Oh that sounds interesting, wonder how it translate to a cheap transistor amp that I use, I'm thinking about going for a clone of an OCD to pair with my tone wicker big Muff, currently I get more mids from a Tube screamer ts9
Great advice except 2:15. As you said, everything is subjective. Music is an art. There’s no “wrong” and there’s no “bad.” It’s all about the application and the mood you’re going for. The muffled bass heavy sound of Muff into TS can work for stoner for example. Some of the best music came by accident: people not knowing or intentionally not doing things as they should. Be crazy, be creative.
Walrus Audio Eons is my favorite muff. It's based on the ram's head. It has five different clipping options, a 2 band eq, and a voltage/bias knob. You can get a lot of great sounds out of it.
Dude, this one is definitely on my radar and would be my first dip into the world of Walrus. The amount of tones it covers sounds insane! And shows just how flexible that old Muff circuit can be. Those clipping options alone make it a dirt chameleon!
I've found that running a ds-1 on the lowest gain in front of a big muff adds the perfect amount of bite that I'm looking for from it. Sounds amazing on my strat.
My first two pedals were a TS9DX and that same Muff. I ran the screamer into the muff for years. Gave me the sound I was looking for. I still keep them on a mini board seperate from my main board. They just sound so good together.
My green tank of an early 90's Sovtek bubble font Big Muff Pi is still my favorite. I also have the NYC, the Deluxe and Triangle but the Russian one that came in a little wood crate with the sliding top lid is the cat's meow.
2:36 woah shots fired lol I love JHS, Josh always suggest you just try things out everyone is searching for a different tone. But i like the friendly jab. And I like this channel!
I have too, and I love it! Just a question guys.. I use at the first place of the chain a compressor pedal always on for both clean and distortion sound.. I'm doing right? Or I should take it off when I use the muff?? Anyway I love compression on lead sound, it gives me more power and sustain..
@@MrAlexGalante You can use them either way, but will get different results, and really there are very few cases where you always use a specific pedal in a specific place. You can put a flanger before the fuzz and fuzz out the flanging, but with the fuzz first, you flange the fuzing!🤪 Try it and see, but you will have to play with the controls to get a good picture of what sounds good for each. 🧐 I always try new pedals in different places, and have discovered many great sounds worth using. Many modern pedal boards have order switching so you can do it live and on the fly.😲
A muff CANT go into a TS, it sounds so bad really, the only scenario I can see working is if it’s a TS inspires pedal that has no clipping option(like EQD plumes) but even then it’s still way better before the muff
I agree! If you put an overdrive after the big muff you kill your sound. As you say, the overdrive should be placed before the big muff, even better if you use a full range overdrive, more or less "transparent" like boss bd-2. Greetings!
@@silviolutti1522 yeah david gilmour placed the powerbooster after fuzz, the guy in the video here just has no idea how to set it up, he has the gain on the tube screamer at 1:00, which is obviously gonna sound like shit, the gain should be as low as possible
Jesus man! Funny, informative and helpful. I gave up on this rabbit hole years ago because I couldn’t get the right sound, but I’m definitely going to revisit this.
I like the pig snort sound I get from the BIG MUFF PI on my round wound bass for harder metal and non-metal songs alike. It adds that different dimension to the overdrive of my amp through the loop, which is superbly golden and clean. I still get the floor of the bass, but the snarl of the guitar section of the songs, at the same time. Of course I like it on many guitar parts for that standout feeling of arpeggios and some leads. I am using the original Big Muff Pi from back in the days of the LPB-1 and LPB-2, with a small phazer at the end of chain to get a good pig snort out of it.
@daddurs2206 Closer to the amp. I've got a Wren & Cuff Caprid and it's the last gain pedal before modulation, delay/reverb etc. It sounds great getting slammed with a Rat or DOD 250! One of the things I love about the Muff is there's not a huge volume boost when you hit it with other pedals, it just affects the tone and texture.
I just picked up a Deluxe Big Muff last week and I fully agree about how great it is. You can pretty much obtain any muff sound you want with it, and you have the option of using the mid switch as a solo boost or as a better way to hone in on that tone you're looking for. I can't believe no one talks about it and it's only about $30 USD more than the Ram's Head reissue.
TRUE OMG I can't BELIEVE how many times I've seen ppl telling ppl to put the TS after and I'm like "Dawg, ahev you tried this yourself? If so? Are you ears healthy?" because it makes ZERO sense
I have a deluxe big muff pi, and the pamphlet inside says that if the tone pots do not fit your tastes you can unscrew the back plate snd use a 2mm wide flat head screwdriver and adjust the tone pots away from factory settings. Apparently there are 3 pots for the mid bypass section.
I just got my first Muff, it is a Deluxe Big Muff. It has made my life so much better. Now I am here watching videos about Muffs, this is how it starts. Weeks from now I will have remortgaged my home in search of the best and biggest Muff.
A Muff is/isn't a Fuzz in the same way that a Tomato isn't/is a Fruit To an Engineer/Botanist, it's an Overdrive/Fruit To a Guitarist/Chef, it's a Fuzz/Vegetable FWIW, I really like running my Blues Driver clone into my Muff - the BD is my preferred OD to push my amp and it does magic things with the BMP too.
I stumbled upon a EH Double Muff pedal. Had never seen one before and it is a beautiful distortion that really responds well to the dynamics of your picking/playing. AND you get the switch that changes it to a heavier distortion. Love it and was happy to pay $180 at my local guitar store. Trying to find the 'right' placement for it on my board.
Awesome! Though we should note, the "Muff" circuit in the Muff overdrive and Double Muff aren't actually "Big" Muff circuits at all! Not sure why they stuck with that name for a pedal that as different but they've also done it with the Big Muff Germanium so I think they just like to use it on their dirt pedals.
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox There used to be an EH Muff Fuzz pedal and the double Muff is (I think) the choice of 1 or 2 germanium diods, thus the switch and is a Fuzz unlike the Big Muff. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Always trying to learn about anything that relates to guitars....Strats in particular and Pedals. Total lifelong obsession!!!
Melvins part sounds sick. Flashing me back to Fantomas… which was muddy AF but they were competing with Mike Patton’s shrieks and all sorts of insane Slayer cymbals and it just worked.
If you run a big muff into a tube screamer, dial the drive almost all the way back. The purpose of the TS then becomes focusing the Mids of the big muff
I LOVE my Pharoah. Good call. The Buffalo FX Ram's Head with a mid control is also really sweet, but I'd be just as happy with my Deluxe Big Muff Pi reissue. It does everything.
I've never got on with fuzz pedals (I know...a poor workman always blames his tools), but some of my all time favourite guitar tones are from guitarists using fuzz, so I'm always interested to see how I could incorporate them into my sound.
All you need is fuzz! Thing is, a lot of the most popular ones have such a particular sound that they can alienate people. But they don't have to be super scooped, saturated or buzzy. If you check out something like a good Fuzz Face and treat it like a distorted amp, you'll find they're amongst the most flexible and toneful drive tones out there!
I remember having get used to the feel as well when I was first using fuzz pedals. They are usually pretty responsive to the knobs on the guitar, use them.
Really appreciate this video, I've been trying to troubleshoot my tone with a wicker muff and have been hitting the wall. Looking forward to doing some rearranging!
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox I want to resequence my boost and an equalizer in front of the muff. They currently are behind it, and your video perfectly reflected the problem I'm having with that.
I noticed that a Muff works so well with a TS9. On my Peavey, there’s a Muff effect so I paired that with my actual TS9 and holy hell! What a revelation! It sounded great and despite how chunky it was, it actually turned out to be a pretty damn good tone for King Diamond and Mercyful Fate! I had the tone higher on both (~60-65%) with decreased muff volume and 70% Sustain. It sounded great. Next pedal I’m getting is a muff. The MXR Distortion+ and TS9 already make up a larger part of my tone. Keep the D+ in line for Iron Maiden stuff and put the muff on for Mercyful Fate! (Btw, an EQ pedal goes a long way people!)
It's funny because, for about 2-3 months now I'm running a DBA Fuzz War into a Boss SD-1, and it's sounds almost like Colour Haze. I'm actually happy with the resoults, it pulled me out of my comfort zone and gave me a different perspective on dirt pedals. An important note is that I only use the neck pickup, and the gain settings on the amp is very low, so as on the pedals. So I admit that a full on blast from the fuzz and the overdrive would sound like crap.
Distortion is a bit heavier than overdrive And it's like a ramping up process from weakest effect to strongest. OD is just a little color on the line, fuzz shapes the line, then distortion... Distorts. Color>shape>texture.
I own a russian pi, and always ran it at the front of the chain to preserve its huge low-end. None of my other pedals, later Muffs included, matched it in that regard. I came to not rely on it for saturation-- as far as the actual fuzz tone there's better options for that. I get my good results putting bright overdrives/clean boosts behind deep fuzzess, but it depends on the pedals and also the particular sound you are trying to achieve. But Buffers, yes; clean overdrive in front, yes; turn everything down to use it all together... One thing tho', to my ears big muffs with tube screamers sound terrible. So many better options. I just "retired" the Muff a couple months ago, but it was on my board for thirty straight years otherwise.
Love your attitude of simply stating that a particular configuration sounds shit! I applaud that. Guitarists have become so un-creative, just copying/repeating what others say.
Thanks, man! I'm often disappointed when people conclude "it's whichever best suits your needs and budget" or something like that. I mean, reading manufacturer stuff and bringing me to that conclusion. I want to know an actual hard-line opinion!
I’ve always said, “If you need to run a fuzz into an overdrive to enjoy it, you don’t like fuzz.” So please…leave some of those NOS transistors for those of us who do!
I make a muff based circuit that has a mids knob with a preboost circuit (ie a buffer) in front of it. It has a second stomp to switch on or off the buffer/boost.
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox it is... I do pedals as a side thing- I'm an engineer by profession, and for the last year or so I've been working on a massive project and its left me with little free time. I'm not taking orders at the moment, but I do have one of them built already if you're interested.
The one instance that I find works well with muff into overdrive, is I run my green russian big muff into a Blackarts Toneworks Black Forest, but I'm using that overdrive as a preamp into the effects return, or even ampless into a cab ir box. Sounds mean as hell
I think Muff into an overdrive started off with David Gilmour using a Muff into a Tube Driver. What people are missing is the Tube Driver has a fuck ton of headroom compared to the ordinary overdrive so boosting it with a Muff doesnt make it sound like flubby ass.
I’ve always constructed my signal chain so that as the signal moves into the gain section, I move from boosts/ overdrives into distortions and then into fuzzes since they’re the most extreme type of gain I run, my logic has always been that I want to drive the fuzz, not fuzz up the overdrive and kill it’s character… it’s always worked out for me fantastically. Currently I’m running: LPB-1 > Boss 59 Bassman >Fulltone OCD > Boss DF-2 > Ram’s Head Big Muff > Op Amp Big Muff And then after those I use the JHS haunting mids to boost the EQ and let the Big Muff’s be usable in a live band application.
I've always done the same. I've never understood why so many people think of going low gain to high gain. It's always made more sense to put the hotter signal into the hotter pedal that's got the room to handle extra drive rather than squashing it into something that caps out at crunch.
There’s minimal difference running a buffer right in front of a big muffler with a short patch cable because the big muffler already has an input buffer at the beginning of the circuit when the effect is engaged. When in bypass it’s true bypass so having an always on buffer somewhere in the chain is good for long pedal runs.
The difference is very noticeable to me. Much brighter. having an input buffer on the active pedal doesn't mean a pre-buffer will have minimal effect. All pedals have input buffers.
In my experience, the only overdrive that work after the big muff is a klon with the gain set low. Because it blends the clean signal with overdrive it is far less muddy than run a big muff into a tubescreamer.
Had this come up on my suggested and I'm glad it did. I've subscribed. I've got the Big Muff Pi with tone wicker which adds some brightness to the circuit. I run a RAT before it occasionally
I had no idea that muff was slang for that as a kid. I remember getting one from ebay when I was 13 or so and my dad seeing it and just cracking up. He's like "you know what that means dont you?" Lol! Thats how I learned what muff was.
Absolutely! The Rat can get very Muff like at its upper end of gain and that's when people describe it as "fuzzy" - but it ain't no Harmonic Perculator, it's definitely more of a muff with mids and cut bass. I think fuzztortion describes them perfectly.
Deluxe is the way. I'd moved away from Muffs for a while; but when I saw the Sovtek Deluxe, I realized instantly the potential of it, and it hasn't disappointed me ever since. Clean blend is a great feature for not only bass, but also adding note definition for guitar chords and arpeggios.
awesome video. opened my eyes, and maybe ill take the big muff off the shelf now. What about the one with the Wicker switch tone wicker? should I have the wicker engaged or no?
Thanks! I'd say yes, generally. It'll help lift it out of a mix, anyway. Pair that with turning the tone off and you have a completely new beast that'll stand in a mix as good as any distortion.
The way I run it, (skipping unrelated pedals) guitar - Blues Breaker - Centaur - black box Russian Muff - MXR Micro Amp + (in loop) gets everything you'd ever want and everything in between.
Nice. There's definitely a lot to be said about using the characters of other ODs to boost different parts of the mid-range. I can already hear how MASSIVE that rig would sound 🤘
@robertrossignol4445 after the muff and in the FX Loop it acts as purely a DB boost/EQ as opposed to a gain boost which is what it does at first. The reason I use the + model specifically is the ability to adapt the EQ. It can then do the same for all of my drives etc and I can stack my drives before to add gain where wanted. I just find it works best for me that way as its more versatile.
On the other side you can add a little bit of overdrive after a big muff, it just sound good! I had a Boss ME-50 multi effect and i use the BD-2 recreation with just a little bit of drive and a little bit of tone tremble and it was just singing ! I don't have it anymore because the combo pedalboard and big multi effects was too much to transport for me 😢 but i gave it to a very good friend so no regrets 😊
Now i'm looking to have either a tube screamer, a centaur or even a real blues driver to put after all my distortion chain (glove→RAT→Triangle Muff) as a always on effect just to boost the high mids (i loooove bright sound)
I’m still using the Black Arts Pharaoh, after almost ten years. I used to use a random Boss pedal, at the front, to help with the wah problem with a Fuzz Face, snd it really made the Pharaoh kick. The Pharaoh has the rare ability to cleanup with volume roll off, in the Silicon mode. I did turn an OD after it, but one must remember to turn the gain down, and it works like a boost, and it can tighten it up, but not a TS. I also have a Boost pedal, that has a Mid Boost, with a knob for where in the signal one wants to boost, then an overall volume boost knob. The Midphoria V1, from Magnetic Effects. It also will work like the Tubescreamer does in your video, put before the Miff pedal, or any pedal, and it gets pretty hairy on it’s own, with the Mid boost up high. Great for solos, or insane rhythms that cut through any mix.
Your opinions in this video we’re interesting, but you didn’t run 12 big muffs into each either with all the knobs maxed. It’s like you’ve never even used a big muff before.
I have a Blackheart BH100H. It’s a monster of an amp but I’m frustrated because my only pedal that’s turned to crap is my Pumpkin Pi Big Muff. No matter what I do, it sounds like it’s under water. I’m thinking about selling the amp because the Muff sounded alive on Fender’s, Vox’s, Marshall’s…
How are you setting the amp up gain wise? Are you using anything with a buffer before the muff? Chances are the Blackheart is based on something very similar to the classic brands, so I'd find out what, before you make a switch, and be sure you make a good one!
I don't think so, no. It can be a different, cool sound, but not always something to help with high end. It's an odd one. What are the tones on the other 2 set like?
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox BD-2: level 12:00, tone 12:00, gain 11:00. Pumpkin Pi: volume 12:00, tone 12:00, sustain 9:00. I don’t use the the fuzz with my metal x zone.
You always hear the "don't put buffered pedals infront of your fuzz" mantra but it doesn't apply to the big muff, I like my Marshall Guv'nor 2 going into it, it's been modded to sound more like a Guv'nor 1 and the specific type of midrange that pedal has sounds great into the rams head setting of my JHS Muffuletta.
Yeah, I always used a NUX Tube Screamer going into a Russian Muff, always on, all the time. It just cuts into the band mix, specially live. The full on FAT Muff sound is wonderful alone in your room, but when you put actual drums and a bass into the mix they disappear. I never really understood people that say to put the overdrive after the Muff. I imagine they just don't know that Muff doesn't work like other Fuzzes and they really don't need to go first in your line.
With Fuzz it's to emulate a over driven tube amp .With Muffs it's because of the mid scoop . I love Muffs latter in the line ,but this is why I have a E.Q. at the end.
Great video ! Any plans on doing any bass content for a peasant bass player like myself ? Super curious on tips and tricks with muffs coming at a bass playing perspective
Thanks! I absolutely will! I've got a little bit of bass stuff in my Carcosa video and I'll also be including it in an upcoming Muff video that compares all sorts of Muff flavours
Had to look at an old demo tape from January 2000 to confirm that my first chain was morally wrong: Danelectro Longhorn bass to Big Muff Pi (Russian), Boss Bass Overdrive (mainly for EQ tbh), MXR Flanger. But this was the first sequence I used. I probably then kept the three in the same order, but just reversed it - MXR Flanger, Boss Bass Overdrive, Big Muff Pi. AAAAAAHHH NOW THERE IS A FUCKIN CRAZY SOUND. Or. Duh. Put the OD first, then the Muff, the flanger. Anyway… MXR Flanger plus Big Muff is some psych shit right there. Trust I. Various combinations of the three will basically give you jungle Drum n Bass / Reese type shit, but from a bass guitar.
![Get More From Your EHX Big Muff Fuzz-Distortion Pedal [Massive Wall Of Noise & More!]](/img/1.gif)
If you think I demoed the Muff>TS wrong, check this out: ruclips.net/user/shorts_XVijxjgceU?si=cFgvr_KuzLlBEboJ
“A tube can go into a muff, and really scream but a muff can’t go into a tube!” 😂 Definitely the funniest part of the whole video!
Your amp is a tube, and therefore your muff always goes into a tube.
Such a pickle lol
@@CaptainAhab-im3kdJokes on you, my amp’s trans(istors)
I’ve yet to see a muff connoisseur who doesn’t wear a wedding ring. Subbed, good sir. Very much subbed.
Haha! Thank you, my friend. This must be the secret ingredient to true Muff satisfaction! More content coming soon!
I gave it a go and it improved 300% my tone.
I died of laughter of him saying "don't just sit there and buff your Muff" 😂😂💀💀
I love running an SD-1 into a big muff. SD-1 has more aggressive mids than a tubescreamer
Oh that sounds interesting, wonder how it translate to a cheap transistor amp that I use, I'm thinking about going for a clone of an OCD to pair with my tone wicker big Muff, currently I get more mids from a Tube screamer ts9
it has been my set up for years, SD-1 into Black Russian Muff even tho lately I switched their places and I keep the SD-1 last in the chain
SD-1 or BD-2 (depending on how tight I want it) is my main Muff sound. Huge fan of the SD-1. Its also cheap and readily available.
@@swissarmyknight4306How tight is your muff exactly? 😅
Tube Screamer + Muff=Gilmour @ 1989
Boss SD-1+Muff= Gilmour @ '84
I’m a muff aficionado, you can tell by my browser history 😂
Heh heh, porn reference. 🙄
No muff too tuff!! 😉
Afuzzianado extraordinaire especialist
ahh,yes..good ol muff in the buff.
we're all muff rubbers here.
Great advice except 2:15. As you said, everything is subjective. Music is an art. There’s no “wrong” and there’s no “bad.” It’s all about the application and the mood you’re going for. The muffled bass heavy sound of Muff into TS can work for stoner for example. Some of the best music came by accident: people not knowing or intentionally not doing things as they should. Be crazy, be creative.
Yeah, but, Muff into TS is wrong.
Muff into TS sounds like fart
Walrus Audio Eons is my favorite muff. It's based on the ram's head. It has five different clipping options, a 2 band eq, and a voltage/bias knob. You can get a lot of great sounds out of it.
Dude, this one is definitely on my radar and would be my first dip into the world of Walrus. The amount of tones it covers sounds insane! And shows just how flexible that old Muff circuit can be. Those clipping options alone make it a dirt chameleon!
Think it'd sound good on bass, too?
Yup, that one is on my list. I just wish it had favourites since it has so many sounds!
I've found that running a ds-1 on the lowest gain in front of a big muff adds the perfect amount of bite that I'm looking for from it. Sounds amazing on my strat.
I totally agree! A little bit of overdrive/distortion after a big muff can sound really good! But just a little little bit 😁
My first two pedals were a TS9DX and that same Muff. I ran the screamer into the muff for years. Gave me the sound I was looking for. I still keep them on a mini board seperate from my main board. They just sound so good together.
Same here. Very Bogner-esque. Been doing it for almost 20 years.
I do the same, cheers, they are the only drive pedals I have.
My green tank of an early 90's Sovtek bubble font Big Muff Pi is still my favorite. I also have the NYC, the Deluxe and Triangle but the Russian one that came in a little wood crate with the sliding top lid is the cat's meow.
same here
2:36 woah shots fired lol I love JHS, Josh always suggest you just try things out everyone is searching for a different tone. But i like the friendly jab. And I like this channel!
lost a chance to name the video
"buff your muff"
OMFG, I just discovered your channel and you my friend are a LEGEND! Thanks for the vid, gave me some good tips and a laugh!
Thanks, man! Glad to hear it!
I have a big muff deluxe, and I love it! It covers all of the old variations of muffs, and then some!
I have too, and I love it! Just a question guys.. I use at the first place of the chain a compressor pedal always on for both clean and distortion sound.. I'm doing right? Or I should take it off when I use the muff?? Anyway I love compression on lead sound, it gives me more power and sustain..
@@MrAlexGalante You can use them either way, but will get different results, and really there are very few cases where you always use a specific pedal in a specific place. You can put a flanger before the fuzz and fuzz out the flanging, but with the fuzz first, you flange the fuzing!🤪
Try it and see, but you will have to play with the controls to get a good picture of what sounds good for each. 🧐 I always try new pedals in different places, and have discovered many great sounds worth using.
Many modern pedal boards have order switching so you can do it live and on the fly.😲
A muff CANT go into a TS, it sounds so bad really, the only scenario I can see working is if it’s a TS inspires pedal that has no clipping option(like EQD plumes) but even then it’s still way better before the muff
I totally agree about tube screamer before big muff. I have never understood why people run a screamer after a muff.
thank you, i hated using muff and drive now i use drive and muff, can't believe i never tried it
Shoegaze artist: running a reverb into a big muff
Based
I agree! If you put an overdrive after the big muff you kill your sound. As you say, the overdrive should be placed before the big muff, even better if you use a full range overdrive, more or less "transparent" like boss bd-2. Greetings!
Thanks for tip, I shall try Boss BD 2 before my Black Russian Muff 👍
David Gilmour disagrees with your statement
I do not think so! You should read more about how David Gilmour uses big muff/overdrive.
@@silviolutti1522 yeah david gilmour placed the powerbooster after fuzz, the guy in the video here just has no idea how to set it up, he has the gain on the tube screamer at 1:00, which is obviously gonna sound like shit, the gain should be as low as possible
All hail the Pharaoh! Also the best damn stackable muff I've encountered. Takes whatever you throw at it.
Treble booster into a muff works too! I added a flat mid switch mod as well. Great stuff.
Jesus man! Funny, informative and helpful. I gave up on this rabbit hole years ago because I couldn’t get the right sound, but I’m definitely going to revisit this.
Thanks man! 🤘
Yes! I always run an overdrive INTO the muff! Never got a sound I liked the other way round!
Tube screamer before muff, blues driver after… that’s my drive section and I will never change it, it’s perfect
I like the pig snort sound I get from the BIG MUFF PI on my round wound bass for harder metal and non-metal songs alike. It adds that different dimension to the overdrive of my amp through the loop, which is superbly golden and clean. I still get the floor of the bass, but the snarl of the guitar section of the songs, at the same time. Of course I like it on many guitar parts for that standout feeling of arpeggios and some leads. I am using the original Big Muff Pi from back in the days of the LPB-1 and LPB-2, with a small phazer at the end of chain to get a good pig snort out of it.
Expected a bunch of nonsense like with so many of the "you're doing it wrong" videos, but that was absolutely great advice!
Haha! So glad to not be click-bait 😅 Thanks!
Amazing playing, had no idea you did drums and vocals. Always the best chief!
Thanks again, dude!
Muff after everything, always! I run various overdrives, distortions and fuzzes on my board and the Muff is after all of them.
As in closer to the amp or closer to the guitar input?
@daddurs2206 Closer to the amp. I've got a Wren & Cuff Caprid and it's the last gain pedal before modulation, delay/reverb etc. It sounds great getting slammed with a Rat or DOD 250! One of the things I love about the Muff is there's not a huge volume boost when you hit it with other pedals, it just affects the tone and texture.
@@Tanzi24 thanks man, I’ll do some rearranging and check it out 👍🏻
I’ll never understand people putting a tube screamer at the end of any time stack.
I just picked up a Deluxe Big Muff last week and I fully agree about how great it is. You can pretty much obtain any muff sound you want with it, and you have the option of using the mid switch as a solo boost or as a better way to hone in on that tone you're looking for. I can't believe no one talks about it and it's only about $30 USD more than the Ram's Head reissue.
Have you tried it with an expression pedal yet? If not, DO IT NOW!!! Happy freaking muffing!
@@Bob-of-Zoid Actually, I have not! Gonna try that out today
@@dtb2229 You just may be in for a great time! May take some getting used to though.
TRUE OMG I can't BELIEVE how many times I've seen ppl telling ppl to put the TS after and I'm like "Dawg, ahev you tried this yourself? If so? Are you ears healthy?" because it makes ZERO sense
That's a great video. Keep on! Make more!
Thanks, dude! They're on my to do list, haha.
I have a deluxe big muff pi, and the pamphlet inside says that if the tone pots do not fit your tastes you can unscrew the back plate snd use a 2mm wide flat head screwdriver and adjust the tone pots away from factory settings. Apparently there are 3 pots for the mid bypass section.
Wow! Deluxe wins again!
Whoa! I learned so much from this! Thank you!!!
I just got my first Muff, it is a Deluxe Big Muff. It has made my life so much better. Now I am here watching videos about Muffs, this is how it starts. Weeks from now I will have remortgaged my home in search of the best and biggest Muff.
Join the club, mate! 😅
A Muff is/isn't a Fuzz in the same way that a Tomato isn't/is a Fruit
To an Engineer/Botanist, it's an Overdrive/Fruit
To a Guitarist/Chef, it's a Fuzz/Vegetable
FWIW, I really like running my Blues Driver clone into my Muff - the BD is my preferred OD to push my amp and it does magic things with the BMP too.
That's actually a perfect analogy!
I stumbled upon a EH Double Muff pedal. Had never seen one before and it is a beautiful distortion that really responds well to the dynamics of your picking/playing. AND you get the switch that changes it to a heavier distortion. Love it and was happy to pay $180 at my local guitar store. Trying to find the 'right' placement for it on my board.
Awesome! Though we should note, the "Muff" circuit in the Muff overdrive and Double Muff aren't actually "Big" Muff circuits at all! Not sure why they stuck with that name for a pedal that as different but they've also done it with the Big Muff Germanium so I think they just like to use it on their dirt pedals.
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox There used to be an EH Muff Fuzz pedal and the double Muff is (I think) the choice of 1 or 2 germanium diods, thus the switch and is a Fuzz unlike the Big Muff. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Always trying to learn about anything that relates to guitars....Strats in particular and Pedals. Total lifelong obsession!!!
@marcusbrebner811 That sounds about right to me!
Thank you. I always run a ts into a muff and have always been told to do the reverse. Have a nano NYC and a black Russian. Always have one on my board
Thanks. The tube screamer tweaking helps to dial in some different lead tones
Melvins part sounds sick. Flashing me back to Fantomas… which was muddy AF but they were competing with Mike Patton’s shrieks and all sorts of insane Slayer cymbals and it just worked.
If you run a big muff into a tube screamer, dial the drive almost all the way back. The purpose of the TS then becomes focusing the Mids of the big muff
I tried this and many more knob settings. Check out my follow up Short. Can't say I liked any of the combinations!
MI Audio Boost n Buff on either side of the Muff sounds fantastic.
I LOVE my Pharoah. Good call.
The Buffalo FX Ram's Head with a mid control is also really sweet, but I'd be just as happy with my Deluxe Big Muff Pi reissue. It does everything.
I've never got on with fuzz pedals (I know...a poor workman always blames his tools), but some of my all time favourite guitar tones are from guitarists using fuzz, so I'm always interested to see how I could incorporate them into my sound.
All you need is fuzz! Thing is, a lot of the most popular ones have such a particular sound that they can alienate people. But they don't have to be super scooped, saturated or buzzy. If you check out something like a good Fuzz Face and treat it like a distorted amp, you'll find they're amongst the most flexible and toneful drive tones out there!
I remember having get used to the feel as well when I was first using fuzz pedals. They are usually pretty responsive to the knobs on the guitar, use them.
Definitely recommend a fuzz face. Use your volume knob and go down to 8 or 9 and you have overdrive. So, many good tones from it.
It took far too long for me to starting dropping my guitar volume and like 2-3 with fuzzes to get a whole other kind of sound from them that I love.
Really appreciate this video, I've been trying to troubleshoot my tone with a wicker muff and have been hitting the wall. Looking forward to doing some rearranging!
Awesome! Glad it helped. What is it you're gunna try?
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox I want to resequence my boost and an equalizer in front of the muff. They currently are behind it, and your video perfectly reflected the problem I'm having with that.
@@ByroniusHuge Sounds good man. Well. I hope it sounds great! 😁
Pleaaase, talk about the Big Muff Germanium 4!
Hmmmm. From what I read and hear, the G4 is only a Big Muff in name, not in sound!
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox kinda it is. I have one, and would love to see your input on it.
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox maybe some tricks on how you eould use it, and even how it goes with other pedals. It has some controls that are very crazy
I noticed that a Muff works so well with a TS9. On my Peavey, there’s a Muff effect so I paired that with my actual TS9 and holy hell! What a revelation! It sounded great and despite how chunky it was, it actually turned out to be a pretty damn good tone for King Diamond and Mercyful Fate! I had the tone higher on both (~60-65%) with decreased muff volume and 70% Sustain. It sounded great.
Next pedal I’m getting is a muff. The MXR Distortion+ and TS9 already make up a larger part of my tone. Keep the D+ in line for Iron Maiden stuff and put the muff on for Mercyful Fate! (Btw, an EQ pedal goes a long way people!)
You really know your stuff. Great sense of humour. Brilliant! All the best from 🇨🇦
Thanks dude! I bloody love your country. Can't wait to visit again 🤘
It's funny because, for about 2-3 months now I'm running a DBA Fuzz War into a Boss SD-1, and it's sounds almost like Colour Haze. I'm actually happy with the resoults, it pulled me out of my comfort zone and gave me a different perspective on dirt pedals. An important note is that I only use the neck pickup, and the gain settings on the amp is very low, so as on the pedals. So I admit that a full on blast from the fuzz and the overdrive would sound like crap.
Distortion is a bit heavier than overdrive And it's like a ramping up process from weakest effect to strongest. OD is just a little color on the line, fuzz shapes the line, then distortion... Distorts. Color>shape>texture.
I own a russian pi, and always ran it at the front of the chain to preserve its huge low-end. None of my other pedals, later Muffs included, matched it in that regard. I came to not rely on it for saturation-- as far as the actual fuzz tone there's better options for that. I get my good results putting bright overdrives/clean boosts behind deep fuzzess, but it depends on the pedals and also the particular sound you are trying to achieve. But Buffers, yes; clean overdrive in front, yes; turn everything down to use it all together... One thing tho', to my ears big muffs with tube screamers sound terrible. So many better options. I just "retired" the Muff a couple months ago, but it was on my board for thirty straight years otherwise.
Great video and love your humour 😂
My favourite muff type pedal is the Thorpyfx Fallout Cloud!!! :)
Remember. There's no wrong way to make your sound.
Yes... Except putting a Tube Screamer after a Big Muff.
Love your attitude of simply stating that a particular configuration sounds shit! I applaud that. Guitarists have become so un-creative, just copying/repeating what others say.
Thanks, man! I'm often disappointed when people conclude "it's whichever best suits your needs and budget" or something like that. I mean, reading manufacturer stuff and bringing me to that conclusion. I want to know an actual hard-line opinion!
I’ve always said, “If you need to run a fuzz into an overdrive to enjoy it, you don’t like fuzz.” So please…leave some of those NOS transistors for those of us who do!
Joff from wolf alice used to run a tube screamer into his muff for the first album sorta like Billy Corgan
Jokes on you, the Hizumitas DID solve all my problems, lol. All jokes aside, this was a great video.
Haha! I don't doubt it, man.bits still awesome. Thanks!
I make a muff based circuit that has a mids knob with a preboost circuit (ie a buffer) in front of it. It has a second stomp to switch on or off the buffer/boost.
Nice! Is that your own design?
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox it is... I do pedals as a side thing- I'm an engineer by profession, and for the last year or so I've been working on a massive project and its left me with little free time. I'm not taking orders at the moment, but I do have one of them built already if you're interested.
a tubescreamer after a BigMuff turns the Pi into...
a BadMuffledFuzzNoise
Much as I am a fan of the BigMuffPi I also love the ProCo RAT, its not that different imo.
The one instance that I find works well with muff into overdrive, is I run my green russian big muff into a Blackarts Toneworks Black Forest, but I'm using that overdrive as a preamp into the effects return, or even ampless into a cab ir box. Sounds mean as hell
I would never deny a Black Arts Toneworks pedal working great for anything!
You had me at treat your muff right Lol😂
I think Muff into an overdrive started off with David Gilmour using a Muff into a Tube Driver.
What people are missing is the Tube Driver has a fuck ton of headroom compared to the ordinary overdrive so boosting it with a Muff doesnt make it sound like flubby ass.
Damn, man, that's interesting! It might well be that through Chinese whispers, Tube Driver became Tube Screamer! Thanks for that.
yeah and tne guy in the video has the gain on the tube screamer at 1:00, no shit that's gonna sound like shit, the gain should be as low as possible
I feel like the tube screamer after the big muff makes the tone sound like a fart pedal
Yeah, only worse!
Yup! Call it the fart tone model.
I’ve always constructed my signal chain so that as the signal moves into the gain section, I move from boosts/ overdrives into distortions and then into fuzzes since they’re the most extreme type of gain I run, my logic has always been that I want to drive the fuzz, not fuzz up the overdrive and kill it’s character… it’s always worked out for me fantastically. Currently I’m running:
LPB-1 > Boss 59 Bassman >Fulltone OCD > Boss DF-2 > Ram’s Head Big Muff > Op Amp Big Muff
And then after those I use the JHS haunting mids to boost the EQ and let the Big Muff’s be usable in a live band application.
I've always done the same. I've never understood why so many people think of going low gain to high gain. It's always made more sense to put the hotter signal into the hotter pedal that's got the room to handle extra drive rather than squashing it into something that caps out at crunch.
There’s minimal difference running a buffer right in front of a big muffler with a short patch cable because the big muffler already has an input buffer at the beginning of the circuit when the effect is engaged. When in bypass it’s true bypass so having an always on buffer somewhere in the chain is good for long pedal runs.
The difference is very noticeable to me. Much brighter. having an input buffer on the active pedal doesn't mean a pre-buffer will have minimal effect. All pedals have input buffers.
In my experience, the only overdrive that work after the big muff is a klon with the gain set low. Because it blends the clean signal with overdrive it is far less muddy than run a big muff into a tubescreamer.
I agree I particularly like a Klon after harsher distortions like a HM-2 or DS-1. It rounds off the shrill top end and fattens then up.
Had this come up on my suggested and I'm glad it did. I've subscribed. I've got the Big Muff Pi with tone wicker which adds some brightness to the circuit.
I run a RAT before it occasionally
yes! the rat into the pi muff = a good time
Awesome! Thanks for the sub! Rat into Muff is a killer tone. Ticket to DOOM town!
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox yeah it is!
Look forward to hopefully more content from you!
Is the Ratt a buffered pedal?
No, it's true bypass. But every pedal is buffered when it's on.
I had no idea that muff was slang for that as a kid. I remember getting one from ebay when I was 13 or so and my dad seeing it and just cracking up. He's like "you know what that means dont you?" Lol! Thats how I learned what muff was.
Slang for what? 😕
@@doctorfuzzzdirtboxidk either
Tube Driver into Civil War Big Muff.
Would it “accurate” to say Muffs and Rats are in a weird but cool hybrid grey area considered ‘Fuzztortion’?
Absolutely! The Rat can get very Muff like at its upper end of gain and that's when people describe it as "fuzzy" - but it ain't no Harmonic Perculator, it's definitely more of a muff with mids and cut bass. I think fuzztortion describes them perfectly.
Love the Laney TI Boost into the Ram's Head nano when I want to get doomy.
Deluxe is the way. I'd moved away from Muffs for a while; but when I saw the Sovtek Deluxe, I realized instantly the potential of it, and it hasn't disappointed me ever since. Clean blend is a great feature for not only bass, but also adding note definition for guitar chords and arpeggios.
Nice! My band uses the Hizumitas on bass and the Deluxe muff for guitar! Great bonecrushing tones!
Heavy! I often think that's where the Hizumitas belongs as it's got low end like the Russian.
Guitar, into Catalinbread NiCompressor, into EHX ERD, into Ram's Head Big Muff, into Joyo Jackman Bantamp.
My current setup 👍.
So what you're saying is that Electro-Harmonix smashes all the muff? Right on.
apart from being very entertained, I learned from that video that the stupid tube screamer lying around for ages actually has a purpose! Thank you!
Just ran a TS7 after a triangle muff and it sounded like a robot with diarrhea
I like running an Blues Driver into a big muff, sound awesome!
I'm running a Hudson Broadcast into a big box NYC into a JB-2 into a E.Q. I love all the tone options .
awesome video. opened my eyes, and maybe ill take the big muff off the shelf now. What about the one with the Wicker switch tone wicker? should I have the wicker engaged or no?
Thanks! I'd say yes, generally. It'll help lift it out of a mix, anyway. Pair that with turning the tone off and you have a completely new beast that'll stand in a mix as good as any distortion.
killer intro dude!
Thanks, man!
The way I run it, (skipping unrelated pedals) guitar - Blues Breaker - Centaur - black box Russian Muff - MXR Micro Amp + (in loop) gets everything you'd ever want and everything in between.
Nice. There's definitely a lot to be said about using the characters of other ODs to boost different parts of the mid-range. I can already hear how MASSIVE that rig would sound 🤘
I Love your handle .I would buy that shirt .
@STRATMAN1969 thanks, its for my Instagram, did 1 test video for here and will maybe do more 🤷♂️
I tend to use a Micro Amp before my Big Muff Deluxe, got that from Jack White. I'm curious what you like about having it after the Big Muff?
@robertrossignol4445 after the muff and in the FX Loop it acts as purely a DB boost/EQ as opposed to a gain boost which is what it does at first. The reason I use the + model specifically is the ability to adapt the EQ. It can then do the same for all of my drives etc and I can stack my drives before to add gain where wanted. I just find it works best for me that way as its more versatile.
Doctor Fuzz is back, good to see! (Wiseacre guys 😉)
Ah! My dudes!! Great to hear from you and thanks for watching! 🤘
1:33: What a difference!!! 😮
On the other side you can add a little bit of overdrive after a big muff, it just sound good! I had a Boss ME-50 multi effect and i use the BD-2 recreation with just a little bit of drive and a little bit of tone tremble and it was just singing ! I don't have it anymore because the combo pedalboard and big multi effects was too much to transport for me 😢 but i gave it to a very good friend so no regrets 😊
Now i'm looking to have either a tube screamer, a centaur or even a real blues driver to put after all my distortion chain (glove→RAT→Triangle Muff) as a always on effect just to boost the high mids (i loooove bright sound)
Melvins tone ALL DAY
I’m still using the Black Arts Pharaoh, after almost ten years.
I used to use a random Boss pedal, at the front, to help with the wah problem with a Fuzz Face, snd it really made the Pharaoh kick.
The Pharaoh has the rare ability to cleanup with volume roll off, in the Silicon mode.
I did turn an OD after it, but one must remember to turn the gain down, and it works like a boost, and it can tighten it up, but not a TS. I also have a Boost pedal, that has a Mid Boost, with a knob for where in the signal one wants to boost, then an overall volume boost knob. The Midphoria V1, from Magnetic Effects.
It also will work like the Tubescreamer does in your video, put before the Miff pedal, or any pedal, and it gets pretty hairy on it’s own, with the Mid boost up high. Great for solos, or insane rhythms that cut through any mix.
Hail the PHARAOH!!!
This was the most passive aggressive pedal video I've ever watched. Some great tips here nonetheless
Haha! Well, I do feel quite passionate about that stacking order thing. Glad you got some tips!
Really appreciate this knowledge man 🎉
Your opinions in this video we’re interesting, but you didn’t run 12 big muffs into each either with all the knobs maxed. It’s like you’ve never even used a big muff before.
Dude, I can't go giving it all to you at once, we've got to pace ourselves here! We don't want to go premature on our Muffs, now, do we?
I like to add chorus to muff. It's magical.
I've got my OG Small Clone on standby for grungy goodness!
"Dont just sit there rubbing your muff." HAH
I have a Blackheart BH100H. It’s a monster of an amp but I’m frustrated because my only pedal that’s turned to crap is my Pumpkin Pi Big Muff. No matter what I do, it sounds like it’s under water. I’m thinking about selling the amp because the Muff sounded alive on Fender’s, Vox’s, Marshall’s…
How are you setting the amp up gain wise? Are you using anything with a buffer before the muff? Chances are the Blackheart is based on something very similar to the classic brands, so I'd find out what, before you make a switch, and be sure you make a good one!
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox I have the amp pretty clean. I have a BD-2 before it and a Waza Metal-Zone after it. Should I push the amp’s gain more?
I don't think so, no. It can be a different, cool sound, but not always something to help with high end. It's an odd one. What are the tones on the other 2 set like?
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox BD-2: level 12:00, tone 12:00, gain 11:00. Pumpkin Pi: volume 12:00, tone 12:00, sustain 9:00.
I don’t use the the fuzz with my metal x
zone.
@fkcamry88 So you're not getting much more clarity from pushing the tone past 12 on the Pi?
You always hear the "don't put buffered pedals infront of your fuzz" mantra but it doesn't apply to the big muff, I like my Marshall Guv'nor 2 going into it, it's been modded to sound more like a Guv'nor 1 and the specific type of midrange that pedal has sounds great into the rams head setting of my JHS Muffuletta.
That riff made me cream my jeans. Love the page!
Yeah, I always used a NUX Tube Screamer going into a Russian Muff, always on, all the time. It just cuts into the band mix, specially live. The full on FAT Muff sound is wonderful alone in your room, but when you put actual drums and a bass into the mix they disappear.
I never really understood people that say to put the overdrive after the Muff. I imagine they just don't know that Muff doesn't work like other Fuzzes and they really don't need to go first in your line.
With Fuzz it's to emulate a over driven tube amp .With Muffs it's because of the mid scoop .
I love Muffs latter in the line ,but this is why I have a E.Q. at the end.
Great video ! Any plans on doing any bass content for a peasant bass player like myself ? Super curious on tips and tricks with muffs coming at a bass playing perspective
Thanks! I absolutely will! I've got a little bit of bass stuff in my Carcosa video and I'll also be including it in an upcoming Muff video that compares all sorts of Muff flavours
@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox sounds extremely enticing. Im excited man. Keep it going !
Had to look at an old demo tape from January 2000 to confirm that my first chain was morally wrong: Danelectro Longhorn bass to Big Muff Pi (Russian), Boss Bass Overdrive (mainly for EQ tbh), MXR Flanger. But this was the first sequence I used. I probably then kept the three in the same order, but just reversed it - MXR Flanger, Boss Bass Overdrive, Big Muff Pi. AAAAAAHHH NOW THERE IS A FUCKIN CRAZY SOUND. Or. Duh. Put the OD first, then the Muff, the flanger. Anyway… MXR Flanger plus Big Muff is some psych shit right there. Trust I. Various combinations of the three will basically give you jungle Drum n Bass / Reese type shit, but from a bass guitar.
I love My Ibanez 850 overdrive. Probably the best "Muff" style pedals I've ever used. Loads of gain and the tone control is actually very useful.
Ah, one of the "secret" Muffs! Nice!
I just ordered one, thanks for sharing your experience. I will come back and share my impressions.
Tube Screamer after a Muff sounds like farts
Right on, man. Bad, bad farts.
The brown noise?
Tube Screamer after Fuzz Face sounds great .
Also Muffs don't fart they queef .