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EHX Big Muff problem

F

flakeh

Inactive
Apr 21, 2007
2,492
4
Ontario, Canada
#1
Just bought myself a Big Muff PI, I usually play in either Drop-D or drop-d down a step tuning, and im finding it has terrible bottom end. It just blends everything into one incoherent jumble of sound. Is there any setting i can use to stop this? I have volume at 10 o'clock, tone at 5 o'clock, and sustain at 11 o'clock if that helps any.

Also, Whenever i use my wah after the muff, it makes a terrible squealing sound and sets off the limiter on my amp, how can i prevent that too? or do i have crappy gear :crying:

-flakeh
 
#2
Whoa, wait - Tone at 5 o'clock and Sustain at 11 o'clock?

That sounds like it'd be nothing but high-end buzz! :eek:

Big Muff pedals naturally get less stable as you turn up the Sustain. It's the nature of the Muff sound on bass.

I don't understand why you're using it with the tone set so high. With the Sustain up, it takes good technique to keep notes defined on that pedal, but why would you crank up the Tone THAT much???

On my Little Big Muff, turning it up past 1 o'clock doesn't do any favors for the bottom end. I usually keep it at 11 o'clock, and it works great in drop-D.

And why a Dunlop guitar wah? The one you've got does NOT work well on bass - it kills a lot of low end, in my experience. Some guitar wahs can, but that's not one of them.

As for the squeal... I'm not sure what might be happening. But I'm tempted to cite your Behringer gear as the culprit :D
 
#7
MysticBoo said:
Whoa, wait - Tone at 5 o'clock and Sustain at 11 o'clock?

That sounds like it'd be nothing but high-end buzz! :eek:

As for the squeal... I'm not sure what might be happening. But I'm tempted to cite your Behringer gear as the culprit :D
Click to expand...

Hm, maybe that's what he means with "terrible low end". The tone knob works on both sides of the sound, minimal is full bass, no treble, max is full treble, no bass. I use mine in the mid-zone, mostly at 11 o'clock or something.

As for the sustain, it's also most of the time around 11, I roll down my bass' volume to vary it.

That squeal... :D That's the superb wah-after-muff fat-analog-synthesizer-sound in your rig you've discovered!! I play with that lots of times, ideal for stealing the show! :bassist: Indeed, it's rather demanding on your amp though.
But if you really can't control it, there probably is something wrong with your gear...:hmm:

By the way, what I'd find rather useful is a volume PEDAL on the muff. Might try that sometime...
 
#9
Does anyone know what mod dirk lance from incubus had on his big muff PI in the song Calgone on the album S.C.I.E.N.C.E.? Im sure its a big muff PI nd really would love to know once and for all how it was modded lol, cheers!
 
#11
Sorry for not checking my thread, I've been busy.

Yes, I do use a guitar wah, it is also heavily modded, with most of it being a 105 bass wah on the inside, but with a few parts from the 95Q.

My settings on the muff don't sound like high end buzz, they are really good with every string other then the low one, when i play that, all i get is incoherent jumble and fuzz.

AND I made a mistake, i was looking at my guitarist muff when I wrote that, I have everything at 11 o'clock

NO its not my behringer stuff! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr:mad: I sold my ashdown rig for this behringer one and I think its better.
 
#13
Spanky wasn't the only one, that's for sure...

Anyhow...

Roll back the Sustain. As I mentioned before, the nature of a Big Muff pedal in general is to get crazier with more Sustain. It'll get muddier as you turn it up, especially on lower notes.

That's probably the only significant drawback of the Big Muff. As for the low end... which Big Muff do you have?
 
#15
Haha, Sorry spanky, I'll send you some money to pay for the health care, unless your in Canada, then, enjoy your stay at the hospital.

I had an Ashdown MAG300 with a 210 and 115, it had terrible buzz problem, the controls on mine were utter junk, the bass EQ did nothing. And the warranty was brutal, only 12 months. So, I took it back, and i was not pleased with my ashdown purchase. So, i tried a few amps, and this behringer cuaght my eye, and it had a 2 year manufactures warranty . So I'm pleased with it so far. Again, Sorry spanky, I hope you get well soon :crying:

I have Two muffs, The sovtek one is seeming to work better with the low end, hm, and I have the PI re-issue
 
#16
No worries. :D Plenty of hot nurses to keep me busy.

But if it works for ya, then go ahead. I've just been burned too many times. :hmm: Behringer is not for me.

I'm the kind of guy that always loses when he takes a risk. Many people (not on TB) think I'm over-the-top with the type of gear that I buy, but I've always gotten what I paid for. If it's too good to be true, then I get screwed. So I just save my pennies from now on and buy gear with an extra picky flare!
 
#17
I did that with the ashdown rig. I was terribly saddened. I saved up my pennies that i found in the couch (20$ worth of coins :eek: :eek: ) and thought "hell, this seems worth the money, why not?" and then third week in, 'hmm that buzz shouldn't be so buzzy, that knob shouldn't be so useless hmm that sounds like bum...'

Hey, atleast those hot bnurses will keep you 'busy'

all the nurse at my hospital are old and smell funny :(
 

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