Distortion Face Off

[Icarus26]

Right now the only effects pedal i have is a BOSS Bass OverDrive ODB-3. I'm looking to get a distortion pedal and i find the Electro Harmonix Big Muff pedals really attractive. What i'd like to know is which pedal to get.

Electro-Harmonix Classics USSR Big Muff PI Distortion / Sustainer Guitar Effects Pedal
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Electro-...04-i1124696.gc

or

Electro-Harmonix XO Bass Big Muff PI Distortion Effects Pedal
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Electro-...02-i1422000.gc

the thing is for the USSR Big Muff Distortion is that it has good reviews and they even say its good for bass. However on the XO Bass Big Muff, there are no reviews, but it specifies it is for bass.

Which one would you pick? (If you own one, that'd be better, but if you've heard it, thats fine to)

[perk45]

I own both and I like to use my USSR version in my Q-Tron+'s FX loop and my Bass Big Muff on the dry blend mode for general fuzziness. I like the BBM a lot more because of the dry blend function and because the tone knob is useable. With the USSR version, I almost always have the tone knob at minimum so that the bottom end stays in, but with the dry blend I can crank up the tone knob to create a sort of searing distortion that keeps the low end. Go with the BBM, much more versatile IMO.

[Swift713]

I haven't tried the USSR version but I have tried the regular Pi vs. the Bass Muff and the Bass Muff is the clear winner. I found the bass boost and the dry blend both very much better than the traditional Big Muff. The normal mode sounds more like the regular Muffs so you can still get that thinner sound if you like. It's no contest, a really good bass fuzz or a guitar pedal that sort of works for bass. IMHO.

[JanusZarate]

Icarus, I highly recommend searching for reviews here on TalkBass. Although the old Russian (black) and Sovtek (green) Big Muffs have held favor with bassists for years, the Bass Big Muff is an even better improvement. EHX actually based the Bass Big Muff on its Russian predecessors because of how bassists favor them.

There are lots of Bass Big Muff reviews on TalkBass. I even wrote one myself (although I was also comparing it against a very different fuzz pedal).

With the Bass Big Muff, there's little reason to use the old ones anymore. The Bass Big Muff does sound a bit different, but it's still very similar to the old discontinued Sovtek version (which is why it's green, just like the old one . The features, size, and sound make it a clear winner.

Without question, go for the Bass Big Muff.

Oh, and for the record, the USSR ceased to exist nearly two decades ago.

On second thought, a lot of ex-KGB guys are still running the place...

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

Without question, go for the Bass Big Muff.

+1 to this. It is the best first fuzz you can possibly buy, and you might not ever need another (if you don't end up spending too much time in this forum at least, hehe)