School me on Muffs?

[Marshack]

Never had a Muff pedal, Is that a fuzz pedal? But, I'm looking to duplicate the "Comfortably Numb" Gilmore sound. I understand he used a original Rams head EHX big Muff. What model best duplicates this? I'd rather go EHX if possible rather than a pricey Boutique unit!

[woolyh]

The EHX Bass Big Muff is probably your best bet as it's closest to the 1970s Big Muff circuit out of the Big Muffs EHX currently makes. I used to have a Big Muff w/Tone Wicker and that can also get Gilmour's The Wall leads pretty much spot on.

 

Here's all the info on Big Muffs you'll ever need :]

http://www.kitrae.net/music/music_big_muff.html

[VanHalen]

I love muffakin muffs - they kick muffakin ass. All you muffakers should own one. Muff divers unanimous!

[RolloGreb]

I would look at the BYOC Large Beaver. You can get them prebuilt if you're not into DIY stuff. I don't think EHX has anything these days that duplicates the ram's head circuit.

[NITROHOLIC]

muffs are perfection in an oversized thin steel box

[Marshack]

 

I would look at the BYOC Large Beaver. You can get them prebuilt if you're not into DIY stuff. I don't think EHX has anything these days that duplicates the ram's head circuit.

 

 

Just listened to the shoot out. It sure nails the tone. It's a shame EHX doesn't even offer "their" own original circuit!

[claytonjohn18]

They can't make it in large enough quantities due to rarity in transistors and other parts. If they could, they probably still wouldn't, though.

 

If you go to www.stompunderfoot.com and listen to the demos, you'll find what you need. And if you don't, email Matt. He'll make one of the pedals suit your needs perfectly.

[Marshack]

ok Thanks everyone. One last question. How far away is the current EHX Big Muff Pi compared to the oroginal,( soundwise only) Is it close enough considering Gilmore won't be using it, or else is the BYOC pedal essential for that sound? I'll jst build the pedal if thats what I need to do.

[Orbis_Mortis]

You would probably need to look into Stomp Under Foot stuff. Or possibly the Skreddy Pig Mine, EQD Hoof, or Blackout Effectors Musket.

[BryanMichael]

Purchase a Diceworks Finale or Epic Fuzz.

 

It will teach you everything you need to know.

 

Here endeth the lesson.

[mattpas]

This site will tell you everything you need to know:

http://www.kitrae.net/music/big_muff_history.html

 

Also, if you want a Gilmour sound, here is a basic break down of the muffs he used:

 

Ram

[Jisatsu]

I've owned a few black russian muffs and they are great for putzing around in your bedroom, but I really really really like my green muff the best.

 

If you want something super versatile and heavy I'd look into the musket. It's one of my favorite pedals period. Combine it with a good boost in the front and you can do just about any heavy sound you want from violiny leads to heavy riffing, to all out wall of fuzz sounds.

 

As for gilmore stuff, meh I've never wanted that sound, but I'm pretty sure the musket can get you there.

[JRBain]

Bjorn of Gilmourish.com [very good resource for Gilmour fans] uses a BYOC, if I remember correctly. You want the 'Ram's Head' style for that. There are various other good units, though - Ronsound, Diceworks, D*A*M did a run; all are good units. Run it into a good clean amp with a strat and you should be away.

[nankuamedha]

 

ok Thanks everyone. One last question. How far away is the current EHX Big Muff Pi compared to the oroginal,( soundwise only) Is it close enough considering Gilmore won't be using it, or else is the BYOC pedal essential for that sound? I'll jst build the pedal if thats what I need to do.

 

 

All Big Muffs have a similer vibe to them, but each model is a little bit different. I'm not really sure what to say about Gilmore stuff, but I've found the NYC (current production) ones to have to super saturated and compressed, and the tone knob really doesn't much of a usable range. The Big Muff w/ Tone Wicker is pretty nice, that would be the one to get if you want to buy a new EHX model, but I think there are much better sounding and more flexable models out there for a reasonable price.

 

The BYOC ones seem great, I'd like to build one sometime. They have control over the mids which you'll find helpfull when using it in a band, plus tone bypass which sounds huge.

 

Stomp Under Foot (mattpas) also makes really nice authentic clones of different era Muffs for a great price. Ronsound makes some nice clones too.

 

For my purposes I generally prefer the Russian Muffs, which you'll hear being reffered to as the Civil War, Green, and Black. I've owned a Civil War and still own a Black Russian, to much they are a bit lower gain, have a bit more bottem end, and have a wooly-er sound.

 

I recently retired my Black Russian from live use this summer, and replaced it with an Earthbound Audio Supercollider Beast. It is really flexable, giving a large amount of sound sculpting tools with controls over the mids and the bottem contour. It's pretty high gain, but not over saturated like the NYC's are. Google 'Earthbound Audio' and you can find his site with more information.

 

Two more clones that many seem to favor at the moment are the Earthquaker Devices Hoof and Blackout Effectors Musket. The Hoof was orignally based off the Russian Muff's, but has been tweaked into it's own beast. It is a Germanium/Silicon hybrid, which is pretty unique in the world of Muffs, and has a mid control that also adjusts the response of the tone knob. I don't know as much about the Musket, but it seems to offer quite a bit of control over it's sound, someone else can tell you more about it.

 

There's tons of them out there, everyone has there favorite. Good luck.

[nankuamedha]

 

Purchase a Diceworks Finale or Epic Fuzz. It will teach you everything you need to know. Here endeth the lesson.

 

 

I want one of those sooooo bad. I hear the guy that makes them is really hard to contact.

[BryanMichael]

I want one of those sooooo bad. I hear the guy that makes them is really hard to contact.

 

That's what I've been reading as well. I have a DiceWorks FINALE fuzz that I bought used about two years ago on Ebay, and I must admit that I was never a Big Muff fan, as I felt they were pretty much "one trick ponies" But I took the plunge after selling my DOD classic fuzz (AWESOME little fuzz!) this one has constantly surprised me with it's various "mod" switches (it has 4 toggles) and the wide variety of fuzz tones, but recently I've been considering a TopTone DG-1, and if I make the leap, I would probably sell the DiceWorks because of the cost of the DG.