Choosing a Big Muff Pedal: Comparing 6 Varieties | Reverb Tone Report
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ส.ค. 2024
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Treat yourself or find the perfect gift for your favorite music maker. The Big Muff is a pedal board classic, but when you want to get fuzzed up, it can be hard to know which iteration will suit your sound best. Luckily, our pedal whisperer Andy gathered up a board full of these fuzzy wonders to help you decide.
Read more on Reverb: bit.ly/2Hwm7LD
0:00 - Intro
00:08 - Nano Big Muff Pi
02:01 - Triangle Big Muff Pi Reissue
02:59 - Green Russian Big Muff Pi Reissue
04:10 - Op Amp Big Muff Pi Reissue
05:38 - Big Muff Pi w/ Tone Wicker
07:15 - JHS Muffuletta Fuzz
Speaking of JHS, check out Josh Scott's excellent Big Muff Shootout: bit.ly/2Ju5FOd
Dial in Famous Big Muff Tones: bit.ly/2WUXWvq
Andy's Setup:
Amp: Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb RI
Guitars: Suhr Classic Antique, Redtail ‘59 Gold Top, Reverend Club King 290
Pedals: EHX Nano Big Muff, Triangle Big Muff, Op-Amp Big Muff, Green Russian Big Muff, Big Muff with Tone Wicker, JHS Muffuletta
Recording Gear: Universal Audio Apollo 8 QUAD, OX Amp Top Box Attenuator, Royer R-121 Strings: Ernie Ball Slinky 010 - .046 - บันเทิง
Don't mind me, writing this for myself
0:08 *_Nano_*
2:19 *_Triangle_*
3:10 *_Russian_*
4:41 *_Op Amp (tone ON)_*
5:03 *_Op Amp (tone OFF)_*
6:08 *_Tone Wicker_*
6:29 *_Tone Wicker (wicker ON)_*
Is it ok if I use it
Love you
@@water_sheep30 no it’s not
Ty
2:23 The Wretched - Nine Inch Nails
For Smashing pumpkins Siamese dream sound, the settings on op amp big muff are:
Volume - 5 (12 o'clock)
Tone - 6 (1 o'clock)
Sustain - 10 (5 o'clock)
Tone - ON
Your settings at least or maybe Billy's settings with his gear. Not everyone has the same amps, guitars, pickups, and etc.
@@seanalexander6310 Yeah i get that. I know these are his settings, I tried them on my Boss Katana amp, my op amp big muff and my Ibanez superstrat with 2 humbuckers, and it was the closest i got to their tone.
@@seanalexander6310 it's a good place to start. It's worth noting that no two pedals are exactly identical - manufacturing tolerances mean you might have to kajigger the knobs one way or the other to dial in the same sound
I was searching for that, tysm!!
Technically the tone is at 4 with a Op-amp (video from the singer/guitarist of Smashing Pumpkins about the reissue)
the op amp one is a pure siamese dream
Quiet
david willey I’m trying to sleep!
Op is my favorite. Rams head is great too
So that's what it looks like when a bad joke/pun loses its popsicle stick.
Thats why im here
I see Andy - I click. Though he's a far more accomplished guitarist than me, I love how he riffs to best demonstrate the pedal's characteristics instead of showing off his chops. Well done video exhibition of the great variety of Big Muffs!
Although he should make an album....
I am russian and when I saw a big muff with russian text on it I thought I was tripping
KiwiWRX i am not Russian. What does it say ? ElectroHarmonix?
@@davecarpenter7266 below the button it says овердрайв (overdrive) which is weird considering it's a fuzz pedal🤔
@@davecarpenter7266 Just checked in Google translate too :) ОВЕРДРАЙВ. Seems like a mix of Greek letters with the Spanish b/v pronunciation. Very educative pedal.
@@furno325 I am from Poland. We call both overdrive and distortion pedals "przestery", which in direct translation means overdrive. It kinda goes different with fuzz pedals. We just call them "fuzzy".
OVERDRIVE!!!
The op-amp muff sounds so gritty. It's like sand paper in sound form. No wonder the smashing pumpkins use them for Siamese Dream for recording.
Emmanuel Alejandro : it takes a special type of guitarist to use it properly. It’s not as versatile as the Russian BM. It has a unique lead sound
@@markgarcia8253 For sure. I have a russian big muff re-issue and I have enjoyed it since I got it. The op-amp can either work or it's hard to make an identity with that pedal. That pedal is so specific to just the Pumpkins and their tone.
Love this description.
Sounds really good, but I hear a lot of Rice Crispies suddenly when the "tone" switch is off for some reason.
Apparently they had no idea what an op amp big muff was, and just bought a big muffs that happened to have the op amp. so that guitar tone was a really happy accident
Andy probably has the gnarliest right thumb callous even seen on a human, definitely has killer technique!
at least since Wes Montgomery...
I have the Big Muff with tone wicker. I love the added string definition and clarity while still having that blowtorch fuzz sound!
i’m thinking of getting it, it sounds really nice with the extra clarity
Op-Amp for the win. Much more defined and crisp, I love it !
Got the big muff w/ wicker years ago. Glad to see it’s still the most unique of the cheap muffs.
I also bought the BMP(TW) a few years ago. Made the right decision, a lot of the others played here are far to raspy/course sounding for my liking. I researched the original BMP (huge sheet metal box), the Mini/Small BMP, the Nano BMP and the BMP(TW). The latter seemed to get closest to the original (violin like sustain), but much more compact, standard 9V input, plus bonus of the Tone and Wicker switch options 👍.
Sounds like a winner 🙂🤘
I sold my 90s Russian model on Reverb for a ridiculous amount and bought the current reissue. Prefer the newer one. The 90s era one was not very rugged. The input and output jacks frequently break on them.
This is very true. I was very lucky when I gigged mine.
It gave the impression of being super sturdy, but it wasn't the case. Then again, maybe that was just me being a dumbass teenager who took STOMP box a little too literally.
I've had a few of the Russian ones over the years and the only thing that ever went wrong was the LEDs always failed in a year or two (and then the replacements failed just as quickly). TBF I didn't gig out with them too much, the pedals that got the really heavy use that way were mostly DIY stuff.
Ol' Zircon they still do fail on the new 69 big muff, my led died 2 months after buying it
Russian-built did usually lasts forever. Maybe that was just Soviet. Basic but not built-in obelescence. In Hungary we have trains boilers, kettles that were built in the 50s and are as good (and bad) as the day they were built
OpAmp is awesome, gives me the perfect Smashing Pumpkins tone.
I've the Wicker Tone one and i use it to put on over the Tubescreamer TS9 for the solos. The result is a big fat sound with a good sustain... i love it!
In the chain of my pedal board i prefer to put first the overdrive and after the Big Muff, i mean, first the sofest. Thank's for the video.
The wicker muff is an underrated gem. I just recently grabbed the op amp re-issue and its a really cool kicked up almost distortion style fuzz, only downside and i mean ONLY downside is that its kinda high octane all the time haha! The wicker has more dynamics and tone on tap but i love both.
I love my Big Muff Pi with Wicker. Sounds great cranked thru my Orange CR120.
I have the vintage Green Russian and the re-issue. I prefer the vintage, it's so much fatter sounding like an explosion in a box. I also have Chicago Stompworks Green and it's awesome maybe better than the EHX re-issue. Thanks Andy for another great demo.
It's great when Andy really gets into it
This video should be updated with the Ram’s head reissue
Didn't he?
@@LeeGee no
I really want that op-amp one. It sounds brilliant!
ive been using the russian re-issue for years now as a main on my board, the op amp also sounds amazing, just own them all. they're all good
I hope you have used them simultaneously at least once....
Got three of these wonderful pedals, a fourth (tone wicker) is in need of repair, the nano is a good all rounder for sure and for little money you can't go wrong, the rest all have great characters and differences too, so much choice for what you want/need is great, I've got the Op Amp and Russian too, it's crazy how different they can be.
I see Reverb has recognized Andy's intrinsic value in driving clicks. Pretty busy here and not currently budgeted for any new drives but the thumbnail of that smiling face, oh alright...
I love all flavors of big muffs, but the regular old nano muff seems the most versatile to me. It's got a finger in each pi.
thank you, I'll be here all night.
😃🤘
Shout out to stomp under foot! I love my La Scatola Nera.. First muff style pedal I got my hamds on, super rich, fantastically glitchy and just wild as can be..
Personally i love the Deluxe Big Muff Pi, which is not mentioned here but it contains all the various Big Muff sounds in one pedal. If i had to choose between the ones that Andy presented here, then the Nano Big Muff does the trick. Great video by Andy as usual btw.
I’m just happy to have heard some Frank Black being played, made my day
What song?
@@adamstainer4637 Czar
@@grugotube Yes! Awesome, thanks dude!
So glad I waited for the Rams Head reissue, Triangle would've been my next choice.
Awesome timing as I just ordered a Ram's Head reissue, and I can't wait for it to show up!
I got the Rams Head reissue and it's a beast so in love with it, Triangle close 2nd
Great playing!
More of a Tonebender fan for my stuff, but lots of Muff variants that are gooey goodness. I think my favorite sounding of the Russian circuits is the EQD Hoof. That one just seems to sound bigger and sit with everything well.
Always liked those wicker muffs. Used to have one and it sounded great. I feel like people overlook them often
I love mine. Use it as a gritty solo boost as well as a "fuzz". Gotta keep playing though or it sounds like a jet crash when I use it over my distortion/OD. Fun though.
Have 3 Muff variants for different things. Eu Claire Thunder is great for bass, Chicago Stompworks Moose Pie is what I use mostly with my Victory Kraken and the Op-Amp is what I take on my travel board for clean amps. Can’t wait to get my hands on more fuzz!
AmpTweaker BluesFuzz Jr... very flexible and rugged build with some very wooly options
To me, Op Amp is by far the worst until you bypass the tone stack.
And then it’s by FAR the best
wow, the cleanup on the russian is really cool. and what's great about that is the volume drops as well when you turn down. i really like the clean up on fuzz faces but it's hard to use in context because the cleaner brighter tone is just as loud as the thick fuzz tone which means when you turn up it can feel quieter because you lose the high end. turning up on the green russian keep a similar tone and actually get louder, cool, seems much more usable to me!
The Tone Wicker sounded awesome.
I don't know, why I find this video relaxing...
Probably the best BIG MUFF shootout Andy! I own a BM w/Tone Wicker and its blew my tone away!
Julio César Mendoza I sold my tone wicker. I do regret it. I think I like that one the best.
RonnIE O. You always can get one on Reverb.com (non a paid comment) greetings
Triangle RULES!!!Great review Andy
I keep waiting to hear Andy say "...and I playing into a 65 Amp SoHo..."
I have the re-issue of the triangle Big Muff Pi and the 2000s version of the NYC made Big Muff. Of the two, I prefer the triangle. One can get a bit of Gilmour's sound with that unit.
Recently bought the Op-Amp muff, still madly in love with how it sounds. As much I was thinking about getting the Green Russian it sounded a little on wooly side on a guitar to me, though I may yet still get one for my bass as after hearing a couple of demos it works well with bass guitars.
Andy is one of the most talented artists of this generation... I recognize him play from miles
This is the most beautiful Les Paul I have seen! Gorgeous color!
It’s a 1959 cherry sunburst! Thanks! My dad Les Paul made this one with his feet
Awesome video! Big props for the Frank Black tune at 4:50 😎😎
Got super excited for ball and biscuit
I already have 3 fuzz pedals but I'm always down to watch Andy play guitar. I have a Germanium 4 Big Muff which I like the tone of but unfortunately it has significantly more noise/hiss than the other 2, so I don't use it very often. The fuzz I use most is actually the Clear Veil Overdrive Fuzz. It's not really a high gain fuzz on its own, so I put it before a distortion or high gain amp sim to give that some fuzz characteristics.
It would be an excellent idea to be able to see the circuit and compare them.
I think the Russian was my favorite. Its crunchy but not harsh, it almost has a "warmth" to it I really enjoy
Thanks. Just purchased an Op-amp after watching this
Once Big Muff kick in, my head leans back and lower lip jumps full inch up. Every single time.
Idk what this means. But man. I feel it.
@@PhyrexianFleshgorger His "guitar face" kicks in, I think......
Instant stank face.
he kum
I love the black Russian. I have a big box and a small box version and while the circuit is the same I guess values have drifted slightly in the older one and its just got a little more chewiness. I use em recording and use a Moose Electronics Dobsky vG out gigging, bit like a deluxe tall font russian. I recently got the new russian re-issue and its great so might take that out for a few gigs to see how it rolls!
I was a Non Muff/Fuzz guy . . . until I heard (and purchased) the Thorpy Fallout Cloud. - It's a more High-Fi Sounding Triangle Big Muff. Amazing Tone Control's. Sustain for Days. Cuts thru in a mix, less woofy and fizzy. I also Love: Skreedy P-19, JHS Muffuletta (which is the most versatile sounding) & the New Triangle Big Muff. All Sound Fantastic for ( Gilmour, Santana & Iommi)
Great choice, I was thinking of getting a thorpy, but went for the muffuletta, due to the size and novelty of having a choice of muffs. The triangle is my favourite setting, the civil war setting is closest to my Russian V7D muff.
Michael Caz just recently purchased the ThorpyFX Fallout Cloud myself and I’ve been blown away and it’ll never leave my board. I love my EHX Big Muff Tone Wicker but the ThorpyFx Fallout Cloud is something truly beautiful and special. I’ll pick up a EHX Big Muff Op Amp soon just because I’m a Billy Corgan/Smashing Pumpkins 🎃 fan lol but again the ThorpyFx is amazing.
The Green Ruski works best for the type of music I do. They’re all good but I bought the green one. Fuller beefier sound it’s great!
haha nice job quoting Frank Black great vid took a lot of the mystery out of this issue thanks!
I have the op amp and I love it. Next one I'd like is the triangle.
I’ve been watching Andy do guitar pedal demos since I was just a lad (2008)
The originals differ so much from pedal to pedal My v7 bubble font muff is far more in the mid pushed high gain territory rather than the reissue which is very bass focused and silky like i would expect from a big muff. That being said i love both!
The Ram's Head is hard to beat. Every fan of Floyd should have one. It does the Gilmore tone perfectly and a whole world of other things. I would never get rid of mine.
The op amp reissue might be my favorite pedal of all time
Love that jack white quote at the beginning 😁
So far I’d say it’s the Triangle but I haven’t used the reissue of the Ram’s head yet.....we shall see 🤘🏻🤘🏻
I have a deluxe. It seems to nail whatever I want out of a muff. I want the sovtek deluxe as well now.
Me too. But can I justify buying Muff #8?
Yes. Yes I can.
great playing and comparison. Thank you/
Thank you for showing me that I have loved the Big Muff for years and didn't know it.
LOVE that invisible pick. Where can I get one?
asking the real questions here
Andy did a video on how he picks with his hands. His technique is pretty cool
You already have one.
@@maxein4890 Yea It took me a minute to realize he wasn't using a small pick and tucking it away. Never have to worry about dropping a pick and having extra's
Same place you can buy new jokes.
I have the BFP with Wicker and it is definitely the most versatile. I can do anything from Hendrix to Smashing Pumpkins thanks to the tone wicker and tone bypass although I prefer to create my own music.
Referencing others is a lot easier for us to understand than "i make up my own shit and it's AWESOME!!"
Having said that, if you have a muff- riff or two up your sleeve I'd love to hear them 🙂
Hey guys, please make a Review of the ehx Flatiron Fuzz. Almost nothing of this pedal on TH-cam, your vídeos are the best
I got the tone wicker version and I am not disappointed
this video makes me realize now that my wicker muff is broken and sounds nothing like what it should 😂😂
Great video!
I have the Bass Big Muff Pi, sounds great with bass or guitar
I've got the original big big muff and the bass big muff, and they both sound amazing, still don't stop me wanting to get the rest though. Gotta catch em all. Do I have a problem, no just a mild obsession.
Its okay.... I own 6 RAT pedals😂
I love my bass muff for guitar as well ; i have a Russian one but its been broken for so long i can't remember what it's like 😃
Great, now I want all of them.
But they all sound the same.
I love the triangle reissue….. I used to have an original. The only real difference I noticed was the older one was able to articulate detail better. This reissue just seems to be a heavier setting, even with the sustain low. I love the reissue but miss hearing that detail in regular chords
"Czar", Andy, and a Big Muff? Is this my favorite TH-cam video of all time? It's either this or "grape stomp lady", I guess.
dayum dood, nice playing.
Are there any videos where Andy talks about his picking techniques? Honestly me and my friends get just as excited to see what he's doing as seeing what he's demoing.
Yeah, he did a video about that a year ago on his own channel, AndyDemos
I own the op amp one. Great pedal
People talk about the opamp being the best, but that Russian model sounds great!
Thanks for the demo. Got a fuzz opsesion, don't want to own 10 fuzz boxes.
I thought I need a new big muff but think I´ll just keep my tone wicker!!
yes, don't even bother! its the best sounding and most versatile circuit for sure! The problem I always had with the other ones and the NYC version in particular was there's NO mids, so you'll never be heard in a band setting unless you're so loud that you will hurt the audience!!! The wicker muff has the most options for tone and is the least scooped of the tones so you know that you will always be heard when you want that Muff wall of sound and to actually make an impact, in a live band setting!
its the best
I've never been a big fan of fuzz pedals to be honest, I find it a very acquired taste that I only rarely like. If I wanted to buy a Big Muff, then based on what I've heard here I would have to go for a Big Muff Triangle. I quite liked the sound of that so I might have to keep an eye out for one of these going for the right price. 😎👍
Dirt - od/fuzz/distortion- is like porn ; there's an enormous choice but we all have our own specific tastes ....
I just got an 70s big muff with the old plug it's the same thing Billy Corgan used
I'll never get over hearing Frank Black's _Czar_ in a pedal demo!
It would have been clever to say or let us hear by stop playing and let us hear background noise for 10 seconds at the end with all guitar controls at 10, amp and pedal volume controls at about 5 and pedal sustain control at 10 which models have a low frequency hum and which models do not have it. I own a 1978 Deluxe Big Muff Pi (Op-Amp, 3053C) model that has a great sound but has the low end hum, same for a rams head big muff and the present Deluxe Big Muff Pi, but I remember hearing 16 years ago a modern standard Big Muff Pi with absolutely NO hum, I was very surprised and pleased. I also listened to a very similar DEL BMP to mine but 3054A instead of 3053C that didn't have the hum.
Feeling the Russian variant. I have a Muffuletta collecting dust... might have to try it again.
We truely in the golden age of muff.
There's like 10 options from ehx
Wren and cuff makes some incredible stuff
Everyone and their mom mods them
Way huge has some great modern takes
Then theirs my choice...the muffulatta
No such thing as too much muff, mate . They are life enhancing .
Love my classic big box Big Muff usa.
I have several, but I keep going back to the Russian or the Op-Amp. I barely touch my OD or Distortion pedals.
The song at the beginning sounds like Jesus don’t want me for a sunbeam
Opamp version gets so square wave it cleans up. I don't like it but I get it.
I've had Big Muff Pi Usa, but then i bought Big Muff Pi Nano. Love that box
But from this video - I'd take Triangle
AND THE LAST GUITAR
AWESOME!
I'd go with the op amp!
tone wicker is my favorite sounding pedal I own. My one complaint is they dont seem to be super sturdily built because mine only lasted me a year or 2 of heavy use. dont wanna have to rebuy a pedal every 2 years but I cant find anything that sounds like it so I guess thats what I gotta do lol
Do they fail in the same way ? Might be worth getting someone who knows their shit to show you how to sort them out ...
Muffs are like Pokémon, gotta catch em all!
Nice one Andy
The Tone Wicker version sounds the best. It sounds the most musical and notes seem to ring out better. Better for both rhythm and soloing.