Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi (Reissue)

Can't get much easier

My main guitars are 68' & 55' Fender Strats and Gibson Les Paul Studio... but it sounds great all the others!
My rig: Ibanez Wh-10 Wah; Boss DS-2; EHX BIG MUFF; MXR 90 Mod Phaser; Electric Mistress; Danelectro Talk Back (reverse delay); Boss Analog Delay.

built like a tank, I have had mine for 7 years used it on the road everynight and it is still rocking!!

If you're a beginner or middle of the road level guitar player and/or looking to replicate your heroes sound and/or looking for a good overall overdrive/distortion pedal, this pedal is NOT for you!!! This is a pedal with too much personality for someone still searching to find their own sound!! DO your research and take your time and don't spend money on pedals because Frusciante, Hendrix and Billy Corgan have them, trust me, you will never sound like them!! But when you find that you're specifically looking for a Fuzz Pedal, (not a general distortion or a flanger or a phaser... A FUZZ) for your own sound, specially to play solos and single note type of stuff, the Big Muff is the KING of the Jungle!! From the moment you open that wooden box you're graduating from a guitar player to a rockstar!! This thing has the greatest tone ever, not only fuzzy but THICK and organic, every note means something!!! The sustain is incredible and as a "Fuzz Pedal" it's versatility is unbelievable...
I really hope that this review is helpfull to you, I'm being as honest as i can be but the bottom line is that it is all a matter of opinion...

3 knobs, volume ,tone and sustain plus a footswitch. Simple
It can take a little while too get a sound which isn't completely unusable but thats mainly a matter of playing with the tone.

My setup is:
Gretsch Corvette - crybaby wah - Digitech whammy - Digitech Bad monkey - Big Muff - Boss dd-6 - tuner - laney Lv200

It seems to make no noise when not on though as soon as it is on its untameable shrieking into feedback the instant you stop playing, all apart of it's charm! I generally go all out with this pedal with volume and sustain at max wiht tone leaning slightly to the treble side and on the bridge pickup this thing sounds amazing. Forget the neck as its just gets too muddy to do anything except solos above the 12th fret. this is remedied though by simply using it in conjunction wiht an overdrive pedal like a tubescreamer or my bad monkey. This boosts and cleans it up to a much more usuable level. You can setainly see why this pedal is used by everyone form jack white to billy corgan, it's just a powerhouse.

I feel this pedal if left alone would perform admirably at a gig and i would use it without a backup wihtout a second thought.
Unfortunately i couldn't leave it alone. I decided to replace the power scket wiht a boss type one so that it could work wiht my daisy chain. Worked fine for a while and it was a very easy operation. then its started to crackle and i traced the problem to the solid core wire connecting the circuitry to the footswitch. This stuff cannot take much damage and wiht the slight movement it had incurred whilst I worked on the pedal it had broken. Simply fixed and now works fine but i thought i'd just warn anyone considering working on one of these.

I play mostly bluesy or garagey music. Think the birthday party or black keys and for this style of music its fantastic. In fact any style where you just want to level the floor in a single step then this pedal is for you, unless you play jazz...
I've been playing for a bout 4 years and including the above i have a fender jazzmaster and a washburn hb-32 semi set up for slide.
I would certainly buyone of these again thoug i'd be interested in trying the deluxe wiht a built in compressor.
It seems to be the only reasonably priced fuzz on the market that has any prestige or makes any sense. I tried out the new boss fuzz pedal and though that was more versatile it was digita so comes no where near this.

Very easy to use, 3 knobs, Volume, Tone and Sustain, ONly an idiot cant figure that out.

My set up: Marshall MG30 DFX > Ibanez CS-9 > Ibanez PT-9 > EH Big Muff > Ibanez TS-9 > Ibanez Weeping Demon > Epiphone SG G400.

The pedal on its own and while its running through other pedals makes absolutely no noise.

Im using it with my Marshall MG30 DFX and it sounds crap while its on the distortion channel. The distortion on my amp is crap anyway, So I dont know if that is why the Big Muff Sounds crap.
It does however sound great on the clean channel, With the Bass and Treble both set to 12 o'clock.

Plugged straight into the amp, This pedal gives a warm, fuzzy tone, Which isnt really that good for pinch harmonics, tapping etc.
The Big Muff works amizingly well with the Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer, The combination of the two is great for metal guitar and bass.

If I was ever to play a gig, Id definatly use this pedal, with no need for a back up.

The metal casing looks a little flimsy in comparison to pedals like the Ibanez 9 series, But it looks tough and durable.

Never had to deal with them, It came with a warranty, But if it ever breaks Ill probably just take to a shop to be repaired.

I mostly play metal and this pedal is perfect for it.
If it were stolen or I lost it, Id buy another one straight away.

The only things I dont like about this pedal are the input jacks on the top instead of the sides, Whats all that about? and the input jack for the power supply, Instead of being the standard AC one on pretty much all pedals, Its the electro harmonix one, I hate it.

Other than those two things, This is a great pedal that Id recomend to anyone.

Not so easy to get a great sound out of this for me, though I HAVE and think it's a good pedal. It's kind of a wild pedal and can easily turn into a ton of noise (grunge people might consider this a plus?)

Mine was made in NYC, and just got it in 07.

A little frustrating that it has a weird power supply, maybe there's some reason it's not DC? I'm not an electrician, I'm just annoyed easily.

The input/output jacks are at the top of the unit, which doesn't matter to me, but again, is kind of weird for no reason. Maybe the Lil' Big Muff isn't like this, but I haven't heard that pedal.

The rest of it is very straight-forward.

I have a Fender Blues Deluxe, and love its clean tone. Damned if I'm gonna mess up good tone in exchange for distortion, I like to just step on some stompboxes instead and see how I can dirty it up.

My signal chain is as thus: Strat->Boss CS-3 compressor->Snarling Dogs "Blues Bawls" Wah->Ibanez TS9 tube screamer->Big Muff->Ibanez AD9.

At first I almost got rid of the Big Muff. It was kind of fun at first, but my Strat's noisy enough, and I felt like I was getting more static and white noise than anything else from the Big Muff, plus it immediately muddied up my sound and cut out all the high end. On a lark I threw it in next to my Tube Screamer and turned it on expecting an unholy racket, only to find...

The Big Muff and Tube Screamer in conjunction are f'ing KILLER.

These are NOT expensive pedals by any means (The TS-9 model is about 70 bucks), and I'm getting sounds that have the neighbors applauding. (by applauding I mean NOT complaining to the building manager.)

Anyone who's got something like a Marshall half-stack and can pull up that saturated gain anytime they want will never understand the heart-break of loving your clean tube-amp tone, but still wanting to lay on some filthy distortion when the situation calls for it. This effects combo is a great solution. It still rings true as my original tone, and keeps all my amp's characteristics, but it's thick and dirty and vicious. I personally consider the phrase "sounds like Hendrix" to have lost all meaning, but when I want to make him roll over in his grave with a half-assed imitation, this is how I do it.

Previously I was using the TS-9 and the distortion from my Snarling Dogs pedal in conjunction to do my dirty work (the snarling dogs BLUES BAWLS basically has a tubescreamer complex combined w/ a wah pedal). But this is much much much better.

I'm giving it a 7, because on its own I probably wouldn't have kept it, but like I said, I have DEFINITELY found a use for it, and am not shy about saying it is now a major part of my sound.

I've only had it for a few months, but it seems pretty sturdy. My only concern is that it's basically a large hollow tin box, and I suspect stomping on it too hard could do some damage.

Haven't dealt with them.

Overall I'm going to give it a 7, as on its own it's not so special. If you were to throw $100 more at this purchase you could probably leave the Big Muff in the dust. But like I said, I'm MORE than pleased with what I've coaxed from it, so don't be afraid to buy one and give it a shot, just keep your receipt in case it's not for you.

I have the Russian version. Three knobs with clear labels. Pretty simple.

I play a MIM P-Bass Special with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders in both the bridge and neck. I have run the bass through an Ampeg BA 115 and Hartke HA 1200. Plainly, it sounds great. I had been looking for a more aggressive distortion than my Ashdown bass overdrive, and the Big Muff does the job. What I really enjoy is that it doesn't totally lose the low end when I kick it on. I mean, it gets really fuzzy and doesn't stand out in the mix all that well, but I still feel like I retain some bass presence. I tend to use this pedal in a band with only one electric guitar, so it's nice to be able to add a little grind of my own when he's not chunking on power chords.
I feel like I can get a good range of sounds by messing with the tone and sustain knobs, so I have no complaints about versatility.

I just got it so I don't know, but it seems really well built and I have done well with my other EH stuff in the past.

I really love this pedal.

No manual. But, there's only three knobs to fiddle with. No problem. Quite a variety of sounds are capable. I really liked the sound when the knobs were all at the 2 o'clock area. This is a 2006 model with true bypass. Black paint with yellow text and logo.

Wow, this thing is incredible. I AB'ed my Dunlop Jimi Hendrix system classic fuzz and was able to get almost the same tone from the Big Muff. Plus, I still had plenty of room to go. Wow! Now I see why there are so many users of this pedal. I find the fuzz gets harsh when the tone knob is cranked but turning it down yeilds some nice smooth sounding vibe. For the price you can't go wrong. It's very versatile.

Ok, I see there's a lot of mixed reviews on this subject and I'm going to say that although it's of cheap construction, I still find it reliable. Especially when it's on the pedal board. Unfortunately, I can't understand why the jacks are reversed and there's still no ac adapter jack? I mean after all these revisions it still has these flaws? What gives? The electronics seem to be improved though, I think the caps aren't as cheap as before plus it is true bypass. It has the 9 pin switch but it isn't switchcraft, so it will break down sooner. The pots aren't the greatest either but some contact cleaner will keep them going for years to come.

I've haven't contacted them and I doubt I ever will. If it breaks down, I'll fix it myself. I don't mind noodling with this stuff.

Overall, I really enjoy this fuzz. You can imitate most guitar legends with it. David Gilmour is an avid user of this product and I can see why. But, what frys my ass is the lack of an ac adapter input and the reversed jacks. Again this is a budget item so I shouldn't bitch, the overall usefulness of the product is stellar and a blast to use. And, the price is as cheap as dirt. I wish I would've bought one sooner.

Yeah, pretty simple. 3 knobs.

I love it. I plugged it in and turned everything to full, then tweaked the tone knob down slightly, and there's my tone. Obviously it changes from set-up to set-up, and from what I hear, Muff to Muff as well. It has a bit of Pumpkins, a bit of MBV to it, but I think it till keeps the character of your playing intact. I play in a noisy grungey style (Sonic Youth, Daisy Chainsaw, Melvins, Nirvana, early Hole) however, and I can see why this might not suit your needs if you want something really clean and clear sounding or really high gain metal distortion.
It's got enough fuzz to have a bite and snarl to it, but not so much to swamp you and your playing.

Havent had it long, but I'd gig without a back-up, although you'd need spare batteries. Built well though.

Never dealt with.

For my playing, this pedal is perfect. My sound is characterized by strange 70's cast-offs through an MXR Blue Box, fuzzed up with the Muff, and run into a dirty Marshall amp with all EQ and pre-amp gain on 10. Basically I sound like a chainsaw. I've been playing around 6 years.
The best thing about it is the crankability. The worst thing about it is the lack of power supply input, so you need batteries.
I bought this as a replacement for a Boss HM-2 and it kicks that box's ass.
I'd buy it again if I had to.

The unit is easy to grasp, just three knobs. But one big fault i have with it is if you turn the volume below 12 o'clock, it goes silent. Why have a volume control that only has any effect over halfway? Also, only runs on 9V batteries, no adaptors. annoying as hell! But, like i said, simple.

I play metal/grunge/garage rock, with some psychadelic flourishes. I LOVE the sound of this pedal. My friend has a ProCo Rat, and warned me this unit wouldn't be versatile. It isn't, but i wanted a fuzz and i got a great one. This unit has one of the fattest sweetest tones out there, but too much buzz.

The casing is built like a tank, but whoever built the electronics was a moron. The volume control was all loose and eventually the pedal failed. When i opened it up, the soldering job was awful. EHX must improve their quality control. I am getting the volume control replaced. All in all, the thing's a brick, but the fiddley bits not reliable.

never dealt with 'em.
i live in southern australia, they are in nyc.
bought this from Allans Music, they kick Billy Hyde's ass.

Love it, but needs adaptor power, more reliable componants. I have played other fuzzes, but this has so much more sweet tube-like tone.

My brother had a Russian Muff when I was in my formative years, so I was fully acquainted with the pedal's chops when I bought mine. I do remember it being very easy to make it sound like I wanted (which was dark and murky, especially on the bass).

My favorite bassists (Les Claypool and Beefcake the Mighty, to name a couple) don't use the Muff, so imitating them with it is pointless. But, in conjuction with my Morley wahs (one bass, one guitar), and my bass (defretted ESP six-string), it sounds off-the-wall bizarre. Like a synth-trombone hybrid. And it's just a fretless bass.

Noisy? That's the point, really. But it's a dark noise, which suits my bass playing well. I knew, from the first time I heard it in action (my brother running it through his J-Bass), that this was the distortion I wanted.

One thing to remember about the Russians: they're working with Cold War machinery, which means sloppy tolerances. I guess this is why the AK-47 is the most widely used firearm in the world (sloppy = efficient, in this case). Dependable? I've only had luck with the Russian pedals.

It's built like a Russian tank. Seriously.

Gig without a backup? I have in the past; no reason not to in the future.

Never had to deal with them, and I hope to keep it that way.

For the seventy dollars I paid for it, I think I'm getting something out of it. And it just works with every style of music I play (which tends to be a mix of whatever I want to do at the time - hip-hop is the biggest influence, though). As I said, I'm quite familiar with this pedal (having used it for almost ten years).

If someone were to steal this thing, I'd be a bit upset - I don't like things stolen from me - but not to the point of resorting to drastic measures. Fortunately, they're cheap enough to buy a spare if needbe. So I did. Unfortunately, I don't have room for an amp, so it's a bit useless.

Compared to the US model, this sounds darker and drier, which works much better for the bass (for me, anyway). But it works so well on the guitar, too, that I'm not about to get rid of it.

I will say this, though: aside from wah pedals (I use Morley exclusively), I'm a loyal Electro-Harmonix customer. It's because of this pedal (I now have two, plus a Russian Smallstone phaser, which I picked up last week).

The pedal works like most distortion/overdrive pedals; level, tone, Drive. Mine has the battery cover (not all do), which is nice when you don't have a screwdriver handy. Input, output, stomp switch, and, brace yourself... a effect on LED!! If you can operate a Boss, or Digitech, this will feel right at home.

Here's what I've found with Big Muffs; no 2 ever really sounded the same to me. I don't care if it's an original Sovtek, or the reissue, the all seem to vary, not unlike Sovtek heads. Mine sounds good, not too fuzzy, just the amount of crunch I need. I realize alot of bass players like using these, but mine doesn't quite work well for it, others might though. I would say mine sounds right in the ballpark of an MXR Distortion +. I use it through an old Silvertone 1485 (all tube 150 watt 6X10 piggyback) and this pedals great to add to the drive, or distort when I'm in civilization and can't crank the amp to break up the tubes.

The pedal is built like a brick shithouse. Unfortunately, the idiot who used it before me decided to change control settings with one of his/her 2 left feet and the pots are bent, but still operational, I can't fault EH for that. The only thing I don't like is the fact that there's no AC jack, which isn't a big deal for me in that when I play guitar, I only really use this pedal. Those with pedalboards, may have to mod. The stompswitch, pots, and jacks are standard, so if replacement is necessary, it shouldn't be a problem.

I use this for more eighties underground/punk type sound, but it will work well for rock. My suggestiopn would be to try out the actual Big Muff (Russian, American, NYC, etc.) before buying one. Mine Sounds great so I'll rate it high, but for what it's worth, I've only met a couple people who didn't like theirs. They're kinda like children that way.

Made in Russia ... fearsome black box with fifties knobs ... cardboard package ... no manual ... but what could a manual tell you about three knobs labelled 'Volume', 'Tone' and 'Sustain' ... except that the one labelled 'Sustain' should have been labelled 'Fuzz', and the one labelled 'Volume' should have been labelled 'Gain' ?

The bottom line with this beast is experimentation, which no manual can help you with in this case. The guitar and the amp (not to mention any other effects you may have) alter the behaviour of the animal ??? and animal it is ??? so much that you just have to let your fingers do the twiddling and your ears tell them which way to twiddle.

As many reviewers have said, there really are only just variations on one sound with this box. But, if you can find that one sound with your setup, it's indescribable. However, the knobs are very sensitive to position and interact with each other in unexpected ways, and as is the case with my EH Electric Mistress, familiarity will, eventually, breed undying love, if anything will.

It's three knobs simple, and three knobs bloody fiddly. Therefore, a five.

I don't want to get the sound of my favourite artists (although I wouldn't mind having their skills at my fingertips; Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Ian Moss (Australia's most prominent guitarist, of the band Cold Chisel (Jimmy Barnes) fame, David Gilmour and Jimmy Page, in that order), but I do want to get the sound that *I* want, and have been wanting since my early teens, since I heard my first Gibson Gold Top ... god, that's a long time ago. I've always used amp distortion, never getting around to 'the pedal roundabout' and not wanting to. But on the other hand, I've never quite been able to get the sound, or the sustain, I want, especially as, having small hands, I reluctantly chose a slim-knecked Strat over the ever-desirable, meaty-sounding Les Paul; like skimmed milk compared to cream.

My Strat sounds about as good as a Strat can sound, but ... it's never going to be capable of that thick, creamy howling growl that a Les Paul can put into an overdriven Fender Twin. And that's the sound I'd given up hope of finding, since being stuck with close neighbours and an amp (a Fender Deluxe Reverb '59 Repro) without channel volumes (yes I know; but I bought it over the internet, and I'd never played anything so 'old', so didn't know that an amp could come without channel volumes, so didn't think to ask). Nor did I expect to find the sound in a transistorised unit: I was thinking in terms of lots of dosh and a valve inside.

So, now in stomp-box territory for the first time and seriously short of cash, though I'd been a lead guitar player for thirty years and couldn't contemplate a life without some dirt in it, I still held back. Until, in a music shop to buy a lead, I saw a couple of Big Muffs; one for AUD300, made in the good ol' US of A, and one for AUD200, made in Russia.

I got hold of a Les Paul (yes, I have one at home now; couldn't stand the thin, waily Strat any more, although I still have it) and a Fender Deluxe Reverb to mimic my home setting and asked for the US made one to try. It sounded awful; so awful indeed that the salesman pulled a face after a lot of knob-twiddling, said it was the only one in stock but there must be something wrong with it. I don't know what they're supposed to sound like, but this one had one sound only, like its Soviet sister, but that one sound was from Hades, not Heaven. It was harsh, ugly and unmusical. Not even a metal-head would touch it. So I tried a succession of other pedals and, finally, the Soviet Muff Pi, not expecting much. At first I didn't get much either, so purchasers, don't go on first opinions; give the beast a chance. And try another if you don't like that one; they probably vary ... such as having earth leads connected and suchlike <g>. I got a good sound out of it at last; a sort of creamy howl with a fair bit of fuzz underneath, especially on the lower strings; but not too much. And a sort of octavizing effect, like the point when you're just about to break into guitar-amp feedback ... a sound to die for.

Then I got it home and really got stuck into it, although somewhat hampered by the fact that my Les Paul was in dock getting its pots replaced so I had to do the testing with the Strat, a guitar which, with all its qualities, does not pack the punch of a Les Paul, so is not a good substitute. But I discovered that the 'Volume/Gain' knob on the Muff more than made up for the Strat's deficiencies; this box has massive amounts of gain!

Then I read some of the reviews on this site about the beast, and one reviewer, who said hardly anything else, said, "Simple. Turn the 'Volume' and 'Sustain' knobs to full"; the one thing I hadn't tried, because of the sheer din which erupted every time I touched the 'Volume' knob. So I tried it. After diving for the volume knob on my amp, turning it down from 2 to 1 and hit the strings again. A creamy howl which went on and on ... and on. That octavizing, almost-feedback sound, and sustain in sackfulls. Full 'Tone' was the final t

I can't afford two, so I'd gig wirhout a backup. But if I could afford two, I'd take two. Solid as a brick, but a bit unpredictable as a carpet python, I suspect.

When I took the thing apart to see if I'd scored a tranny version or an IC chip, I was rewarded with good news and bad: the good; it was a tranny version, with well-spaced components which would be a joy to work on. The bad was that, in addition to an earth lead hanging loose and idle where an assembler in a hurry had forgotten to attach it to the bolt provided for that purpose (poking out of any of the four feet) ??? and there wasn't even a nut rattling around in the box for me to use, so blutac is doing a temporary job until I can get out into the workshop and hunt down a nut with Soviet-style thread (anyone got any clues? Metric? AF? Whitworth? Gawdnose?). No wonder it was so noisy at the shop; it's much quieter now ... so purchasers, take note. Check for loose wires if you get a noisy unit. The other bad news has been mentioned before; plastic jack sockets held to the circuit board only by their solder (but there's a lot of solder, and about eight sturdy 'legs' per socket, so it's not as bad as it might be). But I'd be gentle with those sockets. Pity the only way to power off is to unplug the input jack ... there's no power switch nor 9V socket (although it shouldn't be too hard to rig one; there's plenty of room: and the same goes for a replacemeant socket or two when the originals die. That's one advantage of having lots of free space in the box; you can mod it without bending over backward. Oh, and you need pliers to get the battery compartment lid, which is supposed to be thumb-push, open, it's such a bad fit. This has been mentioned before, so it's clearly a design fault.

Haven't had the unit long. Never dealt with them. No idea.

I've been playing rock, blues, R & B, various, since the seventies. And yes, the Muff Pi, Soviet style, gives me the creamy growl that I associate with that era, and which, along with endless sustain, I've been craving for since about then too. So, along with the EH Electric Mistress ??? which gives me a very David Gilmour-esque tone ??? I have a simple but great setup. And it does more than match my style of music; it enables me to play things I didn't have the sustain for before, so it's expanded my horizons. With a brass slide and an endless creamy howl, what would you be doing? I'm exploring new territory. If it were stolen I'd buy two more, as I hear they're rare.

Let me start by saying that I will try to make this review as comprehensive as possible so you don't have to sift through a thousand other ones. Sound good?

I have the black Russian Re-issue of the Big Muff Pi. This pedal takes a while to get used to, but usually only takes a couple of minutes to get a great distortion out of it. However, it requires significant modifications to sound great, which I will explain in the Sound Quality section.

There was no manual when I got mine, and it came in a cardboard box.

By itself, this version of the Muff is decent sounding. For the 60 dollar price tag, it is a great pedal for the musician on the budget. However, I am a high-end gear using musician, and I like my distortion/overdrives to sound pristine and exceptionally good. So, when I first got the Muff, I was underwhelmed. Even with the tone control all the way to the left, the distortion is thin and has no body; forget about the low end. It can get away for a couple of gigs, but after a while you will be pining for something with BODY, with that "oomph" that you can feel as well as hear. So this is what I did.

First off, I installed a true bypass switch; this is key, since this box is a real tone sucker. Then, I installed a 5 way rotary selector switch that increases the mids and low end more and more with every click. Perfect! With these relatively simple mods, my Russian Muff is sounding EXCELLENT!

I play it through a Fender 65' Twin Reverb Reissue, a Z Vex Woolly Mammoth and a Z Vex Fuzz Probe from a Gibson SG Standard. This pedal sounds best through a good tube amp, and with the mods, this pedal SINGS. The sustain is great, the distortion is full and biting, yet with round edges so it doesn't sound choppy or compressed. It is perfect for loud, in your face fuzz. With a tube amp such as the Fender, it acquires dynamics, and sounds louder or softer depending on your picking technique. Open chords will EXPLODE out of this pedal, and single note runs sound clear and precise.

I will say this, though; this pedal is not for metalheads, or for those who want serious chunk. There simply isn't enough gain for this kind of music. It is perfect for rock and roll, blues, and alternative, and that is IT. I would suggest getting another, high quality overdrive or fuzz pedal and combining them with the Muff for a thick, clear fuzz, or just use the Muff by itself for a lower gain fuzz.

The Russian Reissues aren't as rugged as the USA ones, but they are still good. As long as you don't chuck this thing off of roofs, you're good. It can withstand kicks, drops and scuffs, but I don't think it would withstand falling out of a window.

I would definitely use this at a gig without a back up, as long as it had new batteries. The lack of a 9V adapter output is a real drag, so I'll dock some points for that.

This pedal is so cheap, you can buy another new one and save yourself the hassle of EHX customer support. Don't bother them, it takes too long to resolve problems and it takes a week for them to answer a question.

I play indie, and this pedal is a great basic distortion for me. By itself, it isn't too great, but with the right modifications and amplifer, it sounds heavenly. I couldn't imagine my setup without this pedal.

If it were lost or stolen, I would get another one and do the same mods; it costs cheaper than spending 300 dollars on a boutique pedal.

I wish it had a 9V adapter output! Jesus, Electro-Harmonix. It's common sense, is it not?

Well i have the first russian reissue pedal, known as the civil war big muff. Real simple to use, just 3 knobs: volume, distortion, and tone. Can take a while to get the right sound out but its awesome

This pedal is the best pedal i have ever used. My setup is as follows: Musicman SUB bass, Zoom 506II, Boss DD-5, Boss ODB-3, Sovtek Big Muff. The muff jus sounds awesome, so loud n fierce, you can get some seriously good sounds out of it, dunno why the ever changed the circuit board from this one to the shitty black ones that are all over the place now. I can get a perfect muse sound out of this, just sounds awesome! if you ever see one of these rare pedals, snap it up its immense

The thing is built like a tank ,it weighs a ton! the metal is soo thick, i really dont think you can break this thing, only problem is the plastic input and outoput jacks held on to the circuit board by solder..not the best

Its long discontinued, i dont think id get any support

I play alternative/rock music, and i couldnt hope for a better distortion. I have owned a 1978 ny big muff, and it jus doesnt compare to this one, this baby kicks ass! but i warn people, the black and even the green one are not a patch on this pedal, so dont go out buyin the more comment one after reading this!

New Black Russian re-issue
3 Knobs, Input, Output and a stomper for switching ot on/off. Simplicity itself and the way all Overdive/distirtion pedals should be designed. Guitarists are for the most part idiots, this is idiot proof. Only niggle is the lack of a 9v unput to supply mains to it.

For the price this thing is awesome, it totally kicks my old Boss DS2 into touch. Lovely range with the tone control which you can turn with your foot which is well handy for gig situations. The Muff sounds like the Muff which is to say great fuzz/buzzsaw american overdrive, there is not a lot of subtlety here. Be warned it will colour your sound and make everything else sound like it and noise becomes a factor at hi-volume. Ultimatley the Black Russian one is not as good as the old Green ones and I haven't played the NYC built ones, but in terms of sound, the cost/ quality ratio is excellant.

Hmmmm...this is where it get's sticky. The battery compatment lid will come of next time I pick it up and it is made from quite thin metal. I've had no actual problems but I wouldn't want to use it to defend myself.

EH have warrantys that mean I would have to pay for shipping back to NYC to have repaired. Kinda makes the warranty pointless.

Generally I prefer getting distortion from ODing a valve amp. However, this ain't always convenient which is why we buy pedals. This has far more personality than any Boss distortion which helps me get over my reliability misgivings. It is also cheaper than the Pro-Co's which are the real other mid-price option on distortion. Essentially I would recommend a Pro-Co if you want a tight overdrive and a Muff for a looser, funky, brasher kind of sound. Get both and you will have all bases covered for eternity.

really easy. just three knobs. volume, sustain, tone. thats it.

amazing sound. always sounds good. best overdrive pedal existing if you ask me.

until now it always worked

never had to use it. don't know.

fantastic pedal. just buy it and be happy with it. i would buy it again if it was stolen.

Made for Luddites. vol/dist/tone. This is the Green re-issue version with the outer casing. And the ground up tank parts.

I give it a 9 for what I play and how I use it. My Big Muff fronts the chain to both a git & bass amp, while a third chain runs independent to the git. Various distortions, compressor ensue.
Pedal's specialty is deep, resonating tone. The higher 1/3 of it's range is kind of tinny and loses that deep warm character, especially if distortion is turned up. The distortion runs from warm-fuzzy to real fuzzy, but does not do 'searing' or 'screeching'. Volume capacity is generally more than you need. Unison is around 11 o'clock on the dial. A powerful and potent effect in front, but previously placed pedals may step on it's sound quality in undesirable ways.

Okay. On the one hand, it's double cased body could break your toe if you dropped it. Military grade parts in the chassis. Meaning they barely melted it before they pressed it, you can see the outline of all the little bits of chopped metal in the case. It's guts work great without fail, being armored and all; it's peripheral parts are another story. The footswitch knob came loose, the battery cover was useless and stripped almost immediately; the battery terminal has broken numerous times. I just read the input/output jacks are attached on the inside by solder only. They haven't broken yet. Knobs/pots all well-attached and working. I bought this new at some point in the early '90's, and while it is old, I also have an mxr dynacomp and an ada flanger that are much older and have never said 'boo' once.
I don't have backups for anything, I make sure it's freakin' working before I haul it out to a gig. I consider it dependable.

Sorry, don't speak Russian. I fix it myself.

I was dissatisfied with the Big Muff for a long time before I figured out where it works best. It is the primary compoment in my 'sound' and it's flavor is Meat. The closest counterpart I have to it is an E13 SodaMeiser, which is great and loud in it's own right, but the Big Muff can ably overpower it anywhere along the chain. I'd have to say I have a certain affection for this big-ass pedal. If anyone ever tries to roll you for your gear, you could kill them with it. Considering what it's made of, it already has.

a dead monkey could figure it out. foot switch and a couple knobs. it DOES take a bit of fiddling to get a nice tone though. the longer you have it the more familiar it becomes, obviously.

when i bought this I was looking for a good mid-late '60's fuzz tone and I think I have found the box that does the trick. I can get the same tone that Kieth Richards gets on the first few notes of "Satisfaction" with this thing. it goes from muffled low end tones(hence the name), to high end, thin sounding fuzz typical of many late-60's garage recordings. a bit of a volume drop when you turn it on, but if you tweak the volume on the pedal to match that of the clean of your guitar when you switch it off, you can get them to sych up pretty well. one should note that the amp is as important as the pedal as far as tone is concerned, and this guy sounds best through all tube amps for sure. solid state doesnt do analog pedals justice. right now I play an Epiphone Casino> Stereo Memory Man> Small Stone> Big Muff> Fender Twin Reverb or Pro Reverb. as you can see I use EH stuff alot, and that's because I love the warmth and organic qualities they evoke with their products.

to be honest, I have mixed feelings about this one. I have had several EH pedals, and so far, I have no complaints as far as build and workmanship. I had a Memory Man deluxe that took a beating for 10 years or so with no problems. same with alot of my friends. most of them have Big Muffs sitting around and I havent heard any complaints. mine is the black Russian reissue, and it does seem a bit flimsy, what with the thin casing and lots of unused space inside and all. when I first plugged it in, I was worried that it didnt work because no LED came on. important note: it seems as though this pedal only registers as on when all inputs and outputs are connected and the battery is hooked up. when I plugged in completely the light came on and it's been a dream. I'm still reserving judgement though...the repeat horror stories I hear from others regarding EH in general make me wary. but hell, the thing is inexpensive. I don't see what all the fuss is about. if it breaks, suck it up and buy another, or get something else and quit bitching!! analog electronics are fickle systems sometimes. my experience with EH has been very good so far. the tone is soo worth it, and I LOVE every EH pedal I've heard or owned for that reason.

havent needed to contact yet.

I got exactly what I was looking for here. it could be a bit bassier/fuller, but whatever. it's perfect for that buzzy, nasty 60's sound for sure. not a fancy pedal by any stretch, but if you are into traditional, classic tones, this sucker is pretty cool.

Easy to use definetely, it takes a while to get the exact sound you want, but sounds good after that. The only thing worth mentioning is the In/Out jacks are changed around from the normal pedal setup.

It's fuzz it's supposed to sound trashy, I usually jsut use it with the distortion on my amp to beef it up and give it sustain. The sustain lasts for DAYS on end, and the feedback is always useable never bad.

I bought it two years ago and have changed the batteries 2 times, it hasn't broken or needed any servicing, I sometimes use a Fender Blender along with this, but if you're buying a fuzz pedal get the Big Muff, it is the king of fuzz.

Never dealt with them

0It fits perfectly into my style of music, it has a dark thumpy tone, and sustain that lasts, for days. If it were stolen I'd probably buy the US reissue, or I'd get the new Little Muff, to save board space.

Simple. Dial in the volume, set the amount of fuzz and then tweak the tone.

This brand new Russian made Bid Muff sounds incredible. It has a nice volume boost and a thick,creamy fuzz that sounds very musical when pushing my old Marshall cranked.

Here is my setup: Fender Strat, Keeley true bypass switch (For my Boss tuner),Big Muff, MXR mooded Phase 90, 1974 100 Marshall Superlead with a M.V. mod., Marshall 2X12 with vintage 30's.

After trying several other fuzzes, some costing up 200 bucks, this wins hand down! It amazes me how sometimes the best is the cheapest.
From what I understand, it's F'n true bypass too! I'll have to take a look and see for sure.

I can depend on it. It's staying on my pedalboard with the cables plugged in plus, I have it powered with my power supply.

I would and will use it at gigs without a backup.

Don't know

I been playing for 25 years and play all kinds of music. Right now I'm playing classic rockish/blues/country type stuff. This Big Muff gives me the type of fuzz I want for heavy parts and solos. It's a perfect match for my Marshall amp.
So many pedals just won't work with it. I bought a Keeley Fuzz Head and the Big Muff blows it away! The Fuzz Head sounded like crap no matter how I set it up or how I set the internal components (cap values, drive and tone control wheels on the circuit board.) It amazes me how something 59 bucks sounds so much better than something that's $199.99!

I found that depending on my guitar and amp I had to tweak the tone slightly, but it's not hard to work out... twist the sustain and volume all the way around and you're set!

If you own one distortion, it should be this. Simply sublime man...

It's a pretty hardcore pedal... had it for nearly a year and not a single issue.

No problems yet.

I got this pedal while I was in the US and wow... although it's more expensive in the UK if I'd known how good it was I would've bought one long ago. In fact, I might buy another. Or three. Then I can see just how much it takes to overload a Fender Twin!

Its so simple, three knobs, volume, sustain, and tone. The hard thing is getting a good tone out of the thing.

i play a fender standard stratocaster through a fender pro junior tube amp. This thing can create or it can cause pure chaos. it took me a few days to find a tone i was comfortable with. i read another users review and he said he turned the tone down all the way(on the pedal) So i use my amps tone and dont even use the tone knob on the muff. Its too much chaos. The type of music i play is mainly alternative rock like radiohead, the verve,and oasis. Or i play classic rock like the beatles. This pedals sound is perfect for what i play considering it has that fuzzy rock & roll sound.

This pedal is very reliable. I have the black russian model and its build like a tank. The only thing is the knobs on it fall off easily, other than that this thing is awesome. I mainly play in my home so i dont know what its like at a show, im sure it works like a charm.

Never had to get it repaired. Very dependable.

Like i said before i play mainly alternative rock and its perfect for the music i play. Ive been playing for about 2 years and i like it just fine. If it was stolen or lost i would most likely purchase another one. I love the fuzzy sound it gets, but finding a tone your comfortable with was tough for me. It doesnt get in the way with my playing. Once i found a tone i was happy with it was perfectly okay.

ok im talkin about the black russian model. have to spend a lot of time getting a good tone for just 3 knobs.

some people were saying this is only good for fuzz and grunge type of distortion and not good for metal...not true. I'm a huge fan of Adam jones of Tool and love his guitar tone. Although Adam doesn't use a big muff I can get a similar tone with my setup using one.
my setup> american fender strat> crybaby wah> big muff> baseman70> jackson 4x12 and marshall(vintage 30's) 4x12 cab.
boss bf2 flanager, and boss dd2 delay go thru my effect loop.
I set my big muff between 11 and 12 o'clock and my tone is backed all the way to 9 o'clock. I can really get that "overdriven like crazy but clean enough to hear what going on" Tool distortion with this setting. This pedal is pretty noisy but its feedback is very usable and can be controlled unlike feedback from say a mic. The pedal is very transparent and doesnt suck your already weak by nature guitar tone. By the way I use emg active pickups with a humbucker in the bridge position (putting a humbucker in an american strat took some serious body-work and skills from a local guitar tech who never says no to my crazy ideas. for anyone cosidering something like this it should be noted most techs will laugh at u and remind u how great the stock pickups are and wonder why u would wanna chop up such a nice piece of equipment...valid point.

built like a tank
battery cover sucks

this is a noisy pedal with sustain anywhere above 35%. If u can harness feedback you will love this pedal.
not your typical distortion pedal but I love mine.
If your a heavy compression, high thresh-hold soundgate type of guy this pedal probably isn't for you.

This is the rare first reissue of the Big Muff made in Russia. It has controls for Volume, Distortion, and Tone. Pretty easy to use although there is tons of tone options available with slight tweaks of any knob. For example running the pedal with the volume at 12oclock as a destinctly different tone than with it at 11oclock, even with the Dist and Tone in the same place.

Very unique pedal, I have yet to find anyone else that has one other than Michael Gurley from DADA. It really isn't an Overdrive pedal, although you can get somewhat of an overdrive with Distortion set to 1. If you like the Big Muff, you'd like this

Tank,Russian Tank. It is completely different inside than any other big muff. The insides are very well built and look like they were made in the early 60s.

Its a great pedal, I have had other Muffs, but this is definitly my favorite.

This is a super easy pedal on the surface -- but the kicker is the variation in the tone is wild:

Knobs are VERY sensitive - sustain ranges from near nothing/flat to ULTRA SCREAMING. Tone is wild as well: from a super crackling crispy tone to a fat, bottomy booming bassy tone.

with the sensitivity it takes a while to zero in on your tone.

FYI I have the Sovtek reissue (russian made)

This is a great distortion pedal. I grew up on Marshalls and now on a boogie lonestar. This is no way no how like those tube amps. Its got a huge sound that is just crushing. Dont expect a light sweet distortion or a classic crispy tone. (use your tube amp for those tones). This is a thunderous blast. Its not my standard distortion tone but its very cool to have in the arsenal - a mean big sound.

I have only had it a little time -- I understand these things are warriors -- proven simple easy and bullett proof.

never dealt with these guys.

Cool pedal -- not the worlds best but a very good tool for the wall of sound crushing big in yo face distortion.

Quite easy. The usual three knobs for volume, gain (here called 'sustain') and tone.
Tone knob cuts bass and boosts treble when turned clockwise, boosts bass and cuts treble and mids if turned the other way.

A question of taste. Obviously designed to produce old-fashioned fuzz distortion. Like Hendrix' "Foxy Lady" or early Black Sabbath.
It really alters the tonal character of any guitar, making it sound buzzy, dark and muddy with very little treble bite, if the tone control is turned to the left. When more upper mids and treble are added, it will sound thin, harsh and piercing - add some wah and your guitar lead sound will cut through any mix. Aggressive transitor-type distortion then.
It cannot be compared to modern distortion boxes in terms of versatility, it sounds really unique.
If you want creamy tube overdrive, you'll be disappointed.
I put a graphic eq in front of it to boost the range from 200 Hz to about 1,5 kHz, when I have the Muff's tone control turned down completely to get the best bass response out of it.
It works good and I use this setup to get a much better tonal definition from my Strat's neck and middle pickups.
Without additional eq, their sound will simply be 'drowned in mud'.
"Big Mud" :-) Hit two notes and the box won't know what to do ...
It literally knows no frequencies above 2kHz - I can move the eq's controls for upper mids and treble up and down, but it makes no difference at all.
So I think the Muff as such is kinda problematic but offers some interesting options when combined with additional equalization and/or wah. You may get the Hendrix/Trower lead sound, especially with additional vibe or phasing.
It is noisy, even with moderate gain, a lot noisier than most of other stomp boxes I have owned.

Solid metal box. Looks dependable. If the plastic input and output jacks were made of metal, I would give it a 10 ...

Never contacted Electro-Harmonix yet.

Quite a good remake of the orgininal Muff.
Get a copy of Mudhoney's LP "SuperFuzz-BigMuff" from 1989 (an anthem to this box) and you`ll hear how close the Russian Muff gets to the original sound.

Three knobs, and a switch. Set the sustain (gain, drive, whatever you want to call it)from 9:00 to max, volume wherever you need to, and tone at about 1:00-2:00 and you have a good ripping distortion.

This thing rips! I've been told my whole time playing (drums 18 years, guitar about 4-5 years) that the big muff in general is as shitty a distortion as you can find. well....WRONG! I pluged this baby in and found myself with some of the sounds I've always been looking for (Nirvana, grungish/industrial sounds). This is the Black Russian model and while I've been leary of trying one out for sometime, I finally broke down and tried one along with the USA version and came away with the russian one ( the USA model didn't sound as good to me, but don't let that stop anyone else frome trying it out). The only thing that bugs me is the small amount of noise that this thing produces, but that's what noise gates were invented for. I tried this pedal with a telecaster (total grunge sound) an Ibanez GAX-70 (good heavy rock and metal sounds) and a yamaha strat style with a single emg 81 wired in the bridge position (Metal and industrial sounds) and this thing passed every test. I don't think I'll ever be getting rid of this pedal. For sound I give it a ten. but for the noise involved I'm gonna take one point off.