Electro-Harmonix Big Muff USA Reissue

It's only got 3 knobs and one of them is Volume, how tough can it be?
I plugged my guitar in and had a great tone less than a minute later. If you need a manual for it, maybe you should give up playing guitar... :)

Excellent tone. I've read some reviews of the old Big Muff's and it said that the USA reissues were thin and crappy sounding. Maybe I got lucky, but I have to say that my pedal I just got is almost TOO thick sounding. I mean, I love big, fat, thick, almost muddy guitars and this thing was almost too much when adjusted to certain settings. Works for me.

I don't know yet if I can comment on the reliability, I've only had it about 2 weeks. To be honest it feels kind of junky. The knobs move nice and smooth and the face is all metal, but it feels a little sketchy. When I plug in my guitar cable it almost feels like I'm bending the metal. Haven't really had it long enough to comment on the reliability.

Can't comment on this either, never called them.

Very easy, three knobs, Amp Volume, Tone, and sustain. The manual has no usefull info at all. That said, you dont really need a manual.

I use an EMG loaded Ibanez RG-470 into the Muff then into my Marshall VS 100. The pedal is very noisy, but I love the feedback I can get. Its awesome. I dont try to get the sound of other artists, Im looking for my own and I think I have found it.

Well thats the downfall, this thing is not very strong, but I dont abuse my stuff so it should last a while.

I play everything, cept bumpkin music(Country, Bluegrass, Folk), I love this pedal. While I certainly wouldnt use this for everything, it will be my main Heavy distortion. I would definitley replace this thing if it was stolen.

3 knobs, not too hard. A bit cryptic, the idea that sustain controls the amount of distortion is kinda odd. Sucks batteries dry so get an adapter.

My setup goes Custom Strat -> Infinitphase -> Ibanez Flanger -> Big Muff -> Fuzz Factory -> Machine -> Fender Hotrodd Deville 2x12
This is the big muff sound. I tried an original and they were practicaly the same sound, the original was a little noisier and had a bit less high end. Yeah its a bit noisy but nothing I can't handle. I didn't buy this for any specific artists sound, but I had a friend try it out and he played Cherub Rock byt the Pumpkins, and it sounded perfect. Also this thing sounds like shit through a solid state 1/#"SC I tried it out on my little fender frontman and it tore that thing to pieces. But on my Deville 2x12 this thing sounds great. I just wish I could get a nice mellow sound with this thing, but its really not built for that so I won't complain too much.

When I bout this I took a Russian and the USA one and put them through the ringer, not only did the USA sound better, but the construction was better in all aspects, the knobs were better tapered the jacks were more solid, the switch had a much better feel to it, everything tended to run smoother on the USA. That isn't to say it is without its problems. I mean its a huge aluminum box with a single circut board floating around inside, I'm sure with heavy use this thing will eventually show problems. So take good care of it and it should last for a while

never dealt with them

I play a lot of styles, and while this sin't going to help me get my perfect blues tone it is exactaly what I need when I'm looking for a heavy sound. I have been playing for about 6 years and have developed a nasty pickiness about my tone, and this is one of the only pedals I now have that's not a boutique or a custom made true bypass $400 pedal. And I think that says a lot about the quality of this effect.