Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi USA Reissue

The pedal is pretty easy to use. Plug it in, mess with the knobs a bit. You're done. It isn't exactly the most versatile effect!

Big muff really sounds best with another pedal driving it, or into a dirty amp. Some people will use it for sustain into a clean fender or something, but that isn't really my taste with the pedal.

You will get feedback, so don't quit playing (unless you like that sort of thing).

I'm using a strat and an AC30, but I have used this pedal with Pauls, fender amps, and marshalls. It sounds different in every setup, but still interesting.

Electro Harmonix makes budget pedals. Basically, these things could die at any time -- but that's the way it was in the '60's, man.

I have the "little" version, which seems like it is made in a better case so perhaps it won't die on me.

The big muff is a weird beast.

Its application really depends on what guitar and amp you are using. On lower settings, it can act almost as an OD kind of thing with a ton of low end. On higher settings you can achieve that "singing" Santana sustain (they continue to claim Hendrix used it, but since it wasn't even out until after his landmark albums, I don't really understand that claim).

The reviewer that said he couldn't get Mudhoney tones out of the thing must be doing something wrong, because this pedal is featured on pretty much every Mudhoney song.

In all, it is a pedal that everyone should have in their collection. It is a classic effect that works for beginners and pros alike. You never know when you might need a big muff!

It basically has a very small tonal range, and I wouldn't call it amazing, but it is very useful, especially for sustain.

It's easy. Three knobs and a switch. The manual doesn't say much, but there's not much to be said anyway, hit the switch, twist the knobs, rock your socks of.

I'm using this with a Hughes & Kettner edition 1, and a Fender 60's reissue Tele and an Epiphone LP Standard.
I mainly use the pedal together with the LP. The sustain of both the pedal and the guitar plays well together, and with the sustain knob set to eleven it really roars. I use the LP mainly for my trippy adventures in noise land, and this pedal together with my MI blues boy pedal really violates my eardrums in every sense of the word. It turns the guitar into a wooden chainsaw. With the Telecaster I usually turn the sustain down a bit, and it's perfect for playing White stripes (dead leaves and the dirty ground, bone broke, etc)
The range of the pedal is great, turning the tone knob really makes all the difference, and combining it with other distortion pedals usually results in insane sounds, some more useful than others.

It's huge and heavy. I could probably use it as a stage if i wanted to:)

No idea, never contacted them

It's a great pedal if you like noisy, high-gain sounds. It's awesome for rock, but if you are in a metalcore band or a session musician for Kelly Clarkson, this is probably not the pedal for you.

Straight forward, two inputs, 3 knobs for volume, tone and gain. Would of been nice to have come with a power supply, buttery is teh sucks.

I'm running currently running through a early 80's 57 reissue japanese strat through original blues deluxe. I have a couple of other pedals such as a Holy Grail Reverb and Delay going through the effects loop and there is a tuner before the Big Muff. As most fuzz pedals the Big Muff is very rauncy & bassy, but you can get a subtle fuzz with it with an adjustment of the tone and sustain knobs. I also have a JH Fuzz Face and I much prefer this as it's more versatile. I've got a rather small pedal board so I wanted a fuzz or drive that can cover range of tones this was easily the best and most affordable choice I could of made. This gets quite a bit more fuzz then the JH Fuzz Face in my opinion, it can get a bit noisy with single coils but you could tidy that up with a noise supressor.

I bought this brand new so no problems. I've had a couple of electro harmonix pedals and I've never had a problem.

Never dealt with them, as most massive export guitar companys . I could only imagine they wouldn't be pleasent to deal with.

I play a lot of physcedelic rock that revolves around the 60's period and bands that draw their influence from there such as The Warlocks, The Small Faces, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Jimmy Hendrix, Cream etc and this is great for those. If this got stolen...I'd probably try other fuzzes as I'm a gear freak and buy pedals for no good reason, but I reakon I'd rather go to a little big muff...They don't call them a Big Muff for nothing ! The Big Muff is definately one of the best fuzzez out there bar none

I'm writing this review to tell all those that are *****ing about this pedal: you're doing it wrong! LOL, if you wanted to play death metal, this was not the pedal to buy. I got this used with no manual, but it's real easy to use. Put the volume where you want it, tone almost dimed, & the "sustain" (distortion) between 9 oclock and 12 oclock. I got real good sounds & harmonics with these settings. It's a fuzz box! It's supposed to sound fuzzy. I don't know much about editing patches or firmware, but I think was a good reproduction of the original.

Played it through a small fender tube amp & then an old yamaha twin (both 70's vintage), it sounded great, & a very big sound outta the twin. It's pretty noisy with the sustain all the way up, that's why I keep it between 9-12 oclock. If it sounds weak/crappy, check your battery. Love the harmoics outta this thing. I usually use a Boss DS-1. You could dail in a Steve Turner (Mudhoney) sound with this, if you had a Mustang & Fender tube amp. I will admit that there are some settings where this thing sounds real bad, but if you kep the settings where I have described previously, I think you'll be happy with it.

Not built as well as a Boss, but as long as you take care of it, it will last. I'd gig with it if I was gigging right now.

n/a bought it used.

Been playing 20 years, punk, rock, metal, garage, surf, rockabilly, country, etc., own(ed) lots of stuff, used to have a whole box o' pedals, now trying to get 'em all back, I'd def replace if it got stolen, maybe buy an orig, love the sound, hate the footpads on it, but that can be changed, I like the fact that they kept the reissue like the original. I like trying out lots of different stuff. Great or Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, or garage rock. A nice change from a Marshall or Boss DS-1...

Very easy to use.

What's that you say.. it made you deaf.
I'm trying to recall the sound because mine is in a box out in the garage. i think it's the 70's model that's apparently worth a lot of money these days. It was my second pedal after a fuzz box stopped working and i enjoyed the sustain. Don't remember the fuzz quality just that it was loud and lacked any kind of tone control. i don't think the sound was bad and what I think a lot of people are doing is plugging into a high scale modern amp and are expecting a seventies sound. I use a Crate 30 amp and the amp is just too thick for the Big Muff. when I plug it into an old amp it overpowers the amp but that's what you want. You have to go out and buy a new amp but while the old amp lasts you'll hear why the pedal was so popular.

Not so good. I'm writing this review because I'm thinking of getting another Big Muff and wanted to see what people were saying about it. My Boss pedals are still working as is my Pod and most of my other pedals. I've got the Hendrix and the Clapton pedals and I'm not thrilled with them either as far as Harmonix pedals go. Not much for the price. The Big Muff lasted a while and just went dead and I never bothered getting it fixed.

It's in a box out in the garage. Thirty eight years in a box. When it broke I bought a Cort Effector with effects built into the guitar the way the new Stratocaster is made. I't doesn't sound like a Fender but it has two humbuckers and sounds ok. Then I bought a Fender guitar and the feedback had the neighbors running for the bomb shelter. If I want to get down in the gutbucket I use a Boss Super Overdrive and a Boss Blues Driver on clean with the guitar at full volume. The Muff can give you the volume and sustain but you don't get that dirty bottom that I like that sounds like John Lee Hooker tellin' some college boy in a Beamer that he don't know crap about the blues...

I think it's a good pedal but maybe for a kid just starting out on an electric guitar. Jimmy Hendrix did his thing and he ain't coming back. Buying something because it may sound like Hendrix is silly. Get a harmonizer or a Pod or a synth or something from Boss that has a hundred amp models and a hundred effects and stay interested. I like the Big Muff but it's limited.

It's pretty simple, just three knobs for Volume, Tone, and Sustain. You can go from slight break up with the Sustain low, or full out grunge fuzz with it set high.

I'm using a Fender 60's Strat into a Korg CR-4 4-track cassette recorder because I don't have an amp at the moment. Through a cheap solid state amp, or something with very small speakers, like my Korg, it doesn't sound that great. I used this on my friend's Twin Reverb, however, and it shines. I played a few tunes: "Foxey Lady", "Time" by Pink Floyd, and then changed it up a bit and played "Breed" by Nirvana and "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" by The White Stripes. It nailed the tones, especially the solo from "Time". It is kind of a one trick pony, in the respect that it does what a good fuzz should do. Very thick, harmonically rich, and it can get pretty nasty. Pair it with a good tube amp, and it'll shine.

I've only had it a few days, and it seems pretty sturdy, but the switch seems a little fragile. That could just be me, though.

Haven't dealt with them, so I couldn't tell you.

I play a wide variety of music, anything from blues to indie. This suits my needs for stuff like Hendrix, Floyd, just about any grunge, and my favorite band, The White Stripes. You can't go wrong with the pedal that all the big names use, and you also have to bear in mind that they use the exact same thing you go into a guitar store and buy.

Very easy to use `cause what ever you do, it`s same cheep sound.

I`m playing Gibson 335s deluxe and tube combo Marshall amp. This setup works fine for me. I was hoping to get some vintage boost and sustain from this pedal... nothing but the noise...
If you want to kill your tone, plug in.

Never used it on stage.

I am playing for nearly 20 years in various music styles.
Through this period of time nothing can get between guitar and amp.
Anyone who worked in studio knows that only good sound to record is the original one. Guitar and amp. Thats all. If you don`t have the sound, go back and work it out. Producers job is to alter it and pack it in the whole picture (song, album etc.). Of course I`ve tried a lot of stuff. Still got a few pedals, BOSS, that is. Chorus, Flanger, Compressor. I do not use them.
The only thing I use is Dunlop cry baby Wah. Dynamics of altering your sound with this pedal can not be replaced with no producer.

yeah its easy to use, and thats about all that can be said.

ABsolute piece of junk. I am playing a Fender Strat into a 1987 Marshall Silver Jubilee combo. As soon a I turn the Big Muff on, it squeals like a pig. I have tried every setting under the sun, and its still no good. THis piece of shit pedal is the NOISIEST pedal Ive ever played. Terrible terrible terrible.

Hahah woulde I use this at a gig? Youre kidding. This is the worst pedal ever made, and I want my money back.

No idea, bot considering the quality of this pedal I am guessing their customer service is shit as well.

If you want a Hendrix tone, then look elsewhere. In factm, of you want a pedal that actually works, and doesnt squeal like a pig, then look elsewhere.

if anyone has any idea how to make this pedal sound atleast HALF decent, please email me - heightdown@hotmail.com

It has a stiff and cheap-feeling footswitch and great big chicken knobs, which, try as you might, you can't get a decent tone out of.

I only bought the damn thing because I had the delusion that I could get a tone like either 1980-era Adrian Belew or Mudhoney. In short, I couldn't. I just got this horrendous wash of cheap-sounding fuzz. I was using a rather old Squier Strat and a brand new Epiphone LP 100 - neither of them the greatest guitars in the world, and I've since owned finer, but they sounded a lot better when I wasn't playing them through the Big Muff.

The soldering in the input and output jacks failed within weeks. Not being good at soldering in tight corners, I was unable to fix it. It was the most expensive pedal I've bought and the biggest waste of money.

In retrospect this may have been the wrong pedal for me. When I used it, it certainly sounded nothing like it did when the people who inspired me to buy it used it. But even when it worked, I almost never turned it on. It ruined what tone I have (with, like, a Squier Strat and an LP 100, I know, I know) and substituted a horrible blurry fuzzy noise. The thing is now cluttering up my office and I have no idea what to do with it, seeing as it doesn't work. My only consolation is that the Russian model I tried out in the shop sounded even worse.

Very easy 3 big chicken knobs-very easy
It only does one sound but you can increase the volume and the sustain dramaticaly.

Its definatly more of a Fuzz pedal then Distortion pedal, I've using it throught my Epi Valve junior 5w as a seperate channel effectivly, I've used my PRS Custom 22 and a Fender Japan Tele- Did'nt notice the sound being too different between the two guitars, obviously the Prs's humbuckers were alot more meaty.
The sustain is great! real violin like "think Santana-Smooth".
The big issue I've got is with the low-E string it buzzes no matter how weak the level or sustain control and I've tried all my guitars so i believe this is a genuin trait of all big muff pedals but for solos and smooth lead riffs this pedal is great, i do like it, i can see alot of recording oppotunities with it and it works great with a valve amp.

Looks strong as hell and I've never had any issues wiith EH pedals before.

N/A

Well my opinion on the sound should be clear now its pretty good but one issue which knocks a few points off! Also another issue I've got is the size i like big pedals but this one does'nt have too much stuff in side so why does it need to be massive?
The price is great though, mine was ??49.00 which is good value for a quite good pedal.

Easy pedal to use. Three knobs to adjust. Volume, Sustain, and tone. Volume stays around 9 pm position while I vary the sustain and tone knobs. Big square metal box. No manual. Just one small slip of paper with brief explanation of the three knobs. That's fine. No need for lengthly manual.

I play my LP through a chain of pedals that include this box, a Keeley moded Boss BD2, a wah pedal, and a tube screamer into a Fender amp at times or else a Mesa Lonestar amp. I can dial in the sound I after. However IMO when you increase the sustain too much it sounds very solid state/artificial.

I think the pedal is quite solid and will hold up. Nince big knobs with a red indicator light. However I believe there is real potential to scratch and dent the bright aluminum surface stomping on the button. The battery compartment door is secured with a small screw. Nice feature unless the battery dies and you don't have a screwdriver to remove the screw. It does have an AC adapter jack that overrides battery use, but unlike other pedals, it uses a small mini jack instead of the more typical adapter jack.

Don't I'll ever need support on this pedal.

I've been building my pedal collection towards getting various sounds and tones. I do like this pedal because the three knobs provide a good variation/latitude of tone, sustain and fuss. It is not an expensive pedal and I recommend to anyone who is after the fuzzy sound.

this is one of the easiest pedals to get a good sound out of. there are three controls, and its simply a matter of fine tuning. i have yet to get a truly bad sound out of it!

So, I am playing either a Fender Strat 70's reissue, or a Schecter gryphon through usally just this pedal, into a Peavey Delta Blues 210, set to clean, with the EQ all at 12, reverb at 4, and tremelo set to 3, and 3.
I find that with the pedal switched off, it is very transparent, and dosen't affect the sound at all. when switched on, there is a little hum, but not obtrusive. I'm gonna give it a 9, only because you can hear the switch ever so slightly when you tap it with your foot.

there is no question that this pedal was built for use. its in a big metal box, with a rugged metal switch (Caveat... see above section)
I would be totally comfortable gigging with only one.

never dealt with them, so can't say.

there's a volume knob, tone knob, gain ("sustain") knob, and on/off switch. Pretty straightforward.

I'm using this with a Frankenstrat I put together, into an AVT20X Marshall combo amp. I've also used it in combination with an Ibanez TS-9 and chorus pedals like the Visual Sound H2O and the Analog Man chorus.

The sound is great; this kind of fuzz is one Hendrix made famous, so of course you're gonna get a Hendrixy solo sounds like that when running it through a Marshall. Put it through a Fender and you'll get a much shriller Eddie Hazel sound. Put it through a chorus and you have Instant Frusciante.

If you turn down the tone and gain knobs you can get much more subtle fuzz effects. With the tone all the way up it can be edgy for solos and with the tone knob down it sinks the sound into a very creamy warm fuzz.

There are four negative issues I've had with the pedal. The first is that it is such a high-gain pedal that it will inevitably be quite noisy. However this is to be expected and may not necessarily be a bad thing depending on how you look at it. In the EHX manual it says the guitar, amp, etc. should all be properly shielded.

The second negative issue is that the pedal tended to muddy some of the lower notes at high gains. however for the most part it's pretty clear as far as fuzzes go.

The third issue is that I experienced some sort of "clipping" or "shorting out," for lack of a better term, when bending high notes higher (like bending the 14th fret of the high E string up, or something). This especially happened when there was a drive pedal after the Big Muff Pi. The solution is to put the boost or drive pedal, in this case, the TS-9, BEFORE the Big Muff Pi in the chain as opposed to afterwords.

The fourth and final issue is that if you run the signal through a wah before the Big Muff Pi, unless you have an awesome wah like a Fulltone Clyde or something fitted with a FoxRox Retrofit, the sweep will become almost imperceptible. I guess this can be fixed by turning the gain down on the Big Muff, but still. I'd say it's better to just get a better wah and use it with the Big Muff Pi anyway ;D

Ahhhh, I don't know. The case is made of the same type of metal and style used in the 70s, so it's very flimsy for something you're repeatedly stomping on. Why not move it to a tougher case?

In general, I've found EHX to be an amazing and creative company, but nevertheless somewhat sketchy. (You know what I mean.)

Never had to deal with 'em.

I play funky rock, rocky funk, acid rock, earth and space or whatever. Lots of Hendrix, Chili Peppers, and the like. I love this pedal. If it was stolen, I'd [insert violent act of revenge here]. Seriously, though, I'd get another. It's such an amazing pedal and at $80 NEW it's dirt cheap and an amazing bargain for such a good pedal. You can get lots of different fuzz tones out of it, from subtle and creamy to loud and screaming. Before you buy it though, try it out on the model amp that you own. It sounds wildly different through different amps.

All in all - with a name like "Big Muff" how can you go wrong?

There's three knobs - the volume knob controls the output level of the pedal, the "sustain" knob basically controls the amount of fuzz, and the tone knob has the greatest impact on the overall sound of the pedal, going from a smooth bassy fuzz to a harsher, "buzzier" sound.

I'm giving this a 7 because even though the controls are fairly simple, it's going to take a lot of messing around with them and probably the controls on your amp to get the sound you're looking for out of it. The "manual" provides slightly less information about the pedals controls then the above paragraph.

First off, I've been reading the previous reviews and I have to say this - if you bought a big muff thinking it was going to be a super versatile distortion pedal, or worse yet, a "metal pedal", then you are an idiot and need to do a little more research before you buy things.

I didn't buy this pedal looking for my "favorite artist's tone". I bought it because I wanted to add some versatility to my sound. I design and build tube amps, and my usual setup is just Guitar-->Amp. I do play a little bit of "stoner rock" type stuff which is the reason I bought this pedal. For the blues and classic rock type stuff I usually play, this pedal doesn't really have a place.

To me, the Big Muff is a fuzz pedal, nothing more. You can get a couple pretty distinct different sounds out of it and tweak them a fair amount, but let's not kid ourselves, this pedal does one thing and it does it very well.

As I mentioned before, I usually run this pedal into amps of my own design, however it does sound pretty good into my '65 Gibson Hawk. That's another thing to consider. Just as the sound of this pedal is not for everyone, it sounds quite different through different amps. There's always a possibility that it just might not be compatible with your current setup. I mostly play a solid maple 1980 Gibson 335-S which is tuned down to C standard right now. The pedal really sounds good with humbuckers, and gets pretty much the exact sound I hear in my mind with this guitar. My other one is a heavily modified strat copy with GFS Boston Blues. I typically only liked that guitar playing clean but this pedal really brings it to life. Definitely a cool sound with this one too.

I would also like to add that I have not had a chance to A/B this with a Russian Big Muff yet.

Seems like a pretty sturdy pedal. It hasn't broken in the time I've had it, and I wouldn't mind gigging without a backup.

Never had to deal with EHX, hopefully never will.

I play everything from blues to classic rock to stoner rock. This pedal's good for the stoner rock, but I'm pretty much a straight into the amp guy for everything else.

If it were stolen I'd buy another. Nothing else really sounds like a Big Muff. I bought it knowing full well what the pedal can and can't do. I like it for what it does, and there's nothing else I really want from it. I do also like that it's true bypass.

I looked at a lot of other Muff clones and briefly considered one of the BYOC "Large Beaver" Muff clones, but I wasn't really after a vintage fuzz sound so I decided the USA Reissue was probably my best and most cost-effective option. If I wanted a good vintage style fuzz I'd be going for a germanium-based Fuzz Face clone.

It certainly helps "make music", you have to know how to use it though.

One other thing I'd like to add is lately I've been running an EHX LPB-1 in front of it. I can keep the "sustain" knob low for rhythm playing, and stepping on the LPB-1 (boost pedal, also highly reccomended) has pretty much the same effect as turning up the sustain knob for a bit of a solo boost. Makes this pedal a little more versatile for sure.

Overall, I highly reccomend this. However, it is not for everyone and my advice it make be 100% sure you know what this pedal sounds like, what it's capable of, and what it's not. If you want a more versatile "metal pedal" have a look at the Metal Muff.

Very easy.

The sound quality was a huge disappointment. I can appreciate differences in taste but I can't imagine a type of music that would benefit from this sound aside from maybe a noise band. I couldn't find any combination of settings that provided enough clarity to play anything. I realize that a fuzz pedal is supposed to be fuzzy but ultimately the notes still need to make it through or you're just left with an indistinguishable mess. I was sure that I had purchased a broken pedal until I found many online reviews describing the same problems I was having. I actually did research this before buying and don't know how I overlooked all of these reviews. This pedal sounds like an accident. I can't believe that any group of engineers intentionally designed and marketed this product.

I plan on taking this pedal back so will probably never find out if it is reliable or not.

I love a dusty, analog, vintage sound which is what I was hoping to get from the Big Muff but it just doesn't deliver. This pedal will not make it out of my practice studio except to go back to Guitar Center. I would absolutely never recommend this to anyone--unless I really didn't like them.

You can't fault it for ease of use, of course. 3 knobs, do exactly what they say. But getting a good sound out of it... Thats trickier, for me at least. Different equipment will yield very different results, no doubt, but with my setup, some fiddling around (not just with the Muff, but with my amp) is necessary.

I love the 'Muff' sound, which is a good thing, because otherwise I'd hate this pedal. I use it with an old 2x12 SS Marshall 30w, which gives a very trebly sound. The problem I have is that when I switch the muff on, all of that treble disappears. I need to find a solution to this problem, otherwise the sound is very unbalanced with it on and off. The guitar is a 60s Hollowbody 335 lookalike, with single coils... If I stop playing for 1/10000 of a second, feedback kicks in, but that's the guitar's fault; I'm gonna get the microphonic pickups potted soon to eliminate the problem.

I'm a White Stripes fan, so I thought I'd use this with the Digitech Whammy II pedal to get a similar sound. The combination works a treat, I must say. The Muff thickens out the thin octave-up sounds the Whammy produces quite nicely.

I also have a bone to pick with the tone control... I wish I could get the original tone clearly from this pedal, but the Muff completely destroys it. The 'tone' control just gives a treble boost that makes the sound sound more processed, and less like the original sound. But then it needs to be turned up in order for you to even be heard properly. It's very hard to find a balance.

But I do enjoy the sound it produces, when I've eventually set it up properly... It's thicker than the great wall of china, which suits me just fine.

It seems dependable enough, a knob is slightly loose, but I bought it second hand and it still works perfectly fine, with no signs of it falling off. Also, I enjoy the fact that if a battery runs out, it will still run the signal through, unlike many other pedals, where it kills the signal totally. But I've just bought a power supply anyway.

Never had to deal with them... yet.

I like playing with no bass; I'm in a 3 piece band with 2 guitars. I play a mixture of bluesy rock/garage rock/grunge I rely on this thing to really kick some when I need it to, and it duly does. I owned a cheapo Boss OS2 copy (OD/Dist.) but I will probably rely on my Digitech Bad Moneky for overdrive and step on this when I need some power behind my riffs. I would buy another one for sure, maybe see what the Russian one is like, but it's a good pedal to have in your chain for the price.
I wish I could shape the tone a bit more; no doubt I'll eventually find a way to get more out of it. Anyone know how much the late 70s (with the sam design, except for LED and tone switch) differs to the reissue? If it gives any more tone than the reissue, I may begin hunting one down...

Its very easy to get a good sound outta this thing! 3 knobs easy peazy!
fiddle about to se what tone you want.

i can get sounds from hendrix to muse. ITS A FUZZ PEDAL!!!!! FUZZY!!!
love it! all the people saying its noisy??? not on my guitar!!! silent until i want it to get dirty. i use a graphic eq with the muff cause i wanted the graphic fuzz but couldnt afford it.and the tones are unreal so i suggest gettin an eq pedal. im using a behringer eq and works great!! cheap as chips ??15.

never dealt with em! no need

??45 bargain!!! if you like hendrix,muse,nirvana,black keys and so on? get this pedal now!!! GREAT FUN

3 knobs and a footswitch aren't too intimidating. Turning the tone knob slowly will seem like it's doing nothing at first and then BAM! it'll be a totally different sound.

This is a straight up FUZZ pedal. No use trying to get a distortion or overdrive sound out of it. It's a no nonsense squarewave inducing beast. I loved it for the sustain and compression it added to my signal, but you're kidding yourself if you think and tonal characteristics from your guitar are going to come through. I love it save for one super-important thing: the tone has a bit of a mid-scoop to it, which sounds bad-ass by itself, but will NOT cut through while playing with bass and drums, let alone another guitarist. I know if I put an EQ after it, or I mod it somehow, it will sound killer, but I'm rating the stock, stand-alone unit here, so I feel I'm being generous giving it a 6.

I've had it less than a week.

Never dealt w/ them.

I play rock/black metal. I wanted a distortion w/ a flatter output than my Boss SD-2 or my amp distortion (Hughes & Kettner Attax 100, which I LOVE). Like I mentioned, I loved the sound of this thing until I tried playing with my bandmates and I just couldn't hear it, even with the volume knob on it cranked.

NYC Big Muff PI Reissue. Heavy duty metal case, great fuzz, basically a no brainer.

Three knobs: Volume, Tone, Distortion/Sustain. Seems simple enough.

I get so many good ounds out of this thing its amazing. It may take a bit of fiddling to get a certain sound, but i mean, there's so many good sounds. The controls are very interactive and really make a difference, so it takes patience.

This pedal sounds great. I play indie/ambient rock and spazzy indie/classic rock/experimental and I love it in all applications.

I play a fender tele with hot rails or an epiphone les paul through a peavey classic 50 2x12. I have the pedal on a pedalboard along with a bunch of other effects, including an electro harmonix pulsar tremolo and deluxe memory man.

The tonesa I get from this pedal are sweet. there are deff sweet spots, but I have found really great tones everywhere. Like I said, it does take some tweaking since the controls are really interactive, but ohter than that, it sounds great.

I use it for a dirty, raunchy boost for solos, and for cool freak out chord parts. My indie/experimantal band doesnt have a bassist right now, so it helps with the bottom end. this baby adds plenty of it in the right settings.

Its an electro harmonix product, and I love the cases they design. huge, but roadworthy. people complain about them not being sturdy or reliable, but so far, all my ehx pedals have been faithful and sturdy.

I dont think Electro Harmonix really exists. I think these pedals are just appearing out of nowhere.

This pedal is great. I love the tonality and it adds great character to my rig. I'm gonna hold on tho this for a long time. If I lost it or it got stolen, i would invest in another one for sure.

I wish it had a three band eq though, that would rule. it would help dail in spcific tones better. other than that, five stars.

many choices of tone - unlike many pedals the knobs make a difference. - so - it takes a while to find the right combo.

totally unique sound and it was a pleasure to hear these sounds come out of my strat - COMPLETELY colors the sound in a good way - made me smile. My set up is unique:

STRAT PLUGGED INTO A GAZILLION PEDALS THAT I CHANGE AROUND ALL THE TIME - THEN PLUGGED INTO A GUITAR AMPLIFIER.

the switch seems flimsy and the metal seems tinny but the reputation is good.

have played 40 yrs - cover band - lots of dance music in bars and parties.

other gear I own: everything you can imagine. Even my kitchen cabinets are stuffed with pedals which have been played for 10 minutes.

Seriously - If I was involved in recording projects, etc.. this would be very useful. But for cover pop music I need a fuzz that cuts through in big boomy rooms. The muff is actually too warm - it loses definition in a band setting. I get more use out of my black cat OD-1 - the black cat is not warm at low volume - actually it's nasty. But at gig volume it's perfect. ( hint - good fuzzes will sound aggressive and nasty at practice volumes )

The manual wasnt too helpfull but it's pretty easy to find a good sound out of this pedal.

With the Big muff I use 2 Fender stratocasters, an EHX Small clone chorus pedal, and a Marshall halfstack. Before I had this pedal I used a Boss DS-1 distortion, now I cant even listen to that pedal; it doesnt hold water in comparisson to the Big Muff PI. I bought this pedal because I wanted to get that muddy guitar sound that I hear on records by Mudhoney, early Nirvana, and other bands of that ilk. The EHX Chorus is perfect with this pedal, they just fit perfectly.

The casing is flimsey, everytime I step on it I get scared that I stepped too hard or that it might fall apart. I have used it in gigs, it's my main source of distortion. I use a foot switch for light over drive too.

I havent had to call the company yet.

If someone stole it, that would suck.

I usually play old school punk, or grunge. This pedal fits both perfectly. I've been playing for uhhh about 7 years. If someone stole it, I'd buy another. I love hte sound, hate how fragile it seems. I compared it to regular distortion pedals. It deffinetly helps me make music, I wouldnt want to use anything else. Parabole.

Let's see, three knobs and a switch... How hard can it be, right? Just use your ears and you'll be fine. Finding the sweet spot with the tone control is absolutely crucial and it will be different for lead and rhythm. The hardest part is figuring out how to fit it on your pedalboard, lol. Oh and the manual just basically tells you how great this thing is (the greatest) and drops a few names (Hendrix? - don't think so).

Well, my russian muff was in a horrible beer accident and only worked sometimes after that, so I got the NYC version. First thing I noticed when I plugged it in was the true bypass. The ruskies version was a big time tone sucker. When turned on, the sound is brighter and edgier with my old settings, but I had no trouble adjusting it to my taste. I usually have all three knobs in the 12-2 o'clock range depending on amp/guitar. It's brilliant for big rock solos, slow super-thick sustained lines and generally for whenever you want people to pay attention to you. It's awesome when feeding into a wah with a touch of delay afterwards. I don't really use it for the rhythm/grunge thing, not my bowl of soup. Not a lot of noise as far as distortion boxes go, but I use humbucker equipped guitars only.

Feels solid, except for the enclosure itself which is plastic with a metal top, so if you wanna stomp on it and you happen to weigh over two hundred lbs, do so at your own risk. On the plus side, the construction inside is the way it should be: metal jacks (plastic on the russian), tough switch, and neither is mounted on the circuit board, so if they ever need replacing you can DIY even with minimal skills.

I play hard rock, metal, blues and classic rock and the Muff is definitely best suited for all thing rock. It doesn't really have the definition for metal and it's too big 'n bad for blues. What a lot of people say about this pedal is true, it is a one trick pony, but it's a hell of a trick. After all, your wah is a one trick pony too, which doesn't make it any less great. Also, it's a love/hate sound when rhythm guitar is concerned. The thing I like best about it is that with careful tweaking it will give you a rock lead tone to die for. Just do a unison bend and watch people's jaws drop, there's no need for shredding here in order to come across as a guitar master. Well, okay maybe a little. Smooth and singing with endless sustain and a flavor you won't get anywhere else. For that, it's definitely worth the money. I would say that it's also much better than the russian version mainly because of all the little things that seem to add up. I wish they didn't sell them with the ugly cheapo knobs, but I got some cool vintage-looking knobs from RadioShack for a couple of bucks so that it looks the part, but I'm just nitpicking now.

really easy......really

it is a great rythm fuzz...which is why i bought it...but it lacks clarity in single notes and solos...but it doesnt bother me...i just wanted a good sabbath/white stripes tone

really cheaply made...it scares me everytime i hit the switch

9....sounds great...it is what i expected...but i wish i have had more than what i expected...its a great fuzz for rhythm

it is so easy to get a good sound form this pedal!!
turn the volume to desired seting!
start with the sustain about half way! just so you can build it up to blow your ears :)
then play with the tone knob starting from the left! very very bassy to the right extremerly crackly and amazing!!
just like the guitar sound from 'touch me im sick' by mudhoney!!
so so good!!

im using a crappy squire cheap guitar thing and a squire jagmaster to a cry baby wah then to the big muff then into a marshall 250 mg series DFX
all pretty cheap setup but it sounds amazing!!
all these people keep saying if you don't play it it buzzes!
thats total bollocks!!
mines as silent as a libary!
the effects always sound amazing!!!
it kicks the shit out of the boss mt-2 metal zone i was using before!
i can get a perfect mudhoney sound with this and its the perfect grunge pedal and alternative indie pedal i don't really know for other stuff though!!

yeah its realible!

dont know yet :)

i play alot of grunge punk and classic rock really and its amazing for all that :)

i give it a 7 because the controls are easy enough, but sometimes it is hard to get a great sound out of it.

i have gigged with this as my only fuzz pedal for a long time, and it definitely gives a fuzzy sound, but it is one sound. the best way to use this i think is to combine it with other pedals or amp distortion, because if you don't, you will sound just like everybody else.

i beat this guy to hell and it is definitely one of the most reliable pedals i own, and i own too many.

this is good to have in the arsenal for certain things, but as for being versatile and a desert island pedal-FORGET IT!!! some people swear by these things, but in my opinion it would be a better idea to save up for a more versatile fuzz they can do other things besides sounding big and hoofy. my favorite all time fuzz is the big cheese by lovetone. you can get that combined with the brown source pedal (a very misunderstood criminally underated pedal) in a box called the cheesesource. it is expensive, but it is all you need. for a cheaper, more versatile fuzz i would get a voodoo lab sparkle fuzz or a fulltone '7o fuzz ( a better version of the muff.