You do a good job making them sound close. I bought the Green Russian for my dad and the Nano Big Muff for myself. The Green Russian DESTROYS the Nano Big Muff. I got more noise from the American Muff too, it's like a can of wasps. The Russian is a lot tighter and has more balanced tone, you can hear note separation when playing chords too. The American sounds awful playing chords and the volume is lower at 12 and is spikey. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE GREEN RUSSIAN MUFF.
I thought it was only me that hears the best definition that the Soviet one has. The American one seems to have a very strong compression on. There ain't no dynamics
Really nice demo, comparison & playing. I played through a full size Big Muff Pi back in my band days (2000-2007) & loved it. We're playing again after a 12yr hiatus, & unfortunately I don't have my BMP anymore. After watching this vid, I think I'm sold on getting one again.
I'm a russian muff fanboy rocking an original black russian for the last 15 years, but I'm preferring the US here. Sounds rougher, more clipping which I'm into right now. The green is def smoother/creamier, which is what I've always read. The US is filthier, and now I'm wanting a US nano.
Dan Lobster Funny, I’m exactly your opposite.. Been rocking a vintage US big muff from the 70’s for the exact same time. I’m into smoother and more creamier sounding fuzz now hahaha and I’ve loved my reissued green big muff
I've got the Sovtek and the Pumpkin Pi and they're both killer pedals. To tighten/brighten them up, just run an overdrive with a hi-pass filter in front of them.
The Big Muff (the big one, not that nano) was my first pedal about a year ago. It took me that long to find a sound a liked. I recently had the chance to compare these two pedals, and I was about to go for the Russian because it's seems like a more controlled and consistent sound, but then I realized that to me the Big Muff just has more character. It's more "unleashed". That and the Russian's bass was so incredibly boomy and overwhelming.
It’s all personal taste-Jack white,Wolfmother and Red Hot Chili Peppers have used the NYC for rhythm so I just prefer Russian for the reason I mentioned,I feel it’s more focused and sits better in the mix overall.I. Have both though because I just love Muff lol.Btw palm muting on a Russian does sound better to me and I also recommend getting a boost with it like a TC electronic Spark or like I use a MXR micro amp,it’s a powerful couple.
You and I have a very similar musical style in your playing. I love that you run through these tests playing articulate lead riffs and not just the standard chord strumming that everyone else seems to think is good enough. Your videos provide enough sonic information across the spectrum to help make a decision. Thank you for the great work! I’d love to see a video of the Russian big muff running after a distortion pedal like the ds2.
Really great comparison! You do a good job demoing them in a variety of situations. I really appreciate the fact that you could do that without riff-bragging for 15 minutes! A lot of people seem to use pedal demos as a chance to show off.
Nice job. I have an original tank green muffin and there is a huge difference between that and the re-issue. Mine dates about 1994, that's when I bought it, wooden crate and all.
Love your channel brother, finally subscribed don’t know what took me so long, you helped me decide on the maxon od808 on another video and it’s been plugged in ever since
I made one on 2003 with 2N3904 transistors. It has less gain than the American version and it’s very close to the russian sound. I stil have it and I love it. I tried it with 2N5089 transistors and I found it was too much gain for me so I think russian rocks better
Thanks so much for this video. I’ve gone from the Hoof V2 to the Honey Pot, and something was still missing. Now I know for sure it’s the Nano Big Muff!! 🤤😍
I dig em both. I just picked up a deluxe big muff pi that is based on the NYC. Still considering a Russian of some sort though. Either the EHX of the Way Huge.
Nano is gnarlier, more ragged but also pretty harsh at times. I prefer the Russian since it's creamier and tighter, but still intense. Both are cool tho
I'm torn between the Russian and the Op-Amp (I know the latter is not in this video, I'm having a mid life crises and starting all over again so looking for good stuff like this video) but awesome demo man! If it was between the two here, for me it would be the Russian.
I had a black Russian Big Muff in the 90s and I hated it. The nano sounds a little better, the big black one I had sounded like I was playing a DS1 out of a blown speaker.
You’re spot on, I’m a huge fan of the Russian Pi for bass - specifically with a Peavey T-40 - sickest bass fuzz tone I’ve ever heard - you must try it, you won’t Be disappointed!!
Dammit... I want the Russian cause the enclosure looks cool but the pi is just so much more the sound that I'm going for. Maybe I'll buy the pi and spray paint it green and stencil it 😂
That's a difficult one....probably the classic Big Muff, it adds more bloom to the notes....but Gilmour did have a few tricks in order to get that pedal to cut through the mix, EQ pedals and what not.....
It also depends on what amp you have. Consider that David Gilmour recorded "Comfortably" with a Ram's Head (which is mids scooped) into a Hiwatt (which is mids humped). Also he may have used a colorsound power boost to enhance the attack of the pedal. So I should say none of these pedals is suitable for the Comfortably studio tone. But the Green Russian is for sure the pedal that matches Gilmour's tone best, especially for latest eras (from "A momentary lapse of reason"). Consider he also has the "Civil War" (very similar to green russian) on Pompeii Live last year. Cheers
We were in an unfortunate position where all our tube amps sold out. The Fractal gets real close, but of course we still can't achieve the same tube saturation. Since then, all the Muff comparison videos were done with the same preset on the Fractal to maintain at the very least, the same consistency when you watch all our Muff comparison vids. At least we can say, that with the headroom of the Fractal, you truly are hearing pure tonal difference as opposed to further coloration via tube saturation.
