Big Muff?

[Fingerpickingood]

I'm new here, and I'm quite positive this question had been posed before, but please bear with me... What does everyone think of the Big Muff pedal? I just want to add a bit of bite and growl to my tone...

 

[willbassyeah]

Not the best pedal to add bite and growl imo, big muff is more of a in your face type of tone, other pedal like mantic vitrool, fuzzrocious rat tail, idiot box blower is better for growl imo

 

[Bassic Playing]

I like it. Sounds great after a tube style overdrive. I wouldn't recommend using it without using the dry signal as well.

Also, as I found out after joining this site... There are a lot of flavours of fuzz, so do a lot of research into what you like. For bite and growl, btw, maybe consider overdrive and distoriton. I use the muff for bite and growl, but it's not for everyone.

 

[nshuman]

Definitely go for overdrive. What sound are you looking for? What kind of music? What price range?

 

[Fingerpickingood]

I'm looking for a pretty good growl. Nothing way over the top, but with good presence. The guys that I jam with are doing a stoner metal sort of thing. Truth be told, this is the first time I've been a bass player in a band. I've always been the frontman, hahaha. I suppose I'm looking for something dirty that does a good job of cutting through the mix. I'm not looking to spend a terribly high amount. Probably in the $100 range or so.

 

[nshuman]

If you do not want to spend too much (I am using your budget to establish these recommendations, there could be better ones at much higher prices):

For OD: Joyo American, Joyo Ultimate Drive, Used Fairfield Barbershop, Used SGFX Beta, Used Way Huge Pork Loin (Search this site for the JohnK PorkLoin mod)

For Distortion: IdiotBox BlowerBox

For Fuzz: Vick Audio 1 button fuzz, Vick Audio Black Russian, IdiotBox Swanson Super Fuzz, WayHuge Swollen Pickle

If you want OD that can also get hairy, the Joyo American is hard to beat at 30$

 

[Bassic Playing]

For stoner metal a muff will do the trick pretty well.

 

[stuffnjunk84]

I bought the Deluxe Bass Big Muff ($120 I think?) not long ago and I love it. I can't speak for cutting through a mix as I usually play alone as a hobby, but there is a wide range of tones in that box. The blend lets you dial in the fuzz, but even on mostly dry settings its not very subtle. The crossover section adds the potential for some different sounds. I use it to get a sound like wah stuck in middle of its path.

However, I still consider myself a bass and effects newbie so you may want other opinions.

 

[willbassyeah]

Yah if you are playing stoner rock, the deluxe bass big muff mentioned by stuffjunk84 is the best cheapest options imo, but if by growl you are talking about Jesus lizard type of tone I think the dod overdrive reissue is a good cheap alt, check out Juan alderete pedalsandeffects video at youtube he compared a lot of dirt pedals ranging from od-distortion-fuzz

 

[blindrabbit]

Used Aguilar Agro comes to mind.

 

[dannybuoy]

Low-medium gain overdrive pedals like the Pork Loin, Beta, Barbershop, etc are great for fattening and thickening. But to 'cut through' rather than sit under and support the mix, you need something a bit more agressive. I would perhaps start looking for a used B3K, but it would cost more than $100. The good old Boss ODB-3 is also a stoner metal staple and can be found dirt cheap. Another option would be a used VT Bass, or the Behringer BDI21 clone of the Sansamp BDDI.

 

[AndreasK]

Just spotted this VT bass in the classifieds: http://www.talkbass.com/threads/tech-21-sansamp-vt-bass-pedal.1112484/

All the classic Ampeg sounds in a box, and it can get pretty hairy as well.

 

[bassmusic17]

The DOD 250 would be perfect for what you're doing I would say. Check out Sleep. Great band.

 

[sideFX]

I'll recommend trying a Joyo Ultimate drive, it's both good and cheap.

 

[P-oddz]

Bite and growl... I'll put my hat into the ring!
Earthquaker Devices Monarch. Based on Orange amp input stage.

Not my clips, but there are some here:
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/earthquaker-devices-monarch-clips.739940/

 

[heatoise]

Muffs or muff style pedals are great for stoner stuff; just make sure it's got a dry blend!

 

[Batmensch]

Not a fan. it sounds cheap.

 

[heatoise]

The Supercollider is definitely a great muff-style pedal, you may want to look at picking one up used

 

[gregmon79]

I'm new here, and I'm quite positive this question had been posed before, but please bear with me... What does everyone think of the Big Muff pedal? I just want to add a bit of bite and growl to my tone...

depends on which one you get. Do your research. There are plenty of muffs and variants out there today. Many bassists go for the old green muff. They are not in production anymore and usually fetch a pretty penny. I myself just got an EHX Black Russian and I absolutely love it. But for more than just some growl. If its just growl youre looking for, you can go with a muff, but you can also grab an OD. What is your price range?? I have been looking into Vick Audio lately to replace my EHX muff, the one made by Vick has a mid voice switch and is much smaller, so for those reasons, I would like to try it out. But the EHX Black Russian I have now is pretty awesome. I would also look into a tubescreamer or something like that, a Fulltone OCD or Joyo Ultimate Drive. There is also the Joyo American Sound that is a preamp but can be dialed in for grunt, grind, heavy dist almost to fuzz. Its a great, versatile pedal. And inexpensive. Hope this helped.

 

[gregmon79]

The DOD 250 would be perfect for what you're doing I would say. Check out Sleep. Great band.

This is a great recommendation. I have one of these too and I would choose this over a muff any day for growl. As is the Blower Box from Idiot Box effects. Great rat type dist but oh so grindy and growly. The 2 band EQ on it is amazeballs too.