Muff clones

[Deluge Of Sound]

Ah...that would make sense actually. So I do really need something with a tone control for more versatility?

Is there a setting on a standard muff that is the closest representative of not having a tone control? I know that sounds like a stupid question but is the tone control just a frequency filter? Is 12 'o' clock uneffected?

Standard muff has a bass/treble boost/cut, so at, say, 7 o'clock you get a bass boost, and at 3 o'clock you're looking at all treble.

If you can get your hands on a bluebeard, they're allegedly the bee's knees. I have a Supercollider, myself, and looking at what you're wanting (boomy low end, fizzy top, mids cut), it sounds perfect. The SC can only deliver flat mids-though the harmonic content with the mids flat makes me cream in my jeans-and with the depth knob being separate from the tone knob you should be able to dial in the sound you're looking for.

But remember, Grygrx runs www.bassfuzz.com, which is really the first place you should've gone.

 

[rratajski]

Dude, actually, look into the Death By Audio Fuzz War. Two knobs, one internal trimpot. This thing is massive in tone. Oliver only makes pedals that are noisy and massive. haha.

There's no 'unaffected' spot on the tone knob w/ muffs. They all cut the mids to start. Dimed, it would be the fizziest, tintiest tone while totally counter-clockwise would be the muddiest of the muddy.

 

[gnasher1993]

But remember, Grygrx runs www.bassfuzz.com, which is really the first place you should've gone.

I spend way too much time on that site

. It's awesome .

Dude, actually, look into the Death By Audio Fuzz War. Two knobs, one internal trimpot. This thing is massive in tone.

The guitar clips sound pretty cool. Does anyone have any clips (or experience) with it on bass?

Also, I've heard about a few issues with the build quality of the death by audio pedals...or am I remembering something completely different?

There's no 'unaffected' spot on the tone knob w/ muffs. They all cut the mids to start. Dimed, it would be the fizziest, tintiest tone while totally counter-clockwise would be the muddiest of the muddy.

Ah right, that all makes sense now. So I need the tone control if I want the mids cut? I have an EHX black russian and really can't find a sound I would use in my band because of the tone control. Completely counter-clockwise sounds really muddy with no harmonic definition, completely clockwise sounds buzzy and exposes all the harmonics I don't really want. I can't seem to find a sweet spot in between the two, maybe it's just me . It's a great sounding pedal on it's own but in a band setting? Maybe not .

Tone control?

No tone control?

Confusion...

 

[Deluge Of Sound]

You could try the Bass Big Muff. It might be exactly what you're looking for, and for about half the price of its lovely boutique bretheren.

 

[gnasher1993]

You could try the Bass Big Muff. It might be exactly what you're looking for, and for about half the price of its lovely boutique bretheren.

I might do just that . I'll go to my local music store tomorrow and check it out. They should have one in stock.

Which muff variant is it based on (if any)? I can't seem to find out from the EHX site .

 

[grygrx]

If a boutique builder released the bass big muff and charged $200 for it, forum people would be falling over themselves to get it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Deluge Of Sound]

I believe the BBM is based on the Green Sovtek muff, but I can't verify that beyond remembering reading that (or something like it) on here when they were first announced.

From the press kit/online pitch:

The electro-harmonix Bass Big Muff Pi draws on two classic Muffs that bassists have long used to create cutting fuzz tones. The Bass Big Muff Pi creates tones similar to the classic fuzz sounds of the battle-tank green Sovtek Big Muff Pi and the legendary electro-harmonix Big Muff Pi from the '70s - but optimized for beefy bottom-end that punches through anything. A direct out lets you feed unaffected signal to a second amp or effects chain and a Bass Boost/Dry toggle adds bottom to the Bass Big Muff Pi's sound.

 

[gnasher1993]

If a boutique builder released the bass big muff and charged $200 for it, forum people would be falling over themselves to get it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

With a comment like that, I'm going to have to check it out...

 

[Bootzilla]

I heard they didn't have any green ones left so they used a black russian but painted the bass muff green cos the green sovtek is cooler/more popular. Just a rumor but I'd rather have a green sovtek than a bass muff (which is partly due to my distaste towards dry blending).

 

[grygrx]

I heard they didn't have any green ones left so they used a black russian but painted the bass muff green cos the green sovtek is cooler/more popular.

Nonsense.

Just a rumor but I'd rather have a green sovtek than a bass muff (which is partly due to my distaste towards dry blending).

Bass Muff has three primary settings, only one of which includes a blending option.

 

[rratajski]

The tone knobs controls how much more you want to cut mids (and some treble) and muddy/muff up the tone.

I played my g****rist's Fuzz War on bass and it was HEAVY. The internal trim was basically a ballsed out sustain pot. This has more sustain than you would ever need. It's a beastly beast.

 

[gnasher1993]

The tone knobs controls how much more you want to cut mids (and some treble) and muddy/muff up the tone.
.

Ok, I'm with you, now I know what you're talking about. So...the tone is a mid control. Am I wrong to say that the muff design cuts mids slightly anyway?

I played my g****rist's Fuzz War on bass and it was HEAVY. The internal trim was basically a ballsed out sustain pot. This has more sustain than you would ever need. It's a beastly beast.

I might have to check that one out. The guitar clip (and the TF video) sounds awesome. I'll think on that one...

I've been doing some searching; has anyone tried anything from Sweetsound? They're not in production at the moment as the owner/builder passed away but they will be putting them back into production at some point. I'm looking at the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed].

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Not only does it look really awesome (one of the nicest looking pedals I've seen in a while) the guitar demo video sounds really nice, quite a creamy sound.

Also...no tone control . Starting to wonder whether It'd be better to have one now.

In other news: I'm watching/listening to Grygrx's BBM demo right now .

 

[donut]

A boomy bottom end with kind of a fizzy high end if that makes sense?

I've been playing around with an Ibanez PD-7 and an EH BBM recently - running them in parallel using a Boss LS-2. The PD-7 provides the top end fizz in "OD" mode and the BBM in Bass Boost mode with the Tone at around 10:00 provides the low-end fuzz. Sounds lovely, although I've only been able to try it through my practice amp thus far so it might actually be horrible.

 

[Cameron Mc]

can't believe no one has suggeted:

http://martoneaudio.com/WhiteRussian.htm

i've got one on the way with a couple of custom tweaks.. i'll post sounds when i get it

 

[gnasher1993]

Definitely checking out the BBM this weekend, maybe tomorrow. I'll report back with my findings .

I might take my black russian muff with me and do a comparison.

can't believe no one has suggeted:

http://martoneaudio.com/WhiteRussian.htm

I'm sure it's awesome but it's far too expensive for me sadly. It's $280 with shipping. The top end of my budget really is $220 so needs to be less than that if it's coming from the US so I can cover shipping.

 

[Pitbull Growl]

Ok, I'm with you, now I know what you're talking about. So...the tone is a mid control. Am I wrong to say that the muff design cuts mids slightly anyway?

Think of the tone stack as a see-saw. The mid scoop stays dropped to a certain point, then the tone knob decides whether to pivot the mix from the bottom of the scoop (the fulcrum here as it were) to either a bass heavy, treb cut side, or a bass cut, treb heavy side.

It's essentially a low pass and a high pass resistor/capacitor network tied to a variable resistor to select between the two. Where they meet is a dip that changes from variant to variant depending on the value of the resistors and capacitors used.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[Deluge Of Sound]

I might take my black russian muff with me and do a comparison.

That's a fantastic idea, keep in mind, though, that the Bass Big Muff was designed to rectify a lot of the problems bassists were having with the RBM and the NYCmuff, so expect to be surprised.

 

[Matt Dean]

If a boutique builder released the bass big muff and charged $200 for it, forum people would be falling over themselves to get it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

You're probably right about that. I use a nano stone and like it just fine... I think I'll have to give the EHX bass big muff a shot.

 

[gnasher1993]

Think of the tone stack as a see-saw. The mid scoop stays dropped to a certain point, then the tone knob decides whether to pivot the mix from the bottom of the scoop (the fulcrum here as it were) to either a bass heavy, treb cut side, or a bass cut, treb heavy side.

It's essentially a low pass and a high pass resistor/capacitor network tied to a variable resistor to select between the two. Where they meet is a dip that changes from variant to variant depending on the value of the resistors and capacitors used.

So the tone control varies between each clone? I find the black russian muff's tone control particularly hard to use.

That's a fantastic idea, keep in mind, though, that the Bass Big Muff was designed to rectify a lot of the problems bassists were having with the RBM and the NYCmuff, so expect to be surprised.

I just find the Russian Muff doesn't fit too well into a band setting. I love the way it's such a natural (is fuzz natural? ), open sounding fuzz but I don't like the fizziness of the harmonics, they're too prominent to be usable if that makes sense.

 

[Matt Dean]

If a boutique builder released the bass big muff and charged $200 for it, forum people would be falling over themselves to get it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I bet you're right about that... I use and love a nano stone phaser; I should give the EHX bass big muff a chance!