Yearly Big Muff Round Up

[father of fires]

I just think they have a softer side that no one explores. Until now!!!!!!!

 

[bassmusic17]

I would suggest trying a Pharoah. Sounds really good at low gain. I never really heard anyone classify a muff as grindy though.

When I think of grindy I think more OD/Distortion.

 

[friendlybass]

My bass big muff kicks fuzzy butt. I want me a muff, a fuzztone, and a brassmaster all in one box

 

[father of fires]

Boost the highs and Muffs will grind all day. I tend to avoid the more wooly tones. They don't cut and can wreak havoc with your rig.

 

[gregmon79]

You all got details on that Acid Splash fuzz?

Also...I wanted to find out where people are coming from.

I have played a few Muffs that are all out nasty and some that are a little dull and muddy.

What I'm looking for (which probably isn't a Muff but...shhhh!!) is a Muff which can do that low gain growl without being muddy. I think the trick to that is to maintain a lot of high end (tone more towards the right) but not losing the low end at the same time.

I'm not a fan of clean blends because I generally hate my clean tone (with this band) but I'm looking for a Muff that has more flexibility in the EQ. Not just a muff that has more EQ knobs but a tone control that works intelligently instead of bluntly cutting highs or lows.

Simplicity is key for me too so I generally shy away from pedals with too many knobs (I hate tweaking all the time...it's a compulsion). That's why this search has gone on for so long and why I eventually had to start building my own.

What do you look for in a Muff?

I have used a few muffs over the last few months. The Vick/EHX black russians are the ones that do it for me in the mix.
The low end is very strong, its not muddy and they do stay defined and present. For me anyway. I love them. The fact that Im not using one at the moment bugs me a little bit. But all in all, Im pretty happy with the Jext Telez Dizzy Tone and Megaltih fuzzes taking the black russians place. For now...... I dont think the Jext is going anywhere though. Ever...

 

[maevinj]

I'm going to wait for this monster to come out!
http://ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php?f=257&t=44976

 

[father of fires]

I'm going to wait for this monster to come out!
http://ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php?f=257&t=44976

That sounds awesome. Keep the hits coming folks!

 

[chaosmic]

From what you're describing I would definitely check out the Blunderbuss (that I already mentioned). I like a similar tone from a Muff. The Tone knob allows you to add lots of highs/high mids. The Tone knob is different than most Muffs in that you also have a Mids knob and the Focus control which affects the low end. My Blunderbuss is really grindy with my setup.

 

[bassmusic17]

I use the Swollen Pickle for my wooly fuzz. It cuts just fine without any problems. I use te Grey Stache when I really want the attack to shine and the boosted mids is great. I use a Baby Thundaa when I want to wage war on all things fuzz. It's massive and amazing. I use a Diabolik when I want to cut through anything and I mean absolutely anything.

 

[Swimming Bird]

Bluebeard. Each one is a little different in terms of tone and response... mine is the best one, obviously. Anyway newer versions have a tone bypass switch, which is super great.

 

[giglawyer]

Give this a quick listen...its one of my next builds...

 

[devnulljp]

Muff? I've known a few.

 

[father of fires]

And....anything to add???!!!!1111!!!???

 

[Feral Feline]

I was about to pull the trigger on a SolidGoldFX Imperial, but something else came my way. I'm regretting not pulling the trigger anyway, but there's only so much pedal-debt-load I can (mis)handle.

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Although inspired by the classic 4-stage muff circuits of yesterday the Imperial BC183 is more than just another Big Muff clone. Built around a fine tuned high-impedance JFET preamp the Imperial BC183 offers incredibly stable buffer friendly operation, as well as exceptional volume cleanup and dynamics, while a pair of BC183 transistors provides gobs of detailed mid focused gain. The Imperial retains the classic BMP tone stack found in vintage muffs with the addition of a 3-position toggle that allows for a much finer degree of control over the midrange content. Depending on where the switch is set mids can be scooped, flattened or boosted giving end users a great deal of control over the Imperial’s voicing. The fuzz control has also been adjusted for the smoothest taper possible making it easy to dial in a variety of shades of fuzz ranging from crunchy break up to liquid saturation while a slight output boost guarantees there is always enough muscle to get the job the done. Whether you are chasing the soaring sounds of Gilmour or looking for some dark doom bass rumble the Imperial stands ready to deliver some royally raucous fuzz.

PS: Nice collection Dev, I really dig those Foxy Lady Guilds.

 

[MightyMiloQuinn]

My favorite muff is the Musket. The pedal I liked more than that is the Skreddy Supa Tone (still muff-based but not quite a muff).

 

[skulletwhip]

Mr. Father of Flies, I once did a mod to a Black Russian muff that kinda got that tone you're describing. Not a lot of fuzz but grind. If I remember correctly I simply removed the clipping diodes and played with the gain low.
This was years ago though.. I may be forgetting something.
I do remember googling "big muff mods" then finding it.

Good luck.

 

[FretNoMore]

I was about to pull the trigger on a SolidGoldFX Imperial, but something else came my way. I'm regretting not pulling the trigger anyway, but there's only so much pedal-debt-load I can (mis)handle.

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PS: Nice collection Dev, I really dig those Foxy Lady Guilds.

OK now ... Imperial sized GAS ...

It just never ends.

 

[nshuman]

I was about to pull the trigger on a SolidGoldFX Imperial, but something else came my way. I'm regretting not pulling the trigger anyway, but there's only so much pedal-debt-load I can (mis)handle.

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PS: Nice collection Dev, I really dig those Foxy Lady Guilds.

I may have to get one soon..................

 

[Basshappi]

.....But all in all, Im pretty happy with the Jext Telez Dizzy Tone and Megaltih fuzzes taking the black russians place. For now...... I dont think the Jext is going anywhere though. Ever...

Hey gregmon, what version is your Dizzy Tone? I'm really loving the demos of that thing.
I currently have a LBM that I use with my bass rig from time to time. I have an old NYC BMP which I don't use with bass.
Been thinking of getting my dirt really dialed in this year once and for all (yeah right!)

 

[JasonNL]

My favourite muff fuzz is an Earthbound Audio (or Acid Age, I own both and they sound identical) Beast. It's been my fav for almost 5 years now (although I am always extremely intrigued by other muff fuzzes with extra knobs to tweak). I also use a vanilla EHX Bass Big Muff (since about '08, but I wanna upgrade to a nano). I use the Beast for all-out, balls-to-the-wall, max. gain fuzz & the onboard oscillations and use the BBM in dry mode for grindy stuff. The BBM in dry with an LPB-1 in front of it sounds heavy as hell too for ~€100. You can hear both mufffuzzies on my band's album, especially on track 2-3-4. The low-ish-gain grindy OD is the BBM and the mean roar in the 'it sort of sounds like a guitar but it's too low to actually be one' parts is a Bass VI (mostly) in a higher register with the Beast engaged with the tone, gain, mids knobs dimed & volume at about 10/11 o'clock.