Electro-Harmonix English Muff'n

Easy. Just like adjusting your amp.

Pros:-
Does what it says on the tin: a very nice imitation of that slighlty gritty Marshall or chimey Vox (depending on how you set it) OD/distortion. Sounds really nice with some delay to give a nice fat but edgy (not in the U2 sense) lead sound. Plenty of gain; goes from slight overdrive to full blown distortion.

Cons:-
This pedal does not do smooth; there's always some grit present and I personally found the pedal to be far too bright unless the treble was set below nine o'clock, which limits what you can do with it.

The pedal is supplied as standard with two 12AY7's which is just plain wrong. I highly recommend changing the right-hand 12AY7 for a 12AX7 or ECC83. This smoothes and warms the tone nicely. Changing the left hand tube doesn't make much of a difference.

Good sturdy build quality and no problems in the six months or so that I had it.

Sold it recently to help pay for a TC Electronic Nova System but if I ever go back to using individual pedals the English Muff'n is definitely a pedal I would consider owning again.

It's easy to use. It just has a few knobs. No brains required. Just turn them and listen to the way your sound is manipulated. If you can't operate this, you are a total knob.

Let me start by saying that this is one of my favorite pieces of gear I own. I have to admit, I was very confused when I first read about it. I didn't know what "british" amp it was taking its inspiration from as "british" is a tad vague. "hmm, If I buy this, I will either sound like hendrix or the beatles, but which?". The price was right so I took a chance and am very happy I did. My ears hear great old school marshall tone.

I didn't really like this as a distortion pedal into the distortion channel of my particular amp but love it into the clean section. I've come to treat this pedal not as a "distortion pedal" per se ,but rather, as a preamp in and of itself. A preamp in pedal format. In other words, I no longer think of it as a distortion pedal. I use distortion pedals into it and use it as like a I would an amp's preamp section. Sounds great without distortion pedals in front of it too.

It is capable of a decent amount of old school marshall like distortion and the lead tone is very charismatic and melodic and lively.

How reliable? I have had it for well more than a year and I have had no immediate technical concerns or issues. I have no opinion here. It's too early to tell. Will it work 5 or 10 years from now? We'll see cause I intend to keep it that long. I'm sure any competent tech can fix this if something goes wrong.

I thought of contacting them once to find out what tubes its supposed to come with stock because mine came with different tubes than what their ad copy stated. Mine came with two 12ay7's while the ad copy said "12AY7 cascading into a 12AX7". Then I heard other people saying they have (or put) two 12ax7's in theirs. But, in the end it didn't matter. I've got a lot of tubes and have had fun experimenting with them. I never contacted them and don't know what level of support they give customers.

overall I am very happy with this device. It's The most tone per dollar I have ever paid for.
I like this so much I have considered buying a dedicated power amp for it. Until then, It sounds great into all of my amps.

Pretty easy to deal with this stompbox. 3-line EQ, gain and volume.

Using it thru Gibson SG Standard to Marshall TSL602 tube combo. Sounds great on combo's clean channel. I could vary sounds from clean with a lil breakup to fat-sounding distortion you can fing in those ol' Plexi heads with lo-wattage.
I can nail the sound of great clean guitar wich suits both rhythm and lead styles of playing (Beatles, Stones, U2, Smiths) Then it goes crunch and dist. They're also great for punk rock and good ol' hard rock. From AC/DC and Black Sabbath to NOFX and Offspring. The most I like about is the FAT creamy sound which also sounds good with my girlfriend's Gibson SG Bass.

Played about 5 gigs thru it. This power supply makes me mad 'cause I'm afraid it'll break up some day and it's hard to find.

Never dealed with EHX but those CD's with demo videos and those guy from 65Amps 're cool.

I like to play many styles of music from early Beatles to Foo Fighters and Offspring. It's suits well. The controls are easy to tweak so I can just dial into my amp and play wonderful stuff. I'm playing for 12 years and as I've mentioned before I owe Gibson SG Standard guitar (worked for it as seafood processor in Alaska, hehe) and also some EHX fx-boxes: Holy Grail Reverb, Pulsar Tremolo, Clone Theory Chorus/Vibrato and DOD EQ.
I've changed my VOX Bulldog for it. I wish it has 2 channels (as Vox) but the sound is still better :)

Easy. Like dialing a good sound out of an amplifier, the controls are similar to a lot of basic guitar amps.

Great sounding pedal, or a preamp if you like. Variety of the tones is amazing, you can go from just very slight tube warmth to fuzz-like tones. Also if you have an amp (especially a tube amp) that has only volume and tone controls, this is great pedal. cause you can control treble mid and bass too.

My main amp is Fender Pro Reverb 1973 (no master volume) and I play mostly Les Paul and Stratocaster. This pedal is a very good match for this gear.

Only negative thing I can say about the tone controls is that the treble is just for boosting, not for cutting, cause when treble is on 0 it is already quite bright.

I've had it for about 4 months. No complaints, everything is working great.

No experience.

I play retroish rock, with this pedal I'm usually going after Jimmy Page circa 1973 type of sound, and it works really good for me.

I've played guitar for about 20 years and this is the first overdrive pedal I'm really quite happy with. It is not for every type of music or for everybody, I would imagine, but for what it is, it is great.

You can dial in some good settings the more you play with it

I think this pedal sounds pretty good at getting you a British crunch like from a vintage Marshall.
I wanted a pedal to help my Fender tube amps (Blues Junior, Deluxe Reverb) sound more British when I played rock otherwise I love my Fender amps for blues/jazz.
NOTE - when played through the Blues Junior or Deluxe Reverb (Vibrato input) it does not sound that good with this pedal or any other overdrive/distortion pedal because of the bright capacitor which gives you an awful high end sound, so I modded my amps to engage or disengage the bright capacitor when I want.
The bright caps on Fender amps only sound good with cleaner sounds for that sparkly high end but with gain it is not very pleasing.

The only problems with this pedal are:
- the ****** Electro Harmonix 12AY7 tubes it comes with
- the pedal also is too trebly. Best to turn treble control down to zero

** I recommend replacing the first tube (one on left) with a TungSol 12AX7 which gives it more gain and tightens up the high end. The stock Electro Harmonix 12AY7 are low gain tubes and have a very loose splatty high end. If you want that old Marshall crunch use the TungSol 12AX7.
** I tried two 12AX7s but it was too much gain and you could not get a cleaner crunch so a 12AX7 in the left and a 12AY7 (or even 12AT7 which has a bit more gain than 12AY7) in the right sounds great.

My favorite setting for getting a good crunchy overdrive from a fairly clean tube amp is:
OUTPUT - 3 o'clock
GAIN - 9 o'clock
TREBLE - zero
MID - 3 o'clock
LOW - 8 o'clock

If you turn up the LOW on this pedal too much it makes your low end loose and muddy, it is best to turn up the bass on your amp.

So far so good with mine.
But our local dealer here in Canada said they have sent quite a few in for repairs

No idea

I play vintage and modern blues, swing, be-bop, rock n roll, rock and vintage metal (70's-80's)
I have been playing for about 25 years and am a tone nut. I think a players tone is more important than his skill for getting noticed - although I have both ;>)
For tube pedals I have tried the Vox tube pedals which I was not too impressed with / the Radial Tone Bones which I like as well but are a bit nasally sounding and noisy / the Seymour Duncan tube Mayham pedal which is the ********* pedal on earth, the websites video makes it sound good but I could not get a good sound out of it.
I would like to try the Blackstar HT tube pedals but no local dealer carries them and I do not want to commit to buying one until I can hear it myself.

I give this English Muffin tube pedal a rating of 8 as it could be better, but so far the best one I have tried. I really like that it uses high voltages to drive the tubes which gives more of an authentic amp sound and I like the fact that you can easily swap the tubes.

Input and Gain with an EQ to use underneath it. Can't say much here as it's not rocket science.

Well I borrowed this from the Music Lab as they've been kind enough to let me try out pedals whenever I want. I tried every single distorotion/overdrive pedal that they have including a Boss OD, MXR hendrix octave fuzz, and many....many more and I have to say that this thing is fantastic! I am running through a '74 plexi 50 watt with a fender 50s strat. I played with this pedal for about 2 hours and just loved the range of sounds you can get on it. With the gain on about half, the input on 3/4, and all eq down except a touch of bass and mids you get an awesome Hendrix "Bold as Love" sound. Flip your guitar toggle to bridge and now your playing "paint it black" by the Stones.

Turn the gain almost all the way down and the input all the way up, dial in some bass and a bit of trouble and now you've got a fantastic SRV sound......through a marshall plexi???!!! Yes that is what totally blows me away with this pedal. It has a great range of sounds which DOES NOT MUDDY UP my marshall. In fact, it is a very clear, punchy sound. Of all the pedals I tried this was the one I could put down. I will go back and buy it today.
If you are looking for more of a distortion versus a drive you might want to try the EH hot tube as it looks exactly the same with an added drive knob on top of gain and input.

It didnt break after 2 hours. That's all know on this.

Couldnt tell you.

I play a range of music from country, blues, to jazz and rock. I could see this pedal having multiple uses depending on my setup for that particular night. I've been playing for about 10 years and have acquired several pieces of vintage gear throughout that time. If I bought this pedal and it was stolen I would just freak out cause I barely had enough money to buy it the first time. I imagine this pedal could only get better with different tubes in it but by no means is that necessary. It cooks straight out of the box.

This is a pretty interesting pedal design. The volume and gain knobs work like usual, but the EQ section is in what I guess is referred to as a "tone stack" configuration, which means that it is an integral part of the amplification circuit. I've never had any experience with this design before. With treble mid and bass all turned all the way down, there is no output even if the volume and gain knobs are cranked. The default position is mid turned all the way up and the bass and treble knobs all the way down. I've never used a tube pedal before, and it is *very* interesting the way this works when compared to solid-state pedals. The output volume of the instrument feeding the pedal, the volume knob on the pedal, the gain knob on the pedal, and the EQ settings all affect the sound. And it isn't just about distortion. The actual sound of the instrument can be changed in a way that I don't know how to describe in terms I'm used to using. You can get a lot of tube-overdrive distortion from this pedal, and I love it (it sounds like "real distortion" to me, which makes sense since it's distorting using the "proper" technique of overdriving tubes), but there's a whole world of sound alteration in this pedal that doesn't have anything to do with what I would normally associate with overdrive. You could say it truly is a preamp pedal with a lot of character, which can very powerfully shape the sound of the instrument feeding it. I give it an 8 for "ease of use," which is in my mind better than a 10, because it means that there is some subtlety and nuance in the way it's used.

I play guitar and keyboards through this pedal. One thing I was very interested to note is that, unlike with my solid-state distortion pedals, I don't have to use a noise gate on this one. I guess that's because, when the tubes aren't actually being driven by a signal, they're not making a lot of noise. The circuit is quiet, much quieter than transistor or diode pedals I own.
This pedal, like I said above, can do some pretty kooky things to the sound fed to it. I was a little disappointed to find that it's easier than I had expected it to be able to make the distortion from this pedal sound a lot like the distortion from my other pedals. Grainy and not-smooth. Maybe the solid-state pedals really *are* good at emulating tube distortion! At least at hight levels. But they are not capable of just grabbing the sound and taking it into weird territories. Actually, this pedal has made me realize that simply cranking an amp into distortion is a pretty superficial aspect of the whole "rock" sound, and that most "distortion" pedals just trade on that most superficial aspect of that sound. There is a lot to the tone shaping that happens on the way to full-blown distortion. It makes me want to explore other tube preamps and maybe tube power amps.
I have already found other pedals to get the "sounds of my favorite artists," but I can honestly say that this may be the first effect I have bought that makes me feel like I am taking ownership of my own sound. It really goes in deep, unexpected, non-superficial directions. It's the first effect I've used that makes me feel like, "Oh, I get it." It has, for want of a better word, authenticity. It's not emulating a sound, it just is exactly what it is. Which, as a musician, is what I aim to do too. As I grow musically and begin to differentiate my own musical identity from that of my influences, this pedal was just the right piece at the right time. It is a partner as I move into unexplored psychological territory.

It seems rugged as hell. I mean, the knobs themselves, when you turn them, feel so solid and smooth that they feel like some kind of military bunker equipment. In pictures, the tube guard looked a little flimsy, but it is tougher than snot. The box is this thick, solid metal. The whole package is obviously designed to last. I would have no hesitation taking this to a show. I've never actually tested it or abused it or anything, but like I say it just gives the impression of strength.

Never contacted them.

I play kind of, like, whatever you want to call it. Rock, pop, eletro-funk disco metal. This pedal is really the Sound of the Modern Era, so if you play anything remotely popular, it is bound to suit your needs. I've been playing about ten years, and gone through a wide variety of pedals from Boss, Digitech, Ibanez, etc. This is actually the first piece of tube gear I have ever bought.
This pedal is really essential to my rig now. If something happened to it, I would definitely buy another one. I also would like to check out the Mesa Boogie V1 Bottle Rocket after trying this one out, seeing as how there is apparently a lot of potential for sound out there with these types of pedals that I didn't know about.
There's really nothing wrong with this pedal. I still have this vision of the ultimate in creamy honey-glow timbre that this pedal doesn't provide, but it is way off the charts compared to what I was accustomed to in drive pedals. Not only does it easily add to my music-making, it really *is* my music making. As far as I am concerned, it belongs on every track of every song.

This thing is easy alright!
it's like setting up your amp: gain, volume en EQ.
It's a very versatile pedal, take your time to finetune the EQ's to get a wide spectrum of different overdrives.

I use my muff'n with a DeArmond Starfire special of a Fender Tele, through a Randall RG50TC, most of the time with a EH holy grail and a compressor.

The tubes sound great, and are easy to replace, but i've got the standard tubes in them now.
For 'american' overdrive i just use the disto channel on my amp.

Like said before, this is a brick.
I don't use any backup for this pedal (as it's so versatile you should have to own 3 different pedals to ack this guy up ^^), i don't think i can easily break this badass.

Haven't sent a lot of e-mails, but i've always got good replies.

I play in a postrockband, and i can really use a good muff that i can tweak so my pedalboard doesn't get too big :p
I really like EH-effects, i also own a holy grail, a wiggler, and a 16seconds digital delay.
Other effects are a line6 echopark, behringer tuner and compressor, and a dunlop wah.
Also a Boss GT8 for studiowork.

The only thing i really don't like about the English Muff'n is the power supply with the 2pin connector.
The only thing that can power my whole effectsboard is a Burkey Flatliner pro, because it has a 1000mA output, what the muff'n needs. But i had to make my own cable to connect the muff'n, and i don't like making my own stuff :p

It's a great pedal, really versatile.
Easy in use, but fun to take your time and tweak.
I would definitely buy another one if this was broken (not most likely :p) or stolen.

Easy to get a great authentic tube distortion from crunch to high gain that will mesh well with a variety of amps IF you take the time to understand the very interactive and sensitive tone controls. With a bright amp like my little fender amp, you will surely want to keep the treble on zero! The midrange carries a lot of high end with it starting around 10 oclock and it is very interactive with the bass knob. And for godsake don't neglect to try 12ax7's instead of the stock ay7's!

I first want to give a big thumbs up to Electro Harmonix for their modesty. Although I liked it immediately I was fully prepared to open it up and find that this was yet another low voltage diode and op-amp assisted tube-fraud. Boy was I wrong! This is a full blown tube preamp running on HIGH VOLTAGE (280 Volts) which is accomplished with a large torroidal transformer inside. EHX strangely does not bother to mention this HUGE selling point. I have read ignorant complaints about this pedal being unnecessarily large. The pedal couldn't possibly have been made any smaller to contain a complete high voltage tube preamp complete with beefy power supply caps.

I gave this pedal a very difficult job and it came through with flying colors. For fun I recently bought a cute little Fender Champion 600 which has a fantastic chimey clean tone but is absolutely incapable of generating crunchy type distortion. Pedals that normally send my vintage marshall into distortion bliss like my old DOD 250 and vintage MXR distortion II could not put a dent in it. So I wanted a distortion box that could generate a fully cooked natural tube distortion and deliver it to the front door.

I was not trying to turn a 5w tube amp with a 6 inch speaker into a marshall. Instead, I wanted a pedal flexible enough to blend in with the personality of my amp and this pedal does just that. I get great old Zeppelin approved tones with this pedal and there is enough gain for fairly saturated soloing as well. The tone controls are so active that I thought for sure they were active meaning powered, thus I erroneosly assumed there might be an op-amp powered eq section inside ala ADA MP-1 etc. But amazingly they are passive.

For perspective I also tried it into my tweaked-to-perfection early 70s spec Marshall 50w half stack. I normally get my tone on that amp by overdriving it hard with a vintage DOD FET preamp pedal (a very simple pedal with only 5 parts inside). I could not get quite the same clarity to my guitar tone nor the attack but I got a fully respectible high gain marshall tone. This is no fault to a deficient design just that a full preamp with a complete tone section going into a another amp with another tone section could not compete with the purity of my FET boost straight in. That doesn't mean I could not easily great 80's modded marshall metal tones because I did! It was a bit noisy but two cranked tube preamps stacked together what do you expect? (You should be very suspicious of ANY high gain tube distortion pedal that ISN'T noisy).

So, I think the best use for this pedal is probably for non-master volume type amps that cannot generate much if any distortion on their own.

Now some tips. I swapped a higher gain 12ax7 in the first position which brought me more clarity to my guitar tone and better dynamics. Then I swapped the other one and got more of the same. I think it sounds MUCH better with 12ax7's and to my ear lower gain tubes just crap down the sound making it less responsive and sort of honky. There is also some bizzare interaction with the voicing of the treble knob and a fender amp. With a Blues Junior and my little Champion, the treble knob adds in heinous buzzy "kazoo" like texture that completely overpowers then entire tone. Into my Marshall this was way less noticable but even then anything beyond 11 oclock was ugly. Thus I keep the treble on zero and the very interesting midrange carries enough high end starting around 10 oclock so all is well. Like all pedals I'm sure this one will not provide stellar results with every amp and guitar out there.

I know the folded sheet metal box annoys some but I think I think its fine. A steel box this size could have added a LOT to the price too. Oh, I forgot to mention it is indeed true by pass by using a TPTT switch and confirmed with my own very descriminating pair of ears.

As of this writing I am still waiting for an e-mail response to a question after several days. It was a tech question involving modding the tone stack that migh require some head scratching so I we'll see.

I actually find the slight crudeness somehow reassuring because it gives a human element with personality. I like the looks and vibe of this thing. EHX's 70's mad scientist stoner image gets on my good side. I will probably wind up tinkering the tone section slightly, revoicing the rather savage treble pot in particular. I think this is amazingly innexpensive considering that it is a high voltage all tube preamp not to mention MADE IN THE USA for which yours truly will always happily pay more for.

I'm in my 40's and have been playing a long time. I'm usually pretty hard to please and have no tolerance for cheesy sounding gear. Most other tube distortion pedals just can't resist the temptation to blow a good idea and you get a pedal using a tube as little more than a pilot light. Not this one!

5 knobs..

this is a response to the "Roger" review below...,

A. He didn't say what type of amp he was playing it out of. (i'm using a PRS Swamp Ash Special into a bunch of stuff, the muff'n tubed with 12ax7's, a bunch of delays, into a fender "twin" with a thd hot plate)

B. He didn't try to retube the pedal which literally turns it in to a different pedal (sound wise).

C. Unfortunately some people don't have the finances to go out and buy a Marshall tube amp/ arsenal of amps.

D. He seems like a "overdriven tube amp, SNOB."

The right pedal in front of a decent tube amp will give you a great sound, and I guarantee you most people in the audience wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Unless you have all kinds of money to buy a bunch of different amps, a tube amp ran clean with decent od/distorion pedals (fulltone, barber, EH, Zvex, etc...) in front will more than get the job done, I don't care what you "tube amp od snobs" say.

and the English Muff'n does get the marshall sound with 12ax7's!!!!!!

great

great

GO BUY IT AND TRY IT!!!!, ignore the haters below.

This pedal makes good sounds automatically. It is incapable of making a signal sound worse going out than when it went in. Probably a pair of these should be a part of every home theater setup.

I use this pedal for a very specific purpose, so this review should be read in that light. I use it essentially as a DI box to record synthesizers and drum machines direct to tape. I bought the thing specifically to provide smooth, continuous low-level distortion that simply cannot be emulated by solid-state effects. I use it especially to provide overdriven harmonics between high notes played simultaneously on the synths. When turned down low, the effect is basically added sweetness and more definition. As the gain goes up, the overdrive becomes completely aggressive. The high-string harmonics on some Pavement songs set me on the quest that led me to this pedal, and it delivers 100%. As opposed to every solid-state distortion-fuzz-overdrive effect I've ever used, this is way WAY more sensitive and precise and exact and smooth, etc.

This is surely as reliable a design as is possible given that it holds two tubes. I wouldn't dream of gigging with it; the very idea seems crazy. But as a piece of studio equipment, it is tough enough.

I asked them to point me in the direction of some primo high-gain 12AX7s and 12AY7s, and they hooked me up. The fact that they manufacture the 12AX7s I needed helped.

I play zombie hypnosis drone carols. This pedal does exactly what I need it to do. The other distortion pedals I've stuck with are: Boss MD-2, Ibanez FZ-5, and Danelectro DJ-1. They are all great pedals that provide me with basically the entire range of overdriven sounds that I need. I love them. They are cheap and effective, but they all fell short in the one area I needed most: subtle, low-level overdrive. Every one of them is great at mid-gain and high-gain distortion. The problem is that, at the lowest levels, they're either already breaking up (FZ-5 and MD-2) or going from zero to grain with no in-between (DJ-1). With the English Muff'n I can get the organic, living warmth and depth to perfectly suit the juicy globularity of my analog synths, while also getting into some serious overdrive. The dual-stage preamplification circuit in this pedal is a unique and living thing that can't be duplicated even by single-tube designs. When I need it to go over the top, I just chain one of my other pedals behind this one and turn it up. If these other pedals (or any other solid-state I've used) are buckets of rocks and dirt, this is a bag of ultra-fine cake flour. Expensive, but mandatory.

This is a follow up to my previous review.
I've used this pre-amp for about a year and a half now, and I love it just as much if not more than I did when I got it. It is so easy to get a great overdriven to light distorted tone out of this thing.

It really shines on the Vox AC30 or Marshall JTM tones. With higher gain tubes, you can almost hear a JCM800 hidden in there.

Since this is a pre-amp, don't forget to try it directly into your power amp in if you have an effects loop. This unit can take the place of your existing preamp.

Love it. It gets gritty, but stays smooth at the same time, very musical.

No problems so far - a year and a half and still going strong.

So far so good.

Electro Harmonix is a cool company. I hope they are always around.

It's like an amp: GAIN, HIGH, MID, BASS and OUTPUT. Easy.
You don't need to read the manual.

I'm using it with a Jazz Bass with EMG pickups. My amp is a Markbass SA450 with a Markbass Standard 106HR cabinet. My pedalboard has the following stomp boxes: EH bassballs, Boss OC2, Morley Pro Series II wah/vol,EH English Muff'n, EH Big Muff, MXR Phase 90 and Guyatone MD3 delay.

No noise issues. I think that's quiet for an overdrive/distortion box. If you crank the gain to the max you'll get a little noise, but this is normal in a distortion device.

This pedal really adds balls to my sound without sacrifying low end. If you turn up the LOW pot you'll add more air to the sound, the MID pot adds more muscle nicely and with the HIGH you controll the attack content. I think this box is one of the best overdrives for bass that you can buy (However it's designed for guitar). The sound can be warm and subtle or agressive and gritty if you want, it's very touch sensitive.

The box is made of aluminium and the tubes are protected by a special grill. Tubes are fragile and shock sensible... but the overall sensation it's well constructed.

Not needed

I'm playing stoner rock with a new band. I was playing funk before: www.myspace.com/politicalamitymusic

Fantastic value. A real tube preamp/overdrive under 200 bucks. Sounds rich and full.

I read almost all of the below reviews, and because they were overwhelmingly positive, I bought the EM. Then I promptly sent it back. It's better to tell you what the EM is not, first:

1) it's not a Marshall stack in a box. Nope, doesn't even come close. If you think it is, you need to go play through a stack at performance volumes, to establish a baseline for the Marshall tone. It's hard to divine such a thing from recordings of your favorite players. The recording process heavily alters the tone.
2) the tubes that come with the EM (12AYs) on their own will give you a very tame Vox AC30 tone, and really nothing else. They will also come close to Angus Young's ka-chunk, when he's playing with the guitar dialed back to five, in order to get under the vocals.
3) it won't make a good amp sound better. If you have a Marshall, Mesa, Soldano, etc. and like the tone, don't waste your time. It will not improve it, and will muddy it up, most likely.

Ok, in all fairness, here is what the EM is:
1) Noisey. Period. No way around it, and I like most EH products.
2) Brit sounding yes, but it will not supplant a good throaty amp. It won't even come close. Marshall it ain't.
3) the EH is really a tube preamp for "tubifying" a mid-to-low quality amp. Probably might help most cheap SS amps. However, why don't you save that $200 and just get a better amp?
4) Kind of wimpy, and not in a good vintage sense. There are tube boosts out there with roughly the same technology that will blow the doors off this box. It might sound better with 12AXs, but then, why don't they sell it with these tubes?

Oh, but it is easy to use...

See "ease of use".

Don't know.

Again, don't know.

See "ease of use" for the story. This box is probably not what you're thinking of, unless you want the "Vox" sound, but don't want to actually go buy a Vox (they're not that expensive, incidentally). But again, to dispell any rumors, this is not Marshall tone. It would require a retube with 12AXs and probably a boost up front to get anywhere near Marshall territory. Just being honest...

It's very simple to get a good sound and to change valves.
Eq controls are very reactive and interactive, you have to understand how they work.

This is a real preamp but it's a pedal. Tubes work, use it with a valve amp to get the best. I use it with a fender blues jr, they work so well together. Changing tubes (one or both) with 12ax7 you'll get more gain, in every way great tones. It has a lot of dynamic.

Eq is so sensitive and is interactive, will give many different shades of sound.

Great british tone, like the best marshall and vox tradition learns...

If you want a great distortion pedal, with true tube preamp stage (not hybrid like many others and not with tubes for marketing....)and with a great british tone, with a lot of dynamics, buy it.
It's very versatile, you can change tubes for different tones.

Easy to use, nicely laid out & visible. I wish the T-former was not a wall-wart but rather built in to the unit. Basically this is a full-function pre-amp with the british O.D. raspy tone dialed in. Changing the tubes requires a screwdriver for the shield. Better if it were thumbscrews perhaps. Comes well-boxed with instructions and EH literature.

Slightly noisy when engaged, but it nails the british Vox/Marshall tone to a tea. I've plugged it into a bunch of different amps and it turns them into redcoats every time. I actually A/B'd this with the Seymore Duncan Tube Classic overdrive i bought & used the SD but after a while went back to GC and exchanged for the English Muffin. I like the tone better. It can be harsh and raspy, but working with the knobs that have extreme tone ranges, one can clean it up well. If you like the Tom Petty sound (which i do), you'll appreciate this pedal. Gives a nice jangly overtone to the cruchiness regardless of amp/guitar/speaker combination, and fattens up the overall sound in a good way.

I'va had it for a year with no problems. I have several other overdrive pedals just in case.

Electro Harmonix is a great company!

This pedal has a very unique sound that no other pedal i have tried has. Although it nails the british sound, it also adds something different - it's hard to describe. I like pedals that inspire me to play differently than i normally do. The fun thing about this pedal is that it works great for country licks and chicken pickin'. I think this is due to the subtle compression it has similar to old british tube-rectified amps. I've become a bit of tele-spanker recently and this pedal really works well with it through any amp. I'm not a molten-metal fan - this pedal gets close to early metal, but it has enough grind for most styles of music. I wish it had an on/off switch so i wouldn't have to unplug the wart when leaving for any length of time.

Operation is pretty simple. There are 5 knobs basically just like a preamp on any amplifier, output, gain, hi, mid and low. The more gain you dial in the greater distortion you get, etc. It's very simple to use. EHX manuals are pretty simple and straightforward not a lot of fluff.

I use this pedal for bass and it sounds really good with little to no noise. I can get a nice smooth subtle overdrive that is responsive to picking dynamics. The harder the attack the more it breaks up. It just sounds real nice and natural without being a raging fuzz. I also like to use it to fatten up the Big Muff Pi I have for when I want a more concentrated fuzz tone. I have tried literally every overdrive available (both boutique and production models) for both bass and guitar and I truly like this one the best. I run this with a Stingray bass into a GK 1001 RB-II head and a 212 NEO cabinet. It adds some nice subtle dirt and a fat tube tone to the GK head. I like the clean sound of my GK but for certain songs it just needs a little dirt and that's where this comes in.

I think it should be OK. I have it housed on a pedal board that is transported in an ATA case that is pretty solid. The tubes are protected by a steel cover plate and the box itself is pretty solid. I am worried about the power adapter jack because it is a little jiggly. I would recommend buying a spare 12V adapter for it because I have heard they can be a little flaky. I keep a Analogman modified Tube Screamer with me as a backup but I don't think I would need it.

I have never dealt with them. I bought this at a Guitar Center store and I have never been real impressed with their level of service overall.

A great sounding overdrive pedal that uses real tubes for a natural overdrive sound. It can fatten up your existing tone and warm up a cold solid state amp if you are using one. It is, in my opinion, the best sounding overdrive pedal available and I have tried about 100 of them.

Simple - output knob, gain knob, and low, mid, high controls. and a foot bypass switch

use those controls with your guitar volume and tone and you can make a great variety of sounds, with just this unit. I'd imagine if I added a reverb or chorus, I wouldn't need anything else.

The dual A7Y tubes (pre and post) make for a very rich sound that sounds good through almost anything - my 9V Fender mini twin included. Whatever volume, you can get a good sound for lead, rhythm and anything in between. I play through this and the mini twin and am quite happy with the sound.

just got it, dunno. construction is fairly solid with a decent seeming shield over the exposed tubes

They responded fast and answered the basic questions. But this unit was designed for swapping different tubes: You can use 12AX7, 12AT7, 12AY7, 5751 (and most any tube in the 9A pinout/12 volt filament family) to customize your tone. And they were not very helpful in supplying info on what tube configurations produce what kinds of sound. I was given the "trial and error" brush off answer.

I am a jazz trained heavy rock guitarist. Been playing 10 years. Most of my good gear (gibson SG gothic, 67 fender twin with tremelo) was stolen - I'm down to a Dean Vendetta, and old 80's electra, a fender mini twin, and a peavy practice amp. Also have a yamaha mt50 cassette 4 track, ART SGE mach ii, and some software (guitar rig, guitar synth).

I do love the 60's British tube sound and this unit beats any amp simulator for richness of sound. I also found the concept of it being purposely designed for swapping tubes to be a big factor. Anything that can make a 9V battery powered mini amp sound that good is worth gold. I would definitely get another.

I had looked at the other muffs, but the tube swapping on this one sold me. Beats any digital amp modelling simulator easily. Simply - it has killer sound, which can be easily adjusted from lows to highs. What I dislike is tha it runs on 12V AC and uses an AC/AC adapter. So it's not very portable. It doesn't seem difficult to build a 12 DC to AC inverter that could run of any laptop battery or a 12V ;lantern. Yes it uses 1 amp, but if you could get 20 minutes of portable use I'd be happy. My other wish is that it had an integrated spring reverb system for the complete distortion plus reverb sound.

Regardless, I love this unit. Dual tube sound in a muff sized box just can't be beat.

I'm about to get some A7X tubes and try different configs for the pre and post tubes - different tube brands and age. I'm leaving my email address in case anyone else has tried swapping tubes and wishes to share notes.

It is a no-brainer to get a good sound of of this pedal. Nothing fancy. No patches to save. Just dial it in and go. The manual is exactly one page. Who needs firmware when you have replaceable tubes?

I can cop Hendrix, Page, and Blackmore with ease using this pedal. You can tweak all kinds of classic rock out of it. Put a little boost in front of it and enter Sabbath territory.

My typical jam setup:
Gibson SG Special (498T/490R)-> Boss Tuner -> Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster -> English Muffin -> Boss Chorus -> Boss Delay -> Holy Grail Reverb -> FRONT END OF CLASS A TUBE AMP.

I play rock and blues. This is a good pedal for what I do. I've been playing for many, many years. I own a small collection of Gibson guitars, a Vox AC30, A Crate V-16 Palomino, a V-Series VFX5212 (modified), a Vox ToneLab, and a closet full of stomp boxes including original EH products from the early 70's. If this pedal were lost or stolen, I'd replace it for sure. I love the look, the feel, and the tone. I hate the power supply plug.

Simple, if you know how to use an amp.

This thing sounds amazing, it turns any thing you have in to a "marshall stack" tube or solid state. It is like cheating the whole "tube amp" concept. I have a 12ax7C in the pre, and a 12ax7R in the post gain slot. Changing the tubes on it will give you a totally different distortion. I have mine set up so it is really heavy sounding. it's true bypass to.

no issues yet, EH has an awesome track record

?

This is hands down the best distortion pedal I have every heard. If you like marshalls you'll love it. Go buy it. I've been playing for 12 years and play in a very contemporary worship band (I switch between playing lead guitar and spin' tables). I also play in a very heavy post hardcore band. Any way, it fits every thing. It's tube, truebypass, and "britsh sounding". What more do you want. STRONG 10!

This thing is sooo easy to use. I have a ton of effects, but I decided to keep it simple. I am playing a PRS Santana SE through a Peavey Classic 30. The only other effect I am using with it right now is a Danelectro PBJ delay. I started out with the eq controls all set at 1:00, and the gain at about 11:00.

This thing sounds sweet right out of the box, but I opted to swap the tube right under the Bass control for a 12ax7. This gives me just a little more gain. This thing sounds killer with the mid scooped a little, say, 9:00. A nice beefy rhythm sound. To get that nice searing lead tone, just turn the mids up to around 2:00 and voila.

I had no problem coaxing Clapton, SRV, and Page tones out of this little box. I also maxed out the gain and blew through "All the Small Things" by Blink 182. Just awesome!

Seems strudy enough.

They have responded to about half of my emails, so I rate them a 5.

I play rock and also blues, and I would definately but another one. You can get a selection of tubes ranging from 12au7's to 12ax7's and customize you're own gain factor. If you can find a tube gain factor chart on the net, you you'll be all set. This is a tube tinkerer's dream.

Not the easiest to use since this is a tweaker. Can sound real harsh or real warm depending on how you set it. Plus you gotta fiddle with the amp a bit too to get the best sound. I use mine with a deluxe reverb.

The sound quality of this pedal can be anywhere from 1-10 in quality depending on how it's set and what guitars are used. Very touch sensitive, reminds me a lot of a jcm800. Sounds pretty good in a deluxe reverb, sounds even better when I plug my DR into a 2x12 cab. I would love to try this in a bigger amp since the deluxe reverb has a tendency to sound bright with any distortion/od pedal (also have tried Jackyl and Hyde, Bad Cat X-treme, and Emma distortion pedal). Sounds best through the normal channel since the reverb channel makes it sound a tad tinny and also a bit noisy. Seems to like Les Paul style guitars more than strats which is to be expected for something mimicking the British sound. Does not have a lot of gain on tap but does real well for classic rock and can sustain real well for the amount of gain it has. Eventually will try it with 12ax7's to see if it can get a bit more of a kick. As I said earlier it's very touch sensitive so good technique is crucial for making this pedal sound good (not as forgiving as solid state distortion). Since this uses preamp distortion you kinda need to crank the amp a bit to smooth it over. Not a problem for a DR but might be for some higher wattage amps. Try it with your amp before you buy. This pedal is for those seeking the classic Marshall to JCM800 pushed with a pedal type tones. Not for skull crushing metal and detuned stuff.

Only had it for a month and so far so good.

have not dealt with EH yet.

Very good pedal. Seems to beat all other pedals for authentic tube tone but it's a one trick pony so it won't get the 10. I also have a JCM800 2204 but it's broken at the moment so have not tried it out with this amp yet. I also own a Jackyle and Hyde and the EH smokes it (though the Hyde would win for more metalish, bassy gain). The only tube pedal I've tried is the Badcat X-treme tone. The X-treme tone is a bit more warm and versatile but a lot more expensive and seems impossible to find in stock anywhere.

Very easy to set-up and operate. Manual is really not necessary and it isn't much since it is so simple to operate. Great amount of control of tone and distortion level. Easy access to supplied pre-Amp tubes.

I think that the sound quality is between a 9 to 10 if this is what you are looking for. This is pure 60-80's British Marshall/HiWatt etc. and if this is what you want in sound than you will love this pedal. A bit pricey at $150+ but it is worth it in my book. I treat it like an amp and place it prior to my tube amp (using it through the clean channel). This means that I have effects before this bad boy, even other distortion pedals and compressors etc. Set up your rig this way and you will understand its use.

I have played for over 30 years and remember my Marshall Plexi head and the fact that I had effects prior to the head, even distortion. A TUBE Screamer prior to this pedal or an Old MXR Distortion+ will make you think of the guitar greats of the 70's even at low volumes (the main strength of this baby by the way, controled volume and feedback). No additional distortion pedal prior to this Bad Boy (using its settings only) and you will hear Badfinger, Bad Company, Faces, almost any Classic rock sound of the 70's. The Metal Sound of the era needs additional boost from a second pedal set sparingly before the English Muffin, which is what the greats did even into the 80's. Do this and you will get the logic of this pedal and its versatility.

I would like the wall wart to be more standard plugged instead of the special plugs that were built into this and fit into the unit itself. It is ruggedly constructed, but the power supply issue would make me feel better.

Can't tell you much about this, but they have dealers everywhere.

Look, not to be preachy but like so many of you I went the way of digital effects and amps and this baby going through a real Tube Guitar Amp has blown me away. I went digital to control volume and sacrificed tone for less feedback. This pedal has made it easy to tweek lower volumes and maintain great tone. I am very pleased with its sound and versatility.

I love the Classic Rock stuff all the way to the modern things out. My set-up allows for all types of sound and I would miss this if it was stolen. I get Marshall tone at any volume with this puppy which I have strived to accomplish for many years. The Marshalls of today do not come close to the older heads. That is why the JCM 800's and the older Plexi's are getting top dollar. This pedal comes real close in tone with no need for a Power Brake to get reasonable volume (Club Volume that is)and killer tone. You can use a great clean amp and get the tone you're looking with a great deal of control.

This thing is so touch sensitive that its practically crazy, and you'll pretty much have to tweak it to a different kind of hell for every amp you plug it into. I'd say the learning curve is about the same as trying to find the sweet spot on a new amplifier. Has 2 12AY7s in it that give it a smooth Marshall Plexi-like overdrive. If you put 12AX7s or ECC83s in there, this pedal gets a LOT heavier and basically provides as much kick as a more modern Marshall does.

I LOVE THIS PEDAL! Sorry, had to throw that out there. I'll run through the different amp/guitar scenarios here. My main guitar is a Gibson SG with P-90s.

Solid State Marshall practice amp: this is the reason I bought this pedal. My neighbor didn't like my tube amp cranked, and I wanted tube tone at low volumes so I could practice. Hooked it to the clean channel (which is completely sterile on these amps), knob tweaked it for half an hour or so, and suddenly had bargain brand Pete Townshend tone. Yes! I wouldn't record with it but it was great for practice.

2005 Traynor YCV50Blue: first off, I had issues with this amp and recently blew it up, its in Canada being fixed. On the clean channel after I retubed this amp (GTECC83s and GTEL34M-XF2s), this pedal was to die for. I almost wanted to just use nothing but that tone and entirely neglect the dirty channel on the amp, which was more harsh and metallic. This gave a creamy classic distortion, the spring reverb in the amp made it chime nicely, and if I rolled off the volume knob on my guitar, I got a better clean tone than just the clean channel alone (much more spanky and dynamic). When playing harder rocking stuff on the dirty channel, I used this pedal as a booster for solos, and it made the guitar scream quite nicely. Was a bit too bright for anything heavy though.

Early 70s Ampeg V4: borrowed this from a friend for a show after I blew up the aforementioned Traynor. I must say, this was the best scenario I put this pedal in. The V4 had a slight breakup when you played hard, was loud as hell, and had a ton of low end. I barely had to knob tweak my Muff'n, this was the one amp where it sounded good pretty much everywhere. The amp would get about twice as loud upon stomping on the pedal, and give a roaring hard rock tone, kind of in between King Crimson and stoner metal stuff. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and I didn't want to give my friend his amp back. My solos that night rang through crystal clear, not abrasive but very loud, the rhythms filled the bar, loved it.

1972 Traynor YBA-1 Bassmaster head: just got this head back from my dad, put my Groove Tubes that were in the newer Traynor in it. Must say, its a much better, although less versatile amplifier. Still knob tweaking the pedal on this bad boy. The amp itself has an early Marshall-like distortion with Fender Bassman-style cajones (and I'm running it on a Sunn 4x10 cab). This pedal, when used with the kind of amp it tries to immitate, acts as a hell of a booster. The distortion increases considerably, and the guitar kind of jangles a bit more through it. Really breathes an extra bit of life into the tone, and makes it good for a loud climatic part, although I wouldn't recommend running it full time in this application (the Ampeg on the other hand... yes).

It hasn't given me any trouble yet. I've gigged it several times and practiced with it a lot.

I love this pedal, its the only distortion pedal I'm presently using. I'd recommend it for anything needing overdrive that isn't metal. If I lost it, I wouldn't even consider a different fuzz box, I'd be ordering one of these as soon as I had the cash. I'd say its great for anybody wanting to make a clean amp sound like a Marshall, people who want tube tone in their bedroom, people who want a bit of a boost on their distortion that wont just explode into earsplitting feedback, and anyone who just loves 70s rock tone. You have to knob tweak it like crazy, but its so worth it.

My Electro-Harmonix English Muff'n was easy to use, right out of it's wooden box-a nice touch. There's no way to store patches, it's old school, like me. You could always use a piece of tape and mark it, or just memorize where you like the settings. The manual was comprehensive and really good.

Sorry I'm going to have to tell you the truth. I sold it on eBay as soon as I could. It sounded very compressed and hissy to me. It sucked the tone of the guitar/amp combination I used.
If you have a good tube amp, you really don't need this effect.
I have to say, I've heard solid state amps sound as good. Not very impressive. Plus it's the usual EH cheap metal housing and quishy feeling rotary pots. I felt like I could break it after a few gigs-just in normal use.

I wouldn't gig with it period.

Never used them.

I ran the Muff'n through a Gibson RVT 30 head, a Magnatone M10A, a VOX AC-15 and a Fender Super Reverb.
Pretty disappointing. I prefer my Keeley modded Boss Blues Driver (which is solid state) over this any day.

The English Muff'n offers excellent tone flexibility. The gain knob will get you anything from just a nice layer of warmth to a fully-raging grind. The 3-band EQ section allows the user to really sculpt the tone to fit their needs or find the right place in a mix. The magic, however, is in the tubes. Stock, the pedal is equipped with two EH 12AY7 tubes which are accessible from the top (with the removal of 2 screws), allowing for easy tube-swapping to find the exact right gain structure for your needs.

The only down-sides to this lovely beast are the amount of space it takes up on a pedalboard, and the requirement for its own 24VAC power supply.

I use the English Muff'n for bass (Fender P, Fender J, and Gibson EB-2), and it provides exactly what I'm looking for in an overdrive sound. Unlike a lot of OD/distortion/fuzz pedals (particularly ones not specifically built for bass), the Muff'n has very little bottom-end loss and provides a thick layer of overdrive to my sound. I have swapped the original tubes for a pair of 12AX7s (higher gain than stock), and have the gain knob on the pedal set at about 11-12 o'clock. For me, this provides the sound I want.

As is common with using dirt pedals on bass, the volume needs to be boosted to compensate for the loss of note definition. The EQ is a big help in finding a tone that still cuts through in a band setting. My EQ settings are: Hi-12 o'clock, Mid-3 o'clock, Low-2 o'clock.

There is some noise when the pedal is on and nothing is being played, but it all disappears at the sound of the first note.

So far, it's been bullet-proof. The metal chassis, switch, knobs, and jacks all appear to be very solid.

I haven't needed any help, so I can't comment.

I've been playing bass for a bit over 1 year, but guitar for nearly 20, and have been a frenzied gear-geek of late. Currently, I'm playing in an indie-rock band, and this pedal provides the exact tone I need. It has become a staple of my sound and would be replaced immediately with another one if it were to fail or disappear.

It's big - and not cheap - but full of tube-driven good noises.

Its as easy as using any amp (effectively it is a complete additional amp channel). Has a Volume and Gain knob and three 'EQ' knobs. Nice and simple.

Having said that just like a good amp its very sensitive and you can get all sorts of sounds from it. Unlike a Boss pedal for example adjusting one knob affects all the others. So I can just imagine some impatient Boss users might find it confusing as you dont just turn it on a get one sound. For me this is a great feature the flexibility of it.

This pedal can do everything from warm clean boosts to heavy rock. Its not really a metal pedal its a TRUE overdrive pedal. If you want more distortion then try the Hot Tubes instead. Having said that I love that you can change the valves in this thing to make other tones if you want. For example as standard it comes with 2 12AY7 tubes. These are smooth and lovely but lower gain that 12AX7s. Changing one or both of these for a 12AX7 creates a very different tone and pattern to the pedal giving even more versatility. Its great to play around with.

The pedal is quiet and features true bypass so it doesnt affect your amp or guitar sound when switched out. Also it reacts beautifully to the dynamics of your playing just like a great amp should.

Ive used pretty much everything over the years but now im mostly just playing at home for my own pleasure I like to keep it simple but high quality and for me that means true valve sounds. Use Laney LC15r Laney VC15 and a Fender Hot Rod. Also still have a Marshall solid state amp (sentimental reasons was my first amp) - and it works great with them all. Guitars wise I use both single coil strats with it - and also SD humbuckered Schecters and Gibsons. You can still tell what guitar you are using through this pedal.

I use a Zoom G2.1u for a cheap way of experimenting with digital effects and recording and have had all the usual overdrives before. Until this pedal my favourite was the modded Boss BD2 (monte allums version), and thats still a great pedal for the money but this Muff'n slaughters it overall.

Not had it long enough to comment on reliability (and indeed the pedal is a new model just this year ). It is however very strongly built. Its about twice the size of a regular boss pedal and feels like you could drive a car over it. The two valves are protected by a tubular metal 'bumper' so you'd really have to want to break them to actually break them. Even if you did break them they are easy to replace in seconds (being pre-amps they don't need biasing just plug and play)

Great. I emailed them with some questions before purchase and they responded the same day. Similarly since purchase they have been as helpful.

Funk, Heavy Rock and Blues mostly (Hendrix, Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age etc.) It copes with them all.

If it were stolen or lost id replace it without a question.

I have to say this pedals a 'sleeper' in my humble opinion. Its new and the marketing I thing is crap - the name 'English Muffin' gave me the impression that it might be a 60's brit sound like the Beatles. In actual fact it really a Marshallesque overdrive (its even laid out like a Marshall stack) but with better cleans than Marshall has ever had. It is really versatile completely tube sounding and dynamic. Dont let the crap name put you off - try it out you will not regret it.

I've only had this for a couple of days, so many of these comments will change over time. The Hi-Mid-Low selector knobs are one of the main reasons I chose this over the Big Muff Pi, and for the most part I'm glad I made that decision. You can get as thick a buzz or crisp a distortion as you want, most of the time without even touching the gain control. I never have the Mid at more than a five. The knobs make it very very easy to get a wide range of sounds

I'm running an American Strat and American Tele through a 535Q Crybaby into the Muff'n and then to a Mesa Rocket 44. Prior to this, I was unhappy with the bite of the Mesa's distortion and the limits it put on my sound. The Muff'n certainly gives me a much wider range. Watching the promotional video from EHX, I agree with one thing the demo guy said: The pedal sounds good with a lot of gain even without a lot decibels. This will come in handy to anyone who has to worry about practicing in an apartment with neighbors. There are some crackling noises present at higher volumes when I am not touching the strings, much more so than before I bought it. I have read that this could mean I'm not groudned and that there are other solutions to fix this. I was surprised how good and warm it sounds with the gain very low or clean. One artist that you can definitely mimic is Neil Young from the 90s forward (Mirror Ball, Living With War). Other artists that I've been able to copy: Eddie Vedder's live sound (on a telecaster), Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, Angus Young (basically anyone who plays through a Marshall). One very good attribute that I have noticed is that it allows my Fenders to maintain their signature twange, which my Mesa swallowed up whole in its pre-amp.

I haven't had it very long so I can't make a definitive statement, but this thing is pretty solid. It's friggin' steel. I want to put it and a Boss in a fight and see who'd win.

As with all EHX tube pedals, the tubes are partially exposed and ocvered with a steel bumper to prevent you from stepping on them. Thsi seems like the only obvious potential weakness, but I doubt anythign will happen. Be sure to protect it with bubble wrap or tissue during shipping, as those tubes can and will break. But if you're smart and careful, I can't see anything happening.

Haven't dealt with EHX yet, hopefully won't have to.

Like I said earlier, I haven't had this very long, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. But I see a lot of promise in this pedal. You can get as many sounds out of it as most other distortion pedals, and they are all great. Tune it to your style, I'm sure you can find one setting that you will fall in love with.

all you need... vol, gain, bass, mid, treb...

i sold a marshall jcm2000 to buy a mesa stilletto (because it had so many features and was said to sound "like a marshall"... what could i lose?). i went out and got this pedal to make up for the lack of personality the mesa had. it can get tones similar to the Smashing Pumpkins, Bush, and even Refused. it breaks up just right when you turn the gain low... someone on here mentioned turning the mids down, i agree. (you can hear mine at www.myspace.com/wewantmusicians)

havent had it TOO long yet...

sounds very familiar, like you wouldnt be surpised to learn that all your favorite bands have been using it all along.

Its pretty easy to use. A gain knob, a volume control and 3 EQ knobs. Oh and a footswitch.
It took me a while to get used to it - it didnt sound fuzzy enough. I turned the mid right down and the high and low ends up and it sounded much better.
There was a manual. Sort of. A 2-page paper thingy. Didn't need to read it, but I went ahead anyway.

I was expecting more fuzz from this, but it has grown on me.
I was quite excited about the vacuum tubes, none of my other equipment had tubes.
I had been using the distortion from a Zoom 505II unit, which I thought was OK. Then I lost the power supply, so I used the Muff'n on its own. I recently got a new power supply, and hearing transistor distortion for the first time in about a year, I realise now how much better the Muff'n sounds. There's no contest whatsoever.
There's no hiss from it, even on maximum gain, which I thought was strange, but Im not complaining.
Its fine for most of the stuff I play (just about everything) but I was expecting more disortion....(I really wanted to play the solos on Live It Up by the Isley Brothers!) but used in tandem with the Zoom distortion, I can achieve ultra fuzz! At which point there is a rather massive hissing noise.
That said, vacuum tubes really are the way forward.
I was also quite surprised with the clean sound available (output level at maximum, gain at minimum). Its wonderful.

Its built like a brick, in fact I frequently refer to it as my 'distortion brick'. It has a sheet metal covering, with a big ugly metal thing guarding the tubes.
It has done more damage to me than me to it - the corners are incredibly sharp, and frequently shred my hands.
I would gig without a backup, oh yes. If this breaks down, Ill eat my hat.
That said, the nut on the footswitch is a bit loose...though nothing a good spanner cant fix.

Never dealt with them. I dont think I ever will either.

Two thumbs up! Its awesome.
I play a verrry wide range of musical styles. This stomp box has an incredible sound, from dirty grunge to thick meaty muff goodness. The clean sound is indispensible too, I never use the clean sound on my amp anymore, I use this. It covers just about any sort of distortion (except really high gain distortion) but is best for classic rock, e.g. The Darkness, where it sounds like a great big Marshall stack.
It could do with just a little more distortion though.
I bought it mainly for the tubes. If it got stolen, I would buy another, or perhaps a Hot Tubes pedal (same thing, just more distortion).
Just one complaint: the power cord falls out a little too easily, which is quite annoying when playing live, or doing a live recording.

Summary
Great sound, great value, great construction, TUBES!
Its like a big muff, but with an equalizer and tubes.
It does indeed sound very British.

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.

This pedal is so easy to use. Volume, gain, treble, middle, bass. No mystery there.

Since I bought this pedal I've used it at every gig. I've been playing Carvins with Carvin humbuckers and singles, Schecters with both Bill Lawrence singles and JB humbuckers, Carvin with JB Junior and a few others into Marshall DSL 401, Carvin SX300C and a Fuchs OD modded Twin. I just set the tone controls to be pretty neutral and use the volume and gain knobs to set the type of sound and just leave the sucker on. I was really happy with the sound of the Carvin amp, which is solid state, using this pedal in front. My wife attended both the show before and the last one and she prefers the tone of the Fuchs (well, who wouldn't????) and so do I, but even the SS amp sounded really good with this pedal. I've tried a lot of pedals and the only other one that I ever just left on was a Fulltone Fulldrive 2, but that one colors the sound and the Muff does not...pretty damn cool.
I always play live and I don't notice any excessive noise from this unit. I've been using it by itself, just guitar/EM/amp - I leave my pedalboard at home. I don't know exactly how it responds to other pedals, although I did try to run an MI Audio Tube Zone into it as well as a Fulltone Distortion Pro, but running from them into the Muff was when the noise came out. I may experiment if I get the notion, try it with the EM in front of all the other stuff. Right now I'm just digging the way it kicks my amps into the territory of almost falling off the edge without changing the basic tone of the amp. This is what I've been looking for and spending so much freaking money on trying to find.

It hasn't given me any trouble yet and I've played 6 gigs with it, indoor and outdoor. I swapped tubes (JJ's, Nationals, GT's) around in it just to check it out and found that I like the EH AY7's that come in it the best. Maybe I need to get a few more just in case.

No experience with them.

I play 60's 70's and 80's rock and blues...from the Beach Boys to AC/DC and Zeppelin and all points in between. I've been playing for 40 years and have owned lots and lots of amps/guitars/pedals, etc etc etc. I've sold all my Les Pauls, 2 Dr Z amps, Boogies (MKIV and MKIII) and traded away my Marshalls (although I should be getting the JMP 50 back soon...). I mainly play the Fuchs through a closed back 2x12 with Celestion Black Shadow's from my MKIV cabinets since I've been playing outdoor gigs a lot lately. I still own Fulltone Fulldrive2, Distortion Pro, Soulbender, Fat Boost, MI Audio Tube Zone, Tonebone Classic Distortion, Tech21 Comptortion, and a bunch of other wah, vibe, chorus and delay pedals...(as well as bunches of rack preamps, poweramps, effects)...This pedal was a very pleasant surprise. I love the neutrality and the ease of using it to just give a big bunch of balls to my tone without altering it. Highly recommended!!!

Press the damn button has Overall volume knob, Gain knob,
Hi, Mid, Low tone controls! Easy, breezy, no probleezy.

There's a bit of shock in my tone on this review.
My buddies and I just finished a OD pedal contest, anything
and everything went head to head, mods, boutiques, MT-2.

This pedal comes alive, with the tubes, in overall signal boost and power! It's the best damn pedal I've ever heard. At least for my
sound, Heavy Classic Rock. I'm very, very surprised it doesn't have a bigger/better name out there. Maybe the tubes break in a year? Haven't had it that long. It's insane. Playing it through a Gibson Goldtone with a Les Paul standard so far. Cannot WAIT to plug it into my old '72 Twin. There's some anger, some bite your face in this pedal.

I gave it a nine because I HAVE to get that noise suppressor on. There's a little hum in it. The Goldtone is so pure that it is a little annoying in that regard, but plugged into a more powerful live amp, it won't be as noticeable. PLEASE get one and PLEASE put it head to head against most pedals.

Here's the list of pedals it beat in our little contest:

Maxon OD808 Keeley mod
TS9 Keeley mod
MT-2
Xotic AC Booster
Orignal TS9
Fulltone OD
ProCo Ratt (sucks)

Haven't played long enough to comment on this.

No problems yet

I've heard more numbnuts pumping up crap pedals, trusted their input
bought everything under the sun, tested them all out and this pedal hands down is what a guitarist needs.

I have been playing for 17 years and have heard some great stuff and heard mostly crap. This pedal is powerful, tubey sounding, has great NATURAL range (unlike Boss, ProCo, the rest), and will out boost any pedal you can find.

Please let me know why it isn't more popular. The "English" thing, guitarist thinking it will sound like a Brit amp? It doesn't.

the ease of use can be a bit hard to describe becuz although it is easy to turn knobs, it can be hard to find the eright sound with this thing. so ease of use is 5 because i had a pretty hardtime to make it sound good (which was only about halfway decent)

i used this pedal with my billy martin prs, into my peavey triple x half stacked. honostly, this pedal isn't anything terribly new. it is kind of old because it sounds exactly like a big muff. this thing is basically a big muff with a different paint job. why not just buy the muff?

turns on everytime

i called to tell them that i didn't fall for it, and that i knew it was just a big muff in a different case, but they didn't seem to be very friendly about it. i don't get this. they tried to tell me mumbo jumbo about tubes and stuff, but i kept saying "very funny, i know its just a big muff." i even pointed out that the name had muff in it. not very cleaver. i guess they wetre friendly, but they were getting a bit snappy at me.

for my style of hard rock/nu metal/emo (i'm in like, 4 bands) this pedal works fine, but i wish i didn't buy it just because i already have a big muff and thats what it sounds like exactly. oh well. i dont think i would be buying a new one if it broke, got stolen, left behind "on accidnet" at a gig (i play a lot).

Pretty straight-forward : Gain, Vol, EQ. The manual was a 1 page sheet of papaer which is more than enough info to operate this pre-amp.

I play a fender tele>budda wah>English Muffn> whatever amp im around at the time. My rig changes so i can't give a good review for tone freaks but I love it consistently no matter where im playing it. Nothing I've ever played beats it for rhythm I play it w/ the tone a lil dark.

It is a muff so sometimes i wish i had some of the squeal of my old RAT but with some tweaking my tele has delivered great tones ranging from jimmy page, hendrix, graham coxon, to even a lil smashing pumpkins.

I didn't buy this pedal to imitate other players tho and i like that it leaves some room to experiment.If you're daring there are some cool grungey/alt rock sweet spots on this pedal that give u a real unique tone.--

It gets a 10 even tho in a perfect world it would have 2 gain stages to cut through for solos.

I've never had problems w/ it. It runs off a 12 V adapter which is very reliable. I haven't gigged with it yet so who knows really.

Haven't needed to phone em--

The English Muffn is great. Lesser forms of distortion melt in its presence so hide away your old pedals. I recommend it for anybody who wants a cool, powerful, musically overdrive.

I use it for a lot of funky/grunge/hard rock kinda stuff and I love it. Its got a great range and I'd recommend it for anything from classic rock to brit pop.

I wish it had some way to cut through and change settings for a solo but that might make it too perfect. A lil pricey but worth it.

Real straightforward, very easy to use

This thing stands head and shoulder above all the overdrives I've tried before. I'm not an overdrive pedal guy: I've tried tube screamers, Maxon D&S IIs, Maxon Distortion Masters, Maxon OD820s, MJM's London Fuzz...they all have their place and can be made to sound good but this English Muff'n sounded the best and lent the most plexi like complex drive of the lot. Plus it has true bypass which is a must. You can drive a clean amp very hard and not lose clarity...it is a great pedal. I'm sure there are other very good OD pedals and I've just not tried them but I can say that if you're into old school overdrive this is a great choice.

So far so good, a bunch of practices and a couple gigs (i'm a weekend warrior) but only time will tell

No need to contact them? I dunno