I had the Civil War and Tall Font variants, I think I’ll try to grab the Bubble Font once it’s in stock again.
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CMC Effects Fans
- Thread starter kleinenenten
- Start date
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- builder cmc distortion fuzz muff pedal reverb.com
That's awesome! Great story to go along with a grail piece, can't get much better than that.
I bet he was just working out the kinks for the new faceplates... At least I hope so! I plan on buying some more pedals from him in the future, and having them more readily available is a plus for me!
Had another go with the Ram's Head on bass today - it seems to like my 700RB-II over my 400RB-IV. It was incredibly close to the Priestess fuzz, and nearly dethroned it, but it compresses the lows just a bit more and I liked them slightly more open. Still, 100% an amazing tone, and far cheaper than the Priestess. That of course made me re-assess fuzzes on the 400RB-IV rig, so I lined up the Pharaoh Supreme, Ram's Head, and Bubble Font for a quick comparison. Nothing new there, the Bubble Font stayed, just barely edging out the Pharaoh as usual due to a bit more cut. The Ram's Head here seemed a bit too open in the distortion for my liking, but it was still a great tone.
All that being said, I think I'm learning that my amps - though they are very much in the same family - have different dirt preferences. The 700RB-II seems to like more aggressive dirt (or at least pedals with the capability for more gain), with my current theory being that it has headroom to still bring the lows. The 400RB-IV doesn't quite have the headroom, and distortion from the pedals seems more prevalent than on the 700RB-IV. Still no lack of lows, but not quite as powerful (as expected!). So on my 700RB, the Priestess and Ram's Head are probably my favorites, and they're definitely a bit more untamed than the Pharaoh Supreme and Bubble Font, which are my favorites on the 400RB.
The CMCs continue to amaze and impress me, as I could easily use a handful of them and still get "my tone". And they're super easy to dial in.
All that being said, I think I'm learning that my amps - though they are very much in the same family - have different dirt preferences. The 700RB-II seems to like more aggressive dirt (or at least pedals with the capability for more gain), with my current theory being that it has headroom to still bring the lows. The 400RB-IV doesn't quite have the headroom, and distortion from the pedals seems more prevalent than on the 700RB-IV. Still no lack of lows, but not quite as powerful (as expected!). So on my 700RB, the Priestess and Ram's Head are probably my favorites, and they're definitely a bit more untamed than the Pharaoh Supreme and Bubble Font, which are my favorites on the 400RB.
The CMCs continue to amaze and impress me, as I could easily use a handful of them and still get "my tone". And they're super easy to dial in.
deepestend
Commercial User
- Feb 21, 2003
- 6,249
- 8,171
- Disclosures
- Website and Social Media at Sadowsky
This is why I replaced the low end caps on my Ram's Head with Civil War Caps. Has the nice open distortion with low end.
...how tough was it? This certainly intrigues me, as the open distortion is of the things I LOVE about the Black Arts Toneworks Muffs, and what I find keeps them in my gear stable, even when my Pharaoh Supremes aren't getting any use. I have done the 1 cap swap to open up the high end on my Pork Loins successfully, but that's about all I can do besides fix a wire that has obviously gone astray. I've attempted to wire up my bass with a new preamp, but something always goes wrong! Definitely don't trust myself with anything that requires much thought or skill.
No direct comparison experience, but I LOVE the CMC Bubble Font. It's my #2 fuzz overall, behind the BAT Priestess. Plenty of info regarding my opinion earlier on in this thread, as well as in the Fuzz Addict Club the past year or more.
I can't take the Black Russian Muff off of my board because I love it so much but this Bubble Font isnt going anywhere either. It's so flexible. So many tones in it. @Formula73 turned me on to it. It's a killer muff.
Been a while, but just chiming in to say I still absolutely love my CMC Bubble Font on bass. Have been jamming out with it lately, and it's every bit as good (if ever so slightly different) than my BAT Priestess. For my uses, the Priestess is on my #1 rig, followed incredibly closely by the CMC Bubble Font on rig #2. And ditto for my guitar uses - which is new, as I previously had the CMC Civil War as my #2. CMC Muffs are just so darn usable - they have so many amazing tones and are easy to dial in. Honestly, there's no reason I couldn't use the CMCs as my main Muffs for any project. They're all great.
On a different note, I've noticed the CMC Reverb page has been empty (or at least relatively low stock) the past few months. Not that I've paid incredibly close attention, but I hope it's all good. CMC is absolutely one of my favorite builders, and I'd hate to see them go out of business. And not only because I'd love more pedals! I was hoping to one day fill out my CMC Muff collection and get the couple I don't have yet.
Which leads me to another question - anybody try the Way Huge Doom Hammer and/or the CMC Op-Amp Muff? If I understand correctly, they are derived from the same Muff. Regardless, I LOVE Way Huge AND CMC, and they both make amazing Muffs. I keep waiting for the Doom Hammer to get a proper bass review, but nothing yet. I'd love input on either of these if anyone has firsthand experience.
On a different note, I've noticed the CMC Reverb page has been empty (or at least relatively low stock) the past few months. Not that I've paid incredibly close attention, but I hope it's all good. CMC is absolutely one of my favorite builders, and I'd hate to see them go out of business. And not only because I'd love more pedals! I was hoping to one day fill out my CMC Muff collection and get the couple I don't have yet.
Which leads me to another question - anybody try the Way Huge Doom Hammer and/or the CMC Op-Amp Muff? If I understand correctly, they are derived from the same Muff. Regardless, I LOVE Way Huge AND CMC, and they both make amazing Muffs. I keep waiting for the Doom Hammer to get a proper bass review, but nothing yet. I'd love input on either of these if anyone has firsthand experience.
I'm still really digging my bubble font muff too. I did snag a Hizumitas that I'm really enjoying. Are you still playing that BB434?
The Hizumitas clone I have didn't do a lot for me - seemed really scooped. Not necessarily a bad tone, but not my tone. And you must have me confused with someone else. I have no idea what a "BB434" is... A quick Google tells me it's a Yamaha bass? If so, that's not me. I play Ibanez basses.
deepestend
Commercial User
- Feb 21, 2003
- 6,249
- 8,171
- Disclosures
- Website and Social Media at Sadowsky
Spent some time messing with CMC fuzzes again today. Doesn't someone here prefer the Civil War to the other varieties? @mouthmw perhaps? I may finally be coming around to it on bass.
Anyway, after an hour or so of tweaking my Swollen Pickle and Pharaoh Supreme to try and get a similar tone to the Priestess (or at least a bit closer to it than my Bubble Font), I decided I'd just throw my "guitar" Priestess fuzz on the second bass board and see how it sounded on the smaller amp. Instant perfection, as expected. So I got to thinking that the little bit of extra grit in the Civil War might be the ticket, as that was the most noticeable difference.
I'll have to try it tomorrow at volume for a bit, but I think it'll work. In my quick test, there was almost no difference between the Civil War and Priestess. Had to go to headphones soon after since my son was going to bed, so I can't confirm yet, but hopefully later this week. Both have a similar amount of grit and brightness. If anything, the Priestess is slightly more open and natural in the lows, which works great on my larger amp with more headroom to push the natural lows. The Civil War seems a bit more compressed in the lows to push them slightly more on the smaller amp that can't as easily push those big natural lows. The Bubble Font was slightly less articulate and smoother, with a smidge more bass overall. Looking forward to giving it a go soon.
Anyway, after an hour or so of tweaking my Swollen Pickle and Pharaoh Supreme to try and get a similar tone to the Priestess (or at least a bit closer to it than my Bubble Font), I decided I'd just throw my "guitar" Priestess fuzz on the second bass board and see how it sounded on the smaller amp. Instant perfection, as expected. So I got to thinking that the little bit of extra grit in the Civil War might be the ticket, as that was the most noticeable difference.
I'll have to try it tomorrow at volume for a bit, but I think it'll work. In my quick test, there was almost no difference between the Civil War and Priestess. Had to go to headphones soon after since my son was going to bed, so I can't confirm yet, but hopefully later this week. Both have a similar amount of grit and brightness. If anything, the Priestess is slightly more open and natural in the lows, which works great on my larger amp with more headroom to push the natural lows. The Civil War seems a bit more compressed in the lows to push them slightly more on the smaller amp that can't as easily push those big natural lows. The Bubble Font was slightly less articulate and smoother, with a smidge more bass overall. Looking forward to giving it a go soon.
I kept the Civil War and sold the TFR variant when I had them both. I liked the brighter and tighter sound for a change (been using W&C TFR for years before that). No longer have it though.
What replaced the Civil War? Gotta do some more testing, but initial results on the rig are that I'll still end up preferring the Bubble Font. I upped the sustain to 12:00 (from 10:30), and upped the tone to 1:00 (from 12:00). Gives me just a bit more bite, bit more grit, and still plenty of lows. Not as tight as the CW, but I think I just need to accept that a relatively low cost fuzz won't be able to doom AND do thrash/faster stuff on the same settings like my Priestess can. I'd likely use a different pedal for those needs, anyway! Will keep testing a bit more tomorrow when I have some time. Today was maybe only 15 minutes.
