tplyons said:
Calling tedintheshed.
He's more of a Sovtek buff than I.
Hello all.
First, such an acknowledgement from "the man" is indeed an honor- thank you.
The Sovtek story is pretty much as the page linked describes, but if it is tonal recommendations that you seek, I can only say that I
generally prefer the Green Sovtek Big Muff over the newer black ones because the sound is wholely more agressive, yet fuller than the newer black counter parts. I've seen no evidence of problems with noise from the older units although any individual unit can display such a problem. Both have advantages and disadvantages though.
That said, with the Green SBM take a "try before you buy" approach if possible. Not all of these were created the same. The Russian QC seemed a bit dicey in the earlier days of the pedal, so some of these units can reflect that. I was fortunate enought to find my current one quietly sitting amongst the used pedals at Guitar Center so I was able to try it out.
Also, it is said by some that the aluminium case SBM's are superior in sound, but I have found no evidence of this personally.
The new black SBM's do have advantages over the older ones. The green SBM's have some dicey pot installation, and the input/out put jacks are plastic. Also, there is no true bypass (the older ones have the "bubble" switch) or 9 volt jack. The newer black SBM's have all of these desirable options. Many buy a beater Green SBM and have them rehoused, adding these options.
