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Throughout the history of guitar pedals, there are certain pedals that have stood the test of time and become iconic pieces that most guitar players will own, or have owned, at some stage. One of those iconic pedals is the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff.
The Big Muff is a fuzz pedal, best known for its huge, bass heavy tone. It has appeared on countless albums from the 1970s to the modern day and has helped define the guitar sound of multiple bands through the generations.
Vintage Electro-Harmonix Big Muffs. Credit: Kit Rae
The Big Muff story officially starts in 1969, however it was predated by another fuzz on the EHX roster called the Muff Fuzz. The original Muff Fuzz was housed in the EHX LPB-1 style enclosure, and although labelled a fuzz, it was more of an overdrive unit.
EHX founder Mike Matthews had the idea to take this and turn it into pedal in a larger enclosure, with easily adjustable knobs and more sustain. He pitched this idea to his friend Bob Myer of Bell Labs, who created the first Big Muff prototype.
Bob had created a more sustaining fuzz sound by cascading different segments of the internal circuit into each other and adding diodes to each section to create clipping, essentially creating a series of stacked gain-boosted circuits inside the unit.
After some tweaking and trialling different capacitors to achieve the desired tonal quality, the unit was ready to hit the stores. The first units were sold to Manny's Music in New York City and became an instant hit, and one of the first customers to purchase a Big Muff from Manny's was none other than Jimi Hendrix.
By 1970, the Big Muff had become an overwhelming success, which carried on throughout the decade as the pedal found its way into the rigs of many iconic guitarists and bands, including David Gilmour, Carlos Santana and Thin Lizzy.
The pedal would later have a revival as a huge component in the Alternative Rock and Grunge movements of the 1990s, with bands such as Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Mudhoney and Dinosaur Jr. all flying the flag for this fuzz classic.
The Big Muff has two different "classic" tones that we associate with the pedal.
The original versions of the pedal used transistors, which gave a very full, fat fuzz sound. The original units are known for their big sound and long sustain. Although the tone on early units varied from pedal to pedal due to the components being used, the typical sound you could expect would be mid-scooped with a fat low end and tons of sustain.
At the tail end of the 1970s, EHX switched to using op-amps, which at the time were considered less desirable as they gave the pedal a raspier, more aggressive tone. But fast forward to the 1990s and the op-amp clipping became a mainstay in the alternative rock sound of the era.
The op-amp Big Muffs typically had a lot more gain on tap as well as the scooped mids and huge low end. This made them much more appealing for guitar players looking for a higher gain sound or a "wall of sound" type texture. They are less articulate than the original versions and don't suit more intricate lines as much as the transistor versions, but unit to unit they are far more consistent tonally.
Credit: Atomazul/stock.adobe.com
The classic Big Muff control layout consists of three knobs:
Vintage Green Russian Sovtek Big Muff. Credit: Walt Grace Vintage
In 1984, Mike Matthews sold the rights to the trademark of Electro-Harmonix and set up a side business in Russia with a sister company called Sovtek. Sovtek are best known for producing vacuum tubes, as used in guitar amps, and the classic Sovtek MiG-50 amplifier (later re-issued under the EHX name).
This side business was set up by Matthews to combat the vintage EHX units fetching exorbitant prices on the second hand market. He decided that the best course of action was to create pedals that were affordable and based off his existing designs.
There was a lot of hype and rumours around this start-up venture, with many speculating that the pedals being built in Russia were being made with military spec parts from tanks and landmines. Matthews did not dispel these rumours, and they helped fuel the concept that these pedals would be somewhat even more durable and essentially unbreakable!
One early example of a Russian-made unit was the 1991 "Civil War" Big Muff, which is best known for it's green and grey enclosure. The early units looked like they were made in the 1970s and the enclosures were prone to scratching and denting more easily than normal, with poor printing.
During this era, many variants of the Big Muff were created and always involved a specific colour theme: models included the Black Russian, Green Russian and Red Army Overdrive.
To this day, the original version of the Big Muff is still a hugely popular pedal, but over the years EHX have created a large variety of Big Muff variants to suit a range of different guitar player requirements. Some of those include:
The original Little Big Muff Pi was built from 1979 to 1982, but this reissue takes the modern Big Muff tone from the early 2000s New York City-made reissue and houses it in a smaller enclosure. This has a slightly brighter tone with a little low end roll off. Perfect for players who want the Muff sound without the huge low end boom.
The Double Muff is ideal for anyone who loves the classic Muff sound but wants a bit more. This pedal includes a switch to move between the classic "single" mode and a "double" mode which adds more distortion to the sound.
The Metal Muff was a high gain distortion that took the Muff circuit and re-designed it for Metal players. It includes a 3-band EQ for additional tone sculpting, and a switchable boost.
Based on the '91 "Civil War" Sovtek Big Muff, this Deluxe version allows you to connect an expression pedal to control the midrange, as well as a built in noise gate, dry blend and various EQ options.
The Big Muff has helped define the sound of a number of musical movements over the past 50 plus. As a result, the list of players associated with this iconic fuzz pedal is eclectic. Some of the biggest names in guitar have, or still have, a Big Muff on their pedalboard.
EHX are not short of different variations of the classic Big Muff circuit, but if you decided to shop around for another variant, you have some incredible options on the market to suit all price points.
JPTR FX Warlow
This boutique take on the Big Muff was designed off a vintage Big Muff that was made on the same day as the release of the Smashing Pumpkins album, Siamese Dream. This is an op-amp style Muff with more gain and width and a 3-way filter toggle switch that allows you to switch to a ProCo RAT or a custom Warlow mode.
Tone City Matcha Cream Fuzz
If you're looking for the classic Muff tone on a budget, this offering from Tone City will give you a huge tone without the huge price tag. This pedal also has a small, mini form factor which saves more pedalboard real estate as opposed to the large form EHX models.
JHS Muffuletta
If you want multiple Big Muff tones on offer but without giving up all your pedalboard space, the JHS Muffuletta will be a great addition. This pedal features a knob to select 1 of 6 classic Big Muff circuits including the Civil War Muff, the classic Big Muff Pi,, the Russian muff and more.
GREENHOUSE EFFECTS Roots Fuzz
The Roots Fuzz is a dual-channel Muff-style Fuzz, using DSS (Dual Switching System) technology to access two separate channels as well as turn the effect on and off, with just one footswitch. The Red channel is more open sounding, smoother, with more headroom and a hint of upper octave at maximum gain. The Blue channel is darker, denser and more compressed, with plenty of sustain and bloom. Great value for a boutique Muff Fuzz!
FREDRIC EFFECTS Green Russian
The Fredric Effects Green Russian is based on the 1990s Sovtek "bubble font" Big Muff Pi fuzz, otherwise known as the green box Russian Muff. Built like a tank (perhaps NATO rather than Russian...), it now comes in an ever-so-cool mini-wedge chassis that looks the part without taking up extra space on your pedalboard. The Green Russian is particularly suited to both bass players and guitarists playing stoner and doom as it has less gain than other Muffs along with a fatter bottom end and brighter mids - this suits downtuned genres incredibly well compared to the brighter, almost thin-in-comparison standard Muff.
KINK GUITAR PEDALS The Chats Scratchie Fuzz
The Chats Scratchie Fuzz is a collaborative effort between Kink Guitar Pedals and self-proclaimed "shed rock" group from Downunder, The Chats. Based on a Green Russian Big Muff-style Fuzz paired with a boost - both independently operated, it's the perfect template for raw, punky garage rock! The Scratchie Fuzz offers all the beefy low-end and scooped mids of the classic Green Russian circuit, with the added benefit of a separate boost circuit which works perfectly as a solo boost, or even as an overdrive.
KMA MACHINES Chief Disruptor
The Chief Disruptor is a massively tweakable Muff-style Fuzz, featuring tons of options to get your perfect sound, including 3 Gain modes, active EQ with adjustable and switchable Mids controls, Top-Boost circuit, and Clean Blend with Pre- or Post-EQ options. Adjust the Mids EQ on-the-fly using an expression pedal, and adjust the Q of the Mids-EQ using the internal trimpot.
FORMULA B Aries Fuzz
The Formula B Aries Fuzz is based on the classic circuit found in the mid-'70s "Ram's Head" Big Muff from Electro Harmonix. Famously put to devastating use by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, the Ram's Head variant of the Big Muff offers a tight bottom end, a huge mid-scoop and tons of gain, giving the impression of a wall of sound. The Aries Fuzz builds on these impressive foundations, using top-quality components which won't stray from spec, and with the addition of a Mid toggle switch that allows you to resurrect your mid-range and stay relevant in the mix when playing lead runs and solos.
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