Because then it's waaay louder than unity gain, that doesn't go over well in a live setting.
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Electro-Harmonix Bass Big Muff
- Thread starter CliftonBonney
- Start date
and yes I will agree with pretty much everyone else, it is awesome! I'm getting rid of me USA Muff straight, I'll still keep my Zoom Ultra Fuzz though, but the BBM really does blow the socks off everything else!
Great pedal, great price! What a christmas gift from my girlfriend!
Great pedal, great price! What a christmas gift from my girlfriend!
hmmmmmm so i know that Cliff Burton had the Green Sovtek Big Muff which was a totally different animal than my bass muff but is there a way i can get a close approximation of his distorted sound (something similar to Anesthesia- Pulling Teeth) using my BBM??
i dont want to buy another pedal just for one sound which looses all the low end but its no doubt a cool lead bass tone with all that high end screaming .... i have the boss eq pedal should i place it before or after the BBM? any other ideas?
i dont want to buy another pedal just for one sound which looses all the low end but its no doubt a cool lead bass tone with all that high end screaming .... i have the boss eq pedal should i place it before or after the BBM? any other ideas?
I believe the BBM is based on the Green Muff, Actually. But the BBM is kind of neutered to my ear, so you may not be able to really capture the gainy insanity of a real Big Muff.
varunkapahi... he didn't use a Sovtek Big Muff. Mike Matthews hadn't purchased Sovtek and used it to make pedals until the early 1990s, several years after Cliff's death.
Cliff had an old U.S.-made Big Muff. Which version, I'm not entirely sure (the look and circuit changed a bit from year to year before EHX shut down in the 1980s, not to mention, quality control wasn't superb back then). But if it's any consolation... many bassists find it's easier to get that particular Muff sound with the green Sovtek Big Muffs. The BBM is based on it, so it should do the trick. Besides, do you really want to try hunting down an ancient U.S.-made Big Muff that will probably not sound right?
As for the distorted sound in "Anesthesia" and other songs, it's a combination of an old chrome Morley Power Wah Boost (although some say it might be a Power Wah Fuzz) and a Big Muff. Both are on, and the wah is pushed down halfway. He moves it up and down depending on what he's playing, but while it's on, it acts as a filter to further alter his distorted sound.
The old chrome Morley wahs show up on eBay often, but they're usually not cheap. There are a few modern wahs which are good alternatives. You could try the current reissue Morley Power Wah, which has a "Boost" knob and sounds similar to the old chrome wahs. The Dual Bass Wah is a bit different and much more bass-friendly, but it can capture some of that essence in Traditional Wah mode. Some people on TB say they can get close with an Ibanez Weeping Demon. And there are other options, too... but you'll need to stay away from the "funky" wahs.
Cliff had an old U.S.-made Big Muff. Which version, I'm not entirely sure (the look and circuit changed a bit from year to year before EHX shut down in the 1980s, not to mention, quality control wasn't superb back then). But if it's any consolation... many bassists find it's easier to get that particular Muff sound with the green Sovtek Big Muffs. The BBM is based on it, so it should do the trick. Besides, do you really want to try hunting down an ancient U.S.-made Big Muff that will probably not sound right?
As for the distorted sound in "Anesthesia" and other songs, it's a combination of an old chrome Morley Power Wah Boost (although some say it might be a Power Wah Fuzz) and a Big Muff. Both are on, and the wah is pushed down halfway. He moves it up and down depending on what he's playing, but while it's on, it acts as a filter to further alter his distorted sound.
The old chrome Morley wahs show up on eBay often, but they're usually not cheap. There are a few modern wahs which are good alternatives. You could try the current reissue Morley Power Wah, which has a "Boost" knob and sounds similar to the old chrome wahs. The Dual Bass Wah is a bit different and much more bass-friendly, but it can capture some of that essence in Traditional Wah mode. Some people on TB say they can get close with an Ibanez Weeping Demon. And there are other options, too... but you'll need to stay away from the "funky" wahs.
varunkapahi... he didn't use a Sovtek Big Muff. Mike Matthews hadn't purchased Sovtek and used it to make pedals until the early 1990s, several years after Cliff's death.
Cliff had an old U.S.-made Big Muff. Which version, I'm not entirely sure (the look and circuit changed a bit from year to year before EHX shut down in the 1980s, not to mention, quality control wasn't superb back then). But if it's any consolation... many bassists find it's easier to get that particular Muff sound with the green Sovtek Big Muffs. The BBM is based on it, so it should do the trick. Besides, do you really want to try hunting down an ancient U.S.-made Big Muff that will probably not sound right?
As for the distorted sound in "Anesthesia" and other songs, it's a combination of an old chrome Morley Power Wah Boost (although some say it might be a Power Wah Fuzz) and a Big Muff. Both are on, and the wah is pushed down halfway. He moves it up and down depending on what he's playing, but while it's on, it acts as a filter to further alter his distorted sound.
The old chrome Morley wahs show up on eBay often, but they're usually not cheap. There are a few modern wahs which are good alternatives. You could try the current reissue Morley Power Wah, which has a "Boost" knob and sounds similar to the old chrome wahs. The Dual Bass Wah is a bit different and much more bass-friendly, but it can capture some of that essence in Traditional Wah mode. Some people on TB say they can get close with an Ibanez Weeping Demon. And there are other options, too... but you'll need to stay away from the "funky" wahs.
hmmm thanks...... i just bought a 105q dunlop crybaby which IS a funky wah (you said that boo!) so i think i should just better forget this idea lol anyway tommorow am going to try sending in a very boosted signal into the muff and see what happens with the tone all the way up in the normal mode.
one more thing though, when i turn on the BBM it adds a lot of low end buzz to my signal
its just there all the time as long as the pedal is engaged. i tried it on battery as well as a power supply, both ways its there. i might be able to do witht his buzz live but while recording its going to be a MAJOR PITA:scowl: seriously..... i can record a clip perhaps and point it out
I've got the Bass Big Muffffffffffff paid for an on the way!!! These things are a bit of pain to find. Will post results soon.
one more thing though, when i turn on the BBM it adds a lot of low end buzz to my signal
I have the same problem, getting a totally quiet record is really difficult.
I finally bought one. I'm kinda sad though i love the NYC big muff and i thought i would never replace it. Plus i am giving it to my friend so i will never see it again
Short review.
So I picked mine up on Saturday, played with it for a bit at the jam space, and it sounded really nice. All the modes were usable, all the knobs had a good range of usable sounds. Bypass seemed good, though I don't worry too much about that. Looks nice, small, seems sturdy.
Normal mode sounded good, bass boost was neat, but I ultimately settled on dry. Though it sounded good alone, I knew the real test would be in the mix.
So tonight I had practice, I play post-rock style music and when I kicked this pedal in the first time, it was perfect. I definitely did NOT drop out of the mix (like my old guyatone fuzz) and it sounded big and fuzzy, just like I wanted. This was with the dry mode still, and it fit in perfectly.
The settings I used were very simple, dry mode on the toggle switch, then about 12:30 on all 3 knobs. To me this is always a sign of a good piece of kit - if it can be set flat and sound great.
Chain was: Rickenbacker 4003 --> Fulltone Bassdrive --> EHX Bass Big Muff --> Boss PS-2 --> TU-2 --> GK 1001RB ==> Ampeg 610HLF.
I did hear the low end buzz for sure, but my bass has a lot of hum right now, so I think it's more so the huge amount of gain amplifying this. You do expect a pedal like this to be a bit noisy, and of course you're not going to be using it on a quiet section, so I'm not worried about this at all.
Final conclusion: two thumbs way up! Fantastic pedal in the mix, after one practice it has a permanent place on my pedal board for sure.
So I picked mine up on Saturday, played with it for a bit at the jam space, and it sounded really nice. All the modes were usable, all the knobs had a good range of usable sounds. Bypass seemed good, though I don't worry too much about that. Looks nice, small, seems sturdy.
Normal mode sounded good, bass boost was neat, but I ultimately settled on dry. Though it sounded good alone, I knew the real test would be in the mix.
So tonight I had practice, I play post-rock style music and when I kicked this pedal in the first time, it was perfect. I definitely did NOT drop out of the mix (like my old guyatone fuzz) and it sounded big and fuzzy, just like I wanted. This was with the dry mode still, and it fit in perfectly.
The settings I used were very simple, dry mode on the toggle switch, then about 12:30 on all 3 knobs. To me this is always a sign of a good piece of kit - if it can be set flat and sound great.
Chain was: Rickenbacker 4003 --> Fulltone Bassdrive --> EHX Bass Big Muff --> Boss PS-2 --> TU-2 --> GK 1001RB ==> Ampeg 610HLF.
I did hear the low end buzz for sure, but my bass has a lot of hum right now, so I think it's more so the huge amount of gain amplifying this. You do expect a pedal like this to be a bit noisy, and of course you're not going to be using it on a quiet section, so I'm not worried about this at all.
Final conclusion: two thumbs way up! Fantastic pedal in the mix, after one practice it has a permanent place on my pedal board for sure.
I use a Ric too. When I was using LBM I had all kinds of insane noise. Pretty much to the point that I did not want to turn the LBM on. I added a Boss NS-2 noise reduction pedal. Pretty much got rid of all my worries. The NS-2 made a huge reduction in noise. They are less than $100 new on Ebay the last time I checked.
If I made a list of the top 10 things ever invented, the NS-2 would be on it.
Hello, Im Pier from Italy. I have tried many vintage Big Muff, at least I decided that the best is the green Sovtek Big Muff but I have to use it with the LS-2 to make a sound more definite...I want to try the BBM now to compare with the vintage one...anyone of you did compare them?
one more thing though, when i turn on the BBM it adds a lot of low end buzz to my signal
Dude it's a FUZZ pedal
