NYC re-issue & a Russian Sovtek version

The Big Muff is a famous distortion box produced in New York City by the Electro-Harmonix company, along with their Russian sister company Sovtek, primarily for use with the electric guitar. It has also found a welcome home at the feet of bassists as well (the Russian model especially) due to the Big Muff's boomy low end. For example, late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was known for playing bass solos and riffs through the Big Muff and a Morley Power Wah pedal. Image File history File linksMetadata TwoBigMuffsoriginal. ... Image File history File linksMetadata TwoBigMuffsoriginal. ... A distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. ... The TS9 Tubescreamer from Ibanez, a popular stomp box adding vacuum tube-like distortion to the output signal from electric instruments. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... The Electro Harmonix logo Electro Harmonix is a company that makes electronic sound processors based in New York. ... Sovtek are a Russian brand of vacuum tube in current production. ... Left: Rosa Hurricane, a heavy metal-style solid body guitar. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was a bass guitarist, best known for his work with the heavy metal band Metallica from 1982-86. ...

History

The Big Muff was first introduced in the early 1970s and was used by artists including David Gilmour and Carlos Santana. Contrary to one common belief, the Big Muff was not used extensively by Jimi Hendrix and, in fact, production models were not available until 1971, a year after Hendrix's death in 1970. Big Muff creator Mike Matthews, however, has claimed that Hendrix used a Big Muff prototype in some sessions prior to his death and he was reportedly impressed enough to want to use it on his next album. Hendrix played an integral part in the making of the Big Muff, as Matthews has often stated that Hendrix's guitar sound was the inspiration for the creation of the Big Muff ^[1]. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6, 1946 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) is an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known as a member of the band Pink Floyd. ... Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947), known simply as Carlos Santana or Santana, is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-born American Latin rock musician and guitarist. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

An earlier EH pedal, the Axis fuzz, was also manufactured by EH for the Guild guitar company as the Foxey Lady and used a similar chassis as the early Big Muffs but had a simpler two-transistor circuit. With the introduction of the Big Muff the Axis was discontinued and the Foxey Lady pedal became a rebranded Big Muff. It was available at least until the mid '70s.

Big Muff Pi

Big Muff Pi's jack ports

The Big Muff Pi was the first overwhelming success for Electro-Harmonix's line of pedals. Due to its reliability, its inexpensive price and its distinctive sound. The Big Muff sold consistently through the 1970s and was found in innumerable guitarists' pedal collections. Even after the Electro-Harmonix company was forced out of business in 1982, the pedal remained in such demand that clones of the Big Muff were made by both competing corporations and independent pedal builders, and demand for "vintage Big Muffs" rose. Unsurprisingly, when Matthews restarted Electro-Harmonix in the 1990s, the Big Muff was one of the first pedals he reintroduced to the market. Image File history File linksMetadata EHPi. ... Image File history File linksMetadata EHPi. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ehpijacks. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ehpijacks. ...

The sustained grind of the Big Muff later came to define the sound of many Alternative Rock bands through the 1980s and 1990s, such as the Smashing Pumpkins and Dinosaur Jr. The band Mudhoney loved the pedal so much that they named an EP after it, Superfuzz Bigmuff. Singer-songwriter John Martyn also paid tribute to the pedal by naming a song after it. Jack White of the White Stripes has also made the Big Muff an integral part of his garage rock sound. Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth both use the Sovtek version of the Big Muff ^[2]. The Big Muff remains a favorite among guitarists and bassists for its distinctive sound. Alternative rock (also called alternative music or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... The Smashing Pumpkins (circa 1995) left to right: James Iha, DArcy, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin. ... Dinosaur Jr are an American alternative rock band. ... Mudhoney is a grunge band, formed in Seattle in 1988. ... Extended play (or EP) is the name typically given to vinyl records or CDs which are too long to be called singles but too short to qualify as albums. ... Superfuzz Bigmuff was a 1988 EP by Mudhoney. ... John Martyn, Dublin, 2006 John Martyn (born Iain David McGeachy on September 11, 1948 in New Malden, Surrey, England) is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... The White Stripes are a minimalist rock and roll duo from Detroit, formed in 1997. ... Lee Ranaldo at Ilosaarirock 2003 Lee Ranaldo (b. ... Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958 in Coral Gables, Florida) is an American musician best known as a singer and guitarist for Sonic Youth. ... Sonic Youth is a seminal American alternative rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ... Sovtek are a Russian brand of vacuum tube in current production. ...

Two recent additions to the Big Muff family are the Metal Muff, designed for more modern distortion tones, and the Little Big Muff, a smaller version of the current NYC model. There also exists a customed Big Muff pedal, called Mogwai Big Muff. This pedal was designed by EHX for the Scottish band Mogwai, and has a slightly more extreme sound. Electro harmonix produced only one hundred Mogwai Big Muff pedals. For the Swiss progressive house producer who releases under the name Moogwai, see Chab. ...

Technology of the Big Muff

Most versions of the Big Muff use four transistor stages. Two of these act as input and output buffers, and two generate the distortion effect. Some late-70s/early-80s versions of the Big Muff used op amps, which at the time were not as highly regarded as the discrete transistor versions. However, the op-amp (or IC) Big Muffs have lately seen a revival among collectors and players alike. Assorted discrete transistors A transistor is a semiconductor device, commonly used as an amplifier or an electrically controlled switch. ... An operational amplifier or op-amp is an electronic circuit module (normally built as an integrated circuit, but occasionally with discrete transistors or vacuum tubes) which has a non-inverting input (+), an inverting input (-) and one output. ...

Electro-Harmonix also released a large-box version of the Big Muff known as the Deluxe Big Muff Pi. This version included an onboard compressor in addition to the standard Big Muff features. It was available in 2 versions: one with a Blend switch and another with a SERIESPARALLEL switch.

Many manufacturers produce clones of the original pedal, ranging from the highly affordable Behringer VD-1 to higher-end products such as the Skreddy Mayo, the RonSound Hairpie (available in 3 versions for 3 different years of Big Muffs) and the Euthymia ICBM Fuzz (op-amp model). One of the most highly regarded Big Muff clones of all time is the Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz, which used a transistor array integrated circuit and a scooped tone stack to achieve a sound few have been able to replicate. Electro-Harmonix themselves have joined the fray with a reissue version of their original Big Muff Pi as well as a smaller "Little Big Muff Pi" that incorporates true bypass switching and a smaller enclosure. Integrated circuit of Atmel Diopsis 740 System on Chip showing memory blocks, logic and input/output pads around the periphery Microchips with a transparent window, showing the integrated circuit inside. ...

Currently the Big Muff Pi is offered in three versions: the US-made Big Muff Pi, which can be identified by its silvery metal casing; the less expensive Sovtek Big Muff Pi, made in Russia and distinguished by its dark green or black casing and less ornate graphics; and the Little Big Muff Pi, a US-made version which contains the same circuit as the US Big Muff Pi, but is housed in a smaller, brushed aluminum case. The company also offers the Double Muff, which consists of two separate Muff Fuzz circuits in one pedal, designed to be run either singly or in series to produce a more intense, "over the top" distortion, and the Metal Muff, which adds EQ controls to the basic Muff circuit in order to modify the mids for a tone closer to that of many heavy metal guitarists. Heavy metals, in chemistry, are chemical elements of a particular range of atomic weights. ...

Songs in which the Big Muff is used

• Starflyer 59 - used the Big Muff on most of the songs on their first two albums "Silver" and "Gold"
• 311 - bassist P-Nut uses the Big Muff in Sick Tight and Solar Flare.
• Ben Folds Five - bassist Robert Sledge uses the Big Muff in nearly every song.
• The Carpenters - "Goodbye to Love" - The guitar solo in this song is played by Tony Peluso using a Big Muff
• The Black Keys- "10 A.M. Automatic," "Till I Get My Way"
• Bush - "Glycerine"
• The Cows - "Two Little Pigs" (used on a bass guitar)
• Depeche Mode - "Big Muff"
• Dinosaur Jr - "Mountain Man", "Just Like Heaven"
• Flipper - "Sacrifice" ("Sex Bomb Baby" version). The pedal is used on a bass guitar and routed through the auxiliary input instead of the regular input. This method will create a much rawer tone
• KoRn "Blind" - guitarist Head used the Big Muff to get the grinding tone. He may have used it on other songs such as "Need To".
• The Lemonheads - Evan Dando utilises a Big Muff frequently for his distortion and guitar solos in a live setup on nearly every song.
• Metallica - "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "The Call of Ktulu" and "Orion" all feature a bass run through a Big Muff pedal.
• Misfits - used on the entire "Static Age" album
• Mudhoney - "Touch Me I'm Sick", "Who You Drivin' Now", "Fuzzgun '91", "Check Out Time", "A Thousand Forms of Mind", "This Gift", "Here Comes Sickness", "Suck You Dry", "Beneath the Valley of The Underdog", as well as many other Mudhoney songs. It is often used by guitarist Mark Arm.
• Muse - bassist Chris Wolstenholme uses a Russian Big Muff Pi in most songs often in conjunction with an Akai Deep Impact SB1 pedal. Most notably heard in the song "Hysteria".
• Nirvana - "Lithium" (difficult to hear, but was used according to Butch Vig who produced the album), "Breed" (very easy to hear, right when the guitar starts, also near the end) and "Stay Away" (heard during the last 15 seconds of the song)
• Pink Floyd - guitar solo on "Comfortably Numb" and riff to "In The Flesh". (Whether it was really used on these songs is not known for sure, information comes from this website. If it really was used, the sustain dial was turned down.) David Gilmour uses a Sovtek Big Muff live and as part of his signature tone. David Gilmour also uses it in the intro to the song "Sorrow" on the Momentary Lapse of Reason album. The Big Muff has been David's main distortion unit from 1977-present.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - used on several songs from Stadium Arcadium for the guitar solos, notably "Strip My Mind" and "Wet Sand" by guitarist John Frusciante, also used on several other albums such as Californication and most of his guitar solos on live recordings.
• Santana - "Hope You're Feeling Better"
• Slint - "Nosferatu Man"
• Sonic Youth - "Mieux: De Corrosion" (Russian Sovtek version, kicks in halfway through the song).
• The Smashing Pumpkins - pretty much all distortion on Siamese Dream comes from the Big Muff, as well as many songs on Pisces Iscariot and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
• U2 - "Bullet the Blue Sky", Love Is Blindness
• Whirlwind Heat - bassist Steve Damstra uses the Little Big Muff in nearly every song.
• The White Stripes - "Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground", "Aluminum", "Black Math", "Ball and Biscuit", "Little Acorns", "Hypnotize", "Red Rain", and countless others. Guitarist Jack White uses the NYC version of the Big Muff as part of his signature distorted sound.
• Young and Restless - Young and Restless guitarist Ash Pegram uses an Electro Harmonix Double Muff on the songs "Satan", "Police! Police!" and "Black", and prefers the Russian Sovtek version.
• Wolfmother - "Dimension" (used during post-chorus), "Woman"
• Vigilante - "Area 51" and "Living Lies"

For the Japanese airline see StarFlyer. ... Events By Place Roman Empire May 5 - Galerius issues his Edict of Toleration, ending persecution of Christians in his part of the Roman Empire. ... Michael Campbell(stage name: P-Nut), (born at some point, 1987 in Nairn, scotland) is a British musician, and loves the band Muse. ... Ben Folds Five (1994–2000) was a trio formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina who were a mainstay of piano rock until their breakup in 2000. ... Robert Sledge was bassist for the rock group Ben Folds Five. ... The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. ... The Black Keys are a blues-rock duo consisting of Daniel Auerbach (vocals and guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums) from Akron, Ohio. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The bands star painted on the side of the First Avenue in Minneapolis. ... Depeche Mode are an electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex, England. ... Dinosaur Jr are an American alternative rock band. ... Flipper is an influential punk/noise band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979, continuing on in often erratic fashion until the mid-1990s, then reuniting in 2005. ... Korn (sometimes typeset as KoЯn or KoRn to fit their official logo) is a Grammy Award winning, influential nu metal[1] band from Bakersfield, California, and are often credited with creating and popularizing the nu metal genre. ... The Lemonheads are an alternative rock band from the United States. ... Metallica is a Grammy Award-winning American heavy metal/thrash metal band formed in 1981[1] and has become one of the most commercially successful musical acts of recent decades. ... (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth is the fifth track (an instrumental) on Metallicas 1983 album Kill Em All. ... For Whom the Bell Tolls is a 1940 novel by Ernest Hemingway. ... This article is about the song by Metallica. ... Orion is the seventh track from Metallicas 1986 album Master of Puppets. ... For the movie, see The Misfits (movie). ... Mudhoney is a grunge band, formed in Seattle in 1988. ... Music sample: Touch Me Im Sick ( file info) — Touch Me Im Sick Problems listening to the file? See media help. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Christopher Wolstenholme (born Christopher Tony Wolstenholme, 2 December 1978, in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England) is the bassist for the rock band Muse. ... Akai () was a Japanese consumer electronics producer founded in 1929. ... Hysteria is a song by English rock band Muse and is featured on their third studio album, Absolution. ... Nirvana was an American rock band that formed in Aberdeen, Washington. ... Lithium is a song by the grunge band Nirvana. ... Butch Vig (born Bryan David Vig, August 2, 1957 in Viroqua, Wisconsin) is both a rock drummer and record producer. ... Breed is a song by American grunge band Nirvana, and the fourth track from the bands 1991 breakthrough album Nevermind. ... Stay Away is a song by the 1990s grunge band, Nirvana. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their avant-garde progressive rock music. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Comfortably Numb is a song by the British (progressive) rock band Pink Floyd, which was released on the 1979 double-album The Wall. ... In the Flesh is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. ... David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6, 1946 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) is an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known as a member of the band Pink Floyd. ... Pink Floyds album A Momentary Lapse of Reason was their first album since 1983 and followed the departure of Roger Waters in 1985. ... Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Strip My Mind is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. ... Wet Sand is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers from their 2006 album, Stadium Arcadium. ... John Anthony Frusciante (IPA pronunciation: ) (born March 5, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and musician. ... Carlos Santana in concert, Barcelona 2003 Carlos Santana (born July 20, 1947) is a Mexican guitarist, originally from Autlan de Navarro, Jalisco. ... Slint was a rock band consisting of Brian McMahan (guitar and vocals), David Pajo (guitar), Britt Walford (drums), Todd Brashear (bass on Spiderland) and Ethan Buckler (bass on Tweez). ... Sonic Youth is a seminal American alternative rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ... The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago in 1988. ... Siamese Dream is the second album and was the breakthrough success for alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993. ... Pisces Iscariot is a compilation album of b-sides, demos, and outtakes released in 1994 by The Smashing Pumpkins through Virgin Records. ... Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (also shortened to Mellon Collie or abbreviated to MCIS) is a double CD and triple LP that was released on October 24, 1995 by The Smashing Pumpkins through Virgin Records. ... U2 are a rock band from Dublin, Ireland. ... Bullet the Blue Sky is a song on U2s 1987 album The Joshua Tree. ... Love is Blindness is a song from the U2 album Achtung Baby. ... Whirlwind Heat are a three-piece band from the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. ... The White Stripes are an American rock music duo from Detroit, Michigan consisting of Jack White (principal songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). ... kicks ass --clayton kicks ass hard! ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Wolfmother are an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. ... For other uses, see Vigilante (disambiguation). ...

References

1. ^ http://www.guitaramplifiermagazine.com/pub/2005/premier_issue/mike_matthews_interview.html
2. ^ http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/eq/gearmain.html

External links

• Russian Sovtek Big Muff parts-upgrade and rehousing projects
• Informative articles on both EH Big Muffs and Sovtek Big Muffs
• New and vintage Big Muffs

NYC Re-Issue Big Muff Pi