most stoner/doom sounding Big Muff variant

[V-man]

Why don’t we try get back to being constructive then…

you said you did a deep dive on all this (and somehow arrived at ”russian” out of the Triangle/Ram’shead/Op-amp/Russian choices). What has you settling on Russian vs the other iterations?

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

Why don’t we try get back to being constructive then…

you said you did a deep dive on all this (and somehow arrived at ”russian” out of the Triangle/Ram’shead/Op-amp/Russian choices). What has you settling on Russian vs the other iterations?

I just think that the Russian Muff seems to be the one that has the most low end thump, and the thickest tone, compared to most of the others. although I am now reading some stuff about the Sovtek Civil War Muff that is supposedly in the same tonal territory. apparently EHX has a Civil War Muff Deluxe that I was checking out some video demos of.

 

[V-man]

I just think that the Russian Muff seems to be the one that has the most low end thump, and the thickest tone, compared to most of the others. although I am now reading some stuff about the Sovtek Civil War Muff that is supposedly in the same tonal territory. apparently EHX has a Civil War Muff Deluxe that I was checking out some video demos of.

Are you accounting for the amp(s)/speakers used in the demos?

That’s the most frustrating thing about demos for me… no uniformity and rarely anything close to what I use

 

[FleshOnGear]

I just think that the Russian Muff seems to be the one that has the most low end thump, and the thickest tone, compared to most of the others. although I am now reading some stuff about the Sovtek Civil War Muff that is supposedly in the same tonal territory. apparently EHX has a Civil War Muff Deluxe that I was checking out some video demos of.

Russian muffs are known for their big low end. The reason they have this is the coupling capacitor value used to connect the clipping diodes from the collectors to the bases of the transistor stages. The Russian muffs use a small value cap there, 0.047uF, so less bass gets clipped, letting more low end through undistorted.

Personally I like bigger caps in that position, because it sounds crunchier to me.

 

[CrystalBearer]

so my question is - for any Big Muff experts out there... which one of the Russian Muff variants are known to have the thicker, chunkier, more bass-y tone between the two?

and a follow up question... in your opinion, are there any other Big Muffs (including the ones I mentioned, or maybe another more obscure Muff) that embodies the sludge-y, stoner/doom vibe the best?

Suppose Big Muff variants simply mean Big Muff versions,
we have triangle muff v1 reissue
ram's head violet muff v2 reissue
op-amp muff v4/v5 reissue (I still have a 1978 v5 with me since 1978)
red army overdrive 1990-1992 *****
black russian v7 1998-2009 *****
green russian v7 reissue *****
NYC v9 reissue
little big muff reissue
metal muff reissue
deluxe NYC reissue
sovtek deluxe civil war reissue *****

I am not a big muff expert but I am inclined to believe this is a tough fight amongst the red army overdrive, the green russian, the black russian and the sovtek deluxe civil war versions.
My pick would be a green russian ($109) into a EarthQuaker Devices Plumes ($99) into a marshall to have some fun.
Part of me want civil war but the rest of me says No War.










The good news is there are some amazing stoner doom fuzz pedals out there for even more fun. Black Arts Toneworks LSTR high gain fuzz ($190), Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh mid gain fuzz ($190), Wren & Cuff The Caprid ($325) and Wren & Cuff Caprid Small Foot ($199).

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

Russian muffs are known for their big low end. The reason they have this is the coupling capacitor value used to connect the clipping diodes from the collectors to the bases of the transistor stages. The Russian muffs use a small value cap there, 0.047uF, so less bass gets clipped, letting more low end through undistorted.

Personally I like bigger caps in that position, because it sounds crunchier to me.

very interesting... thanks for the technical info. currently I have my eye on checking out either a Green Russian, or Sovtek Civil War era Muff. I'm really digging the Sovtek Deluxe Muff by EHX, based on the video demos I've checked out.

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

Suppose Big Muff variants simply mean Big Muff versions,
we have triangle muff v1 reissue
ram's head violet muff v2 reissue
op-amp muff v4/v5 reissue (I still have a 1978 v5 with me since 1978)
red army overdrive 1990-1992 *****
black russian v7 1998-2009 *****
green russian v7 reissue *****
NYC v9 reissue
little big muff reissue
metal muff reissue
deluxe NYC reissue
sovtek deluxe civil war reissue *****

I am not a big muff expert but I am inclined to believe this is a tough fight amongst the red army overdrive, the green russian, the black russian and the sovtek deluxe civil war versions.
My pick would be a green russian ($109) into a EarthQuaker Devices Plumes ($99) into a marshall to have some fun.
Part of me want civil war but the rest of me says No War.





View attachment 147432




The good news is there are some amazing stoner doom fuzz pedals out there for even more fun. Black Arts Toneworks LSTR high gain fuzz ($190), Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh mid gain fuzz ($190), Wren & Cuff The Caprid ($325) and Wren & Cuff Caprid Small Foot ($199).

cool info... I actually have a Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh Supreme, which I love. since I am a fuzz addict, my search continues.

 

[Dogs of Doom]

to those here that have felt the need to hurl personal insults at me... please keep in mind that even though I've expressed frustration at people not following simple requests and answering basic questions (and rightly so), I have not stooped low enough to actually insult people here, nor would I ever do that. I hope the admins & moderators are reading these comments.

don't worry, I already have, tough guy.

cleaned up a bit...

everybody just needs to take a chill pill... OP included...

no need to throw fits at people trying to help, even if you do not find their answers helpful...

On the other hand, people do not need to respond to that response w/ insults...

If you don't like what somebody posted, ignore the post & move on to the next. If you're not getting the answer, try to steer the thread better.

Do note, that this is an open forum. What helps one person might not help you & what doesn't help you, might help someone else.

I can not count the amount of threads, that OP's have asked me to delete, because they weren't getting the answers they were looking for, & they thought it went off the rails. Then, weeks later, they PM me again thanking me for denying their request, because it became a lucrative thread, even if it didn't go as they expected right off the bat...

 

[Dgd73]

What about the JHS Muffuletta. It has 5 versions of the big muff.

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

What about the JHS Muffuletta. It has 5 versions of the big muff.

I used to have a Muffuletta. I liked it a lot. I just felt that at the time, it was a bit redundant, considering that I already had a few Muff flavored pedals, so I got rid of it. but it did succeed in allowing me to learn the tonal characteristics between different Muff variants.

 

[NumbSkull]

If we are allowed to mention other pedals, can I suggest the MXR slash Octave Fuzz.
The Octave Down is great for a heavy doomy sound, if you want more bass it does it.

 

[Bkiller43]

I know Smashing Pumpkins used muffs allot and talk about how hard it was to reproduce that sound live. Some articles about using old 9 volt battery’s to get the right sound but was hard to keep consistent. I’ll see if I can find the article. I have some experience with the Keeley dark side pedal used with my Marshall SC20H. Very sensitive tone control but using it in the FX loop gives you the ability to max the pre and master volume to change the distortion type but volume does not increase. Using pedal level for overall volume. A lot of trial and error.

I think this is the article https://geargods.net/interviews/smashing-pumpkins-billy-corgan-talks-about-the-new-op-amp-big-muff/

 

[Whizzercone]

ok, is there ANYONE here that is an expert on Big Muff variants, that can actually answer my original question?

 

[Pokey]

I have a fair amount of fuzz pedals, as far as Big Muffs go, my go to fuzz is the Green Russian Big Muff pi, volume at 12, sustain and tone set to 1:30, amp set to a moderate breakup, like blues style. I have the tone wicker and orginal bug muff also, the green russian just has a thicker sound for D and C tuning. Another thing that helps is not too hot of pickups, some of my guitars with hotter pickups, I have to play on the neck and roll the volume back.

I have probably 9 fuzz pedals and my main ones are the Green Russian and the Creepy fingers "The Balch"


I know you asked about big muff but typing this part for any one else wondering about this pedal.
The Balch is not an easy pedal to use, you really have to dig in because it's essential a fuzz driving a fuzz with a gate in the middle, so no playing lightly. but WOW talk about fat, thick nasty sound. This is FU Manchu in a pedal.

 

[FleshOnGear]

@GibsonMarshallGuy47, this is a little off topic, but I just wanted to share a bit of experience I’ve had with a muff variant. I own an Ibanez OD850 that I modded a bit (for more output and crunchier distortion). Kit Rae mentions this unit in his muff website. I got really close to the Dopesmoker tone by using this pedal into my Marshall 1987. I would turn the sustain down a bit and turn up the level, and get most of the distortion from the amp, but the combo sounded glorious. Overall it’s a much different rig than what Matt Pike used, but it was a great sound.

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

View attachment 147435

yep. that's precisely what I felt like I was dealing with, with some of those responses.

 

[Whizzercone]

yep. that's precisely what I felt like I was dealing with, with some of those responses.

I was pointing you to the friend of a big muff expert, friend.

 

[El Gringo]

after doing lots of research (i.e. - checking out TONS of video demos online ) on all the different variants of the most common Big Muffs made throughout the 70's & 80's, I kinda feel like I have a pretty good idea about the tonal characteristics that differentiate them.

as for the the main ones, we have - the Triangle Muff, the Civil War Muff, the Russian Muff, the Big Muff Pi, and the Ram's Head Muff... but in regards to the Russian, I notice that there are even some different variants within that particular era. there's the wide, green colored Russian Muff with the massive circular knobs with the fat on/off switch, and then there's the longer, black colored Russian Muff with yellow script, with the pointer style knobs.

so my question is - for any Big Muff experts out there... which one of the Russian Muff variants are known to have the thicker, chunkier, more bass-y tone between the two?

and a follow up question... in your opinion, are there any other Big Muffs (including the ones I mentioned, or maybe another more obscure Muff) that embodies the sludge-y, stoner/doom vibe the best?

Oh man You are going to make me pull out my Muff and put it back in with my pedals to get some of that Stoner/doom vibe !

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

Oh man You are going to make me pull out my Muff and put it back in with my pedals to get some of that Stoner/doom vibe !

what kind do you have?

 

[El Gringo]

what kind do you have?

I have a Big Muff from 1979 which I do not use . I also got a new one that is a Nano Big Muff . I have a MXR Distortion from 1994. BOSS FU-3 Fuzz (like this one ) I also have one of those Crossroads pedals . I have other ones that I can not remember ?