Doom Metal Pedals: EHX Big Muff 

Let me know in the comments below which version is your favorite Big Muff! Also be sure to download the free Fuzzlord Guitar Pedalboard Book by signing up on our email list at mailchi.mp/ad0dd3bd3490/fuzzlord

Early 2000s big muff was my first real pedal. Got it off a guy for $30 and I still use it all the time. Also, I fucking love that peavey guitar. The finish is amazing.

My favorite big muff tones came off of two bands ‘The Smashing Pumpkins’ and ‘Superheaven’. For ‘Smashing Pumpkins’ examples like Mayonaise and in the very middle of Geek USA (1:58-2:55) they dialed the OG MUFF perfectly imo and made it sound so lush, I know Billy has said they’d double track especially on that record but I still haven’t heard anything like it tbh it’s not a super dark fuzz either it just sounds really lush and cushiony and when they’d play chords it’d sound so electric and it’d wouldn’t thin out, just super drone imo. For ‘Superheaven’ on their song youngest daughter they used the green Russian muff for the distortion and thats another example of perfect EQ and perfect dialing imo it sounds super big and wide and lush-ful, its not thin either and just super cushiony sounding distortion.

I'm not really a Metal guy, but I always find your videos interesting. I'm partial to the Op amp Muff. I like a lot of guitarists who use the Big Muff, including David Gilmour and J Mascis. One of the cool things about the Big Muff is that is versatile enough to be used in multiple genres.

I was trying the Green Russian combined with their Crayon OD at a shop using a baritone LTD viper. Holy moly. Absolutely perfect.

My favorite is the original NY silver big muff.. I just love that almost broken sound that it has about it. I also love the black one, theres also that like.. small one that was made a billion years ago that I like, but my favorite is the original.

I sometimes feel like using a big muff is cheating because they sound so good on their own

The green russian Big Muff is my favourite. Bought one new in 95. Still got it. But it has been retired. Got one of the new reissue Green muffs. It sounds exactly the same as the old one. But now i use a KMA Machines Dead Stag. Which is basically a green muff circuit you can tweak to infinity..

I have a Sovtek "Civil War" version that I've used on bass for well over a decade (closer to two). When I went "muff diving" back in the day, I bought eight "green muffs" and one other civil war muff and the one I have come out on top. It's amazing how the "same" pedal sounded so different. Will be placing on my guitar pedal board soon to see how it sounds.

My favorite version is the one from the mid-1970’s. I am currently using a Hizumitas for different stuff. But that does not matter, as I always appreciate your demos!

I've always loved black and green Russian Muffs, always had one or a clone on my board. Currently I'm using the Hizumitas and Wren and Cuff Violet World and loving both. Have several other Muffs and the Green reissue is amazing for the money. Stomp Under Foot makes an awesome black Russian clone.

I still have a great love for the Metal Muff for doom stuff.

Another killer video thankyou Jason. I'm lucky enough to have an original civil war big muff, but believe it or not wouldn't use it for doom metal. It doesn't ''track' well enough for single note chromatic riffing, not tight enough. But for grunge unbeatable.

I think the brightness of the Big Muff is what makes it stand out and I have to say it's my favourite.

Celtic Frost 🤘 Melvins Cathedral

I was here for the Big Muff's because I love that type of pedal.

Weedeater uses the Russian muff; killer band!

Any Stomp Under Foot of any EHX Big Fuzz is awesome.

I just started watching your stuff and I really love your videos. I think how fuzz sounds in mix is such an under represented part of demos, so many dope fuzzes just dissappear when you're playing with a bass player and vocals

I really appreciate that you play while changing the dials. That is extremely helpful. ❤

My favourite BIg Muff (and acknowledging that I don't have full experience with all versions of the Muff) is the three knob Bass BIg Muff (I have the regular one, not the nano), because of the toggle switch that lets you boost bass or blend in the "clean" signal (great for stacking another pedal in front).

I've owned a few dirt pedals over the years and have had the Pi NYC since early 2000's, and to this day it's still my favourite - it's brutal. I've tried the Russian, triangle and rams head, to me they didn't sound different enough to replace the NYC.

I have the little big muff but not that one . Should get one. Thanks Jason.

I’ve only ever had the green Russian reissue and I really love it. I recently saw a video from the JHS channel where he used an octave in front of a Big Muff style pedal and it sounded super Gnarly so I’m saving up so I can try that combo for myself (:

I have 20+ EHX muffs and just as much clones and variants. My favorite EHX is my big black Russian/v7d but my favorite muff style pedal is the BAT Pharaoh

I can appreciate a Muff but myself I'm more of a Fuzzface or Rat guy. But I have to admit, that adding a Muff track while quadtracking can make a mix nice and thick. I liked the green one the best.

Agree on almost all counts. In a mix with a bassist I’d probably use the big box NYC - better chance of being able to hear both instruments - but by itself the Black Russian sounds better, even though the lower end might drown out the bass a little bit.

Best is the Version 7, whether it's gray, green, or the early black ones. Smoother, clearer, more bass and mids. The reissue is good but doesn't quite nail it. Close second is the op-amp big muff. Crazy fuzz tones in there. Reissue nails the original too.

Was that you singing on the Windhand song ? What can’t you do man that full band mix was killer

I bought a green Russian tall font as my first pedal at 14 years old. For 140 Dutch guilders, which is roughly 70$. Good times. Later on I got two 70's op amp big muffs. I liked them better for guitar and the green Russian works better for bass. I switched to using a EQD Hoof later on because I got lost in a band mix, the mid shift on that pedal really helps with that.

I have a NYC Big Muff that Alchemy Audio worked on. To me the NYC pedal sounded the best to my ear, it had some upper mids that the other two did not have.

The green Russian for me is my fave, though the Black Russian is also terrific. I feel like most of the bands I like use a muff lol. I’m a fan of the way Christian Lembach from Whores uses one. Mudhoney’s tone on the early releases is also very muff-centric. Lol Great demo, Jason! Cheers!

I gotta say in my experience, I prefer the Sovtek Muff, and I have the deluxe reissue with the gate and wicker. My favorite not mentioned is the Germanium4 Muff that is especially great for garage psych.

Love the first Big Muff and with this play the Montsanto Album, regards and indoomwetrust

Bassist here and I've always loved the low end oooomph but hated the high end fizz... I recently put a big muff style pedal back on my board because it has a clean blend with a clean tone knob so I'm able to have a very biting clean high end with a fuzzy low end

I loved my black russian ones. Especially on bass.

Black and Green russian for me. I need that low end. It also helps to have versions that have more eq control. I picked up some black russian clone off talkbass for $65 that has a bit more gain than the og, and it has a mids and blend knob. I love the thing to death.

The green Russian re-release possibly sounds the best in your mix, but the classic silver NY Muff is the sound I'm used (as I have had that one since early 2001) with that big tone scoop.

The original (US) big muff is the original Doom one as far as I'm concerned. the Black Russian is ok but unless you have an overdrive with it, it just sounds like you are playing through a neck pickup. Black Russian muff and Proco Rat give some awesome tones but it's easy to create just noise with no definition. It's all about how the pedal reacts with palm mutes to me, so the black Russian is a little handicapped. the Reissue is ok, but I actually have the Deluxe edition from EHX with extra tone controls. I'm really curious how different they sound through different preamps... so Orange Vs Laney Vs Marshall. I play mine through a Laney Linebacker 50-watt head I bought as a project (Dave from Laneys tech support is a legend for fixing old Laney heads!) and a 4 ohm 2x10 cab that used to be a PA speaker and was "adapted" to use with guitar amps, and that sounds heavy as hell. I also have a Marshall JVM or a Mode4 head with an MF400 cab loaded with K100s, and it sounds huge through that, but its going to sound different to someone playing through a different head and cab i guess.... Incidentally, I built a Green Russian clone a few years back and apparently, it is exactly the same circuit as the Black Russian one in terms of parts. are they the same?

My fav is still the green russian big muff on it's own (I have the release). They're not quite as chaotic and wild sounding, a bit more controlled.. if you can call walls of fuzzed out filth that ;) Jason, also been enjoying the civil war big muff circuit in the boost context as I recently acquired a Kink Pedals "Russian Plague" - absolutely brilliant pedal by the way... combines a modified turbo RAT circuit with the big muff BUT they also include a "order" switch, so you toggle which circuit to run into the other... I love when people just "get it"... only thing I'll say is they can be a notoriously noisy combination... but totally worth it! Muff boosted RAT for life! haha \m/ * Another good option, but totally different direction is boosting with something like the Plumes... does a stellar job with Muffs...

Buffer it with a Tube Screamer in front set with moderate drive. Max out the sustain on the Muff and tweak the tones to suit. Works for me…..

I originally got one of the NYC style big muffs because I wanted to get into the ballpark of the Windhand tone but it got replaced by my Dronemaster so out of boredom I modded my Big Muff by totally removing the tone circuit and deleting the entire Q3 stage. Basically making it a 3 transistor 2 knob fuzz, it still has plenty of gain and sounds wide open but more controllable. Idk if it's something worth doing in other people's opinions but it was fun to experiment and I like it's sound better.

Man, I love the tones that you constantly get and your riffs. If you lived in Illinois, I'd be banging on your door to try to write some music with you. (I'm a bass player and lead singer who is constantly compared to Dio, so it would definitely sound like old Black Sabbath. 😎)

The muff might be hard to use in some places when there is a lot going on in the mix, but holy fuck that classic big muff wall of fuzz will always sound rad as can be.

the original Big Muff has to be my favorite, to me it sounds more ‘full’ than the other 2

man i've got a 2000's NYC muff like you got there,had it for years,and love it of course,but a few days ago bought a current NYC model(if you notice the current ones just say USA,doesn't say Made in NYC) i bought it to mod because i didn't wanna screw with my older one...and bone stock they sound substantially different from one another...like way more than i would have thought,i couldn't even get them to sound close....the older one sounds far better IMO...i know they're famous for sounding slightly different between models but this just seems like a lot,...I'm not mad but just surprised they'd change it up that much is all i'm saying i guess...so if you get a chance,it's worth grabbing a current one because it's for sure different

Great video as always! From the shown 3 pedals I liked the black russian the most. My all time favourite is my own version though, which is based on the green russian, but I modified the tone stack so that instead of scooping out the mids it has a little hump in the low-mids at around 500Hz. It's similar to your version, I just use a switch for three separate mids settings instead of a pot (scooped, flat, low-mid push).

Have to go with the big OG silver muff.

Weedeater--favorite version is the Orange OP Amp.

My favorite one is The only one that i have 😅. A regular Big Muff from 2000 and something.

They all sound great to me.

NYC ORIGINAL BIG MUFF PI. This version stacks the best with a TS, SD-1 or Rat juicing it.🤘🏻

NYC had the most pick attack retained and in my opinion, thats a huge asset

Nice video Jason of comparing these Muffs! I tend to agree with you, I favor slightly the Black Russian Muff!

Ive compared the six muffs i have like a million times and i feel like my favorite (consistently) is the rams head reissue. I have a big box nyc that was modded by alchemy audio that can sometimes be my favorite as well

i'm using the reissue with a eq after it for some mid boost when needed, can't imagine myself getting rid of it! also, the fuzzlord MF4 sounds brutal!!

I have the big NYC model and I keep the tone at 11 o'clock. Sounds closer to the other ones like that

I liked the green one the best. Something in the low mids seemed missing in the other two. I use a bass big muff myself .

WOW!

im liking that original the most I think

Favorite Big muff pedal and artist Rams head and J. Mascis not ashamed to say Dinosaurs jr.. I love muff’s and some clones the Hizumitas is killer and has a great tone stack.

It's funny cuz I have a Big Box and the same black russian, and both of yours sound really different from mine. My black russian has less gain, and less of a fuzz quality to it. Sounds more like a beefed up fat overdrive that can lean toward fuzzy tones. It is pretty dark too. Love if, but I tend to prefer the regular big box muff.

I have 2 of those black russians and they are my favourite of the muffs but i use a moose electronics dobsky on my gigging board which is a green russian with a lpb1 tacked onto it and its epic

My favorite big muff is the deluxe, you can have all the others with it ... Sold my green russian, wasn't as good as my nano bass, the only one I've kept with the deluxe (the bass big muff is of course really close). The basses are more balanced for me on the bass versions than on the green one, quite strange ...And yes, I'm talking about guitar, not bass.

No originals around? I remember those from when I was a kid. (I’m 66)😮like the grinding progressions. Like the NYC. IT SOUNDS LIKE A JACK HAMMER ON A NEW YORK CITY STREET. LOL❤

I had an old V5 (op amp, tone bypass) that sounded awesome, more grindy/harsh than the NYC or Russians. The way the Op Amp Muff sounds to me is like you're playing through two parallel Muffs, one with the tone knob at like 11 oclock and the other all the way up. IME Muffs sound best through Marshalls, the double mid cut going through a Fender amp makes it too hollow. Pretty good through the clean channels on a Mesa Mark V or Dual Rec as well.

Great & fun demo as usual. I have both the Big Muff Deluxe and Sovtek Deluxe pedals from EHX. I go back and forth between them. I think they both sound great. I definitely lean more twords the Russian muff sound. I agree with Jason it's less harsh. MF-4 is hands down the best fuzz I have ever played though. It lives on my board and has become pretty integral to my playing. 🤘

I prefer using big muff with overdrive or treble booster

Yeh i agree the Black Russian sounded the best, ive got one though so maybe a bit biased lol Love the sounds, riffs and vid cheers mate. Doom on

Hmm... I think I'm partial to the reissue. Hard to tell via a RU-vid vid though. Great vid, now I need another pedal though...

I'm gonna be real with you all. The Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker is the greatest Fuzz pedal ever made.

I learned on a black Russian Big Muff.

I didnt use my DIY Green Muff for years because it sounded so muddy, almost broken, especially at the neck PU. Found out after years that it sounds awesome at 75% guitar volume 😂 Still might be something wrong with it since I made it myself and I am not a pro by any means 😅

I sold my Swollen Pickle and kept my Op Amp Big Muff (mostly w/tone off). Not a huge fan honestly they always seem to sound great on youtube and like shit in my room. I do remember liking the Pickle in the FX loop of my amp better than straight in. I need to dust it off the muff as I now have boss es-5 which allows me to have parallel loops. I wonder how it would sound with a mid hump overdrive in parallel. My favorite fuzz sound right now is a Mojo Mojo OD as a fat dirty boost parallel to a Park Fuzz.

I used to have a big muff in my doom pedalboard but it did not fit (to me) so i changed to a behringer SF300

please do a video only for harmonic percolator style pedals❤

Excellent demo 🤘

Smashing Pumpkins became the band the became once Billy discovered the Big Muff. That green Russian sounds best to me!

My first muff was the Black Russian Big Muff Pi and i loved it. I did some mods to my first one but it got lost when i moved for college. I have a replacement now but i also learned the subtle differences in versions. In my Muff collection there is a Big Muff Pi w/Tone Wicker, Black Russian Big Muff Pi and Way Huge Swollen Pickle Fuzz. They sound slightly different

I'm not a big fan of a traditional Muff, in much the same way as I don't like the Hyperfuzz on mode 2 as the scoop makes it sound like a broken speaker playing through a blanket as soon as there are other instruments and a drummer in the room with it. What sounds good in your bedroom sounds cack in a mix. That said, I have a Rotten Apple clone with an added shape control which goes from super scooped to humped in the mids and it's fucking doooope. It chugs like crazy. I also like a muff either stacked with a rat or run in parallel with a mids-forward distortion pedal for sludge. Sounds huuuge.

Jason did you ever do a shootout between Big & Little Big Muff.? Thanks.

Big box NYC for me, maybe my taste is for more distortion.

I've always wanted to get my hands on a big muff, but I've always been lazy when it comes to doing that 😕 Also, napalm death used a big muff on their album "From enslavement to obliteration"

I honestly don’t like muffs I get all my tone from my fab fuzz by Danelectro followed by my fab tone by Danelectro going into an orange amp the guitar is an epi sg loaded with a Wilde Bill Lawrence xl500 in the bridge and Wilde Bill Lawrence l500 at the neck but don’t get me wrong you made those muffs sound great

Any thoughts on the version billy corgan uses Jason? not sure which one it is?? V4??

Jason os três são 🤌🏻🤘🏻 Mas tô com você, black Russian é da pesada e soa um pouco melhor nos meus ouvidos. A propósito ótimo som ao final do vídeo, como sempre ! Thanks brother 🇧🇷🤘🏻🤘🏻👍🏻

I run a big muff in my orange super crush 100 through an 8ohm 2x12 but sometimes it goes mute after a few seconds HELPPPPP

Ima say one of my favorite band that use a Big Muff is not one many would say. KoRn. Their first 4 or so albums were Mesa + Muffs!!

What’s the song at the end?

Hey man what tuning are you using?