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Big Muff Question

MadHatterMadHatter Posts: 15
edited September 2004 in Musicians and Gearheads
Hey guys,

Was toying with the idea of buying myself a EH Big Muff. Haven't played with one myself, just have heard it, and liked what I heard.

When I looked online at prices, there seemed to be three version of the same pedal. "Big Muff Pi"

There's a Russian and USA one that somes as a black pedal for about 55$.

And there is another made in the USA that is a silver pedal that sells for about 75$

I couldn't really spot the difference other than price, color and where they were made.

Is there much tonal diference between them? Are they diferent sounding? What's the deal?

Thanks,

Brendon
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • MadHatterMadHatter Posts: 15
    Hey again,

    Guess I should have just searched the forum before posting this question. I found the answers I was looking for here.

    Sorry for wasting your time reading this..haha :)

    B
  • |-Release-||-Release-| Posts: 90
    hey, you didnt waste anyone's time, and welcome to the board :). i don't know if its any use to you but i own a russian big muff and the distortion is lovely and creamy, if you need more info there's plenty of ppl on this forum that'll help you out. also check out the http://www.harmony-central.com reviews of the pedals from ppl who have purchased them.
    seems that needlessly its getting harder
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    this IS a good pedal.
    despite some of the slack it gets.

    the trouble with it is, like all pedals ....

    it very much depends on the amp you use it with.

    on my Fender Hotrod Delux it sounds like ASS CRAP.

    tiny, and metalic wine, high pitched, and nasty.

    but this is a pedal for a modern amp ... a MARSHALL or MESA\BOOGIE ... or in my case ... a super cool Egnater DualTone (on the marshall plexi channel, of course) ....

    it isn't an incredibly versatile pedal. . . but realisticaly, what distortion pedal IS incredibly versatile?

    i also own a Korg Distortion pedal that has that killer tube half stack sound ... but its not nearly as gritty and rough as the big muff.

    and as with any pedal, it's not really about the pedal, it's about whether your music means anything to YOU.

    so rock on brotha man :)
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Originally posted by DriftingByTheStorm
    it very much depends on the amp you use it with.

    on my Fender Hotrod Delux it sounds like ASS CRAP.

    tiny, and metalic wine, high pitched, and nasty.

    but this is a pedal for a modern amp ... a MARSHALL or MESA\BOOGIE ...

    it isn't an incredibly versatile pedal. . . but realisticaly, what distortion pedal IS incredibly versatile?


    I have the same problem with my Tubescreamers and my Marshall amp. On my Fenders, my Tubescreamers sound awesome, but I can never get them to sound good with my Marshall (and yes, it's a tube amp).

    It's a never-ending problem, I suppose...
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • LemonYellowSunLemonYellowSun Posts: 90
    Beware, the Russian EH pedals are not cool in my opinion. I have a Russian EH small stone phase shifter that just zaps my tone, whether on or off. These are not true bypass and they are not as good as their American counterparts. I had to resolder a battery wire inside mine because of a bad soldering job, and the indicator light never really works right. If I were you, I'd cough up the extra dough and go for the American version ($75).
    Cause I'll stop trying to make a difference. I'm not trying to make a difference. I'll stop trying to make a difference. No way!
  • MadHatterMadHatter Posts: 15
    hey again,

    Thanks for posting anyways.

    I am gonna go ahead and get the silver American, on top of everyone saying they are better made, they just look cooler to me too :)

    Currently my rig is a Fender American Strat (2000) and a Crate VFX (something or other).

    I hate the amp now....it was fine when I first started out, cause it was a tube amp that had a bunch of different effects that I could play with without spending money on pedals. But now that I'm a better player, and play more seriously, I have started spending some money to get the tones that I want. This amp just doesn't kick my ass.

    I will be/am looking for a better amp, but for now wanted to get the Muff. I've been wanting some Fuzz for awhile now. This seemed to be a popular choice.

    Currently my pedals are the old standbles. MXR Phase 90, BOSS DS-1 + DD-6.

    I play a little of everything, and alot of Pearl Jam. Currently heavy into learning Blues, thanks to the Black Keys.

    -B
  • gatefoldgatefold Posts: 28
    ive got to agree with a lot of what people have alredy said. i rand a big muff (usa) into a fender deluxe and it sounded absolutely shit. i took it straight back. personally i would go for a tubescreamer every time. ive played mine through a vox ac15 and a fender deluxe and it sounds great.
  • TavTav Posts: 63
    I own and use a Big Muff Pi USA and I think it's awesom. If you use it with the right amp and use the right settings the it sounds great. Remember it's not a distortion pedal as such more a fuzz pedal. People have said they hated the sound and went for tubescreamers that just shows you that they are very different sounds.

    As well as the price the Russian and US models do sound different. The guy in the local guitar shop described the Russian as looser. I haven't A/B tested them so I wouldn't know.

    Test it out before you buy, try and do it on your own amp if possible. It's a classic pedal and can give you great sound.
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