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EHX Deluxe Big Muff Sovtek mix up.

Punkbeard

Punkbeard

Feb 20, 2017
53
83
#1
Hi all, Ive got a conundrum and need to ask for opinions whilst I'm currently doing my own tests...

I ordered an EHX Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi (green, you all know it) yesterday from an online store in the UK, have been eagerly awaiting its arrival today to add to my somewhat high end signal chain and the idiots sent me the deluxe Sovtek version instead but only charged me for the Bass Big Muff Pi Deluxe.

In your sincere opinion, is this an accidental blessing in disguise or a curse? im not shy about my bass effects, i k now what i wanted and im plugging it in currently to test it out before i either keep it or send it back, but in i love this site and its vast collective knowledge, in your opinion should i keep it for send it back for what i actually ordered?.

peace,

The Dawes-machine. aka. Punkbeard...

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#3
I'm wondering if the Wicker switch can be backfit to the (non-bass) Deluxe (the "red" version). Anyone know?
 
#6
Peaveylover said:
Bank error in your favor. Keep! I had both, I liked deluxe much better. Cuts thru better and much more versatile. It's a fuzz/wah. Can't beat that.
Click to expand...
The Sovtek version has the same expression-pedal-sweepable midrange section as the Deluxe (red) and the Bass Deluxe (green). FWIW. Nothing wrong with just liking the one over the other though.
 
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#7
Well... ive had a muck about with it in my chain for the last hour or so weaving in my DG Alpha Omega Ultra drive/distortion and to me for bass it seems to always sound better with the mids foot switch disabled, i get alot of nasty tones and clipping with it on so im wondering if i would be better off switching it with the intended Big Muff Bass Deluxe i actually ordered atm, afaik the Sovtek deluxe isnt actually a dedicated bass aimed pedal like the Bass Big Muff Pi is, ill carry one testing it before the scheduled pick up on monday but more input from anyone who has the time would be great. is the actual fuzz circuit the Green russian one? is the bass dedicated Big Muff circuit better in general for bass frequency response?

Asking out of pure knowledge seeking =D

thanks
 
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#8
Yeah, from what I can gather, the Sovtek version is the culmination of the old Russian green line, but with all the bells and whistles. The Bass Muff (green) and Muff Deluxe (red) have the NYC variant of the muff circuit instead. I assume the bass version is more tuned for bass, but the regular version with the bass boost enabled does ok on bass:


(that's showing off the midrange expression pedal input driven by a Autodialer envelope follower.)
 
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#9
Something else ive noticed tonight is that the Sovtek Deluxe seems to be extremely sensitive on input signal, similar to what very hot active pickups are like, ive only been using a passive USA Fender Jazz this evening. I'm wondering if the bass version of the Big Muff is the same.
 
#10
I tried the Deluxe Sovtek after using the regular Green Russian reissue for a couple years and I ended up going back to the Green Russian. The Deluxe Sovtek is the same basic circuit, but because of the additional components it's not the same sound. It's smoother and tamer than the GR. It also doesn't have as much low end as the GR, which forces you to use the clean blend to compensate. Between the smoother fuzz sound and necessity of using the clean blend, the Deluxe Sovtek ends up being a significantly more polite and subtle presence in a band. It's not necessarily a bad thing since you can use it in more situations. But I like a big muff to really blow the doors off when I turn it on, so I've cooled quite a bit on the concept of deluxe muffs in general. I haven't tried the Deluxe Bass, but I think a Green Russian and an LS-2 if you want clean blend is probably better than any deluxe version. These fuzz circuits sound best with fewer components. Honestly I don't even need a clean blend with my GR most of the time.

So I guess knowing that the Deluxe Sovtek is suboptimal as a bass muff, my recommendation would be to either switch it for the Deluxe Bass (which has an input pad to handle active basses) or just go Green.
 
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