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Electro-Harmonix Bass Big Muff

#361
xikbastard said:
i just bought the BBM last week and love the voicing, but i was playing it live and can't seem to cut thru the mix :(

any tips?
Click to expand...

Basic tips:
  • Less Gain often allows for more clarity.
  • Use the Dry mode - if you can't cut through, then your original tone is the problem! :p
  • Crank up the Tone. The darker tones don't cut through as well in a dense mix.
Remember that the Bass Big Muff - like any fuzz pedal - does not fit in everywhere. Sometimes, the song has to be crafted with fuzz in mind. You can't just jump into a thrashy drop-tuned metal riff with a cranked fuzz pedal, for example.
 
#362
... Just to introduce myself. I'm a bass player from England, UK. This is my first post and thought i might as well make it a good'un. I have seshed these forums for about 2 months consistantly and have found realy great advice and have developed good trust in all you fellow bassers.... time for for my input!!!

This pedal is the dog's bollocks (for all of you outside the UK, this means its 'AWESOME')

I'm am using it through a USA Fender Jazz, and a Ampeg BA500...

It sound's aaaaaaamazing. My clean sound is totally un-altered. And the fuzz is top notch. The best sounds IMO are found with the 'DRY' switch applied and blending about 50% fuzz with the clean channel. Yet every tone within reason is totally workable.

Take your time with it, spend an hour or so... on your own, and find what suits you, and you will find what you're looking for in bass distortion.
[/LIST][/LIST]
 
#363
Ok after reading this and other threads I bought mine a couple of weeks ago. I was especially persuaded by the "dry" switch setting ... nobody had any locally, so I ordered one.

Now in the threads, and in the actual directions, it states in the dry setting the Volume knob will not affect your clean signal, and is in effect a "blend" knob. However, I can't get the thing above about 9 o'clock before the signal coming out gets to amp clipping levels. So my only thought is, ok, its not affecting the level of my bass but is adding to it the level of distortion, increasing the overall signal output --- the poster above said he had it set at 50% ... there is no way I could use the pedal in this position. The signal would just be too damn hot.

So was this thing designed with passive basses in mind or what?

The other two settings seem to work as advertised - the "Norm" setting reminds me of my crappy Russian Big Muff, and the "Bass Boost" setting is pretty workable, but I'd rather have a nice blend going on.

I play a Lakland 55-02 fwiw.
 
#364
MysticBoo said:
Basic tips:
  • Less Gain often allows for more clarity.
  • Use the Dry mode - if you can't cut through, then your original tone is the problem! :p
  • Crank up the Tone. The darker tones don't cut through as well in a dense mix.
Remember that the Bass Big Muff - like any fuzz pedal - does not fit in everywhere. Sometimes, the song has to be crafted with fuzz in mind. You can't just jump into a thrashy drop-tuned metal riff with a cranked fuzz pedal, for example.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree. Don't forget the mids on your amp, too.
 
#365
Sanctum said:
Ok after reading this and other threads I bought mine a couple of weeks ago. I was especially persuaded by the "dry" switch setting ... nobody had any locally, so I ordered one.

Now in the threads, and in the actual directions, it states in the dry setting the Volume knob will not affect your clean signal, and is in effect a "blend" knob. However, I can't get the thing above about 9 o'clock before the signal coming out gets to amp clipping levels. So my only thought is, ok, its not affecting the level of my bass but is adding to it the level of distortion, increasing the overall signal output --- the poster above said he had it set at 50% ... there is no way I could use the pedal in this position. The signal would just be too damn hot.

So was this thing designed with passive basses in mind or what?

The other two settings seem to work as advertised - the "Norm" setting reminds me of my crappy Russian Big Muff, and the "Bass Boost" setting is pretty workable, but I'd rather have a nice blend going on.

I play a Lakland 55-02 fwiw.
Click to expand...

I'm using ESP active basses with mine and don't seem to have the same problem that you are stating, and my volume knob is set at exactly 12 o'clock (as seen in picture)

sludgestoner.jpg


Those EMG pick-ups are pretty damn hot. (However i should state that my amp is set flat and i'm running into a Sansamp RBI)
 
#366
When I used it with a Stingray, the 12:00 position was 50/50. However, yes, it is louder than when the pedal is off. This is, perhaps, the only major drawback of the Bass Big Muff that I hadn't considered in my review. Normally, the volume gained is a benefit for cutting through in the mix, but I can see how it might be annoying.

Try this: turn up the Tone setting, and decrease the Gain. That should deal with the excessive volume boost and also cut back on the dominating bottom end.
 
#367
MysticBoo said:
Basic tips:
  • Less Gain often allows for more clarity.
  • Use the Dry mode - if you can't cut through, then your original tone is the problem! :p
  • Crank up the Tone. The darker tones don't cut through as well in a dense mix.
Remember that the Bass Big Muff - like any fuzz pedal - does not fit in everywhere. Sometimes, the song has to be crafted with fuzz in mind. You can't just jump into a thrashy drop-tuned metal riff with a cranked fuzz pedal, for example.
Click to expand...

yeah let me try that. i was playing it using my wick taranis > EBMM > line 6 amp.

i am going to put it on my pedalboard and see if i can tweak it a bit.
 
#368
Does anyone have a comparison of the size compared to a Little Big Muff? The diminsions that I've seen says the BBM is 5 1/2" wide and the LBM is 3 1/2". But from the pics I have seen(there is one in comparison to a boss pedal on bassfuzz.com) they look about the same width. I really want one but I only have room on my DIY pedalboard for something that is the same size as the LBM.
 
#369
jfenderp said:
Does anyone have a comparison of the size compared to a Little Big Muff? The diminsions that I've seen says the BBM is 5 1/2" wide and the LBM is 3 1/2". But from the pics I have seen(there is one in comparison to a boss pedal on bassfuzz.com) they look about the same width. I really want one but I only have room on my DIY pedalboard for something that is the same size as the LBM.
Click to expand...

They're the same size. They use the same metal enclosure.
 
#373
i bought this pedal (well, along with every other one i have) after reading some interesting things here on talkbass and i must say: great pedal :D, especially for the 80 odd $ it costs!

what i've done to fix the volume problem with the dry mix is use my sansamp rbi programmable and simply have a sound with a lower level than my normal clean designated for when i'll use the muff, that way i still get some good bottom and get to really have some nice defined distortion :)
 
#374
propel said:
i bought this pedal (well, along with every other one i have) after reading some interesting things here on talkbass and i must say: great pedal :D, especially for the 80 odd $ it costs!

what i've done to fix the volume problem with the dry mix is use my sansamp rbi programmable and simply have a sound with a lower level than my normal clean designated for when i'll use the muff, that way i still get some good bottom and get to really have some nice defined distortion :)
Click to expand...

I do that with an LPB-1 Power booster
 
#375
So I played my first gig tonight with this pedal. Been practicing with it and been pretty happy. However, the "sound" or "tone" that came through the mains tonight at the gig were damn awful. Exact same settings I've been using. Wondering if there is a huge tonal difference between what comes out of my SansAmp DI and my actual cabs. Kinda disappointing and I ended up just not using it.
 
#376
Sanctum said:
So I played my first gig tonight with this pedal. Been practicing with it and been pretty happy. However, the "sound" or "tone" that came through the mains tonight at the gig were damn awful. Exact same settings I've been using. Wondering if there is a huge tonal difference between what comes out of my SansAmp DI and my actual cabs. Kinda disappointing and I ended up just not using it.
Click to expand...

A different rig will massively affect tone. I recommend setting up the pedal before you play. :)
 

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