Do you Muff?

RustySpanner

I do. 

25 years ago I went to PMT in Salford to buy a noisy pedal. 
Plugged into the huuge wall of shiny things and was seriously unimpressed until I got to the Big Muff. Jesus took me to a higher place and I bought the big one, my first proper pedal. 

Earlier this year I learned how to use it properly. 

Sold it this week in the quest for pedalboard space. 

A Tone Wicker arrives tomorrow. 
I was seriously tempted by a Russian reissue, but the Wicker won out. 

Dunno what it is, but when I feel the need to sound like the apocalypse, nothing else will do. 

Do you Muff? 
If so, what, how and why?

Love to all. 

ICBM

So much I named myself after the best one - Integrated Circuit Big Muff.



I really should get mine back from my singer...

I did have a Frantone Cream Puff at one time too, which is a derivative.

My problem with them is the lack of a version with proper switching. I’m almost inclined to rip apart something like a Boss DS-1, keep the buffered switching and put the ICBM circuit inside it.

TTBZ

Sort of, I have a DbA Fuzz War which I believe is a muff with a modified tone stack, most of the tone settings sound like a cocked wah sort of thing. It's alright but I only use it for sludgy meltdown moments and even with the modded tonestack you drop out of the mix. Actually just wish I got a tone wicker one, the demos make it sound crunchier and more useful to me. 

I like the idea of muff style fuzzes but I have more luck with Rat based circuits which end up holding the low end together better as I like my chugs to still have some punch to them

RustySpanner

Yeah, the whole disappearing from the mix thing.

But an SD1, barely awake into a Muff is glorious. 

I do not believe that god rides a Harley. I reckon she's more of a Vespa girl. 
But I am convinced she plays a Tele with P90's through an SD1, via a Muff, into an Orange clean channel. 

thegummy

ICBM said:

So much I named myself after the best one - Integrated Circuit Big Muff.



I really should get mine back from my singer...

I did have a Frantone Cream Puff at one time too, which is a derivative.

My problem with them is the lack of a version with proper switching. I’m almost inclined to rip apart something like a Boss DS-1, keep the buffered switching and put the ICBM circuit inside it.

I always thought you were named after Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles

ICBM

RustySpanner said:

Yeah, the whole disappearing from the mix thing.

The disappearing from the mix thing only happens if you don't use a big enough amp .

They don't work well with small-ish amps that are already pushed into overdrive - the pedal has so much low-end that it makes the amp try to do something it can't, and in trying to produce the lows it diverts power away from the mids which cuts the volume.

But run one through a proper 100W amp well below the point of power stage overdrive and it's massively powerful and is actually easy to overdo the other way...

RustySpanner

An overdrive/Muff combo can also make my Champ 600 feedback and squeal at volumes low enough that Mrs S doesn't drop a stich whilst watching Columbo. 

It's not "tone", but it's  A tone.  A bit of tweeking gets amazing harmonic distortion. 
And it makes me smile. 

skunkwerx

RustySpanner said:

Do you Muff? 

Yep!

Metal muff = soon to be replaced.. don’t think I can get a good sound out of it myself but its buffered so helps out last in line in the front of the amp I guess. 

Green Russian = Dark, not as high gainy as I’d like. I feel like it needs to be loud to really sound good. 

I’ve had two and I can never get it to sound anything like it does in the demo’s. 

Op-amp = Snarly. Closer to what I was looking for. Sounds good, more gain on tap than the Russian. This one is staying. 

I do want to try a Rams head and Triangle though. 

RustySpanner

To be serious for a moment, I was a bit worried the Russian might be a bit bassy. I do like the NYC so hoping the Tone Wicker will give me the original tone in a smaller format. 
Can't see myself using the Tone Wicker option, never had the original  tone knob at more than 12 o'clock.
But I'm looking forward to turning the Tone setting off and seeing how that sounds. Huge, I hope. 

I mostly play at home, but occasionally play rhythm in a pscych/Hawkwind type setup. 

skunkwerx

RustySpanner said:

To be serious for a moment, I was a bit worried the Russian might be a bit bassy. I do like the NYC so hoping the Tone Wicker will give me the original tone in a smaller format. 
Can't see myself using the Tone Wicker option, never had the original  tone knob at more than 12 o'clock.
But I'm looking forward to turning the Tone setting off and seeing how that sounds. Huge, I hope. 

I mostly play at home, but occasionally play rhythm in a pscych/Hawkwind type setup. 

I had a tone wicker for a bit, turned the tone on and wicker off which gets you the nano muff pi sound. 

Thats pretty much all I used and liked it.

 Would imagine thats the NYC sound as the nano muff was a redo of that I think. 

Let us know what you think of it man!

JD50

Big Muff Deluxe, you can eq to sound like a lot of variants , see the kitrae site for settings. It's also not that big, small than a regular muff. Can be had cheap 2nd hand.... I have had lots of Muffs over the years , standard, Russian, Opamp and this is my fave, I can get all those sounds but this can go further while still sounding like muff.

DrJazzTap

I have one of the comically large ones, trouble is it takes up half a pedalboard! I don't use one in a band setting. To be fair it's been decades since I tried one in a band, so most likely a lack of experience on my part.

Neil

I'm not a pedal sort of bloke but even I have the giant (original) size version.

Unmistakeable great sound. 

Handy that I can run it off a 9v battery old school style to save messing about with power supplies too. 

guitargeek62

@RustySpanner you’re gonna regret selling the big one!

Sassafras

I'm more of a fuzz face man.
The aggressive sounding silicon one, not the smooth geranium version.

veldt666

I still use a late seventies version. Sounds best with the tone bypassed.IMHO.
Lovely fat mids.
I have tried a few modern versions, some of which, come close, others, not so.
And, as ICBM said, ideally plugged into a loud clean amp.
My favourite set up was, my ES345 into the Muff, in to a 65 Re Issue Twin, or a JTM45.
Endless controllable sustain,..Oh how I miss that feeling.

fretfinder

Thorpy FX Muffroom Cloud, does that count? 

mbe

My first Big Muff bought over 40 years ago, played through a Sound City 120 plus (6 EL34s) into 4 x12" Fanes. The whole shebang miked up through a 10kW PA, blistering hot stage lighting dripping sweat drowned in sound. That was my musical youth. I don't have a clue what type of Muff it was but it sounded good.

Fast forward 40 years and I ended up buying a Big Muff Tone Wicker just for old times sake but, unsurprisingly, it doesn't really do it all at mere bedroom volume level. 

jeztone2

I discovered fuzz in my 20’s. The Heavy Sustain setting on a Digitech RP-1 sounded like a Big Muff. I’ve always tended to use the Russian variety. Either a good copy or one of the EHX reissues. 

Jalapeno

Sort of - a Mooer Black Triangle

Johnnyseven

I've had loads of muff over the years, never managed to make them work with my band. Whether due to not suiting my playing/writing style or not sitting in the mix with a very loud drummer and crappy studio amps I don't know. Love the sound other people get out of them though, just i've never made them work for me and my playing. Closest I got was with an IC muff with the tone control lifted.