Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi

3 knobs. Volume, tone and sustain. Sustain is the gain control, and you can get some very different gain voicings. Tone goes from very dark and boomy, to creamy and fuzzy. The volume also changes the tone considerably. At first I was a little dissapointed because I couldn't get quick and puncy rhythm sounds out of it... but then i realized what it was really meant for.

Let me tell you something, this fuzzbox is simply my favorite pedal of all time, and I've owned and tried MANY. This sort of sound is something you just can't get from an amp, or a multi effect, or anything that doesn't say big muff on it!
I don't like trying to emulate guitarists, but this vintage sound really jumps out at you. You can get a REALLY great SATURATED lead tone a la early Santana and David Gilmour. The notes sustain pretty much forever. The only problem with that is that the notes sustain too long for led zeppelin type leads, and if you want to play metal on this i suggest you think again.
At lower settings you can mimick Fuzzface type tones as well, just like jimi. And the pedal is much more versatile than most people think, you can get a really mean and nasty texas blues tone with one of these.
My favorite part of the big muff sound is the way the notes jump off the fretboard. it doesn't sound like the note is being picked normally. It sounds like the guitar is almost forcing the notes out.... its very difficult to describe, but trust me, you will hear it. Try listening to the outro slide guitar solo on the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Scar Tissue."

I use it with a telecaster, ----------crybaby-------ds-1----------treble booster-----------big muff--------boss ce-5 chorus --------- amp. It reacts decently well with other effects.... i usually run it with chorus to fatten up the sound.... not that its not fat enough, its just that I am always running with chorus and short delay to make the muff sound even biggern than it normally does. I don't like to give out 10s, but this deserves it. Just beware that if you turn the volume knob up all the way and you are using single coils, of course you'll get noise.

Made of nickel steel.... extremely sturdy knobs and switches.... these things have been around forever. I totally feel I can depend on it. I don't back up pedals, I can use a ds-1 to ***TRY*** to fill the void if somebody (a jealous guitarist) accidentally throws this one out of a window.

I've dealt with electro harmonix, and they are a great company.... i just hate how their 9volt adapter jacks are non standard... talk about pain in the ass! its worth it, for this tone.

I play pop, fusion, blues and rock. Been playing for a while, always testing out new gear to find "that" tone. My quest for "that" distorted tone is over. I've found it. It really inspires you to play more and more. I've had it for about a year, so this is not a honeymoon review. It really is a great product and invaluable to my sound. If it were stolen, i'd probably kill myself or something... then come back to life as a zombie to buy another one. Great sound that suits me perfectly. Like I said, i don't like to give tens, but this just plain kicks ass. Bravo, EHX!

Very simple - three knobs, you don't need to be a tech head to work this out - a 9V input jack would be good though

I run this thru a Laney VC 30 2x12" combo, with a Mexican Tele and the sound is great - sounds like classic grunge, Sabbath - very nice

It has broken down twice in two years - once the footswitch, once with the internal wiring, have been able to get it fixed both times, but haven't been impressed with this aspect of it

I've been playing Guitar seriuosly for the better part of 15 years and I love the sound for grungier songs - although I think the sound is pretty one dimensional - a TS 9 or Boss Distortion pedal would suit other styles better. Am a bit dissapointed with it breaking down but overall if you're after a fuzz rock or grungy distortion sound this is a great pedal

Like the other reviews say, this thing is pretty much the epitome of simple when it comes to overdrive/distortion. Three knobs, Volume, Sustain and Tone all of which are very self-explanatory. I usually leave the Sustain all the way up and play with the Tone to get the sound right.

This thing is great. I got it because of a Raconteurs song ("The Level") and I can get it to sound just like the solo in that song. Turn down the Tone and you can get a great Smashing Pumpkins sound. Turn the Sustain all the way down and you can get a totally different sound too. It is just fun to play with this thing.

This thing is made in Russia so it is pretty much bullet proof, except for the plastic input and output jacks. I'm pretty careful so I don't worry about gigging without a backup.

Never had to deal with them

I was looking for a vintage sounding fuzz and this thing is exactly what I was looking for and more. The only major downside is the lack of a 9v adapter jack. I might invest in something like the One-Spot AC adapter thing with a battery adapter.

Very easy to find a great tone to work with. Same three knobs as the USA Big Muff...Volume, Distortion, and Tone. Mine didn't come with a manual but you really shouldn't need one!

The distortion of this pedal is amazing to me. You get a lot of low end and mids with it. Highs get a little muddy when playing full chords, but for me, I only use this pedal in situations where I need power chords or leads.
As with most OD/Distortion pedals it does get a little noisy on high gain settings. Only not giving it a ten because I have yet to find something I can say sounds perfect.

I play Fender Stratocasters into an old Peavey Classic or Fender Chorus.

It looks like a tank, so it must be built like one.

Hope I don't have to deal with the company.

I play primarily high energy rock and roll. A little bit punk and a whole lot a love. I've been playing 13 years and other pedals I use are Boss TU-2, NS-2, LS-2, CE-2, RV-3, DF-2. Ibanez TS-9 (reissue), Tech 21 SansAmp Classic, Chandler Tube Driver.

It's as easy as it gets. Volume knob works for volume, tone knob works with how bassy or trebly does your fuzz sound. Sustain is for the amount of fuzz/distortion. Footswitch. I lost the manual for mine but it would be senseless to waste time reading it as everybody can use this right away. Getting good sound out of it it's not so easy, actually there's a lot of possibilities you tweak for an hour and only get one or two good sounds. But once you get to know it it shines.

This pedal can be used in two ways: when you use it on a clean amp, it is like a fuzz pedal. sounds like mudhoney's first album, some stooge's era ron asheton and a lot of classic rock sounds. No use in palm-muting when using it like this, and it rages and sings but doesn't scream.- now, when you get this on top of an overdriven amp you get the more sharp sounds, think dinosaur jr and nirvana "in utero" album. I'm running this with an Epiphone les paul studio and a fender cyber twin amp. when the clean channel gets hot on the fender this pedal rips. a turn off it seems to me, the tone and sustain knobs are not very useable before 10 o'clock. it is noisy like a distortion pedal is supposed to be, but it's not as feedbacky as other pedals i've tried.
like i said earlier, the only thing this pedal does, it does it with flying colors. it rules.

it doesn't look as strong as a boss pedal. it's made out of plastic and a metal layer bolted on. in/output jacks scare me. i would use it on a gig, i have a ds-1 for backup.

for the music i do in my band, which is punk rock/grunge if i have to describe it, it is a perfect match, it gives me the angry distortion i use and is noisy enough for out of control solos. i've been playing for 4 years, i had a crybaby wah and a ds-1 distortion pedal besides this thing, but the ds-1 is most suitable for playing mainstream stuff. if it was stolen i could do nothing about it since i got this in the usa and i live in south america (peru) and this boxes are not imported in here. i love the distortion onthis thing, but i don't like it being less versatile than average. if i compare it to my other distortion definetely this is unique, the ds-1 doesn't have it's own voice but the big muff is not so big on te range of sounds it's got. i wish it didn't chew batteries as it does, i'm going to buy a power supply soon. it helps me to get my music to sounds as it it supposed to: aggresive. this pedal is worth it, i love its sound.

This one's a little tricky. It's real easy to get a good sound with a clean amp, but it's a little harder to pair it with a little bit of grit to get a bigger sound a'la Proco's Rat or a Tubescreamer. That's not what this thing was built for in the first place, though.

Incredibly useful for folks wishing to smoke lots of pot and play heavy jams in the vein of Sabbath and soforth. Also useful for nostalgia ridden grungers who want a good fuzz sound. Paired with a reverb, you can get sick, beautiful washes of feedback that last for days and a fuzz thicker than a triple thick milkshake...and that's just on guitar.

On bass, this thing cuts like a razor! Not in a swarm of bees sort of way, either. Sounds best with 15" speakers. It's like a punch to the chest that makes you hungry for more. Just...so much growl. Not in a tubey way, or a mildly distorted way, or a crappy paper thin / scooped mids awful sort of way. It's just a voluptuous, sickening tone that rattles your teeth out. Best with a couple of equalizers to shape everything up.

Oh hell yes. Depending on the year of the pedal, Sovtek made some solid shit back in the mid nineties. This particular model is the green box that Musician's Friend used to advertise before they started using the cheaper parts and sending over imposter black boxes. Those particular Muffs have their place, but to me...this one is the holy grail. It's obvious that the first run reissues were put together much better than the more recent ones, and they sound less compressed and nasal than the NYC reissues that EHX wants almost $50 more for. This particular model is the one that folks have been paying upwards of $100 on eBay for, becuase of Thurston Moore or something like that...

Keep in mind that reliability definitely varies from pedal to pedal.

Not what I'd consider a multi-purpose tool, but it's a great starting point for a unique sound on guitar and a bludgeoning hammer created in the Russian tundra for bassists to knock the heads off of mere mortals. Knock yourself out if you can find a good one. I've been through three and they were all different, but good. The black one seems to be the least reliable in terms of construction, and the green ones vary.

Three dials, pretty easy to use.

This has a nice sound but if you put the gain at full you get a little buzz noise thing. However should you reduce the gain to a 9 o' clock position, you receive a very heavy sound, similar to full gain, with much less of the buzz
Problem solved
And the overall sound is definatlely a FUZZ. It isn't a distortion as some people say
Good for Hendrix in particular. But good for some blues bands such as the black keys
And it is a high gain device.

The box itself is quite sturdy however the dials are not similarly sturdy.
The gain dial (labelled as sustain?!) came off when I stepped on it. . .By accident. The pot was then dismantled and I had to glue it back on. Even though. I cannot adjust the gain at the moment. The parts are easy to replace though. #Just ask some-one who knows what they're on about

Never spoke to them. Do most repairs myself

I love this pedal as it was so cheap. I don't use it quite as much as I used to because I play classic rock, which need a tube overdrive ,(Digitech bad monkey comes close enough for me.) Metal, which I use a danelectro fab thing.
I use the big muff for blues though.
Although I said this pedal was cheap. I use cheaper ovedrives/distortions. But yeh, good for Hendrix

It didn't come with a manual.

Luckily, it didn't need one.

With volume, sustain, and tone knobs, it's an extremely easy pedal for a loud crunch. With a bit of dial tweaking, it'll give you anything you ask of it, from a blues fuzz to a metal crunch.


Still, if you're new to pedals, the lack of an instruction maual can be a problem.

I play anything and everything, and it's a great pedal. If you want a more grungy or metal crunch, you can dial that up easily. With just a bit of tweaking, it can be a lighter fuzz for blues and older hard rock.

And there was absolutely no noise. I could be on a clean channel, and switch to a thunderous distortion with no noise whatsoever.

I play a Fender Highway 1 Stratocaster > Big Muff Pi > Dunlop Crybaby > Ibanez Tone Blaster 50R Amp, and it's absolutely great in this setup.

This stomp box is built like a tank. Drop it on a hard surface, and the tile will probably crack before the metal on the Big Muff even dents.

Haven't had the need to contact them yet.

Like I said, I will play anything from grunge to blues to hip-hop, and it's a great stompbox.

I've been playing for nearly two years, and of the distortion I've used, this is the cleanest, and most affordable box I've used.

If it were lost, it's very affordable, being under $80, so it's a great deal for an amazing pedal.

If you're an entry-level player, or a guitarist playing for years, it's a great pedal. I'd highly reccomend it for anyone wanting a great distortion.

three knobs..youre normal stompbox. mine diddnt have a manual..(used off of ebay)

i was running a mexican strat into a fender deville and it was fairly noisy..a little more than youre average noisy overdrive pedal. the sound really diddnt do much for me, it diddnt sound too high quality.

fairly sturdy..mine had a bit of a problem with an intence humm that would pop on or off..never happened at a gig, but still..other than that it worked all the time.

never dealt with em.

i cant see using this pedal for long. to my ears, its just not the sound i want. sounds very brittle with no bottom. i plan on putting it on ebay soon..

Simple as a women's nipple and just as fun.

I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Amp, my other gear varies from time to time, but main ax of choice is a American Deluxe Tele w/SCN pickups.
I think it took me about 2 years to finally get this pedal, it wasn't a money issue, it's just I have heard so much about it, that it's a 1 trick pony(Not 100% true), it was too gainy(there's a knob that fixes that), and I heard that it's THE BEST DIST PEDAL IN THE WORLD(100% false), it's good but I have much better pedals. The best thing about the Muff is the Sustain when playing lead, I'm a hobbyist who doesn't write music or anything, so I play other peoples stuff. And this pedal nails the new Red Hot Chili Peppers song Solo "DAni California"

I bought this thing USED and I'm mean Used and Abused, I think someone ran over w/ a car but it works great.

Never delt w/

I play hard rock(Janes Addiction,Alice In Chains,Guns n Roses-not the new poor ass excuse Guns N Roses, the real deal) Blues(Hendrix, Vaughn,john Lee Hooker) and this pedal isn't good for any of it. Except Hendrix type leads.

That's my review, I hope it helped you out, or not.