NYC Edition Re-Issue

The Big Muff is a famous fuzzbox/stompbox 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, former Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was known for playing bass solos and riffs through the Big Muff and a Morley Power Wah pedal. The Big Muff was first introduced in the early 1970s and was used by artists like David Gilmour and Carlos Santana. To dispel a common misconception, Jimi Hendrix never recorded using the Big Muff. It was invented in 1971, a year after Hendrix's untimely death in 1970. The creator of the Big Muff (Mike Matthews) did however let Jimi try out a prototype of the pedal, and Jimi was impressed enough to want to use it on the next album. Unfortunately Jimi died before he could record with it. Jimi is, however, integral in the making of the Big Muff as Mike was inspired by his guitar sound to create the big muff in the first place. The sustained grind of the Big Muff later came to define the sound of many bands through the 1980s and 1990s, such as the Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr and Mudhoney (who loved the pedal so much that they named an album after it -- their debut, Superfuzz Bigmuff). 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 [1]. Though far from versatile, the Big Muff remains a favorite among guitarists and bassists for its distinctive sound. ("Big Muff" is also the name of a song by John Martyn.) Image File history File linksMetadata Artshot. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Artshot. ... A 1965 Gibson Maestro Fuzz Tone FZ-1A, one of the first commercially available fuzzboxes. ... Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... The Electro Harmonix logo Electro Harmonix are a company that makes electronic sound processors based in New York. ... 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 the second bassist in the band Metallica, joining the band in late 1982 replacing Ron McGovney. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... David Jon Gilmour, CBE (born March 6, 1946) is a guitarist and vocalist with British rock band Pink Floyd. ... Carlos Santana in concert, Barcelona 2003 Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born 20 July 1947 in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico) is an American Grammy Award-winning musician and Latin-rock guitarist. ... James Marshall Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and cultural icon. ... MacGyver is one of the symbols of the 1980s in America The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... The Smashing Pumpkins (circa 1995) left to right: James Iha, DArcy, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin. ... Dinosaur Jr. ... Mudhoney is a grunge band, formed in Seattle in 1988. ... Superfuzz Bigmuff was a 1988 EP by Mudhoney. ... The White Stripes are a minimalist rock and roll duo from Detroit, formed in 1997. ... Lee Ranaldo at Ilosaarirock 2003 Lee Ranaldo (b. ... Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a singer and lead guitarist for Sonic Youth. ... Sonic Youth is a rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ... John Martyn (born September 11, 1948) is a singer-songwriter. ...

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 transistors The transistor is a solid state semiconductor device that can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation and many other functions. ... 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.

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 and the Euthymia ICBM Fuzz. One of the most highly-regarded Big Muff clones of all time is the Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz, which used a special chip and a "magic" 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, which nowdays can be purchased new for usually around USD 80. The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

Songs in which the Big Muff is used

• Ben Folds Five - Bassist Robert Sledge uses the Big Muff in nearly every song.
• The Cows - "Two Little Pigs" (used on a bass guitar)
• Depeche Mode - "Big Muff" (instrumental named after the device)
• Dinosaur Jr - "Mountain Man"
• 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".
• Metallica - "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth"
• 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 Steve Turner.
• Muse - Bassist Chris Wolstenholme uses a Russian Big Muff Pi used in most songs often in conjunction with an Akai Deep Impact SB1 pedal.
• 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) 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.)
• Sonic Youth - "Mieux: De Corrosion" (Russian Sovtek version, kicks in halfway through the song).
• The Smashing Pumpkins - "Cherub Rock", "Hummer", "Quiet" and other songs on the "Siamese Dream" and "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" albums.
• U2 - "Bullet the Blue Sky"
• Weezer - "In the Garage"
• The White Stripes - "Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground", "Aluminum", "Black Math", "Ball and Biscuit", "Red Rain"

Ben Folds Fives self-titled debut album Ben Folds Five (1994–2000) was a three-member band formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who until their breakup in 2000 were a mainstay of piano rock. ... Martin EB18 Bass Guitar in flight case The electric bass guitar (also called an electric bass, or simply a bass) an electrically-amplified string instrument similar in appearance to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer-scale neck and four strings tuned an octave lower in pitch... Robert Sledge was bassist for the rock group Ben Folds Five. ... The Cows were a rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Depeche Mode is an electronic music band from the town of Basildon, England, founded in 1980. ... Dinosaur Jr. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Korn (disambiguation). ... Metallica is an American heavy metal band formed in October 1981. ... (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth, an instrumental, is the first composition from Metallica bassist Cliff Burton and is featured on Metallicas 1983 debut album Kill Em All. ... Mudhoney is a grunge band, formed in Seattle in 1988. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Mudhoney is a grunge band, formed in Seattle in 1988. ... Steve Turner is an American guitarist who plays for the Grunge band Mudhoney. ... Muse are an alternative rock band formed in Teignmouth, Devon, in 1994. ... A bassist is a musician who plays a double bass or electric bass (also referred to as bass guitar). ... Chris Wolstenholme Chris Wolstenholme (sometimes credited as Christopher Wolstenholme) (born Christopher Tony Wolstenholme on December 2, 1978) is the bass player, and occasional singer/guitar player for the rock band Muse. ... Akai () is a Japanese consumer electronics producer founded in 1929. ... Nirvana was a popular American rock band from Aberdeen, Washington. ... Lithium is a song by the grunge band Nirvana. ... Butch Vig Bryan Butch Vig (born August 2, 1957 in Viroqua, Wisconsin) is both a rock musician and record producer. ... Breed is a song by the 1990s grunge band, Nirvana. ... Stay Away is a song by the 1990s grunge band, Nirvana. ... Pink Floyd are an English band noted for progressive rock music, philosophical lyrics, classical rock compositions, sonic experimentation, innovative cover art and elaborate live shows. ... The guitar is often used to provide rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument, or is used as an integral part of an ensemble. ... Comfortably Numb is a song from the album The Wall by Pink Floyd, with music by David Gilmour and words by Roger Waters. ... In the Flesh is a song by the British progressive rock band Pink Floyd. ... Sonic Youth is a rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ... The Smashing Pumpkins are a popular American alternative rock band which formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. ... Siamese Dream was the breakthrough success for and second album by The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993. ... 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. ... This article uses excessive clichés and jargon associated with rock music writing. ... Bullet the Blue Sky is a song on U2s 1987 album The Joshua Tree. ... Weezer is an American alternative rock band. ... In the Garage is a catchy song penned by Rivers Cuomo for The Blue Album in 1994. ... The White Stripes are an American minimalist blues-rock duo from Detroit, composed of Jack White on guitar, piano and lead vocals, and Meg White on drums. ...

Audio

• Clean and fuzzed guitar ( file info)
  • A brief riff, utilising the Big Muff Pi
  • Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Image File history File links Guitar_with_fuzz. ... In music, a riff is an ostinato figure: a repeated chord progression, pattern or melodic figure, often played by the rhythm section instruments, that forms the basis or accompaniment of a rock music or jazz composition. ...

Photographs

Image File history File linksMetadata EHPi. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ehpijacks. ... Image File history File links Big_Muff_Pi_008. ...

External links

• Big Muff Museum
• Russian Sovtek Big Muff parts-upgrade and rehousing projects