Big Muff Pi vs. Little Big Muff Pi vs. Russian Big Muff Pi

kaiser_sosea · #1 01-03-2008, 08:36 AM

Here's the deal... I was given the NYC Big Muff Pi reissue from Same Day Music for Christmas. I really like the pedal but as previous people have commented if you touch the tone knob it sucks your lows and leaves you sounding like a beefy guitar. However, I have the effect set for subtle muff with the tone and sustain rolled back to 7 oclock. Would it be wise to excercize the return policy and go for the Little Big Muff. Is the loss of lows that different between the two? Again I like the tone but don't like the loss of punch. The Big Muff Pi NYC will work for me because i'm looking for subtle but will the others work better, in your opinion? I also like that the LBM uses a standard plug for the 9v adapter. I play funk-rock, classic rock, psychedelic type music. Thanks in advance for the help.

**grygrx** · #2 01-03-2008, 08:42 AM

LBM eats lows when you turn up the tone knob. It's said to be the same circuit between the two. That said, the form factor and standard power make the LBM better

kaiser_sosea · #3 01-03-2008, 08:48 AM

but worth paying the shipping to return the NYC reissue for the LBM?

Amenra · #4 01-03-2008, 08:54 AM

k, maybe a silly question, but originally the big muff series are guitar pedals right? I'm thinking of buying a big muff since i want the dirtiest distortion/fuzz/overdrive (sorry, difference still ain't all that clear to me, should hear it once) around (something Boris-like, which is sludge) or any other suggestions

kaiser_sosea · #5 01-03-2008, 08:59 AM

i wish i had a music store near so i could go try the 3 out together but alas i'm stuck in the middle of iowa with no decent guitar shop within 2 hours. If the LBM sucks lows and punch just as much as the Big (NYC) then i don't think it would be worth it.. Even with the funny power supply i can get a proper tip from radio shack. It doesn't seem to drain batteries too fast anyway...

YCBass · #6 01-03-2008, 09:03 AM

I have a Russian Big Muff - haven't really kept up with how they look now but mine is like a big tank-like box, I believe it's taller than the ones I've seen in the last little while with a heavy duty switch (it almost hurts to step on it barefoot).

If you want the nastiest distortion I believe this is the one to get. I used to play in a metal band and I couldn't even turn up the tone past 2 or 3 cause the sound was just too gnarly! As far as the low frequencies go, I found that this pedal seems to actually add lows the harder you drive it - it's the only od/distortion/whatever pedal I've found that doesn't suck out the lows but actually boosts it - awesome!

It's worth a try, hopefully the new ones are as good.

Deluge Of Sound · #7 01-03-2008, 09:04 AM

Amenra, the Russian Big Muff should be somewhere in your ballpark, even though it's allegedly a guitar pedal We bassists have been rocking the muff for just as long, and we sound better doing it.

Amenra · #8 01-03-2008, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

Amenra, the Russian Big Muff should be somewhere in your ballpark, even though it's allegedly a guitar pedal We bassists have been rocking the muff for just as long, and we sound better doing it.

Nice, thanks for the tip! Are they hard to get? Because something about "russian big muff" says: it's a frickin rarity

The_D · #9 01-03-2008, 09:08 AM

I cant vote as I have only ever tried the Russian one. Has served me well enough and whoever said it doesnt eat up batteries that much is spot on. Mine seem to last for ages. I tried a PP3 - 9V connector and it got terrible feedback so went back to the bats and it is not a huge problem for me.

Buy used and then if its not to your taste sell it on. You should get the same back for it anyway.

kaiser_sosea · #10 01-03-2008, 09:09 AM

check out musicians friend or same day music, they're pretty accesible, the black box that looks a little meaner than it's brethren, my old guitar player has one that he loved, for guitar. at the time i never thought to try it with my bass, is the russian true bypass?

**grygrx** · #11 01-03-2008, 09:10 AM

Of there three I actually liked the LBM the best. I found the Russian muff even thinner than the other two. I've heard it said though that the quality control at EHX (esp. older pedals) can be a little rough, so maybe I just had a poor one.

Personally I've moved on to Swollen Pickle clones, which I find have much more usable bass across the tone knob.

kaputsport · #12 01-03-2008, 10:35 AM

Or buy a build your own clone, and customize it for bass. This is exactly what I am doing because the board is smaller, and will fit in my Benavente bass easier, and I can make it sound like I want.

kaiser_sosea · #13 01-03-2008, 10:41 AM

that is something i would be interested in doing, but not right now. Just need to know if in everyones opinion it would be worth it to ship the NYC back and get a LBM if the bass and punch loss is less dramatic with the lil'?

Sean S · #14 01-03-2008, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaputsport

Or buy a build your own clone, and customize it for bass. This is exactly what I am doing because the board is smaller, and will fit in my Benavente bass easier, and I can make it sound like I want.

you don't mean...

kaiser_sosea · #15 01-04-2008, 07:37 AM

so judging by the minimal responses and the poll, the concensus is its a good idea to swap out the BIG MUFF PI for the LBM under warrenty?

Deluge Of Sound · #16 01-04-2008, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amenra

Nice, thanks for the tip! Are they hard to get? Because something about "russian big muff" says: it's a frickin rarity

No, in fact the russian ones should be both easy to find an inexpensive. I think I paid $45 for mine. It was used, but that's about what I see them go for.

edit: Since you mentioned Boris in your post, I'll go on record saying their Pink album is absolutely fantastic.

JanusZarate · #17 01-04-2008, 10:08 AM

It's not the Russian (black) Big Muff that's rare; they're still pretty common. It's the Sovtek ones that are; they were replaced by the Russian one.

The old Sovtek reissues of the Big Muff had "Sovtek/Electro-Harmonix" printed on it as the manufacturer (I think the earliest ones may have just said "Sovtek", but I can't recall for sure). Sovtek - largely a manufacturer of tubes - was bought by Mike Matthews, founder of Electro-Harmonix, after his company went under during the mid-1980s. They were making these pedals (along with Sovtek Small Stones and Bassballs pedals) during the early 1990s, before Electro-Harmonix came back to life in NYC again and started reissuing the bulk of their old pedal line.

The Sovtek Big Muffs are huge tank-like boxes with atypical large bypass switches, most frequently found in an olive green color with black print, although other color schemes exist ("Civil War" version, etc., etc.).

Nowadays, you'll find black versions of the Big Muff, Small Stone, and Bassballs which are still made in Russia, but now carry only the Electro-Harmonix logo on them.

This has been your daily historical digest. Hope you enjoyed it.

HenfieldJ · #18 01-04-2008, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaiser_sosea

so judging by the minimal responses and the poll, the concensus is its a good idea to swap out the BIG MUFF PI for the LBM under warrenty?

I can't speak for everyone, but the reason that I have not responded to the poll is that I have only ever used the Russian Big Muff Pi. It does take up a lot of real estate on my pedal board, but it is a great fuzz pedal, from nasty to creamy to synth-like fuzz. I do not feel as though it sucks the bass out my tone, I think that it actually enhances it. I cannot comment on the other two pedals as I have never tried them, so I did not feel that it was right for me to respond to your poll. If you are looking for subtle flavoring, you probably want an overdrive pedal and not a fuzz pedal.

**TheMutt** · #19 01-05-2008, 12:40 AM

I personally own both a NYC reissue BMP, and a LBM. I have tried a Russian (black) BMP, but didn't like the cheap hardware on it, nor the sounds that it could produce. The BMP is great inside my blend pedal with some lows brought back in (or with some envelope filter before the blend pedal), and the LBM is great all by itself if you know how to set it. If I had to pick between one, however, the choice is easy to make. LBM all the way. So definitely a vote for the LBM.

CBBass123 · #20 01-05-2008, 01:00 AM

I too am currently looking for a great fuzz pedal that retains the lows...From reading here...the Russian and LBM seems to be a fav. But which retains more lows?