Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi

Very easy to use. 3 knobs.

The volume seems to be a linear pot so it has plenty of range to it. The gain and tone knobs are log pots so a mid hump is probable. This is good cos its where the muff sounds best.

Could have more range on the fuzz knob i found.

Sound doesnt get much more fuzzed beyond 2 on the gain knob - it just adds a little more white noise.

Best settings for me are

volume : 10
tone: 1
gain: cranked

Good for solo work and sounds killer with a wah

Seems to react differently to single coils and humbuckers - but the differences are both amazing sounding so its a good thing.

Keep in mind that it is a heavily buffered fuzz so dont expect a gated sound like a fuzz factory face.

Use it all the time.
The case is a bit flimsy feeling but you can stomp as hard as you want and it wont budge. Its a brute of a thing to use.
Takes up a lot of room on a pedal board but its room well spent cos it looks mean as hell.

The paint job is rather nasty - small knocks come off as huge scuffs, but it all adds character.

Never had to deal with them yet, but i hear good things about the customer services.
All EHX pedals are tested before being sold anyway so chances are youl never have to bother with customer support for this particular pedal.

Bought mine for 30 quid - sounds amazing. Good mixture of nirvana/smashing pumpkins sort of heavyness. I use mine with an EHX HOG too to emulate white stripes stuff (octaves on Blue Orchid and whammy style on Ball and Biscuit and Icky Thump). Pulls it all off.
Doesnt take 2 minutes to find "your sound" either.
Uncomplicated, universal and a mainstay of many artists pedalboards - that should tell you something.

Also, dont believe the crap people say about it not sounding like the original - the settings just need tweaking a little more; it still sounds like a proper muff.

This is a very easy pedal to use - just three knobs and then two switches to switch the wicker on and off and to also bypass the tone control.

Very easy to get a good tone out of it and the manual is very good at explaining what each feature does.

Only reason I don't give this a 10 is because I think the unit could perhaps be manufactured to be slightly smaller but that's only a niggle.

Some people give this lower scores (like a 6 or a 7) but I'm not sure how this pedal could be that difficult to use - there are three knobs, two switches, in and out jacks and a power jack. What could be easier. I've owned a bunch of pedals and unless it's some mad delay or multi-effects unit I'd find it hard not to give any pedal a high score.

I use the following set up:

Mesa Boogie 1x12 Express 2:25 or Fender Deville 1x12 >> RV-3 reverb >> Verbzilla >> DD6 delay >> Voodoo Lab Tremolo >> Modded RAT >> Muff Pi >> HBE Powerscreamer >> Analogman Ibanez TS9 tubescreamer >> Barber compressor >> Fender Strat / Tennessee Gretsch / Rickenbacker 620

There are lots of ways to use a pedal, lots of different setups to use it with and lots of different settings to use. I'll just go into what I find it useful for and base my rating on that.

I use this as something to get a big chunky riff from (generally just using one string) and always on the neck pick-up of my guitars (esp a strat). I switch the tone-bypass on so I don't lose bottom or top end and I leave the tone-wicker on to get a bit of trebly highs on top of the fat sound.

I don't put the gain up past 11 o'clock really because I stick a tubescreamer in front of it (no drive - just a volume boost) and here is the result:

OMG...it's just a fat big rounded tone with a gritty edge to it. This works WAY better than my modded RAT (keeley'esque) and does wonders if you want a big fat gritty tone on your neck pick-ups. This sounds great without the tubescreamer boosting it but if you don't mind losing a bit of bottom end - the tubescreamer really pushes it to a big but beautiful sound.

There are lots of different tones with this that I'm still finding over the 8 months or so I've had this so for the price of this pedal - I'm going to give this a 9 as it's way better value than my power screamer or my RAT because of the versatility.

The only reason I don't give it a 10 is because of the big hum you get when you have it on a high setting but to be fair - without a built in noise-gate, you're never going to avoid this as unless you have it on 0 gain - it's uses A LOT of distortion.

BTW I hear arguments that this is a fuzz pedal and arguments that it is a distortion pedal. From what I've read, I believe this is a distortion pedal. I've owned a few Roger Mayer fuzzes (the best IMHO) and this doesn't really sound like them.

I think this pedal will become a fan favourite because of an excellent price-point.

I doubt you could break this easily. None of the knobs are loose and everything seems very well made. Having said that - I've NEVER broken a pedal but I'll give it a 9 as I think the footswitch may eventually break.

Never had to deal with them. I've heard their support is awful but I doubt you'd ever need it.

I play mainly alt rock and don't really get the chance to use this pedal much in my style of music as music as I'd like but when I need a big riff - this pedal is the one to use.

I've been playing for about 8 years and owned a TONNE of stuff for only 8 yrs playing so I'd say I'm fairly qualified to review a pedal. The only thing I'd probably ignore my review on is if you're REALLY into your guitar tone preservation (true-bypass lover) as I don't really care about that too much.

This is a great pedal if you want your own sound and a really versatile distortion pedal. You'd struggle to find a pedal that sounds like this at all - for whatever price.

If you want a big muff/fat distortion - just buy this - you can get the EXACT tone from a normal big muff on this too.

I'm writing about a 1974 Ram's Head Big Muff Pi that I've owned for decades. I've played a bit thru an even older model, the one with the knobs in a triangle rather than straight, and there seems to be some differences, but mine is the knobs-in-a-line ram's head model. And folks, there's some tricks to getting the best out of this pedal.

I'm rating ease of use a bit low, as it took me YEARS to figure out how to get the best use out of this thing; now that I know the tricks, I LOVE IT!

I mostly play Strats and Teles, but this can be cool with humbuckers, too, provided you put a bit of woodshedding in to get the best settings. Ampwise, I play various blackface Fenders (vintage) as well as stuff like Valve Jr.'s and assorted old single-ended class A amps. For this review, I'm pretty much referring to a recent gig with a '67 Fender Showman head thru a couple of small cabs w/ Celestion Vintage 30's.

The sound was off the hook! Very responsive and reactive, as you use the guitar's volume to vary the input signal...this is one of the keys to getting the most out of these vintage muffs. Backing down the guitar's volume smooths out the fuzz into more of a good, workable distortion even with chords. The downside being the overall drop in volume. I solved this by using a volume pedal after the muff, and setting my amp volume for the guitar-down, pedal-up volume setting. When I opened the guitar up, I could back down the pedal and maintain a fairly consistent overall volume.

Remember, this thing provides a fair bit of gain hiss, so I'm only rating sound quality a 9, although disregarding that I'd go 10++

Well, this thing is 35 years old and the only thing I've had to do to it was resolder on battery connection and clean the pots and switches. One of the reasons I did not use if for many years was the flimsy construction...I always felt a really good stomp on it would just flatten the thing. The couple of times in the past that it was part of my regular rig, I usually hooked it up late in the pedal chain, up on top of the amp, and manually turned it on and off, rather that using my foot. THIS HAS BEEN A MISTAKE! and one of the reasons I didn't GET how to get the most out of it. If I start playing out again, I'll probably use an ABY to create a little loop to bring it in and out with a more durable switch.

As far as backup, I'm in the process of working with an electrical engineer friend to see if we can revamp the newer "Little Big Muff" to sound and react like this vintage unit. I've hung onto the vintage Muff through thick and thin; if I lost it, I'd probably try to find another on eBay or something.

I have no idea. About a decade ago, I bought one of the russian reissues. I worked with it for several weeks and could never get it to act like the vintage. Some folks maintained that that version (green case, triangle knobs, very strange "button-like" footswitch) was supposed to sound and act more like the original muff, but that wasn't my experience. I ended up selling it to one of my students...I always felt a little bad about that.

I'm pretty much a blues-rock, classic-rock player. I've been a guitarist for 40 years and I've played through everything you can think of, pretty much. I've had Fender, Gibson, and assorted custom guitars; I've played a wide-range of amps, but after I got over having to have Marshall 50 and 100 watts, I've pretty much stuck to vintage Fenders and the ilk. Pedal-wise, again I've messed around with tons of stuff but I've almost always relied on the amp to get me the sound I wanted. I've worked with various distortion units and have some digital modelers but as far as I'm concerned, modelers are just that-simulacrums and not the real deal.

Managed correctly, this thing is amazing! I had read about guys like Duane Allman using nearly dead batteries to tame it down a bit, but my experience (see above) suggests that managing the input voltage is just as effective at rendering various settings reasonably useable. The vintage is very responsive to pick attack and makes the guitar really responsive. The whole reason I'm writing this review today is, I used it in a one-off performance yesterday, in a situation where at one point I had to play very clean and chimey, then later had to have a great, over the top solo sound. I couldn't find what I wanted with the modelers and, in a fit of frustration, decided to go old-school.

It was awesome. With the Muff out of the chain, the Showman and Strat sounded chimey and brilliant, perfect for the part I had to play. Later, I jacked in the muff and backed off the treble a bit, and turned off the bright switch. With the guitar backed down and the vol. pedal up I had just the right amount of distortion and responsiveness; when solo-time came, I rolled the guitar up and toed the vol. pedal back just a bit and the Strat just sang! I am in love with this thing!

It will be great if we can make the newer, more robustly-built models sound like this. If you can find a vintage for a reasonable price, GET IT!

3 Knobs plain and simple
BUT
I noticed that sustain doesn't make much difference when tweaked slightly, and the tone knob makes hardly any difference, I can only tell a slight change in 'clankyness'.
Also the volume knob is very tempermental, when it gets to just below 12 o'clock it starts to make massive volume jumps.

I'm using the Russian Re-issue (black, no wooden box) with a bass,
it's a vintage (1984) Fender JB Special with a passive EMG bridge pickup.
I also use a bi-amp setup and run the Muff through a Vintage (1974) Londoner L100A and have a Fender Rumble 2x10" running clean at the same time.
I'll go over the Parameters of the effect first:
Sustain: When turned low you the Fuzz becomes more overdriven and sounds a bit crunchier and the feedback/background noise is reduced alot however when the sustain is turned all the way up there can be a static-like background noise but the sound is extremely fuzzy and feedback increases the length of your notes, I usually keep it about half way but have recently started using it at full because I like the sound of half my signal being THAT fuzzy.

I've owned the USA muff aswell and found that when turned down the USA one became much more like an overdrive and wasn't fuzzy at all compared to the Russian one, the Russian also maintains alot more low end than the USA version though not enough that I would recommend to use this pedal without a blend pedal or a bi-amping rig.

Using this pedal I can get some sounds from popular band, Muse, but most of the Bass-fuzz parts are backed up with Synth from Morgan.

The Pedal has no DC input but I brought an adaptor (by a company called 1Spot) which I plugged into the Battery port to my power brick. I would and have gigged with this and it works fine, just the extra sensitive volume knob can cause problems in mixing etcetc.

Never had to deal with Customer Support.

The person who sold it to me gave me a circuit diagram for the Creamy dreamer mod but as I am using a bass I felt no need to get a 'Smashing Pumpkins' sound.

I play in a Post-Hardcore/ Emo/ Pop-Punk band and use this along with a BOSS OS-2 and a GT-6B(in studio/at home) and works fine as long as you can get the levels sorted out.
I've been playing about 2 years now and this is one of the best fuzz boxes/ distortions I've owned and is just so phat and big sounding, however the little time I've spent playing around with a guitar on it I've hated it and much prefer my fuzz factory for that.
Though I wouldn't dream of using one of them on basses *shudder*
I think this should have been shipped with a DC port and not one of those shitty tiny ones like ones on the US versions either but it's not a big deal to order a ??2 adapter.

You'll need to experiment a bit with the volume, tone, and sustain knobs to get sounds you're happy with, but it's not at all difficult or frustrating. Really, that's part of the fun with this thing. One bit of advice: Start low on the volume knob and work up--the unit can generate a whole lot of gain!

The muff I have is a recently manufactured Russian version, the black one. I play a Tribute Legacy through a silverface twin. Sound-wise, the muff is the real deal. It can deliver crunch, fuzz (though I don't think of it as a fuzz box) and a nice singing sustain (that is, a distorted rather than clean sustain). If you're into vintage heavy metal or the latest stoner rock, this box (or something like it) is a must. I played a US muff pi years ago, and the current Russian version is a capable of a darker sound. When I plug it in, I start play Black Sabbath riffs, and I'm not even a big BS fan. An important caveat: This unit is prone to noise and even radio signals when the volume is cranked

This rating is perhaps misleading--you could use it on at a gig without backup, presuming it's intact at start of the show. The problem with the unit is its durability, as described by many other reviewers. E-H should include a screwdriver and soldering iron with every unit! On my unit, first one of the chicken head knobs kept coming loose. Then, from my frequently having to screw the knob back on, a nut that held the pot onto the box came loose. When I tightened the nut, it moved the entire pot and one of wires attached to it was torn loose from the circuit board. I opened the box up and reconnected the wire to the board (with duct tape!) and saw how shoddily the thing is put together. Given this example of Russian electronics engineering and manufacture, it's no wonder the Soviets never made it to the moon.

My unit is a year old and past warranty, so I never communicated with them. E-H must not be too bad with customers; they've been around forever and are bigger than ever.

I like playing old blues rock, garage, psychedelic stuff and the big muff is a basic for that kind of music. It works very well with an Ibanez echo/delay unit I have, though when connected to a vox wah wah I do get a lot of hiss and other problems requiring that I tweak the knobs and go easy on the wah. I have a lot of fun with this box when it's working properly. It's reasonably priced, but when it dies I'll probably look for something else that delivers the same sounds--I'm not too handy with repairs!

* 1968 Rickenbacker 360
* 2004 American Fender Stratocaster w/ Rio Grande (Vintage Tallboy - Bridge & Muy Grande - Neck)
* 1982 Fender American Bullet Deluxe w/ Dimarzio Tone Zone S - Bridge & Dimarzio YJM - Neck)
* Mid 90'S Ibanez RG-570

Great Sound - thick but you can really get it to sing as well.

Here lies the problem. I've had the pedal for less than a year, and have really babied it. I've never even put it on the floor to step on the switch. It started breaking up and became absolutely useless (batteries or power supply) a few days ago.
I'm going to have to accept it's a lost cause and buy a Jimi Hnendrix Fuzz Face (which is what I should have really gotten in the fisrst place - but I tried to sace a few bucks)

I will not be replacing it....

Standard 3 knob pedal. sustain, tone and volume.

I bought this pedal off ebay, still had the wooden box that went with it. no instructions, but why need them when you have the internet?

this is definatley more of an overdrive pedal than distortion. That is, if you can convince the damn thing to give you a decent sound. It is also very tempermental. I've tried everything to get a decent sound out of this pedal. From chords, to batteries, to amps to guitars. The sound is choppy and like my drummer says "its sounds ratty" It has way too much bottom end. During a recording session, we had it hooked up to my Marshall G100r with 2X12 cab w/electro-harmonix speakers andit just wasnt producing a sound that was good enought o record with. So, The sound guy suggested using it on a Peavey 5150 and it sounded even worse.(Yes, it actually sounded shitty on a 5150) We eventually went with a BOSS SD-1 super overdrive and man,that did the trick.
The problem with this pedal, are the cheap parts and short cuts made during construction. If this tank had a dc9v input jack and true bypass it would probably be a better pedal, but as is, it kills the **** out of your tone and if you dont have a battery that it likes, then your going to get crazy and ****** sound.
I give this pedal a 5, when it wants to work for you, it sounds great but that's few far and between.

Case wise, yeah this metal tank was built well. Component wise.......HELL NO! If its gotten what it needs out of your battery,it will suck more tone when your hitting the stomp button and it sounds like you have a loose connection

dunno why bother? everyones pissed with Russia right now anyway.

I just bought a boss sd-1 super overdrive and a visual sound jekyll and hyde pedal. Far superior in construction and sound than this tone killing beast. If you want a pedal to mod, than this is the pedal for you. I havent decided this pedals fate yet. I may mod it or i may sell it to a basist friend, who has had more luck with it than I have.

If you have difficulties operating a three knob distortion pedal, I think you may need professional help.

I did knock off one point because the input and output are around the wrong way compared to Boss and MOST other pedal manufacturers. Not a biggie, just a bit surprising considering that my Russian Bassballs has them the "right" way round, and I can see a situation where if you're a bit tired or distracted you could inadvertently plug then in the wrong way round.

This one's the common Russian one.

I use this with Bass - a Fender Precision made up from about three other Precisions (all USA) which is my main gigging bass. My rig is (usually) a MarkBass SA450 into an Eden D210XLT or, occasionally, a Warwick 411 Pro.

I wanted something which could "sort of" sound like an old valve stack being driven way too hard while still retaining a solid well-defined and punchy bottom end.

I don't use it on everything, just some old classic rock numbers like Rock And Roll Hootchie Koo, Sunshine of Your Love, etc., with a Blues/Classic Rock Guitarist I gig with sometimes. Used *SELECTIVELY* it's unbeatable. It certainly gives ME the result I want.

9 because nothing's perfect, and it is a bit fiddly getting the volume just right so it sits in the stage mix.

It appears to be solidly built. I wouldn't carry a backup 'coz if it stops working, I'll gig happily without it although I would definitely get a replacement fairly quickly.

Dependable so far.

I've been doing gigs for 30 years, and do a LOT of casual subs and some session work as well as the three or four main bands I gig with. I play a bunch of styles: Blues, Country, Jazz, 50's and 60's Rock 'n' Roll, Swing, Heavy Rock. Only stuff I don't play is Metal and Modern Top 40.

As stated above, my main setup is the Frankenstein Precision into the MarkBass/Eden rig. I have a bunch of other Basses, Cabs and Amp setups for specific types of gigs, but 90% of the time this is what I'll show up with.

I only use the Big Muff for certain stuff and when I do it's magic. It just happens to fit the whole sound of the particular gigs I use it on.

It would be nice if it took a standard Boss type power adapter - it'd be easy enough to modify it to take one but frankly I couldn't be bothered.

If it was ripped off or if it broke, I wouldn't be devastated as I can gig without it but I'd get another one fairly soon.

It's definitely NOT for everyone, but it works for me.

Three knobs. The only three you will ever need. EVER.
Volume, Tone, Sustain (Gain)

First off, before buying this peice you need to know the difference between distortion and overdrive. This pedal basically takes your signal and sends it into orbit, it doesn't modify what's being pushed thru it (meaning more than guitar applications). This means you wont be getting your run of the mill barely distortion, no slight touch and get responce (no tapping or EASY hammer on's and pull off's), no palm muting. If you want a MUFF with these, i recomend the Metal Muff.

Another awesome thing about this pedal is, sence it boosts thru the roof, when having an even slightly overdriven amplifier, it feeds back. But, for some reason it isn't ear splitting, "i can't hear for the rest of the day" feedback. Once mastered, you can add awesome intentional feedback between riffs.

Set-up: Fender Princeton 65 (volume, treble, and bass all at about 7 1/2) > EHX Pulsar (original, not micro) > BIG MUFF(NYC) > Digitech Whammy WH-4 > Epiphone Dot Studio (Tomato Red) = Feedback generator.

Best pedal i've ever owned.

Have had for quite sometime and has NEVER had problems. I'm in a band where I use Big Muff, obviously, my memory is shot =\ ... anywho... I'd trust this thing with my life. No seriously, if some one tried to shoot me, I'd hold up my Muff and it would probably deflect the bullet. Die Cast aluminum housing. STURDY.

Never had a problem with my Muff. Never had to ask...

http://www.myspace.com/thecorpses
to listen to me and my muff in action

Pretty easy to get good sounds from this guy. Only 3 knobs, in fact it's very hard to get a bad sound.

I'm using a 1997 Epi Les Paul Standard Flake Limited Edition with a Fender Super 112 all tube 60w 1x12" combo.

My Big Muff is the black Russian one. Killer, unique, mystical sounds. It gives a nice variety of 70ish heavy psych stoner tones. I can easily nail the sound of Matt Pike (Sleep) and similar stuff. Only a few changes of pickup combinations in the guitar, a few tweaks in the Muff and in the amp eq and I have all the trippy sounds I ever dreamed to hear from my amp.

Very bass heavy, fucking great for downtuning (I tune down to C). This pedal can make your amp sound like is about to explode and can give you all the feedback you want, but at the same time it makes ZERO noise, which is absolute perfection (EH pedals are said to introduce lots of noise in the signal, that has to be the exception).

It's sound like a cross of a classic distortion pedal with a compressor, a bass booster and a certain amount of fuzz. I can get more classic 60's fuzz tones too (with the tone control in the treble side), but if you want 60's fuzz sounds you could be happier with a Maestro, a Fuzz Face or Mosrite Fuzz-Rite.

I'm in love with this pedal sound, don't ask me to be very objetive. Sure, you can't play metal or sound like SRV with it, but there are MetalZones and Tubescreamers for that. Buy the russian Muff if you want heavy psych, shoegazing or indie rock sounds. Period.

It hasn't died yet. Looks well built, but who knows. I bought second hand and works perfectly. The guy who sold it to me used it for a couple of years with no problems.

I would use it in a gig without doubt.

I live in Argentina and bought the pedal second hand. So...

I currently play Stoner-psych rock, this pedal is THE PEDAL for stoner rock, period. I had played guitar for 14 years, I also have a Vox Valve-Tone (Tubescreamer clone) which is great for "cleaner" blues-rock.

If it were stolen or lost I would buy another without thinking twice.

I love: The Sound, the sound, and the sound. It also looks cool and I love big things (big tits, big asses and big pedals).

I hate: no AC adaptor input, only batteries (I hate batteries). Also, no true bypass, but it doesn't sucks much tone.

Get one, it's cheap, it's terrific, it's really magic.

3 chicken head knobs that work their magic, and a big silver button.

absolutely insane. this thing could destroy worlds. smashing pumpkins, silversun pickups, sabbath, theyre all here. not brilliant for palm muting, but thats not my scene really.

any and all settings sound amazing, but i never turn the sustain down anyways, good thing since the cheap crap knob broke within a year.

bought a little big muff reissue, FAR better build quality, but just not as much rip-roaring sonic character as my black russian (which is the one im reviewing currently).

horrible! this is the 4th black russian muff, and its been a different problem every bloody time, all in relation to awful build quality.

1st: dropped it from a height of maybe 3 ft onto the CARPETED floor, one of the capacitors split open and it was no more. knew nothing of electronics at the time, so just gave it away.

2nd: It just quit working. nothing apparent looked wrong, the wires looked fine. gave it away again, and it turned out to be a faulty sauter joint in the 9 volt connector.

3rd: The IN/OUT jacks are made almost entirely of brittle plastic. the brackets holding them on just snapped off one day. no provocation, just drying/cracking of the plastic. took the hint and just resautered some new in/out jacks into it.

also, the sustain knob doesnt work right, it just spins and spins and spins. so, i spun it into the full-on-sustain setting (my favorite) and just superglued it in place. consequently had to resauter several wires that fell off their wimpy sauter joints during this.

if these didnt have such a heavenly sound, i wouldve moved on when the first one broke... much less cobbled my last one back together so many times. the quality control on these is just TERRIBLE!

its not just me either, im good to my ****, nearly obsessive. the fact is either im having terrible luck or they ALL suck like these ones did/do.

never bothered.

i wish these would stop breaking. but oh, that SOUND...

ive been using these black russians off and on since 2000, while messing with other distortions/fuzzes along the way: a Boss DS-1 & MD-2, a Marshall Jackhammer, an SPF Red Threat, a Tech 21 Sansamp, an MXR Distortion +, ProCo Rat, EH Little Bigmuff Pi Reissue, and others.

This thing still whoops *** on all of them, if not for it's simplicity and raging sound alone.

3 knobs, just twist 'em...

allright, in my endless quest to **** on self-serving "guitar players" who act like they know everything about gear and tone i've come to put yr mind at ease potential muff buyer... i don't play traditional rock or anything like that, i go to the goodwill and buy little kids toys and then get into the circuit board and **** everything up until it sounds weird... i use drum machines and i make digital hardcore... once in a while i plug in a guitar and play some chords and stuff to... i've had a big muff in my collection of guitar effects for 10 yrs, the one i have now is the cheapo russian black model, i've had us made and old green ones too... all of them have the big muff tone that's great and can't be rivaled... they're noisey and ugly and that's why they're great! if you're in yr bedroom trying to re-create dark side of the moon you wont like the intricacies of this pedal, go spend $300 on some stupid boutique ****, if you're a budding musician please do something that doesn't sound like guitar/bass/&drums because that's what everybody is doing and it's not interesting anymore... i've ran and owned a venue and played in rock style bands for years and nobody has the balls to do something different...

who cares, i work in a pawn shop and all pedals are $10 for me...

who would contact a company over something stupid on a $60 pedal anyways?

my guitar setup is like this
a bunch of cheap japanese copys that are modded
i have a vintage monty ward tube amp & fender deluxe 112plus
i have boss chorus, digital delay, power driver & turbo overdrive
tube screamer (over rated!)
60's moog-made maestro stage phaser
70's dod 690 chorus
earnie ball vol
vox wah
i use whatever's laying around next to my amp, i don't use picks, i use a metal lighter and/or my car keys to make noise...
i use the muff to distort the **** out of drum machines for an atari teenage riot like cluster**** and it's the best distortion pedal ever made (i've played hundreds!)
do yourself a favor and listen to anything devo (except whip it) and get inspired, if you really want to hear the "sound" of a big muff listen to some mudhoney, "superfuzz migmuff" is prbably the muff tribute album if there ever was one, anything by mudhoney features the muff, also listen to tad or older nirvana... the best band to ever play a note is sonic youth and they have used muffs off and on over the years... check 'em out!

Only three knobs but it has many available tones. Mine is a silver Russian model.

This thing is a 9 on sound but it is VERY noisy. When I first got it a thought it was junk. I was using it with a Strat with GFS Lil' Killers through a Fender Champ. Then I switched guitars and ams. Now I use it with a Strat with custom handwound singlecoils through a Sovtek Mig 50 with a Keeley Java Boost and a Boss NS-2 noise suppressor which helps with the noise but some feedback gets through. This pedal likes singlecoils much better than humbuckers. A Strat with good singlecoils shines with this pedal especially with a Plexi-style amp but humbuckers don't work well with it.

I play a wide variety of music both old and new. This handles both well. It is just so noisy. I would buy this again because I have never seen another silver Russian one so it may be worth a lot some day. I would not gig with this pedal. I have a Keeley modded DS-1 which i would use instead. I do like messing around with this pedal though. If you like fuzz, it sounds great minus all the noise. It would be an 8 overall if it was quiet.

This pedal is pretty simple to use. Just volume, sustain, and tone knobs. There is no user manual unfortunately, but you won't really need one. It honestly can't get much simpler. The only negative thing is that the input and output jacks are reversed from usual pedals, probably because it's made in Russia. This is why it's only getting an 8 instead of a 10. It makes it somewhat inconvenient to use with other pedals, if you like them in really specific order.

The one thing you really have to understand about this pedal is that it's sound depends almost entirely on your other equipment, pedals, order of pedals, volume, etc. I use a Schecter C-1 Exotic, Traynor YCV 40 tube amp, Keeley Boss SD-1, and this pedal as my equipment. This pedal sounds really, really good with my setup, but when I played it on my friends SS Marshall amp and Stratocaster, it sounded pretty bad. Overall, you MUST try it out with similar equipment to yours BEFORE you buy it, or else you could be very dissapointed.

If you do have the right gear to go along with this pedal, it will sound great. With a good tube amp and overdrive to fill the sound up a bit, you can get really good Hendrix-ish fuzz, and an almost perfect David Gilmour sound. The sound is really smooth and heavy. Also if you turn the tone up to full, you get a really good grunge and punk sound. I suggest you have an overdrive for your lighter riffs and chord work, and then turn the Big Muff on for solos. It's not that great of a rhythm pedal. The overdrive is a key factor, because for some reason it fills the sound out amazingly and makes the pedal sound a lot better. With the right set up, this pedal is pure tonal bliss.

This pedal can be noisy with single coil guitars, but it's not that much noise. It's bearable if you don't have everything turned up to 10.


Overall, I'm giving the sound a 9 because it really depends on your set up. It will either be perfect for you, or it will sound like crap. When you do find a good set up for it though, it will sound amazing.

The only issue here is the fact that there is no AC jack, and you have to carry 9v batteries around with you anywhere. This can be very inconvient for home practice, but with gigs it's no problem. So far it seems dependable. It's definitely sturdy, and would probably kill someone if you threw it at their head as hard as you could.

N/A.

You'll either love or hate this pedal. Remember to TRY IT OUT WITH SIMILAR GEAR TO YOURS BEFORE YOU BUY IT. If you find it suits your gear, it will be an amazing asset to your pedal board. Also remember to buy some 9v batteries, because there is no AC jack. If this pedal were stolen, I'd buy another one in a second.

Ease of use? There are three knobs. Each of which turns with little effort, but are solid enough to stay in position if stood on by an over-zealous foot.

The footswitch gives great feedback, unlike some "is it on?... did I press it hard enough?" pedals. In the case of the Big Muff - activating the switch feels like you're crushing a very small leprechaun. Trust me, that's the only way to describe it.

Being a Smashing Pumpkins fan the range of sounds this pedal offers could not be more perfect. As usual with these sorts of things it's horses for courses, but if you like sneering, rip-snorting, bassy, universe-destroying, grungey, herd-of-elephants-walking-over-your-testacles distortion then this pedal is for you. I happen to like that sort of thing.

My setup starts off with Epi LP Custom with SD Pearly Gates and Alnico II pro, but I'm forced to play it through a terrible 15-watt amp, the name of which I would not care to divulge, such is its awfulness. My tube amp, she breaks :(

Seems pretty solid but I haven't thrown it out of any windows or urinated on it yet so I can't comment.

I've had no reason to deal with them.

This is perfect for me but could be terrible for you. It's worth bearing in mind I haven't used a lot of pedals, but those I have tried don't come anywhere near this for the style of music I like to play.

I'm giving it a nine because it's not the most versatile. Great for grunge, but not much else.

I have the sovtek green one(vintage).Three knobs.No problems at all....

For me this is the best distortion ever...I really love Big Muffs sound and i think sovtek green is the best muff ever produced.
I use it with the tone knob on the left(max basses) and sustain around 2 o clock...It produces a really big distorsion with an endless sustain,anyway it is soft...i call this sound "the fuzzbed".
I used a lot of distortion pedals(boss ds1 and ds2,mxr dist+,E-H NYC big muff,subdecay blackstar,proco rat and dirty rat...)and this one is the best.
My set up is: Fender Telecaster custom '72--->Proco dirty rat--->sovtek big muff--->E-H Holy Grail--->E-H Flanger Hoax--->Diaz Texas Tremodillo--->E-H Small Clone--->Maxon AD 999--->Vox ac30
I've found my perfect sound...

Mine is 20 years old...it is a fu**ing tank...i depend on it

I play alternative rock/noise/psychedelic...simply perfect for my style...

Super easy. Basic vol, tone and drive.

I think the sound of this pedal is excellent. Big fat fuzz sounds great sustain. I brought this for a heavy fuzz tone, i have an aramat fuzz that i use which is brillant but wanted something even heavier!!

I run this through a Fender Vibrolux, 52 "keef" Jap tele with Humbucker and a boss delay.

If your looking for a subtle pedal that is responsive to volume changes etc this is not really the pedal for you. Don't expect it to be super useful for everything. It is not a jack of all trades but it is a master of one!!!

Amazing for big fat chords and leads!

Only had it a short while. We'll see. I don't think the case of the pedal is that great. It has kind of tin pot feel.

N/A

Great pedal. Although for RRP ??100 ($200) the build qual of the case is not that sturdy. Even my cheaper Marshall guv is made better i think. The sound quality is what it is about and i'm glad to say i'll use this for many years!!!

Ive got a USA re-issue of the big muff pi, i thought i would buy one and try it out despite all of the negative reviews. So let me cut to the chase. It is VERY difficult to dial in a decent fuzz sound. But once you find the sweet spot, it sounds pretty great. I was just about to give up on the pi, but i eventually found a way to tweak it for a sound that just about nails old sabbath.

Im using this with my 18watt plexi clone. The thing about the pi is, it will sound awful until you turn up the amp loud enough to get the power tubes overdrivng.. it just does not respond well with buzzy pre-amp distortion unless you like your tone anemic and shrill. I find my plexi responds the best to a volume boost, not so much with an increase in gain. I also found that the best way to set up pi is to have the volume almost dimed, the other two knobs might as well not even be there... if they are turned past 8 o' clock the only thing that happens more noise and over clipping. Even with the 'sustain' knob turned way down i find that there is still more than enough sustain. Mid stong speakers seem to complement the big muff. I find that this thing sounds alot better thru my greenback equipped cab. It sounds very harsh thru my T-75 cab...

It feels fairly solid; theres nothing rattling inside when you shake it or anything like that. It doesnt feel as robust as my old ibanez ts-9. The paint chips off easily...but the switch feels solid, still i wouldnt go stomping on it. I would say it is perfectly suitable for gigging.

Overall, i like the pedal. Its a little noisey, but once its tweaked to the sweet spot, its fun to pop the switch, belt out some power chords, and let the raw fuzz do its thing.

Very easy to use just three knobs: volume , sustain , tone.

My Big Muff is simply awsome, sounds great, a masterpiece! It's an original Big Muff I from 1971 (triangle knob version). David Gilmour is using now one like mine (2006).
My setup is all customized by myself.
Epiphone SG G400 (all customized with Gibson parts)
DeArmond Volume Pedal (As Gilmour's Live at Pompeii)
Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Wah-wah
MXR DynaComp Compressor
Ibanez TS-9 Tubescreamer
ProCo RAT II
Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi I
Boss GE-7
DOD EQ-660
Electro Harmonix Small Clone
MXR Phase 90
Boss BF-3
Boss DD-20
The Amp: Gianinni Duovox 100G Head (a copy of a Fender Twin Reverb)

I've made some minor improvement:
True by pass on/off switch
AC adaptor (since this Big Muff only runs with 9 volt batery)

This Big Muff is been working for more than 35 years, what makes it very, very reliable.
But, as all Electro Harmonix pedals, it seams to be fragile, so I will give it a 9.

I never use customer support since I fix, repair and make upgrades all by myself in all my equipment

To sound like Gilmour's or Santana's Big Muff you have to have one like this, it's very difficult to find one, and I am not selling it.
If I lose it I will kill myself, coz I can't live without MY PRECIOUS !!!

Three knobs, each one clearly labeled, doesn't get any easier than that. Black Sovtek. I paid a little more than I should because I wanted the wooden box.

I use an American Strat and a Guitar Research amp and a few other pedals that change according to the situation.

This is my third Big Muff over the years. The first one, the one with the small case and black print, purchased around 1972, was the best, but the tone potentiometer suffered a mishap when the plastic post broke off near the nut, requiring a sharp object (like a thumbnail or small screwdriver)to be placed against the plastic to turn it for different settings. The second, the larger one witht he red print and purchased around 1973, howled like mad when the sustain was turned up, not a nice, controllable feedback, more of a shrill squeal that would suit a noisy Helmet-type band but sound poorly in a more controlled, Fripp-like sound. This one does not suffer from either of those problems. Instead, it has a hum that becomes more pronounced as the tone is turned to the left from the 12 o'clock position (which is too bad for me because that is where I like it, right around 9 o'clock). The hum is not present when the unit is switched off. If not for this "feature", it would be right up there with my first Big Muff.

I would give it a ten because with that tone turned to 9 o'clock my sound is right where I want it to be, but that hum is annoying for any kind of recording. It comes very close to the sound I have been trying to achieve - that long sustain fuzz used alot by Jimi on Electric Ladyland and also by Fripp on early King Crimson albums or extensively by Steve Hackett.

This one is far more reliable than my older ones in the sense that it has metal posts on the pots that are far less likely to break. If I gigged I would use it without a backup.

Never tried. I don't speak Russian.

I play a noisy brand of music but I prefer the noise to be something intentional or accidental but not caused by a noisy box. This Big Muff, as I said before, would be the be-all if not for the hum, and I am not sure if that is a condition of all of them and most people just live with it or if I have a lemon. If it were stolen or lost I would probably get another because, so far, I have not heard a box that has THIS sound. The Big Boys (and Girls) don't use these because they are built like tanks, they use them because they sound so good. I also have a VooDoo Labs Superfuzz and it doesn't compare to the Muff, tone-wise.

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.

I just bought this pedal today and i fucking love it! Its the Russian edition of the EHX Big Muff. If u r thinking of buying a Big Muff, do what i did and try all the variations out in one go. This is because they all sound different (duh!). You have 2 understand that no opinion is 'correct' on this website and all my answers are based on my own personal taste. ANYHOO, i found this version of the big muff to be the best sounding for me. Little Big Muff coming in at a close 2nd. In terms of ease of use, its quite difficult to dial in a bad sound, which is good 4 me! Reversed Input/Output jacks r a pain in the arse because who the fuck wires their pedals that way?!?!? Also to power my pedal board, I use a daisychain cable with an adapter. Luckily the daisychain came with a 9V battery adapter so i can now power my muff from the mains. This may be a concern to u if ur thinking of buying one.

As i was trying all the big muffs out i noticed that the USA made ones sounded a little boxey and unsuprisingly exactly like Kurt Cobain. When I tryed the Russian, it cud also do all the grungy stuff but i found i could coax out other sounds resembling Kaiser Cheifs, Arctic Monkeys, Strokes n recent Chillis (Dani California)! Ive played through some other pedals like EMMA reetafratzitz ( i think thats how u spell it?) and a Visual Sound Route 66, and im telling u this pedal is just as versitile, sounds just as good and costs less than half the price.

If u want to use this pedal max gain i suggest u use a noise suppressor. I use the Boss NS-2 and it removes the hum very well.

To be honest im not in a band. Im much more interested in music production in a studio. Here, I dont really need all my pedals to be bombproof. My russian muff is made from fairly thin metal. I own a NYC Small Clone and these american EHX pedals are much tougher than the russian ones. However, if u do gig this pedal, i reckon if u look after it, it shud b ok. If i did hav 2 gig this pedal, i dont think i wud need a backup, but they r cheap enuf so why not!?

Never dealt with EHX before, but i do own a few of their pedals, each one is fucking brilliant. I guess the 1st step in good customer support is building quality gear. U cannot beat analog fx for things like chorus n distortion. Delay n reverb best kept to digital i think.

Amazing pedal. My rig at the mo is:

Fender Telecaster->Boss TU-2->Boss NS-2, then loop for NS-2 goes Crybaby Wah->EHX Russian Big Muff->Small Clone. Output from NS-2 goes to Line 6 HD147.

I am going 2 change amp to Fender Blues Junior v soon. I only use blackface model on amp and then big muff for distortion. Sounds so good but with this pedal driving a set of tubes it wud sound phenomenal!

Ive been playing for 11 years. If it were lost or stolen i wud replace it immediately. I love the fact that i can shape the sound any way i want and nothing seems to sound bad or unuseable. I hate the fact that it looks like crap...come on lets be honest. It works for me and my sound and i think i will always use it now. i compared it to all the other 'muffs', some high end boutique distortions and overdrives and some tube pedals like soldano n damage control. This doesnt hav the tone of the tube pedals but for the price and sound quality on offer from the muff, i had to go for it. I bought this because its a useful tool in a studio and its extremely versitile. I knew this before i bought the pedal but hearing the thing just made me want 2 buy it. The Big Muff shud b part of every guitarists staple sonic diet.

see most above, easy controls for any mind.......mine is the "real"(?) 70's or earlier...thrashed when i got it but everything works as should (and does have dc adapter)finding your specific sound may take a little work, but generally with this beast 11 works best on all 3 knobs ;)

ive owned this for over 25 years, played it with everything from cheapo practice amps, old tube silvertones and fenders, through friend's marshalls and slick traynors....currently resides on top of my old crate 1 (brilliant old amp....) also have probably owned 30 guitars that ive used this with...sounds best with heavier guitars with humbuckers (i loved it with my us ibanez iceman i owned years ago, but crap les paul copies, epiphones, etc kill through this pedal)
yep it still has a buzz when yr not playing, or lotsa feedback (in a good way) sure sure the mudhoney album title....sure sure the fuzzy sound...but with a decent neck pickup it'll chime and sing, and sustain like no other....ive had a couple fancier "distortion" pedals dod, etc for "heavy metal" sound, but they make everything sound the same...if you like overproduced sound, hire satriani or his producer, if you like RAWK this is for you

currently held together with duct tape as ive lost the screws to open it...9v battery snap piece twisted on, and the nut on the input jack once was replaced with a pop top from ma beer can to hold it in place....25 yrs of abuse, and she still keeps going. pots still turn without much discernable noise.

other than the tiny circuit board this is an easy piece to fix yourself (even if mcguyvered) clueless on e/h service...mine made in brooklyn (i think theyre gone) surely even later versions simple to fix

ive played guitar since before my nuts dropped (and still stink)..this is absolutely the coolest pedal for any metal/punk/noise/alienate yr friends, neighbors, etc. this beast is prob 30 yrs old and keeps going, even makes my crappy old ampeg practice amp scream (but prefer the crate) currently i play a mutilated jap strat knockoff, and my turser 335 copy through it...humbuckers sound a little better.....for the ultimate in obnoxious run a wha before the muff and peel the paint off the walls! enjoy!!

It is pretty easy to use step on the switch fuzz out. I will say that getting a decent tone out of this is some what time consumming. It was a constent tug of war between my amp and this unit. I have an original one so I don't have a manual but I have been playing over 20 years and this is the second go around for me with this unit.

The set up I use mostly with this is a G&L Comanche with the Z pickups, Diamond Pedal J drive with the drive pretty clean and the boost on, Big Muff, Keely modded DD-3 and to my THD Univalve. Once I got it set it screams now. I can use it for 60's stuff and some heavier tones as well. I have the Volume at 9:00 the tone at 10:00 and the sustain at 3:00. I can get whatever sound after that by using the volume knob on my guitar. I also use a Voodo Lab Micro Vibe in front of it sometimes to get that Jimi and Trower tone. It does make a lot of noise but it is a fuzz and once you start playing you don't notice it. The J drive helps tighten up the sound without compressing it but I do wish I could tighten it up some more.

Like I said this is an original one and it has lasted this long. It stays in mounted on a rack shelf with all my other pedals and goes though a switching unit. It should last another 20 years or so as long as the rack doesn't fall off the truck.

never delt with them

I play all types of Rock and Roll and have been for over 20 years. I also have a Gibson Class 5 Les Paul and a Heritage 555 for electrics. I also have a Martin J1 jumbo acoustic and a all nickel Dobro. I mostly play for fun now and for personal studio work. If it were lost stolen or broke I would try to find an old one again if not I would try a reissue. I had a Diamond Firebust but it just didn't give me the deep tone I was looking for and the distortion side was also lacking in depth.

First off, let me say that this pedal is not designed to be an extreme metal distortion pedal. I've read a lot of reviews from kids who are mad when they find out that this box won't make them sound like [insert crappy nu-metal band here].

This pedal is designed for a more creamy, softer tone and to add sustain. That is not to say that you cannot get that thin, hollow, scooped-mids crap-tone (Metallica's new stuff) out of it. You can, but you will ned to fiddle with your amp too.

I have no problems getting a number of great tones out of this pedal. Three knobs, pretty easy to mess around with and find your sound.

My main guitar is a Gibson LP Standard, but I also use a Jackson Dinky, an Agile 335 copy, and a homemade telecaster. All of them sound good, but the 335-style and the LP seem to be more suited to bring the best out of this pedal. The Jackson and Fender clone are thinner and would probably work better with a colder pedal, like a Boss DS1. However the Jackson does get into that thrash terrirory if you keep the gain down a little.

I play through a solid state Kustom combo but have a tube Laney head on the way. I'm looking forward to trying that one out.

The pedal is not too noisy, I believe it has true bypass. However, I haven't recorded with it yet, so I can't speak to that.

I play a lot of bluesy doom rock (Pentagram, Place of Skulls, Witchcraft, etc.) and this pedal is perfect for that sound. It has a real vintage, warm, full tone...almost analog sounding.

The box seems solid, but i don't like the way it chews through batteries. There seems to be a jack for a power cord, but I haven't found one that fits yet. I will probably modify it so I can plug it into a standard 9 volt cable.

I've found that if I pull the cables out of the pedal when it's not in use, I get longer battery life.

No issues yet.

As I said, this pedal is a good fit for my style. It's full and warm and versatile.

I like that it is big and sturdy, it's easy to stomp on the switch and the LED light is bright and visible.

I had long heard the legend of the Big Muff and I was eager to get my own. Now that I have one, I'm a little disappointed. It's a great pedal, but not a whole lot better than my old Danelectro Fab Tone that I paid $15.00 for. You may want to look for an alternative if you can find a good one.

3 knobs
one bipass switch
no adaptor, only takes 9v

Very bass heavy distortion. I found for guitar it was a little too bassy and saturated for chunky rhythm parts. Alright, for lead tone. It kind of just sounded like an out of control indecipherable fuzz mess if you played too hard (unless you like that). I found it more useful as a bass distortion pedal, which was a staple on my pedal board until the thing fell apart.

Can you depend on it? For about 1 year.

I bought this pedal about 3 years ago and it gradually deteriorated over that 3 year period. It worked well for about a year. After that the wiring connecting the 9v battery became loose and came apart. I had to soder it back on. Then shortly after the bipass switch became faulty. Sometimes it wouldn't work, or only work and give you half the volume for the pedal. It was a very strange idiosyncrasy that you could stomp on it and it would give you very soft volume (and minimize your guitar signal) or give you half volume, full or another variable inbetween any of these. Very frustrating. After a while the bipass switch stopped working altogether and you could not turn the pedal on or off. The sustain knob also broke off, so I could no longer adjust the sustain. All in all, it was your basic piece of shit. I strongly don't reccommend this pedal to anyone. Although i hear the other Big Muff models perform much better.

Never called customer support.

There's a better distortion pedal out there for you.

Very Easy to use

VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!

I bought this pedal to get a vintage sound, and at first I thought this pedal was a rip off, but then I ran it through the FX loop on the amp and it sounds awsome!!!

FX LOOP!!!!!!

don't know, but seems very easy to break.

-

9

Hendrix, Zeppelin, Floyd

Fender Eric Clapton Strat
Marshall AVT 50

Since this a one-effect device...it was really easy to figure out and get a great sound out of this. Three knobs- Volume is of course the effect volume, Sustain and Tone are also obvious. No manual either- not needed. Some tweaking needed though.

M'kay my setup is straightfoward. Just my amp (a Marshall) an Alesis Faze- also awesome, my Big Muff, and my Epiphone Dot or SG. There's some feedback, but not in bypass mode (of course). Overall...THE BEST FUZZ/DISTORTION I'VE EVER TRIED!!!!!!!!!!! I easily get a good sound for most of my favorite artists- PINK FLOYD, NIRVANA, ALICE IN CHAINS, and LED ZEPPELIN. From warm blues-like to Black Sabbath and everything in between, the Muff cannot be beaten.

From everything I heard before I bought my Muff it seemed some Muffs were built like tanks while others were flimsy and poorly built. I have to say my Muff is very reliable. I'm not rich so I can't afford a Backup. Have gigged with it and it proved itself as reliable.

Never had to deal with Electro-Harmonix.

I've been playing about 2 years in 2 bands and for the Grunge and Alternative stuff I'm into, the Muff is great. It also works for some of my Classic Rock stuff (oddly enough I use it for some Folk Rock too). If it were stolen I'd kill whoever took it!
Compared to other stompboxes like the Rat or a Tubescreamer, the Muff is more warm and more versatile. Its simplicity is one of the best things about it. Also it's not some digital s***box, it's all analog. Quite Frankly, the Muff kicks A**!! Buy it!

Bought it used about 4 years ago so no manual, but very easy to use. Straightforward - 3 knobs; Volume, Distortion, Tone. I love the big fat round footswitch, with a huge LED that's very easy to see.

This is not the best distortion/fuzz pedal for basic hard rock/metal or blues, and I never use it for my blues soloing or hard rock. However, for that modern rock, psychadelic sound, this is awesome, in a catagory of its own. I say that because it's not just a fuzz or distortion/overdrive pedal, it sounds like some sort of combo of the two. A bit noisy, but keep the master volume knob below 12 0'clock and it's fine.

Being a huge Floyd fan(David Gilmour) I got this because I know he used it in his setup on their last 2 world tours. (Really old Floyd stuff I have no idea what he used) It's got an imposing, huge, fat overdrive with practically endless sustain. Play this into any tube amp(I use a Strat) and you've pretty much got Pink Floyd's 'Sorrow' from the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' album. Add on a flanger, and you've got the distortion from 'The Wall' and a lot of Nirvana's stuff. Very imposing, loud and "angry"(my personal take on its unique tone) sound.

My Setup:
Fender Strat w/active EMG pickups -->Boss CS-2 Compression/Sustain-->Chandler Tube Driver-->Big Muff Pi-->Pro Co Rat-->Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger-->Boss CS-2 Chorus-->Boss RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay--->(All Tube) 40W Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 401 combo amp.

Never played through solid state, so this is only based on an all-tube setup.

Brand new, I assume this thing is completely reliable, but this is the original Big Muff Pi(very old - late 70's early 80's) and mine, only on very rare occasions, has a problem at the input/output jacks - they are not the usual sturdy metal type, with the guitar input securely locking in and holding. The input and output are metal but the actual input/output is a sort of hard plastic in inside the exterior metal ring, so the connection feels weird and its hard to know that its completely in there.

It does cut out once in a great while, but 98% of the time its completely fine.

N/A, never had to deal with them

Its not a univeral overdrive pedal that can be used for just anything. But add it to just one of your overdrive, distortion, flange or chorus effects and it will give you the fullest, fattest psychadelic/modern rock sound. What I love about this pedal is the tone knob - you can change the high end/low end to change the overall sound very precisely.

A must for my setup, I'd definitely get another if anything happened to it.

Picked it up at a pawn shop out of curiosity and the price was right.
I spent some time tweeking due to the variety of sounds available. I usually use OD pedals in front of a dirty amp. boogie heartbreaker, JCM800 & ampeg (deluxe reverb type). I'm a tinkerer, and I modify everything. I'm anxious to get at this with a soldering iron and some good quality caps.
Turning down the sustain all the way with the tone at low levels shows the affect on the tone (transparency). Some of the tone suffers with this pedal. I'm thinking changing coupling caps will get back some of the good tone and enhance this pedals performance. Now if this pedal was crap I wouldn't even bother. But when you crank the sustain with the volume up over half way this pedal gets down right rude. I like the tone all the way down for some really cool mid boost. However set like this the bass is a bit loose. Smaller coupling caps may solve this. But the distortion is great. The fuzz creeps in as you turn the tone up. Above 2:00 gets real fuzzy and trebly. This pedal also enhances some amps more than others. I wasn't real impressed when i plugged it into my heartbreaker. I plugged it into the JCM800 into the 4x12 and was blown away. Ranges from ACDC crunch through Iron Maiden distortion up to Metalica (Master of Puppets) distortions. The fullness of this rig was impressive. I then plugged it into my Ampeg that I just modified with 6v6s. This sounded like SRV's Tightrope fuzz face lead.
It's a good pedal compared to others you can buy, and may be a great pedal when modified - I'll find out.
I've modified my TS9 and DS1 with great results. I also like the MXR ZW44 just plain stock. In front of a clean amp for rythm or a dirty amp for sustained lead all sound good with their own characteristics. The muff pi will do the metal sounds that I don't get with the others.

good match for metal, or fuzz face Hendrix/ SRV stuff

Volume, Sustain, and Tone. I don't think it's that hard.

Best distortion pedal i've ever used, hands down. One of the great things about EHX is that they push their pedals to the extreme, which I likes.

It seems pretty sturdy. The Big Muff ? USA is much sturdier though. I think you could probably depend on it on a gig as long as you're not gonna expect Boss-level reliability on it (eg, don't jump on it from high heights. if you're planning on doing that, get the Big Muff USA).

I play anything I like. I've used many distortion pedals, and here lies the one I am finally and truly satisfied with. If it got stolen, however, I wouldn't care much because then I could go and buy a Big Muff ? USA (it's definately worth the few extra dollars).

Well, three knobs Volume Sustain Tone. Doesn't get much easier than that. They're all self explanatory and no problems with the controls!

Well, this pedal has been run through a Peavey Studio Pro 40, a Vox Pathfinder (into a 1x12 ext. cab with a Jensen C12N), a Peavey Chorus 2x12, a Fender "Evil" Twin reissue, a Univox U65Rn (1x12 18 watts), a Paramount PA100 (1x12, 35 watts) a Peavey Festival Series Head into a Peavey 1x15 bass cab (set up for guitar, though with an Eminece 151 Legend) a 70's Fender Bassman into an 70's Marshall cab, and for bass a SWR Workingman's 1x15 combo and a Crate 1X15 combo. It always gave the right amount of fuzz/sustain/feedback no matter if a Fender Jazz Bass, a Strat, SG, Les Paul or a crappy DeArmond knockoff were put in front of it! It did the task put in front of it with a warm fuzzy sound, even if it did muddy with the volume and (or) tone cranked.

I have to say that this pedal with it's substantial size and heft was not that reliable. The pots were replaced in 2000 and the pedal was bought BRAND NEW 1999! I, twice was forced to use my buddy's Danelectro FabTone which has been soaked in gallons of beer and cocktails and was never phased! Considering the Big Muff was primarily used for recording and used for less than 15 shows it's VERY disappointing that it finally died, and that it only took 6 years. The switch is broken and the ground wire needs to be completely replaced. I've had problems with it since 2001 and don't want to spend parts and labor fees on a $60.00 pedal. (The pots were replaced by a tech buddy of mine on the sly and everything else he's repaired for me is still working just fine!)

Never dealt with them and the warrnaty's long expired!

The Big Muff that I had was EXTREMELY wonky, which is sad because it did sound fantastic when it worked! It made tube amps roar with a visceral growl and warmed up the cold built solid state disrtotion of other amps. It sounded great I just wish it had lasted. The biggest complaint beyond durability was the input/output are on different sides than other pedals so a longer cable is necessary for them! I will probaly get another, but I will be more selective this time around! The old FabTones offered more control and my Boss pedals don't complain even when they geytleft out in the car and it gets to 45 below zero, but none of them (NONE OF THEM) sounded as good as the Bigg Muff!

3 knobs and an on/off switch so it's very easy to use, although it can take a bit of tweaking to get the sound you are looking for. Although the knobs are labeled sustain and tone, they both seem to control a mixture of the two. I also find that you have to adjust the volume control depending on what you are using for apmlification.

I play an Epiphone thunderbird bass, and have two Big Muffs on my pedalboard, as I have an Akai Unibass pedal which can create a guitar signal from my bass sound. One Big Muff is for the bass signal, which is placed after a Line6 FM4 and somtimes a Boss BF-3 flanger, and the second Big Muff is for the distortion on the guitar signal, and goes into a guitar amp. I have them both set at sustain almost full, and tone 3 o'clock. The distortion sound is what i was looking for, although it is very distinct meaning i am tempted to get a different type of distortion to use as well. My bass doesn't have amazing sustain, but the sustain in the Muff is awesome My only complaint is that it can make a lot of noise on it's own, so you have to get used to turning it on and off exactly when needed to avoid unwanted squeals.

The pedal itself is built like a tank and has never failed on me, although I always try to keep a spare battery just in case.

I play in a progressive rock band, and the Big Muff sound fits well, but as i mentioned before, it is a very specific sound so you may want to use other distortion pedals as well. If i ever lost it or it broke i would certainly replace it.

It is easiest-to-use piece of equipment in my rig!

Usually when using this pedal, it's the only thing between my 1979 SG and Music Man 212 amp. It's kind of noisy but I don't really care. It's got a great Billy Corgan tone and I just use it for whatever, it's pretty versatile.

It's built like a small metal box. I wouldn't gig with a backup because I'm too poor.

Never had to deal with them.

I play literally every style of music and this thing works great. If it were stolen, I would definetly buy it again. When I was in the market for a distortion pedal, I also considered a Boss DS-1. I didn't even try the muff before I bought it, it just had me with the coolness factor.

It's definately very easy to use. It only has 3 knobs and just fiddle around and you can the sound your after pretty easily.

The sound quality is alright although it soundas a bit hollow sort of if you know what i mean. I'm not sure if it's my guitar (a piece of poop squire strat) but i just cant seem to get that really full sound. When used with the overdrive channel on my amp (behringer ac112) i can get this although i would prefer not to have to use that. It definately has plenty of distortion.

I would hope with the size of this thing it is pretty durable. I havent really tested it's durability yet but it certainly looks durable.

For the price i paid it is definately a good buy. I bought to try and duplicate that awesome smashing pumpkins distortion but i'm still searching for it. But this pedal will suit probably all other styles of rock when used with a decent guitar and i would say it would help using it with a tube amp.

This pedal is really simple to use. I baught it after hearing it's sound on many muse songs , such as hysteria and fury. So im using it on a bass. Its really easy to use, Volume, Tone and Sustain. I use it on max sustain, minimal tone.

This thing sounds really good. With my settings as above, it sounds really phat, keeps a lot of bass, i used to use a Bluesbreaker 2 for my bass, and the bass tone would drop out. But this pedal does it all, really low bassy to really high trebbly. Like you could set it high and go for a mad solo, or keep it low and steady. However, as soon as you hit more than one note, like if your articulation is poor, you might not get on so well, because it seems to collapse. I havent really tried this beast on guitar, no need to i suppose. So it gets an 8, not a 10 mainly due to that more than one note thing.

It's very reliable. Battries dont last long tho. Its pretty strong, but not that good. The top layer of metal comes away from the black box, especialy when pulling the jack cables out, they are really stiff!!

Never had to speak to EHX. Hopefully never will

not sure about the above price, my gf baught me it for valenties day. Its a good match to what i baught it for. My other gear- Whine-O wah, and thats it. I would probably replace it if lost, and it certainly helps me make music.
overall a good buy

pretty simple. volume, eq (labled tone), and distortion (labled sustain). pretty easy to get the sound your looking for. just set the amount of distortion you want and play something while turning the tone knob till you get the right sound. sometimes tricky trying to get sounds with more note definition at higher distortion. just screw around with it and its not that hard.

ANALOG!!!! I LOVE ANALOG!!!!!
im pretty poor so i use a fender 25r as my amp and a cheap washburn i bought at half price but ive tried this out with other amps and guitars. however on all of them this thing has been very noisy. it does have an obscene amount of sustain though which is always good. the main factor in the sound is the tone knob. turned down its very thumpy and creamy and muffled. it gets very undefined and muddy at the low end. in the middle however it gets beutiful and crunchy. decent note definition and the sustain is good too. but for the real sustain freak turn the distortion and tone all the way up and this thing screams. the tone up makes this thing really hold notes. i dont really do crazy solos as much as i like to do a mix of rythym and lead. chunky rythym parts with little breaks in and out for short solo riffs. so i keep the tone around the middle. a gate control wouldve done wonders for this pedal but they are so popular as a classic pedal i dont see them including one any time soon. the noise problem would be solved and you could dial in the right thickness of tone as well. no gate and pretty noisy but still a nice crunchy sound.

the top seems pretty solid and is made of metal. the sides and bottom however are plastic. maybe its just me but i really prefer my pedals to be all metal and to be able to survive a several flights of stairs drop. i wouldnt gig without a backup.

never dealt with them but ive heard that ehx is helpful.

i play psychedelic, experimental, funk, synth, jazz, rock. its an interesting breed of music and my influences are frank zappa and the unicorns. those and the best band of all time HAMPTON GREASE BAND. remember that name. their album is out of print as its columbias second worst selling album of all time (that and all their songs are 20 minutes long so theyve NEVER been played on the radio once). so look on ebay for their cd "music to eat". believe me if you like zappa or improvisation this will become your favorite band. but anyway. overall this pedal is pretty nice. if your looking for sustain the best pedals are: big muff, fuzz factory, and swollen pickle (if you can find one or even afford it). so besides the lack of a gate knob this is decent and very reasonably priced. if it werent on sale and i didnt trade for it the price was 81 dollars. less than an mxr distortion plus and a lot better sounding. the mxr d plus is one of the beat up pedals i traded for this and this is much better. im addicted to psychedelic fuzz and this is on my list of the best distortions. (1. way huge swollen pickle, 2. zvex wooly mammoth, 3. zvex fuzz factory and fuzz probe, 4. big muff.)

PS. does anyone know how to get a really growly LFO sounding fuzz out of this? listen to the wooly mammoth sound clip at www.zvex.com and youll see what i mean

Three knobs. Volume, Tone and Sustain. I bought mine new and still I didn't get any manual. But as they say, it'd not needed.

I'VE READ ALOT OF WEIRD REVIEWS ABOUT THIS PEDAL. SAVE SOME TIME AND READ THIS ONE INSTEAD!!

Ok. Here's the deal. I know lot of people use this pedal as a drivepedal playing grunge music such as Mudhoney mostly because of their album Superfuzz Big Muff released in 1990 according to UBL. I remember it was 1989, nevermind.
And I also know some people may play stonerrock using this pedal as a drivepedal too, for getting that Kyuss sound.
Sure, it works. Fine with me. But this is NOT where this pedal has its sweetspots!
For you SERIOUS MUSICIANS out there, this pedal should be used for playing guitarsolos or melodies.
When playing one tone above 12th fret with neck pickup you get this amazing round sound that doesn't sound distorted with amazing sustain. Play 2 tones at the same time and the tone will get heavily fuzzy and the sustain will drop off immediatelly.
This reaction can be both for good and bad, but it's a fact that you have to deal with.

Personally I think the Big Muff PI sounds best believe it or not through the FX loop because it cuts off some fuzz and by that increases that amazing sustain.

Speaking about what happens when you adjust the knobs I'll start with the tone knob.
Turning the Tone knob to about 8 o'clock and the sound will be very bassy. Turning the knob clockwise and the pedal will sound more treble (and the sweep is totally crazy, everything from deep dark to rediculous sqeeky treble). But turning the knob all the way to left the sound will totally flip, adding some treble to that bassy sound. Sounds like having the tone knob at 10 o'clock but cutting off all mid tones.
I haven't had any use for this specific sound yet but I'm sure I will some day.
I usually have the tone knob between 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock. All other tone settings sounds usually too bassy or too treblish.

The sustain knob controls the amount effect really. First I thought it just added more fuzz, but after getting to know the pedal better I realized that it actually add sustain just as the knob says. Sustain and fuzz actually goes hand in hand, but I understand now why Electro-Harmonix chose to name the knob "sustain" instead of "fuzz".

The more sustain you use, the more difficult it will be to play cause every little unwanted sound will be heard. Like pick noise, when hitting the string will cut through.

I usually have the sustain knob between 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock. Here the pedal still gives a huge amount of sustain without having to deal with unwanted pick noise. I only use a higher sustain setting when legato* playing. (*long tones without pausing)

If a somewhat Jimy Hendrix sound is wanted, this pedal can do it but there other pedals out there that WILL do it BETTER. Check out Fulltone's pedals.
Anyway, for these old school fuzz sounds a.k.a. Jimy Hendrix cut off all sustain or almost all, and boost some tone and you have a '60s fuzztone that works enough to me. I'm not that into that old school fuzz sound that much.

Summing up the Big Muff PIs' "sound quality" it's a good pedal but I wouldn't like it as much if I didn't have the ability to play it through the FX loop. But I bet it's a matter of taste.

This is funny, reading the other reviews. Some say "It's built like a tank" while others seem to consider it more to be solid as a cardhouse.
The truth is that this pedal is NOT built like a tank but it is solid enough. Solid like a tank is Fulltone or MXR.
It might feel like a week built pedal because of its' enormous size which makes the pedal light weight because it still has only one circuit card like any other distortion or fuzz pedal.
What I find quite disturbing is that under the pedal a battery hatch is located that is attached with a screw. This requires a screwdriver when replacing battery and with the hatch open you are literally inside the pedal. You wouldn't want to drop the battery inside the pedal.
But hey. This IS the coolest pedal out there!
It's built out of one chrome plate and one black plate screwed together. The top chrome plate is painted with black and red color (that will come off sooner than later) saying Big Muff (and a pi sign) which stands for Big Muff pie, muff as in the female genitals and muffpie as in pubic hairs. In other words, a big seventees bush! =)

I read someones review about the Big Muff causing strange feedback during liveplay. Might be true, I still haven't used this pedal live, but I guess cutting some sustain and problem solved.

Reliability sum-up.
This pedal is well built, and yes the knobs are made out of platic but they doesn't feel cheap by any means, and I'm really a person disliking cheap knobs and buttons.
This pedal has yet never let me down in any way. A battery lasts longer than other pedals in my possesion.
This pedal has TRUE BYPASS. Don't belive anything else.
I'll give the reliability rating a 9, saving the 10 for Fulltone pedals and the Orange channelswitch. =D

Have never dealt with Electro-Harmonix.

I'm going to use this space make set straight any doubts about whether this Big Muff or the Russian Big Muff is the real thing.
This Big Muff is the bigger chrome one from USA. This is the original.
The russian version is smaller and dark green, almost black.
DO NOT BUY THE RUSSIAN BIG MUFF!!
Why? The best reason. The russian Big Muff can ONLY be powered with battery! You can not use a battery eliminator!
The other obvious reason is that it simply doesn't sound as good.

If using this pedal right it can be used in almost any kind of music.
If stolen or lost I would not buy the Big Muff again right now. I don't have any use for it at the moment. But I guess I would eventually.
What I love about this pedal is it's cool looks and it's even cooler name. I love playing in neck position on my Gibson LP over the 12th fret to achieve the most of its round sound.
I don't like the battery hatchet. If it had tendency of falling off or being difficult to attach I would hate it, but it's not.
I just don't like the screw and that the battery doesn't have its' own little room.

I give the overall rating 9, because I think some people would really dislike the size of this pedal. When having a pedalboard, this beast takes alot of space.
I also personally would like this pedal to be somewhat less fuzzy, but it's my opinion. It's matter of taste.

Pretty idiot proof...3 knobs..volume, sustain, tone...if you can't set it, maybe you should look into percussion. Didn't come with a manual...got it on e-bay. Pretty easy to get usable sounds out of, tweaking are variations on the overall Big Muff theme...fuzzy sustained distortion ala Mudhoney. However, I have the black russian model...and I absolutely HATE the reversed input/output jacks, it's a pain in my pedal board, also am not thrilled about the lack of an AC jack. Two points dinged for these.

It's very quiet when not engaged, very distorted when turned on...like it should be. Not the distortion for everyone by anymeans, it's like a blend of fuzz/distortion, but it's exactly what I wanted for replicating that mark arm/screamingtrees/mudhoney/early nirvana/grungy wall of fuzz. The knobs give you variations of this sound in lesser/greater degrees.

Seems a little flimsy..the metal seems thin and the plastic input jacks are kinda chintzy, but, I'm pretty careful with my stuff, so i don't sweat it. I'm po'..I always gig without backups, except extry batteries and strings.

Haven't dealt with EHX, but have heard very mixed reviews about their service...but, I have started judging companies by the level of service available on their website..for that EHX gets kinda low ratings..no online registration (huh?!? I thought that was an industry standard these days), no online manuals (again with the huh?!?)..so from a service stadpoint, they seem pretty average.

I like it a lot...it's grittier than my OD (Dano daddy-o), but it's not a real squealy full out metal dirtbox either. it fills the gap nicely.

This pedal is simple to use and most of the controls are self-explanatory.

I have the older Russian Big Muff (army green color). It's great for practices and recording, when you control the variables of your situation better. You can get anything from a thick, heavy rhythm guitar tone to that Billy Corgan lead tone, just by moving one knob. However...this pedal is way too tempermental to use for live shows. For 3 years, I used it when playing live and, much to my and the sound engineers' dismay, the Big Muff would cause all sorts of feedback. I used to think that it was my amp or guitars, until I played a show where a sound engineer who was originally from Chicago controlled the sound. He had controlled the sound for several of the Smashing Pumpkins' local shows before they had become so famous, and said that the E-H Big Muff is known to cause hard-to-control feedback when playing live. If you're really into experimenting with feedback, then by all means, use this pedal live. I found a distorted tone I liked better by just using the 2 built-in overdrive channels on my Marshall VS-100 amp. My set-up (when using a Big Muff live) was: Fender Jag-Stang, Squire Jagmaster (older Japanese version), or Danelectro Hearsay through a E-H Big Muff, E-H Small Stone, Boss BF-1 Flanger, Danelectro compressor, and a graphic equalizer ran into a Marshall VS-1 amp.

Reliable in all areas except tone (see above) when playing a gig.

Never used it.

I've had the E-H Big Muff for about 9 years, and I've been playing that long, too. If it got lost, I'd buy a vintage one (70s model maybe), but definitely not a reissue, because I've been reading about a lot of problems the reissues have. I don't really use the Big Muff too much anymore, but I'm still glad that I have it.

Easy. Three knobs. I didn't get a book, but you don't need one. Mine came in a wooden box. Sustain knob controls how much distortion you want. Tone and Volume are self explanatory. There is no input for an AC adaptor but I use a Godlyke power supply set, and it comes with a piece that plugs up to the 9V battery connector, that then plugs into an AC adaptor daisy chain.
My pedalboard has the Big Muff after a Dunlop Crybaby Wah and a Boss DS-1 distortion. Behind the Big Muff is a Boss BF-2 Flanger, a Dunlop Rotovibe, and a Boss RRV-10 half rack reverb. All plugged into 20 watt MEGA amp which I use for recording on my PC.

The sound is superb. The sustain can go from no distortion at all, to thick and warm fuzzy distortion. The Boss DS-1 has no fuzz and no sustain. That is why I got the Big Muff. The big muff has long sustain and good fuzz. It is not a fuzz pedal but it has a fuzz-like quality which is good. The Big Muff sounds similar to a ProCo Rat 2 distortion (both have good tonal ranges and sustain) but the ProCo Rat 2 doesn't have as much fuzz quality.

I don't do gigs but I don't think I would need a backup if I did. It is big and sturdy.

haven't had to mess with em

The style of music that I play is that ol-school R&B sound that has guitar solos in it. AKA (Isley Brother's Ernie Isley...The Gap Band, Prince). I also like some of Jimi Hendrix's stuff.