is awesome as it really does add a whole bunch of sustain to your tone, which is overall probably my favorite part of this pedal. Unless you are an absolute beginner, I don't think that you need to have the manual to figure out how to use this pedal. SOUND QUALITY I have used the Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff Reissue in the recording studio mostly with a '76 Fender Twin Reverb combo amp and a Fender Stratocaster. I'm overall very pleased with the tones that I'm able to get within this configuration and with this pedal in general. It definitely is a Big Muff as it has the same exact circuitry and make up of the reissue of this pedal that is a bigger. I love how thick of a distortion tone that you get with this pedal, both for rhythm and lead parts. Although a lot of people will use this for rhythm and chords, I generally use it for lead sounds as I really like the way that it fattens up my sound. OVERALL OPINION If you're looking for the Big Muff sound, but don't want to spend too much money, the Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff Reissue is a good way to go. While the regular Big Muff reissue isn't all that more expensive, but I kind of like having it so small as it makes it easier to fit on the pedal board, as the larger one does take up a lot of space. I'd encourage those interested to check out the full line of Big Muff pedals, but this one is definitely a good choice.

(Originally written by malakian76/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Pure analog pedal (extremely compact, I'm still surprised!). Note that the control caps on my model are black not silver... I'll take one point off because I think they look awful. UTILIZATION It couldn't be easier and you'll quickly find several interesting sound settings. SOUND QUALITY It's THE pedal. The gain control is ultra sensitive and it's possible to play rock'n'roll in the "0" position. Higher settings produce a compressed tone without an excessive distortion. It's fabulous for people who like long notes (like Santana, Gary Moore). But it really starts getting serious when you set the gain to max. When the scoop switch is at the normal position, the sound is unusable for rhythm parts but not for solos!!!!!! It has a huge power. I'm a shredder and I promise you that you'll have enough gain!! Everything sounds right (at least with my guitar): sweeping, tapping, fast picking. The sound is not muddy. For rhythm parts, I set the gain control to max and the scoop switch to high. As if I were Lahio. The sound is sharp and brutal!! It's mind-blowing! I take one point off because the scoop mode is unusable. OVERALL OPINION I've been using it for two months and I love its versatility. I tested a Boss DS1 but it wasn't powerful enough for me. I think I would buy the big Metal Muff if I had more money.