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Muff pedals for bass?

#64
MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz is a Muff clone. It doesn't have a blend pot but it has "a DEEP switch that delivers up to +15dB of monstrous bass that is internally adjustable between 87Hz - 113Hz."

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#68
tracer03 said:
The first question may be: what's your budget?

If you're just getting into pedals (and Muffs in particular) you may want to experiment with some decent low-priced clones before you move to the >$150 boutique models. Especially if you don't have any stores near you where you can demo a few.

There are a number of decent clones available, some with clean blends (and some not) that won't set you back an arm and a leg - just depends on what 'flavor' of muff you are looking for.
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Not really sure of my budget yet, but ain't afraid to spend a bit more to get something special.

It is my first time getting into bass pedals, but I have played guitar for 3 years so I'm not a complete beginner on the theme.

My biggest worry is how the pedal will work with my rig. I play a Greco Thunderbird into a Marshall 1986 (JCM800) amp and a Marshall cab with celestion g12h30 herritage 55hz speakers.
Used the amp and cab with guitar and it's a little picky with pedals (it distorts as hell with some pedals!). So I'm a little worried that the muddy sound of a thunderbird and a muff will be quite useless with a band.
That's why I want a blend option to cut through and at the same time get that hairy sound that I like.
 
#70
Reignwolf said:
Not really sure of my budget yet, but ain't afraid to spend a bit more to get something special.

It is my first time getting into bass pedals, but I have played guitar for 3 years so I'm not a complete beginner on the theme.

My biggest worry is how the pedal will work with my rig. I play a Greco Thunderbird into a Marshall 1986 (JCM800) amp and a Marshall cab with celestion g12h30 herritage 55hz speakers.
Used the amp and cab with guitar and it's a little picky with pedals (it distorts as hell with some pedals!). So I'm a little worried that the muddy sound of a thunderbird and a muff will be quite useless with a band.
That's why I want a blend option to cut through and at the same time get that hairy sound that I like.
Click to expand...

With a rig like that have you considered looking outside Muffs for fuzz? perhaps a Brassmaster type fuzz. That will certainly cut through with no muddiness. Check out the Malekko B:assmaster, or the budget friendly Malekko Diabolik. My Tbirds sound gnarly thru my Malekko fuzzes.
 
#71
winterburn69 said:
With a rig like that have you considered looking outside Muffs for fuzz? perhaps a Brassmaster type fuzz. That will certainly cut through with no muddiness. Check out the Malekko B:assmaster, or the budget friendly Malekko Diabolik. My Tbirds sound gnarly thru my Malekko fuzzes.
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Don't need to be a Muff pedal, a fuzz will work just as fine. Will definitely check them out, thanks for the tip.

I have started to look at other fuzz pedals for bass and think it will be most definitely a germanium transistor pedal I'm looking for.
 
#74
Reignwolf said:
Don't need to be a Muff pedal, a fuzz will work just as fine. Will definitely check them out, thanks for the tip.

I have started to look at other fuzz pedals for bass and think it will be most definitely a germanium transistor pedal I'm looking for.
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There's Germanium B:assmasters out there. They have blue LEDs. The silicon B:assmasters have red LEDs. I haven't got a Germanium one yet, but from the videos I've seen the sound isn't as harsh and it's a bit "softer", but still totally ripping-your-face-off fuzz.

Judge for yourself though:





Germanium:


Silicon:


With a Tbird:


Diabolik:
 
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#76
ex-tension said:
El Grande and the BMP circuits are almost identical. You would have a similar result if you use another Muff style effect.
Besides, fuzz is not a subtle dirt effect.
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Almost identical, but sounds different to me. I know, that fuzz is not subtle effect, I love muff sound, but El Grande is...well...i didnt love the sound. And I changed it for Bass Big Muff (and BBM for COG).
 
#78
What I feel about most fuzz pedals I hear on bass is that they'd be much better with a Hi Cut filter after them. There's always this almost high noise up there making it sound like I'm near a waterfall lol...
But my bass fuzzed reference sound is something like this:


So I'm sure for people interested in metal, noise etc. my taste for fuzz is not a good starting point. I love the B:Assmaster Silicon sound though. Low-passed it would be perfect....
 
#79
It's worth noting that you'll have to look used for the Germanium B:Assmaster as they're out of stock from Malekko due to parts availability. I've currently got a TAFM and Grey Stache on my board in a fight-to-the-death for what gets to stay on my board and what gets relegated to a 'if I need it for a specific sound during recording' spot on my pedal shelf. The Grey Stache is godlike for that tuned Muff sound, and the TAFM is just so modern and brash and in your face that it's got something serious going for it as well.
 
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