Electro-Harmonix English Muff'n

Wel... you have five knobs... a gain, a volume and an equalizer low, mid and high. I reaaly don't know what they could make easier 'bout it

Fender Jazz Bass played on a Gallien Krueger. This sounds amazing! It's maybe a little bit noisy, but I don't care. Because it's just the disto I need: It doesn't sounds verry distorted (like a guitar), it just gives more power to your sound. That's why it is extremly usefull in bandsituations...

don't know, have it just two weeks... it didn't break for now...

I really think EHX should be more carefull whit there customers... Suchs good pedals can make you want to play on higher volumes...

What will they do for me when I become deaf???

for playing in a rockband, this is reaaly "the $%^&" you gotta have (for bass) I've tried a DOD250, Boss ODB-3, EBS Multidrive, Digitech Bassdriver, Line6 bass-POD overdrivesounds,...

This one is the only that is good enough.

I play allready 8 years.

If It were stolen I would hunt the thief down, buy a Basballbat and put it in his arse. And when just the last ten centimeters of the bat are still visible, I'll pore some gasoline over it and burn it... His screaming could maybe sound nicely together with me playing on MY (IT's MINE, MINE I TELL YOU MINE!!!) Muff'n

Very easy to use as far as knobs go. Having a tone stack is so much better than just a tone knob. No need for a manual. Only issues are size - as with most EH pedals, although I guess with tubes sticking out it's unavoidable - and of course some wierd power supply. 8 for those reasons only.

The sound is just great. It's more of a distortion/fuzz, but it really has some overdrive qualities as well. I keep the gain at less than half way, but can get over the top fuzz when cranked and just a nice boost when rolled back. Nice response to picking dynamics, and is just a meaty sounding pedal. I had 3 Russian Muffs crap out on me, but I loved how they sound, but don't care for the NY Muff. I came across this for $80 by sheer luck, so I gave it a go. While not the big muffs, you can hear alot more articulation. I play through a Fender Twin, and it sounds really great with it - gets a great Billy Corgan kind of sound.
I get many compliments on it when my band plays out.

Being as it has tubes in it, I'm sure they'll need replaced at some point. They're protected well, and it seems pretty solid. I'll have to say it's reliable since I haven't had any problems, but since I've had 3 other EH pedals die, I can't give it a 10 either.

I guess I play indie rock - not sure what else to call it - shoegazer, post rock kind of stuff. I also use a Blackstone and Fulldrive 2, which are also fantastic pedals, a boss DD5 and a midiverb through a Fender 65 Twin. I think the Muff'n has a very distinct sound, and really makes some of my guitar parts sound great. I would definitely get another, although I doubt I could find it again or $80. It's a versatile pedal that sounds great, so if you can find one to try out, I highly recommend it.

Couldn't be much easier to get a good sound out of it. It has the same dials as an amp and works the same.

Fantastic!!!! I have a Line 6 Flextone 3 (which I love and would recommend), but I missed my tube sound... especially the tone differences that you get with a tube when you change your guitar volume settings. So, I bought this pedal and it met my every need. I set the pedal to 75% clean 0% dirty for jazz and blues setups (I use the Marshall and Roland Line 6 Amp settings)and I do 75% clean and 25% dirty in front of my rock amp setup (Marshall or Mesa Line 6 Amp Settings).

When it was delivered the tubes were broken... I sent it back and they gave me a new one (Musicians Friend) - no issues since then, but I do always wrap it in bubble wrap when I transport it just to be sure.

Haven't need the EH support yet

Flat out the best pedal I have owned..... check out the video on Musicians Friend if you have any doubts.... but it's worth every penny - especially if you don't play a tube amp.

I also own the EH Mini-Qtron..... another great one that I'd recommend... but really only good for funk/rnb.

This thing fuckin' ROCKS!
Yep easy to use.
Only reason I'm giving it a nine is because you can't turn it off without unplugging it.
I'll fix that.

I'm using an LP and a Strat through a YCV40WR. The YCV40WR is my third and favorite tube amp. But I still couldn't exactly duplicate the sounds of all the songs I've learned through the years. With this pedal I can get the cleanest crispiest tones to the nastiest metal, it's ALL there. I'm in chrystaline heaven. It's so much more than what I expected it to be. This pedal is causing me to go back through all the forgotten songs that I've played throughout the years. Songs that I couldn't exactly get the sound right. I do now.
And in some cases I like my sound better than the origonal recording.
It's turned my Traynor into an amp that would cost $1000 more. I couldn't agree more than with another reviewer (Tommy), when he said it renewed his love of playing. He's also right abou the combination of this pedal and a YCV40WR. It's a match made in heaven.
If you put your favorite overdrive or metal pedal in front of it, it turns that pedal into a tone monster. My favorite pedal to use with it is a self modded (Monte Allums) TS-7. I play the Muff'n clean and use whatever pedal I want in front of it.
The tone: To me the tone is a little trebly but it's a good thick treble. I haven't tried yet, but I'm sure I could coax some Brian May sounds out of it. The EQ isn't as responsive as my amp's EQ but that's ok.
I have never heard my playing sound so good.

Still working.

Ownt know.

I can only imagine what this will do through an ss or modeling amp.
HEY, maybe I'll try it through that Line 6 amp gathering dust over in the corner. My Traynor's gain channel will probably go unused now.
This pedal seems to be a sleeper, but also seems to be gaining popularity. I think the only reason that I found it is because I'm a gear nut. I don't use a lot of effects but I like the ones I use to sound good. And this one makes them all sound good.

Well laid out, easy to use, however very little info in the user manual... in fact other than a brief description of the controls, there is no specific instruction. Not really a problem as its mostly self explanitory anyway.

Awesome sound. I was looking for that Marshall stack sound and now I'm getting it on my little old Roland amp. I am very, very happy about this. Even at low volumes you can still get that British crunch.

I've only had it a few weeks, but based on the fact that my 25 year old Small Stone is still going strong, I have no doubt this baby will continue to perform that long as well.

No need to contact them as of yet - likely won't ever have to.

I've been playing for 30 years - music such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull have been my main influences. I have used a lot of different overdrive pedals over the years and this is, by far, the best value for my money.

Pretty simple, classic 3 band tone stack, gain and volume. Feels like an amp. The dirrections arent that much of a help if you wanted help from them. They're more like "just start playing it, you'll get the idea" which im fine with...

would actually say 9.5 on this one. AMAZING sound on a tube amp for $189.00. I usually play a 1984 american start with EMG SA pickups and EMG SPC circuit, or an epiphone sheraton. tons of effects, all into a 1979 Hiwatt SA112 50watt combo amp. now lately ive used a vintage big muff, vintage rat, vintage this and that, NONE OF THEM came close to the tone and feel of this pedal. It retains the tone of my amp...just on 11. Has a totally natural sound and feel, for once it's not drive on top of my vintage tube amp, i can actually FEEL the picking of the notes, it's a real tube amp in a tiny box, pushing my tube amp beautifully. my only complaint with the sound is the upper mids have a bit of an un-natural constriction going on. Nothing too huge, im sure it will get lost in a full band at full volume.

havent used it long enough to really say. Looks like a tank, dont see any real problems happening with it. I have a heavy duty pedalboard, and with the guard on the tubes im sure they and it will be fine. Footswitch is heavy enough to take my fat foot...

never dealt with EH, hope i never have to!

overall amazing. Never been able to get that real tube amp sound from a pedal before the muffin. I play most space rock kinda stuff, it works great for the sound i want. Ive been playing guitar for 12 years, a big gear head, effects junky, and this one is my favorite so far, and ive played LOTS of drive pedals trying to find "my sound" i really do think THIS is it. Ive only ever left one review of an item before, my beloved hiwatt, so for me to do this means i really love the pedal, and it really makes me want to play! It's an inspiring piece of equipment, really it is. If it were stolen i would jam the pins of one of it's tubes into whoever tooks it's eye to reclaim it. or just buy a new one...

The half-page directions might as well say: "Hey moron, plug it in and turn the knobs." It's easy to use - set everything at noon and start tweaking to taste from there. Since rigs differ so much I can see why they didn't bother with alot of useless pre-set suggestions.

My rig:
Les Paul Jr. or Gibson SG into:
Tuner
Compressor/Sustain
TS 808
English Muff'n
BBE Sonic Stop
Amp: Traynor YCV40WR

I liked my amp before. I love it now. I once read something from a guy who said that a piece of equipment he just bought renewed his love of playing. Isn't that the ultimate compliment/testimonial you can give? Well, this pedal has done that for me.

I researched and combed through everything I could find about Marshall amps and the "classic plexi tone." I started to save for a Marshall combo (NOT the MG series) but then I heard about the hit-and-miss quality of the higher-end models from user reviews, guitar shop owners, and interviews with professional musicians.

After reading reviews about the English Muff'n and the Vox Big Ben overdrive, I decided on the Muff'n in large part because of the great mpeg the have on the ehx.com page (I live in the sticks so I can't just bop down to a Guitar Center and try something out).

I have never made a better purchase.

I had a large pedal board full of effects, but now I just run though the rig listed above - Anything else detratcs from the sweet Marshall tone I'm getting. The price is worth it.

With this unit, I leave the gain on "0" and scoop the mids to get a sweet Malcom Young / Jimmy Page tone. The tone is clear as a bell when played regularly and responds perfectly (more punch) when I dig in. I use my TS 808 as a signal boost and to add a hint of overdrive. I NEVER turn the Muff'n off.

'Can't afford a back-up right now but, if I could, I wouldn't keep it unplugged: I'd stick it in the chain and use it in place of the TS 808 as the overdrive pedal.

I hope I never have to call them. The box is lighter than you'd expect something of this size to be. It look tough, but I handle it with cotton gloves just in case.

I've been playing for 15 years, and now I'm good enough to play rythm in our local ski town bands. I do alot of research and buy highly-rated, mid-level stuff when I can. Tone is important to me, not the logos on my amps.

If this was stolen or lost I'd buy a new one in a hurry. It's the key ingredient of my tone.

99.9% of the time I use a clean (but aggressive) tone, but I LOVE the thick overdriven sound I can get with a tweak of the output knobs. For this reason I'd like to have two in order to switch between clean and dirty without kneeling over. Saving for this...

As primarily a rythm player, I hold Malcom Young in high regards because of his ability and the awesome tone he gets out of his Marshalls. If you're looking for a way to turn your amp into a Marshall, buy this pedal. It's costly, but it's a relatively inexpensive alternative to buying the real thing.

Very easy to use for a nonprof. musician. You don't even need a instruction - just plugged it and play, that's cool.

When playing the harp using a bassman 59'', a EH. holygrail and a Microvox low amp. mic. it sounds awesome. No vintage high-mic. or others so-called customized mic's can even touch the power and refined details this setting shows. Suddenly I got the "Ol school" sounds like Mr. Superharp (J.Cotton) or other ever greatest harpkings..and best of all no nightmare-feedback tendency - yeahhaa...

It came with tubes but has a steelcover and a solid case - so far no problems.

I've tried many kinds of guitar effects trying to get the low down harp tasty swamp sounds with a lot of overdrive - with no luck. Except from an Emma (ReezaFratzitz) which was formidable too, but still not as good as the English Muff'n. I'm in heaven....

I tested this thing in the store on a Marshall and it sounded very similar to it when I switched between it and the Marshall's own overdriven sound. Using the the unit is as easy as tweaking the knobs of your amp(s), as such the "manual" consisting of one page explaining the function of the device is more than sufficient. The unit does require some experimentation to get a suitable sound and further tweaks might be necessary as you switch between amps/guitars.

The sound quality is amazing especially when you consider the price. I play mainly through a Mesa Boogie Blue Angel which is class A and although it is an incredible sounding amp in it's own right it is limited to it's one channel being class A so this pedal is literally like adding a B channel to my Mesa. I use five different electrics ranging from single coils to humbuckers, solidbodies to hollow and each with it's own distinct personality and all of them sound great through this thing with only minor tone tweaks required to get the sound I prefer for each. The unit is very quiet, less so on high gain settings but no worse than any amp I've used that has an overdriven channel. I honestly haven't tried it in combination with any other pedals aside from a wah yet, but that sounded fine and I imagine that other units will sound fine as well as long as they are put before and after the Muff'n as necessary. As for the review above that claims the sound is just a Big Muff Pi in disguise, well, that couldn't be further from the truth. I have yet been able to get a "Big Muff" sound out of this thing, not that I'd really want to anyway as I've owned Big Muff's before and they have never impressed me much; the sound of this pedal is really more like that of a good amp distortion, not some transistor powered stompbox. With this pedal I have been able to get excellent blues, classic rock, hard rock, grunge rock, and even something close to heavy metal tones (this unit does not seem to be made for nu metal, death metal, or other such over the top heavy distortion; it could certainly be a component to achieving such sounds but additional effects and EQ devices would be necessary), a very good range of styles can be achieved if one tweaks the settings on both the unit and the amp it is running through.

It seems very durable and the tubes are well protected but able to "breathe" easily, I would certainly feel comfortable using this at a gig without a backup. The unit could of course be more durable if it had a slightly thicker metal casing, but it seems thick enough for anything that could possibly happen to it onstage.

I have dealt with Electro Harmonix before when I had to get my POG (poly octave generator) repaired after a certain keyboard player I lent it to had an extremely unlucky accident with it involving a moving vehicle. They seemed very helpful and friendly as well as sympathetic to my tragic loss (if you've ever used or heard a POG then you know what I mean), I was given the address to ship the damaged unit to and since it was still under warranty all I had to pay was shipping and that wasn't very much.

This unit is perfect for the styles of music that I play and it does exactly what I bought it for, it adds a channel to my amp. I have been playing for 15 years and have gone through many effects, amps, and guitars during that time. I have learned that the search for tone and versatility are seldom found in the same package for a price the average player can afford, this unit does what my amp cannot do on it's own and is now an important part of my rig, I would replace it with due haste if it ever became necessary to do so. This unit is simply the best overdrive/distortion product I have ever used or tried out and I truly believe that a large number of guitar players would feel similarly if they tried this unit.

Basically very easy. But those three eq's interract with each other so needs some tweaking. Example: Put middle full and you get some more highends too.

Fantastic value. When I saw this pedal, never heard from it before, I asked the clerk if he knew something about it. He didn't. So I tried it just for fun and went hysterious. That is THEE overdrive pedal I've been looking for a long time. Rat's, tubescreamers etc. What Are they!!
My setup: Epiphone Casino/Rickenbacker 330/12 vintage pickups/Fender Telecaster Plus-Boss TU2-EHX Small Stone-EHX Muff'n-Marshall Shredmaster-MXR Micro Amp-Lovetone Meatball-Line6 Space Chorus-Line6 Echo Park-Roland Space Echo-Fender Hot Rod DeVille 212.

There are very different guitar tones in my setup so it's important to have a good basic overdrive that reacts well with everything.
With Casino it bytes like a diamond. Ricky's weak pickups came alive in a way I could not believe it.
(Only thing that lacked something was telecaster plus's tone. That's because of lace sensor pickups. That's why I bought Shredmaster to gain maximum from that guitar.)
Setting mxr to 13 o'clock it boosts perfectly without loosing any tone from muff'n. I think tubes overrides some difficulties that has been keeping good sound clarity while boosting.
The pedal itself: Level 4 o'clock gain 8 o'clock treble allthewaydown middle allthewayup bass 10 o'clock

I'm no expert. But tubes are to be replaced sometimes, right?

Now here me up. Marshall maniacs would buy this, ok. But I think this sound more like having a classical hiwatt sound. Simply amazing. Electro Harmonix. Thank You.