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Big Muff Pi

#21
rfclef said:
Yeah,,, the black Russian Big Muff.... just got it Friday...
Click to expand...

Ah.

Sounds like something's wrong with it. Probably a loose wire or something?

If you bought it new, be prepared to exchange it.

If there's one thing the Big Muff is known for... it's crazy gain. You shouldn't have to stick it in the effects loop to get that. In fact, it doesn't react the same in the loop - it's usually overloaded.
 
#25
MysticBoo said:
Ah.

Sounds like something's wrong with it. Probably a loose wire or something?

If you bought it new, be prepared to exchange it.

If there's one thing the Big Muff is known for... it's crazy gain. You shouldn't have to stick it in the effects loop to get that. In fact, it doesn't react the same in the loop - it's usually overloaded.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... I think it is working.... Idunno if I had done something wrong, but it does seem to be working better now... (I did pop the cover and hit the pots with some switch cleaner... maybe that did sumpin'...)
 
#26
I haven´t problems of lack of bottom end with my black russian Big Muff Pi. Only past the 3 o clock Tone knob the low freq dissapear.
My question is that I found a nice setting when I play alone, suppose the three knobs at 12 o clock. Good tone, bassy, creamy, good control of feedback, matched volume engaged/disengaged. Good for a solo or start of a song. But when I play with all the band playin at the same time, the fuzz disappear in the context, and I need more volume. So, I end dialing the three knobs to the insane 3 o clock situation.
It is normal? I fine tune my ears hearing some pros recordings that have mild grit to fuzzy bass tunes, and the bass is in the front soloed, and blended in the background with a full band situation.
 
#27
belaxa said:
I haven´t problems of lack of bottom end with my black russian Big Muff Pi. Only past the 3 o clock Tone knob the low freq dissapear.
My question is that I found a nice setting when I play alone, suppose the three knobs at 12 o clock. Good tone, bassy, creamy, good control of feedback, matched volume engaged/disengaged. Good for a solo or start of a song. But when I play with all the band playin at the same time, the fuzz disappear in the context, and I need more volume. So, I end dialing the three knobs to the insane 3 o clock situation.
It is normal? I fine tune my ears hearing some pros recordings that have mild grit to fuzzy bass tunes, and the bass is in the front soloed, and blended in the background with a full band situation.
Click to expand...

Three things:

#1 - mids - which the Big Muff is not known to have a lot of. This isn't always a problem, however; I think a lot of people panic too much about the natural mid scoop of the Big Muff because they expect it to fit in anywhere - and it doesn't! No pedal does. My MXR Blowtorch has great mids and cuts through band mixes like a butcher knife, but it isn't a high-gain fuzz or a "vintage-sounding" fuzz, and it's harsh when run direct to a soundboard.

#2 - practice situation acoustics - when recording, it's easy to deal with level issues, EQ issues, and other mix issues. In a live band setting, this is much harder to deal with. What sounds great recorded might suck live, and vice-versa.

#3 - clarity - when EVERYONE is distorted, everyone is going to have trouble cutting through. EQ is important in these circumstances, and often, less gain!

Plus, a lot of those "fuzzy" and "gritty" basslines you've heard are usually not the work of pedals, and when they are, there are more factors involved than just the pedal. Besides, the Big Muff does NOT do gritty overdrive - it's a full-fledged fuzz.
 
#28
I never posted what I ended up doing with the Big Muff i gave to my friend. I ended up finding a BMP on craigslist, and got it for 30 bucks.

He's very happy with it, to say the least.
Here's a list of mods I did:
- Converted the 1/8" jack to a 2.1mm jack.
- Converted it to True Bypass
- Changed the values to "Triangle" BMP specs. I did not change some of the caps in each stage, so it would be more suited for bass. I removed the 100K resistor going to ground from the 3rd transistor, to introduce some assymetrical clipping, but he doesn't like that "bloom" so I will be putting it back in.
- I was originally going to add a clean blend, but instead, I changed the tonestack to have a flat midrange response. I like how this sounded instead, so I kept it that way. He still cuts through!
- changed the second clipping stage. Removed the silicon diodes and installed a switch to change from 4 germanium diodes to a special JFET clipping section. Kinda just goes from nasty to nastier. :)

Overall, very creamy fuzzy tones can be had, while still cutting through the mix. Makes me want to build one for guitar.
 

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