MGR/Derek Mok « Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff »
Published on 04/16/07 at 15:00Primarily a singer, I've been playing guitar for about 10 years, been in a band (drummer!), and have continued to record and play with other musicians on a non-professional basis. My styles range from folk to hard rock, with heavy power-pop leanings -- Big Star, not Green Day.
I bought this pedal from Musician's Friend for $69.99 with a discount coupon.
Well, it has a lot of tweakable controls and a top boost function. The price is reasonable, the construction is pretty sturdy.
I just don't like the sound of this pedal. I usually like vintage-style distortion/overdrive, more Black Sabbath/Led Zeppelin than Metallica, and the tone of the Metal Muff was just wrong. I find its tone harsh, artificial, unresponsive to playing dynamics, and one-dimensional. The Top Boost function just makes the sound more papery, and the pedal sounds awful when paired with a Telecaster, and only acceptable with an SG equipped with P-90s. A Gibson Flying V with high-output humbuckers turned into bass mush with the Metal Muff, and the Top Boost only added a tinny edge, not true body or cut to the overall tone. I found myself preferring the natural overdrive of my Vox amp to the tone I get when I add this pedal, and the Metal Muff didn't behave any better with a Line 6 Pod 2.0.
Good, the pedal feels neatly put together and durable.
I'd hunted for a good all-purpose high-gain unit, and this Metal Muff didn't make the mark. My older Marshall Jackhammer had a more pleasing tone with more variations and more versatility, and subsequently I tried and bought the T-Rex Bloody Mary, which cost three times more than the Metal Muff but also blows it out of the water for tonal complexity, refinement, responsiveness and vibe. I had bought the Metal Muff because of its high rating in Guitar & Bass magazine, but I have to say, I really can't find much to recommend this pedal for. Maybe its sound appeals to somebody else, but definitely not me.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I bought this pedal from Musician's Friend for $69.99 with a discount coupon.
Well, it has a lot of tweakable controls and a top boost function. The price is reasonable, the construction is pretty sturdy.
I just don't like the sound of this pedal. I usually like vintage-style distortion/overdrive, more Black Sabbath/Led Zeppelin than Metallica, and the tone of the Metal Muff was just wrong. I find its tone harsh, artificial, unresponsive to playing dynamics, and one-dimensional. The Top Boost function just makes the sound more papery, and the pedal sounds awful when paired with a Telecaster, and only acceptable with an SG equipped with P-90s. A Gibson Flying V with high-output humbuckers turned into bass mush with the Metal Muff, and the Top Boost only added a tinny edge, not true body or cut to the overall tone. I found myself preferring the natural overdrive of my Vox amp to the tone I get when I add this pedal, and the Metal Muff didn't behave any better with a Line 6 Pod 2.0.
Good, the pedal feels neatly put together and durable.
I'd hunted for a good all-purpose high-gain unit, and this Metal Muff didn't make the mark. My older Marshall Jackhammer had a more pleasing tone with more variations and more versatility, and subsequently I tried and bought the T-Rex Bloody Mary, which cost three times more than the Metal Muff but also blows it out of the water for tonal complexity, refinement, responsiveness and vibe. I had bought the Metal Muff because of its high rating in Guitar & Bass magazine, but I have to say, I really can't find much to recommend this pedal for. Maybe its sound appeals to somebody else, but definitely not me.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com