As a modder, the coolest pedal to me is the English Muff'n. It's exactly a JCM800 preamp architechture with a number of values changed. It has so much potential. Mine sounds incredible, I have a video posted about it. I think EHX should never have marketed it as a Big Muff, but rather as a tube preamp like what it actually is.
I agree, I have one and at first I did not know how to use it well, it sounded a bit loud and without body, then I found the exact point where it performs best, I use it for the clean channel of my amplifier and always with a vox valvetone overdrive as a preamp , sounds fantastic, when I turn it on everything is party
I love the English muff’n! ,, but I hate that it has to use its own special 12v power supply. I can’t plug it into my voodoo lab 2. I have to plug it into the wall and It’s really annoying when I go places ,,, cause I run into ground hum. you think EHX nano hot tubes will sound similar to the English muff’n ?
Germanium4 with everything on noon sounded bad because of how Volts knob interact with the others. It's a harder to tame pedal compared to others muffs you cant just leave it at noon and expected to sound decent. I just want to point that out because it's one of my favorite and versatile dist/fuzz effect.
Yea, I recently bought a germanium4 just for the voltage control aspect, and while that didn't work as I had hoped, it's still turned out to be a pretty versatile pedal. The distortion side sounds an awful like my MXR Distortion+, but with an added dimension from the bias knob, and the overdrive is nice when I have to play at low volume and can't get natural tube overdrive; but I must say I'm not a fan of running both distortion and overdrive together (it just doesn't sound good imo). But other than that, I'm diggin it.
Interesting to read these testimonies, I bought the Germanium 4 thinking I was getting a ‘Siamese Dream’ big muff and a bonus overdrive channel saving me a bit of space and a power supply on the pedalboard. Up to now though I’ve really struggled to achieve a nice fuzz from the muff side and the overdrive is nothing more than a volume boost. I shall persevere though!
Big Box NYC is my choice because the enclosure is huge enough to stuff in every possible muff mod known to man and drill 12 switches, giving me every possible muff tone ever created and more.
I really enjoyed the format of this video. I do wish you'd spent a bit longer on each pedal, sliding knobs other than the "sustain" (or corresponding switch). Since a lot of these pedals are differentiated by the other knobs, this felt more like a "get your feet wet" video than a full comparison. Still, I loved the format, the help text was useful, and this did a great job of getting me oriented on the different sounds of the various muffs.
It was good because it was short. If they went into detail for each muff, we might aswell be watching That Pedal Show, lol!😆 Getting the main gyst of each one, and then juxtaposing it to the next quickly gives you the best chance to differentiate the tones. Then...once you're down to the Original vs the Op Amp, for instance (which, btw, is the correct and only right answer! Jk! 🤣)...you can chase up more in depth videos to work out the tone knob sweep etc.
As an aficionado I will say this, if a specific one does the job for you than choose that one, the reissues are great, if its the overall sound just get the NYC or Nano. If you can’t decide between the reissue styles though and ‘want it all’ the Deluxe ’ does it all’ except what the Bass Deluxe and the sovtek Deluxe do (which means you probably want those two as well). If you’re a person who has tried them in the past but can’t get over the high end fizz, go Russian. THe Metal Muff is the Boss HM-2, also cool but a different style to me.
The black & red deluxe is my favorite by far. You didn't even have the bass boost on and it still sounded amazing! It's the "attack" function that makes it sound so great. Your pick attack and note clarity really pop because of this one feature. People who hate big muffs because of their "muddy" tone should really check out that model in particular.
@@robertgolfetto Higher attack = less muddy. The attack circuit is a less compressed, more midrange focused distortion effect. It also helps if you don't max out the sustain on the main big muff effect. Additionally, you can create a more focused sound by using the mids circuit to boost the mids slightly - this will counter the mids scoop of the regular big muff tone sweep.
This is really well done. great production value and a good riff to test with BUT the op-amp had the tone turned off. Billy Corgan didn't turn the tone off so that should have been on in one of the comparison. :(
Agreed not for everyone and missed by many but I love the Nano Double Muff, won one few weeks ago on EBay in UK for £25!!! best £25 I’ve spent in a long time, sounds ace and suits my style perfectly. The Graphic Fuzz is also a great pedal, it’s tonal possibilities are are brilliant, i especially like how it reacts to velocity and attack.
He has used many muffs over the years. Including the 90s Sovtek "civil war". I recall reading somewhere that the reissue EHX Green Russian is actually more akin to the Civil War although not marketed as such. Things also get a bit confusing there as the circuit changes didn't really coincide with the enclosures with those 90s muffs and there was a bit overlap. Not an expert on the matter. But it's actually not that far off.
Wow, that was the best, most useful demo ever!! Really, stellar work guys 👏! I really should have watched this *before* I just ordered one online ! 🤷♂️ Lucky for me, this video confirms I bought the best - phew! And that's the original and first! Gnarly, thick, saturated, juicy harmonic mids...heaps of gnarly Velcro and barbed wire to fuzz up the edges of the notes. This is my second attempt at a Muff. My first try was a Way Huge swollen Pickle - which has turned out to sound nothing like a Muff. It doesn't even sound like a fuzz..it sounds like a distortion!! So I doubled down on Way Huge and got Conquistador. Now that is a badass fuzz! Don't know what it's based in, but that thing is underrated, I don't know why everyone isn't talking about it! Velcro for day's...gated, spitty & gnarly with so much range in its tonal sweep....you could have a mosquito buzzing up the place...or the deep baritone apocalyptic drop C boooom of Beelzebub himselfs' BC Rich Mockingbird !lol! And everything between. (Like all things, about 12-1 O'clock is about right! 👍).* But anyway...thx for the superlative video🙏. I'm so glad I got the original! 😊 (And to think, I almost went Germanium. Geeeesh!😬 I really don't know why they made 16 versions because none of them matched the first...It's all subjective though, I suppose. *I will add that it gets lost in the mix, though (the Conquistador). I've got a subnup coming in the mail that will hopefully will rectify this issue.
Has anyone compared the Op-Amp to the Deluxe? I've read that the Deluxe should be able to recreate nearly all of them, and that kind of flexibility would be great - IF you can get that Op-Amp sound.
I have the English Muffin, but the Guyatone Harmonic Distortion sounds as good as any of the others here, probably closest to the Triangle Muff, and very sweet on the top end when it compresses.
Very cool video... but I don't think it captures what a Deluxe Muff can do. The idea is that it can replicate the sound of EVERY Big Muff. The sounds are in there if you dial in different levels.
This was actually a good comparison... I liked that you had the tone switch OFF on the Op Amp model. When playing in the mix of a song you can hear it really cut through with plenty of high end!
Some of the best of these are largely ignored these days; the Ge4, Deluxe, Sovtek,and Ge OD,- unique sculpting tools for guitar or bass.The Muff market has become dominated by boutiques when these are not only more flexible, but also less expensive.I would be looking here first, before moving on to the more " exotic".
bit rough on the sound of the metal muff. , its a super trebley pedal, 12 o'clock is like a cheese grater on a iron fence, needs to be around 8 to get the proper sounds
They used A LOT of different pedals and Fuzzes.Fripp is better known for other types, but claims they are all the same.Gilmour and Mascis usually stack so many , with Gilmour into heavy delay and verb, -the exact pedal doesn't matter much.
This was cool but a common mistake made by these type videos is most older fuzz pedals want a guitars pickup impedance. Running the signal out of the helix changes the impedance just as it does when you put a big muff fuzz face or tonebender after a buffered pedal. Some of you may like the bright harshness it adds. If you wanted to do atrue test with the helix i believe there is a company that still makes a box to switch impedance to pickup impedance. For a guy like me who uses 1 pedal into the amp ill be able to hear the difference of the pedal, however none of the pedals will sound theyre best. Keep in mind tone is just an opinion. Id rather hear aguitar played through each pedal even if theyre are minor differences
On the other hand this is a great example of a company making a great pedal and then trying to hard. All anyone wants is a classic build big muff. If you want mids dont play a big muff haha
I just can't give an ubiased opinion on this. In the end, the Op-Amp is the sound of Siamese Dream and nothing could beat that...
I dunno, man... J mascis is pretty cool
@@axelbergstrom4585 That's true.
*I reached the same conclusion after extensive research a few years ago.*
I mean the Deluxe muff kinda does it all
I think the Civil War style is my personal fav but the Ramshead and Op-Amp are close
Out of all the wild gimmicky variants of the Muff,I think the standard ones have stood the test of time such as the big box,op amp,and green Russian.
*Are we just going to not talk about that heroic ginger ‘fro?*
Just enjoy 😎
I just ordered a Sovtek Deluxe. Wish me luck. It’s my first muff, with any luck can be my last OR start a newfound love for EHX Big Muffs.
As a modder, the coolest pedal to me is the English Muff'n. It's exactly a JCM800 preamp architechture with a number of values changed. It has so much potential. Mine sounds incredible, I have a video posted about it. I think EHX should never have marketed it as a Big Muff, but rather as a tube preamp like what it actually is.
I agree, I have one and at first I did not know how to use it well, it sounded a bit loud and without body, then I found the exact point where it performs best, I use it for the clean channel of my amplifier and always with a vox valvetone overdrive as a preamp , sounds fantastic, when I turn it on everything is party
I love the English muff’n! ,, but I hate that it has to use its own special 12v power supply. I can’t plug it into my voodoo lab 2. I have to plug it into the wall and It’s really annoying when I go places ,,, cause I run into ground hum. you think EHX nano hot tubes will sound similar to the English muff’n ?
Yeah but if they did that then they wouldn’t be doing the classic EHX thing of making literally everything into a Muff for zero reason whatsoever lol
Germanium4 with everything on noon sounded bad because of how Volts knob interact with the others.
It's a harder to tame pedal compared to others muffs you cant just leave it at noon and expected to sound decent.
I just want to point that out because it's one of my favorite and versatile dist/fuzz effect.
yeah it get some hatred, but is a great pedal. It has massive volume and it s very versatile.And the OD side ib great as well.
Thx for the info.
Yea, I recently bought a germanium4 just for the voltage control aspect, and while that didn't work as I had hoped, it's still turned out to be a pretty versatile pedal. The distortion side sounds an awful like my MXR Distortion+, but with an added dimension from the bias knob, and the overdrive is nice when I have to play at low volume and can't get natural tube overdrive; but I must say I'm not a fan of running both distortion and overdrive together (it just doesn't sound good imo). But other than that, I'm diggin it.
Interesting to read these testimonies, I bought the Germanium 4 thinking I was getting a ‘Siamese Dream’ big muff and a bonus overdrive channel saving me a bit of space and a power supply on the pedalboard. Up to now though I’ve really struggled to achieve a nice fuzz from the muff side and the overdrive is nothing more than a volume boost. I shall persevere though!
@@antonyedwardson9900 how do you feel 3 years later?
They all sound so different, to get the full spectrum I should buy them all.
Great video, thanks for posting. Love the full size original
Oh boy, now you guys have to amend this to include the new Rams Head reissue
I have the v9 just bought the russian big muff and triangle reissue same day, now i need op amp and rams head
The Triangle is *very* close to the RH
Big Box NYC is my choice because the enclosure is huge enough to stuff in every possible muff mod known to man and drill 12 switches, giving me every possible muff tone ever created and more.
I really enjoyed the format of this video. I do wish you'd spent a bit longer on each pedal, sliding knobs other than the "sustain" (or corresponding switch). Since a lot of these pedals are differentiated by the other knobs, this felt more like a "get your feet wet" video than a full comparison. Still, I loved the format, the help text was useful, and this did a great job of getting me oriented on the different sounds of the various muffs.
It was good because it was short. If they went into detail for each muff, we might aswell be watching That Pedal Show, lol!😆
Getting the main gyst of each one, and then juxtaposing it to the next quickly gives you the best chance to differentiate the tones. Then...once you're down to the Original vs the Op Amp, for instance (which, btw, is the correct and only right answer! Jk! 🤣)...you can chase up more in depth videos to work out the tone knob sweep etc.
That's a great comparison vid and one hell of an Afro, brother :D
Thank you very much for this!!!
As an aficionado I will say this, if a specific one does the job for you than choose that one, the reissues are great, if its the overall sound just get the NYC or Nano. If you can’t decide between the reissue styles though and ‘want it all’ the Deluxe ’ does it all’ except what the Bass Deluxe and the sovtek Deluxe do (which means you probably want those two as well). If you’re a person who has tried them in the past but can’t get over the high end fizz, go Russian. THe Metal Muff is the Boss HM-2, also cool but a different style to me.
The black & red deluxe is my favorite by far. You didn't even have the bass boost on and it still sounded amazing! It's the "attack" function that makes it sound so great. Your pick attack and note clarity really pop because of this one feature. People who hate big muffs because of their "muddy" tone should really check out that model in particular.
#team deluxe
Hey man, sorry for the dumb question, but how do you set that knob to sound less muddy? Less attack?
@@robertgolfetto Higher attack = less muddy. The attack circuit is a less compressed, more midrange focused distortion effect. It also helps if you don't max out the sustain on the main big muff effect. Additionally, you can create a more focused sound by using the mids circuit to boost the mids slightly - this will counter the mids scoop of the regular big muff tone sweep.
They all sound great. I went with the wicker for a little more versatility. Now i'm all fuzzed up!
This is really well done. great production value and a good riff to test with BUT the op-amp had the tone turned off. Billy Corgan didn't turn the tone off so that should have been on in one of the comparison. :(
Pretty sure he does use it with the tone off.
👍🇺🇲❤DOUBLE MUFF NANO.....best on the planet !!!!!......👍the GRAPHIC FUZZ.....is another fave😁
Agreed not for everyone and missed by many but I love the Nano Double Muff, won one few weeks ago on EBay in UK for £25!!! best £25 I’ve spent in a long time, sounds ace and suits my style perfectly.
The Graphic Fuzz is also a great pedal, it’s tonal possibilities are are brilliant, i especially like how it reacts to velocity and attack.
From this demo I liked the; Germanium first, Double second and Op Amp third. Doubt it would be the same in real life if I was turning the knobs.
I'd like to correct this a little bit - David Gilmour is known for using the V2 "73" Ram's Head, Not the Green Russian.
He has used many muffs over the years. Including the 90s Sovtek "civil war". I recall reading somewhere that the reissue EHX Green Russian is actually more akin to the Civil War although not marketed as such. Things also get a bit confusing there as the circuit changes didn't really coincide with the enclosures with those 90s muffs and there was a bit overlap. Not an expert on the matter. But it's actually not that far off.
The Russian one is probably the best because of its blend function followed by the Deluxe Big Muff that covers most of it...
Wow, that was the best, most useful demo ever!! Really, stellar work guys 👏! I really should have watched this *before* I just ordered one online ! 🤷♂️
Lucky for me, this video confirms I bought the best - phew! And that's the original and first! Gnarly, thick, saturated, juicy harmonic mids...heaps of gnarly Velcro and barbed wire to fuzz up the edges of the notes.
This is my second attempt at a Muff. My first try was a Way Huge swollen Pickle - which has turned out to sound nothing like a Muff. It doesn't even sound like a fuzz..it sounds like a distortion!! So I doubled down on Way Huge and got Conquistador. Now that is a badass fuzz! Don't know what it's based in, but that thing is underrated, I don't know why everyone isn't talking about it!
Velcro for day's...gated, spitty & gnarly with so much range in its tonal sweep....you could have a mosquito buzzing up the place...or the deep baritone apocalyptic drop C boooom of Beelzebub himselfs' BC Rich Mockingbird !lol! And everything between. (Like all things, about 12-1 O'clock is about right! 👍).*
But anyway...thx for the superlative video🙏. I'm so glad I got the original! 😊
(And to think, I almost went Germanium. Geeeesh!😬 I really don't know why they made 16 versions because none of them matched the first...It's all subjective though, I suppose.
*I will add that it gets lost in the mix, though (the Conquistador). I've got a subnup coming in the mail that will hopefully will rectify this issue.
Okay, the pedals are great and all but how for Andy's epic fro? Dude is stylin'!!
great video! thank you
The op amp has more punch in the sound imo but the original is more subtle. Both amazing pedals!
1:21 3:55
Excelente video, gracias por compartir, en lo particular me encantan los muff, en todas sus variantes, saludos desde México!
L O V E visiting your shop whenever I get the chance👍
The Double Muff sounded cool :)
Deluxe red and black!
You can never get enough Muff...!
Has anyone compared the Op-Amp to the Deluxe? I've read that the Deluxe should be able to recreate nearly all of them, and that kind of flexibility would be great - IF you can get that Op-Amp sound.
The original vid EHX made for the Deluxe shows them getting an Op-Amp sound (and the settings they used) that sounded pretty good to me, at least
@@wychwoodmusic Thank you!
I am just gonna save you people the hastle. Use the big muff nano overdrive as your clean and boost it with the big muff pi.
Liked the germanium the best for some reason.
English Muffin has to be dialed in like a Marshall Plexi. Heavy on the mids.
I have the English Muffin, but the Guyatone Harmonic Distortion sounds as good as any of the others here, probably closest to the Triangle Muff, and very sweet on the top end when it compresses.
nobody knows how to use it
Woooooow great job
They all sound great. I liked the sovtek and the germanium ones that i didnt know! Op amp and russian ones are two beasts also
Is it impossible to get close to Siamese dream (Smashing pumpkins album) sound with the Germanium?
Esse timbre me faz feliz 🤩
I'm happy with my ehx little big muff and my ehx germanium od(yellow). Sounds good, dirty velcro.
what riff is he playing tho
Anyone can suggest me which value of impedance set in HX stomp with big muff in this configuration? Auto or other particular value? Tnx
Very cool video... but I don't think it captures what a Deluxe Muff can do. The idea is that it can replicate the sound of EVERY Big Muff. The sounds are in there if you dial in different levels.
This was actually a good comparison... I liked that you had the tone switch OFF on the Op Amp model. When playing in the mix of a song you can hear it really cut through with plenty of high end!
I liked the Green Russian Big Muff Pi, the best.
Does the Civil war reissue Deluxe has the same circuit of the green Russian reissue?
Some of the best of these are largely ignored these days; the Ge4, Deluxe, Sovtek,and Ge OD,- unique sculpting tools for guitar or bass.The Muff market has become dominated by boutiques when these are not only more flexible, but also less expensive.I would be looking here first, before moving on to the more " exotic".
1:15 1:23 1:28 1:37 1:45 2:00
Sorry for this question but which one is closer to a fuzz war?
Where’s the black Russian Big Muff Pi V7?
Russian and Standard Big Muff FTW
Where is that riff from? Sounds so familiar!
Feel the Pain - Dinosaur Jr
I love ehx
bit rough on the sound of the metal muff. , its a super trebley pedal, 12 o'clock is like a cheese grater on a iron fence, needs to be around 8 to get the proper sounds
G4 and Stadard Triangle sound great. Tone Wicker 4me.
With the switches off does it just sound like the normal big muff?
Would make sense to go for that if so. Get something else to play with
@@iiiaiiin Yes. And I finally started likeing the flat Bg Mff tone..for Humbucker. Any OD boost in front. Gtr Volume control is good too.
Yes but Where is big muff Ram's head ???
It hadn't been released when we made this video :-(
@@SoundAffects aaaaa okok 👌🏼
Russian and Triangle for me.
Standard Deluxe.
Gilmour, Fripp and Mascis use the Ram's Head...
They used A LOT of different pedals and Fuzzes.Fripp is better known for other types, but claims they are all the same.Gilmour and Mascis usually stack so many , with Gilmour into heavy delay and verb, -the exact pedal doesn't matter much.
tone wicker for sure
With the switches off does it just sound like the normal big muff?
Would make sense to go for that if so. Get something else to play with
guitarist wearing mic-muff wig while demoing big-muffs -- that's what i call attention to the details :3
THIS IS AMA_FKGN_ZING !
That Triangle one sounds so musical
Why does big Always sounds so much better?
Triangle!
This was cool but a common mistake made by these type videos is most older fuzz pedals want a guitars pickup impedance. Running the signal out of the helix changes the impedance just as it does when you put a big muff fuzz face or tonebender after a buffered pedal. Some of you may like the bright harshness it adds. If you wanted to do atrue test with the helix i believe there is a company that still makes a box to switch impedance to pickup impedance. For a guy like me who uses 1 pedal into the amp ill be able to hear the difference of the pedal, however none of the pedals will sound theyre best. Keep in mind tone is just an opinion. Id rather hear aguitar played through each pedal even if theyre are minor differences
What?
ergh, I own a metal muff standard and micro- along with clones… and I have no idea how you got them to sound so terrible.
👍🏿🤘
Russian wins
I thought they all sounded dreadful
Rams head
Uh!
Anything that goes through a line 6 product becomes total crap . Amen
On the other hand this is a great example of a company making a great pedal and then trying to hard. All anyone wants is a classic build big muff. If you want mids dont play a big muff haha
Don't diss my green russian boy like that
That "Russian" pedal.. Is rubbish. Not even close to the Sovtek models..
OP Amp muff sounds like a RAT pedal.