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Way Huge Russian Pickle

Bearing in mind that written descriptions of tone are always subjective, the EQ curve you're describing sounds to me like it's definitely in the Russian Muff family, but which one is uncertain. If you forced me to guess without A/B'ing sound clips, I'd say Bubble Font Green. They had a little less bottom and more growl than the Tall Fonts.

You are correct that the Swollen Pickle and Fuzzistor are different animals from the Russian Pickle, by virtue of having additional controls which make a big difference in the low end. The W&C TFR and Russian Pickle only have the traditional Muff controls. Hence the much bigger lows from the pedals with extra controls, while the TFR and Russian Pickle are closer to the traditional Muff EQ curve.

Not my experience at all.

I have had 2 original Bubble fonts, 1 tall font, a civil war and various Black Russians. To me the Bubbles have more scoop than the Civil War or the Tall Fonts and the most crushing low end of any muffs I have ever heard. I have heard this from others as well - @blindrabbit has one of my bubbles now and @Azure Skies was so impressed with its low end that he's making a little clone run for us (secret project).

Not sure where you have heard that they have less bottom and more growl than the tall fonts. Just not the case in my experience.
 
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Not my experience at all.

I have had 2 original Bubble fonts, 1 tall font, a civil war and various Black Russians. To me the Bubbles have more scoop than the Civil War or the Tall Fonts and the most crushing low end of any muffs I have ever heard. I have heard this from others as well - @blindrabbit has one of my bubbles now and @Azure Skies was so impressed with its low end that he's making a little clone run for us (secret project).

Not sure where you have heard that they have less bottom and more growl than the tall fonts. Just not the case in my experience.

Agreed. While I've not had an OG Tall Font, I have had clones, and they don't have the same low end that OG Bubble Font does. The @Azure Skies version of it will most certainly be outstanding.

Also, @Mosfed knows his stuff when talking vintage Muffs (and other pedals)...I'd strongly encourage taking his advice. Dude has a good ear, and good taste.
 
I don't doubt Mosfed for a second. After all, he's a pro in this business.

I do wonder though, if our differing opinions are due to the infamous variability of the old Russian Muffs. You could have ten pedals made sequentially in the same run by the same person and they would all sound different. I would guess that's probably why Muff clones are so variable as well. One person is basing his work on Tall Font pedal A, another on Tall Font pedal B, etc., and so they all sound different even though they're technically all based on Tall Fonts.
 
Question for owners...

If you have played the MK 2 Swollen Pickle and now have the Russian, does the Russian reduce some of the unusable sub bass that is present on the MK2? I have loved the MK2 but it has been kicked off my board due to being too much. The Russian is really tempting me...

Yes it absolutely reduces the sub bass. On the flip side it also reduces the really high end grindy part of the signal... kind of hard to explain but you probably know what I'm talking about, the stuff affected by the scoop & crunch knobs. Basically the Russian Pickle is a lot smoother, mids are pushed forward, and 'weird' frequencies are subdued.
 
Yes it absolutely reduces the sub bass. On the flip side it also reduces the really high end grindy part of the signal... kind of hard to explain but you probably know what I'm talking about, the stuff affected by the scoop & crunch knobs. Basically the Russian Pickle is a lot smoother, mids are pushed forward, and 'weird' frequencies are subdued.


Very well put. It's more mellow in the greatest way. I played this thing all weekend. It's like I was saying, it's not extreme, it is what it's supposed to be. No overpowering qualities in the pedal at all. Low end is solid, output is solid, responds well to boost and the tone sweep is lovely imo. And I like how it's really quiet as far as fuzzes go. to my ears anyway. I'll have more later this week after I get it with the band.
 
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I could get some up but they wouldn't be anything pro or special....later tonight if you'd like.....
I saw your video on youtube with the DOD Carcosa. I really liked it because you've explored a lot of the potential sounds in the pedal and I found many that I could use in diferent situations. It was the video that made me send for the pedal.
So I think you'll do a good job with this one. ;)
 
I saw your video on youtube with the DOD Carcosa. I really liked it because you've explored a lot of the potential sounds in the pedal and I found many that I could use in diferent situations. It was the video that made me send for the pedal.
So I think you'll do a good job with this one. ;)

Hey that’s awesome!! I’m glad it helped you. Do you still have the Carcosa?? I still have mine. It’s a great fuzz. I’m actually trying to sell my Behemoth II not because the Carcosa can do what it does for the most part.

I’ll try to do one up later tonight. It won’t be quite as long as the Carcosa one I don’t think simply because the R. Pickle is a muff through and through. But it can still show some range that’s for sure. It’s all about that tone sweep.
 
I'm curious how many people who have issues with the SP sub bass have spent time adjusting the internal trim pots and experimented with settings. It's not an easy pedal to dial in and I've found it's sensitive to differing outputs of basses. It handles my passive Warwick's well but given a higher output active or even just my P bass I had to make adjustments.
 
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I'm curious how many people who have issues with the SP sub bass have spent time adjusting the internal trim pots and experimented with settings. It's not an easy pedal to dial in and I've found it's sensitive to differing outputs of basses. It handles my passive Warwick's well but given a higher output active or even just my P bass I had to make adjustments.

I’ve messed with the internal trims a ton. And there are plenty of great sounds I can find in the pedal. Just not ones that work great with my band. I did find more on the newer regular version than I did with the Dirty Donnie edition for whatever reason. I believe there is an extra pot overall on the regular version. I’ve always struggled finding that one setting that worked for me. And if I dial too much crunch out, it gets too scooped so then I’ll dial more scoop in and it gets too bassy haha. It’s just constantly fighting itself. However, there are a TON of setting options in that pedal so it is possible I simply haven’t spent the time…..

I am however interested in the Russian Pickle, I'm a WH fan and and a Russian Muff fan ;)

I love way huge. I wish I had the money I would just have a WH board. I’ve been wanting to get one of the newer ver of the Green Rhino. That thing sounds boss. But I’m so happy with the Pork Loin that I just haven’t really looked at anything else for a while now.
 
If I ever find myself with an extra $120 I need to spend, I'd probably get a new Green Rhino. That thing is a monster on bass.

Yeah man. I looked past it for forever. I tired one when we recorded our first EP, our engineer had one. I was really surprised. Id want the new one though. More tonal options. I think I would've bought one by now, but like I stated a lot before, the pork loin rules ;)