Russian Big Muff Pi

[black rabbit]

So I tried one of these out tonight and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it still didn't quite deliver as far as the tone I'm looking for goes.

Has anyone here ever had one of these modified so it doesn't cut out the low end as much? Is it even worth investing the money in something like that?

I know Electro-Harmonix also makes the Graphic Fuzz, never tried it though...

 

[Calebmundy]

I have a USA big muff, and I've found that the secret to improving the low end is to turn it up... a lot. I know that might not work for you.

 

[OhThePeacock]

Sonvinci (spelling?) did a huge review on the Graphic Fuzz with clips in it that should give you a good idea. His is vintage but should be somewhat close to the current ones.

 

[JanusZarate]

Russian and American Big Muffs are modded all the time for more low end. It's just a few input and output capacitor changes; they're cheap and easy changes if you have the right capacitors and a soldering iron on-hand. I've seen threads in the past in this forum on the specifics.

Lots of custom pedal companies also do modifications of much larger degrees (numerous other parts changes) on Big Muff pedals, since they're so common.

In addition, you could also try using a blend loop pedal to blend the Muff sound with your clean sound (like running two different amps!).

And of course, there's a world of fuzz pedals to choose from if it doesn't have the sound you're looking for.

The answers are all here in the Effects Forum - they just take a little searching and reading to find.

 

[black rabbit]

awesome, thanks for the advice! i did a brief search before making the post, but i'll have to search a bit more thoroughly this weekend.

there's a shop out my way that apparently does pedal modifications so i think i'll give them a call tomorrow to see what their price range looks like.

however, i've never heard of a blend loop pedal but this sounds pretty much like what i'm looking for...

 

[OhThePeacock]

Check out Barge Concepts for the blend looper.

 

[JanusZarate]

Check out Barge Concepts for the blend looper.

Yeah, the Barge Concepts VFB-2 is a popular one. It comes with a feedback loop switch as well, but it may not be useful to you. you can always ask Barge Concepts for a custom version with whatever features you're looking for (it'll cost more, of course).

For a more "fully-featured" blend loop pedal (2-Band EQ, phase correction, normal or blended loop bypass, etc.), check out the Xotic Effects X-Blender. It's more expensive, though.

There's also the Radial BigShot MIX, which is a simpler blend loop pedal with a phase correction switch.

 

[zazz]

when using the pedals that arent acctually designed for bass then say a boss graphic before or after is a great addition to your arsenal..

and i have both pedals and its ok...

 

[black rabbit]

so i just talked to the guy at the shop out here who does modifications on pedals, and he said there isn't too much he can do to gain more natural low-end out of the big muff.

however, he suggested the MXR d.i.+ may be the answer to my problems. Anyone ever use this?

 

[JanusZarate]

Maybe you could try the Little Big Muff instead - that has oodles of low end, is much warmer, and is a great pedal if you're still a fan of the Big Muff sound.

As for the MXR M-80... eh. I didn't really like it. It's great as an EQ and DI, but IMO the distortion's a bit harsh. Plus, it does lose low end on very high gain settings. It's fine on most other settings.

In short... it's too harsh at high gain for my tastes, but it's not bad for mild overdrive and dirty grit. And just so you know, it's not a fuzz pedal.

If you really do want a fuzz pedal and aren't satisfied with the Little Big Muff, there's plenty of other fuzz pedals to check out. But first, I'd suggest trying to figure out if fuzz is what you really want, since you were thinking about the M-80...

 

[assboglin]

There is also the Frantone Bassweet, which is a Big Muff designed for bass applications. Fran at Frantone designed some of EHX's muffs if I remember correctly, and The Sweet (her guitar version) is pretty cool.

 

[ggunn]

There's also the Fulltone Bass Drive. I've got one and it's good about keeping the lows. The problem with the Pi is that it's designed for guitar.

 

[higgi]

Turn the volume up and the tone down.

Mine has plenty of low end that way.

 

[crapusername]

try the larger Metal Muff. It has a separate bass control, so it's possible to ensure no loss - and even boost!