You're certainly entitled to your opinion but what these devices are meant to do is change/colour your sound. It is not meant to be a transparent boost or overdrive but rather a new palette of fuzzy drive and distortion. Hope that helps, PGS
Can't say enough about how cool and easy to use this device is! This Demo sold me. Turned right around and bought one~every bit of what I thought it was going to do and more. Love it.
@JacobMorrisNinetyTwo - Actually, it sounds more like you just need to turn the gain and volume down a bit and not stand so close to your amplifier. The symptoms you describe are most often the result of user error and/or microphonic pickups, rather than a defective pedal. Hope that helps. Thanks! -PGS
this is such a versatile pedal! i bought one a few days ago after searching around the music shop for a cool yet different pedal. i had my mind set on the big muff, but as i went to purchase it, i saw this, plugged it in and my mind was blown. I bought it straight away and it is hands down the best guitar purchase ove ever made.
just got me one. i fell in love.. i wanted one because the big muff isnt very versatile. this pedal is awesome. the volts knob is just fun to play with, and you can get some amazing sounds out of the germanium 4. you wont get the exact big muff sounds, so i'll keep the muff extra, but it delivers everything else and more. more than i expected really. and sublime review, it was the reason i bought one. cheers
@YT747 - This pedal isn't quite as sensitive to placement as the Fuzz Factory, but every pedalboard and player is different. We always recommend experimenting to find optimum pedal order for your needs. Thanks! -PGS
Another awesome gizmo from EHX. Brilliant rifferage as always of course. Nice and smooth throughout. Of course, as with all Muffs, it's about the tweaking to get just what you want. Very versatile. Please do the EHX Freeze soon. I'd love you guys forever if you did.
I think I will soon need this pedal added to me line up. Maybe not for everyday use, but definately there when I need it. You can never EVER have too many fuzz pedals.
And while it may control impedance indirectly, the BIAS control changes whether the clipping in either distortion stage is symmetrical or non-symmetrical, by changing the voltage that "biases" the transistors and keeps the signal from being cutoff close to 0 volts. By cranking up the bias, one side of the side of the guitar signal remains unclipped, while the other side is more clipped than it would be if biased properly.
I have one of these, it's a great pedal, but I think EHX done goofed putting the tone on the drive side and the volts on the distortion side. Having the volts on the drive side would have made great sputtering sounds as the drive sounds more like a vintage fuzz and the tone on the dirt side would have helped tame the highs it produces when cranked. The volts knob helps, but a tone would have been more effective. Its still totally worth it to buy this though, it has great range and sound.
OMG Golden Boy by Primus!!!!!! Andy just when i thought you couldn't get any cool you surprise me yet again. Killer pedal, keep it up dudes. Best youtube demos by far
Love that dirty grunge tone that you get from the compressed distortion....does anyone know of any other good pedals for "heavy" grunge music, in the style of Tad or AIC?
Man..this thing is SO cool. AND inexpensive! This pedal turned me into a Germ. Fanatic for sure. I have a FT '70, Fuzz Factory, Fender Blender, a couple Devi Fuzzes... This is probably my favorite. Right under my nose the whole time!
If you only use the overdrive from your Mesa you'll sound like millions of other Mesa owners, I love the different sounds I get from distortion, overdrive, & fuzz pedals through my dual rectifier......oh & this new big muff rocks
He was a might golden boy. Gold as ever seen. he stepped up to the podium, you could tell that boy was mean. :) Love primus. great to here more of it in your reviews. :)
i already have a russian big muff pi and a TS808, but im looking for a more fuzz-face like tone in a pedal to add to my pedal board. Is this a good choice?
@AsteroidsFlight it controls the impedance of the input, which makes the circuit react differently. Passive pickups usually have high impedance, while active pickups have low impedance. Regarding impedance, it's basically resistance, so low impedance means a higher ammount of signal going through. Or something like that.
I like this a lot more than their Metal Muff. I had the choice between that and the Way Huge Phat Sandwich - I made the wrong choice :( If I ever get the chance, I'll trade the Metal Muff in for this baby.
@Eldererr Yep, this is a wicked pedal. Put simply, EH split the 4 tansistors of the normal big muff and added features, etc. It is more of a fuzz then a muff, but it still has some distortion like colors. I have had one of these and love it to death...
@19ZoSo93 Yeah, that's the song. And I really recommend you get it, its so much cheaper than a fuzz factory, but they do sound different. I prefer this, but it's your money.
Okay, so I got this pedal for Christmas. I was thrilled and loved it. Then, a strange thing accurs. The volt knob begins to fail. When I try to adjust it, it shuts off, but only at a certain point. When it's at full it kind of works. It can play, but it sounds HORRIBLE. So either I'mma go back to the store to get my money back or get a new pedal.
The Big Muff Pi w/ tone wicker is a fuzz. The Germanium 4 in this video appears to be a distortion/overdrive pedal. Hope that answers your 1st question alright. :0)
i've tried one of these.... i liked it for using the left side as a boost. i ended up getting the bass big muff instead though. that pedal sounds awesome with p-90's
lol yeah i figured that out pretty quickly. turns out the problem is i live in an apartment so i can't turn the amp up very loud. when i took it over to a buddy's house and could actually turn the amp up past 1, I could get the overdrive sound from the video
@tvtalent all of the above. It's part Overdrive, part Fuzz. But the fuzz isnt a wild fuzz sound like say.. a dwarfcraft shiva. It is a germanium fuzz, which sounds more "tube-like"
I love this pedal, I actually based on this video, no shop around my idea stocks this pedal, my only beef (english/yorkshire slang for mild problem) with it is the distortion side anything about 2/3 level should just goes mega MEGA !! but thats the only problem i geuss works well with other amps just my vox :P
Hey guys, which do you think is more versatile, the Germanium 4 Big Muff, or the Big Muff with tone wicker. I predict it will be the Germanium, but can you get the sounds of the wicker with the Germanium?
@JacobMorrisNinetyTwo What kinda guitar you usin? the pickups usually dtermine the feedback u are talkin about. e.g i have a fender jaguar, its got single coil pickups that are not really meant for heavy distortion, so its almost like pluggin a microphone into a dist pedal! or if you have like a sg or les paul with double humbuckers, your only gonna get that sweet soundin singing feedback sound. hope this helps. p.s the only o.d/dist pedal i can use is a big muff. must be the freq. response
@Fluffypopcicle I disagree. Distortion/Overdrive pedals add versatility to your rig. I used to own a rectifier, and I wasn't satisfied with its drive. To me, its not the end all be all sound. Right now I have the best tone I have ever had, it I get it from a fender with the use of several nice overdrives and dirt boxes.
Since this is a germanium fuzz(?), is this one of those pedals that you need to put at the front of your signal chain (before any buffers) like you would with a Fuzz Factory?
@akamarutv I was thinking the same about a Big Muff with tone wicker, but with this one, I think I might be able to set the distortion up for heavier sounds, and the overdrive for lighter. Thinking about live usage, of course.
The 'Big muff pi' version of this pedal is misleading; this is a distortion/overdrive, not a fuzz. It has a completely different circuitry to the muff w/Tone wicker. The 'Big Muff pi' is merely marketing.
It depends, what pick ups are you using?... If you are using vintage/low output single coils... it wont saturate too much... maybe a little bit compressed... but if you use humbuckers or hotter single coils pick ups like p90's It's going to break up earlier at low or medium gain. I own a Les Paul and a Jaguar, so I've made some comparisons... Another issue with this pedal is temperature and battery charge. PD:Sorry for my poor english =P
hi, if in my sequence of pedals i put the "germanium muff" after a whammy , will i obtain the terrible oscillation of germanium pedals?? i experimented that before with a fuzz face. thanks for your attention
So, would this be a good choice for using the distortion part for a stoner QOTSA-like tone and using the OD part to boost an already driven tube amp for a metal tone?
is it possible with some setting to get anywhere close to Big Muff pi's tone with this pedal? the name is pretty misleading cuz tonally it seems just a variation on germanium od..
How the hell do you get the overdrive to sound like overdrive? I bought this pedal 2 weeks ago and still can't figure out how to make it sound like anything but clean.
I kind of like it, but I think I'm more hooked on Andy's playing than I am on the pedal. I bought the red pedal because of Andy's vid and it's awesome. I bought Satch's overdrive. Only used in once, did not like at all.
hey mann great video, loved the sound of this pedal and literally just bought one, but could you tell me if it comes with a power supply, if not then could you tell me where to get one cos im not sure if this would run off normal 9v DC? thanks again mate! :)
anyone? may i know ur opinion please? i was planning to buy the Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde, but then I went to a music store and I found Germanium 4 Big Muff... Anyone can tell me the difference? please help... never heard the 2 twin pedals with my own ears...
Hey, I'm trying to decide between this and the standard Big Muff pi USA, I'm looking for something that will give me a Jack white sound. I know that Jack personally uses the normal Big Muff, but does this offer the same dirty sound?
I've always thought the Big Muff was the perfect QOTSA distortion/fuzz pedal. I wonder how the guys at my local guitar shop love it when I come in, tune a guitar down to C and try out a muff pedal this some Queens riffs!?!?!
@kess924 depends on what you're looking for... it doesn't nail either of those, so if you're attached to the sounds you get from them, don't. but i just got this, and couldn't be happier. i was hoping it could replace either my Germanium OD or my Big Muff Wicker, but to my surprise, nope. but it's really versatile, and totally great. def. my fav. pedal in my lineup... i think it's even better than this demo let's on... i love the fuzz i get with the right side + my original germanium OD.
You're certainly entitled to your opinion but what these devices are meant to do is change/colour your sound. It is not meant to be a transparent boost or overdrive but rather a new palette of fuzzy drive and distortion. Hope that helps,
PGS
QOTSA and Primus in the same video for the same pedal. If this doesn't scream versatility, I don't know what does. Very well done, Andy.
Can't say enough about how cool and easy to use this device is! This Demo sold me. Turned right around and bought one~every bit of what I thought it was going to do and more. Love it.
actually i think it would be a pretty neat dist/overdrive for some stoner rock
@JacobMorrisNinetyTwo - Actually, it sounds more like you just need to turn the gain and volume down a bit and not stand so close to your amplifier. The symptoms you describe are most often the result of user error and/or microphonic pickups, rather than a defective pedal. Hope that helps. Thanks!
-PGS
this is such a versatile pedal! i bought one a few days ago after searching around the music shop for a cool yet different pedal. i had my mind set on the big muff, but as i went to purchase it, i saw this, plugged it in and my mind was blown. I bought it straight away and it is hands down the best guitar purchase ove ever made.
andy never hits a wrong note
just got me one. i fell in love.. i wanted one because the big muff isnt very versatile. this pedal is awesome. the volts knob is just fun to play with, and you can get some amazing sounds out of the germanium 4. you wont get the exact big muff sounds, so i'll keep the muff extra, but it delivers everything else and more. more than i expected really. and sublime review, it was the reason i bought one. cheers
@YT747 - This pedal isn't quite as sensitive to placement as the Fuzz Factory, but every pedalboard and player is different. We always recommend experimenting to find optimum pedal order for your needs. Thanks!
-PGS
Yes, it does KYUSS or GOTSA like sound. I really love how it kicks ass with my les paul and JCM800...
Best of both worlds: a distortion and an overdrive. I do not need a big muff and a tube screamer to kick it anymore!
Another awesome gizmo from EHX. Brilliant rifferage as always of course. Nice and smooth throughout. Of course, as with all Muffs, it's about the tweaking to get just what you want. Very versatile. Please do the EHX Freeze soon. I'd love you guys forever if you did.
man this would rock with one of those old sunn amps
Andy and Phil X are Guitar demo GODS.
Always with the QOTSA, I dig it Andy. Id love to see you test some of the pedals (particularly fuzzes) with tuned down guitars
I think I will soon need this pedal added to me line up. Maybe not for everyday use, but definately there when I need it. You can never EVER have too many fuzz pedals.
And while it may control impedance indirectly, the BIAS control changes whether the clipping in either distortion stage is symmetrical or non-symmetrical, by changing the voltage that "biases" the transistors and keeps the signal from being cutoff close to 0 volts. By cranking up the bias, one side of the side of the guitar signal remains unclipped, while the other side is more clipped than it would be if biased properly.
I have one of these, it's a great pedal, but I think EHX done goofed putting the tone on the drive side and the volts on the distortion side. Having the volts on the drive side would have made great sputtering sounds as the drive sounds more like a vintage fuzz and the tone on the dirt side would have helped tame the highs it produces when cranked. The volts knob helps, but a tone would have been more effective. Its still totally worth it to buy this though, it has great range and sound.
thanks for playing Queens Of The Stone Age, you rule Andy!
OMG Golden Boy by Primus!!!!!! Andy just when i thought you couldn't get any cool you surprise me yet again. Killer pedal, keep it up dudes. Best youtube demos by far
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE!! I LOVE YOU for this one!
Love that dirty grunge tone that you get from the compressed distortion....does anyone know of any other good pedals for "heavy" grunge music, in the style of Tad or AIC?
Man..this thing is SO cool. AND inexpensive! This pedal turned me into a Germ. Fanatic for sure. I have a FT '70, Fuzz Factory, Fender Blender, a couple Devi Fuzzes... This is probably my favorite. Right under my nose the whole time!
If you only use the overdrive from your Mesa you'll sound like millions of other Mesa owners, I love the different sounds I get from distortion, overdrive, & fuzz pedals through my dual rectifier......oh & this new big muff rocks
This sounds like it could do sultans of swing with a decent tone
He was a might golden boy. Gold as ever seen. he stepped up to the podium, you could tell that boy was mean. :) Love primus. great to here more of it in your reviews. :)
Golden Boy, ar you kidding me??? Andy, you're the best
yeah! this is what i was looking for! i love the sound of the overdrive! it sounds a little like a open lamp marchall! i'm going to buy this one
i already have a russian big muff pi and a TS808, but im looking for a more fuzz-face like tone in a pedal to add to my pedal board. Is this a good choice?
I love my one. Been using it for years and just find it irreplaceable.
@AsteroidsFlight it controls the impedance of the input, which makes the circuit react differently. Passive pickups usually have high impedance, while active pickups have low impedance. Regarding impedance, it's basically resistance, so low impedance means a higher ammount of signal going through. Or something like that.
Actually, the bass big muff is an almost direct reissue of a green sovtek muff, with some additions. it sounds fantastic on guitar.
I like this a lot more than their Metal Muff. I had the choice between that and the Way Huge Phat Sandwich - I made the wrong choice :(
If I ever get the chance, I'll trade the Metal Muff in for this baby.
ordered this pedal a few days ago, selling like crazy, can't get it until next week sometime. I absolutle can't wait for this one :)
@Eldererr Yep, this is a wicked pedal. Put simply, EH split the 4 tansistors of the normal big muff and added features, etc. It is more of a fuzz then a muff, but it still has some distortion like colors. I have had one of these and love it to death...
I just tried it out with a bass guitar in the shop. The distortion side makes some really cool sounds, but the overdrive side didn't do much at all.
@19ZoSo93 Yeah, that's the song. And I really recommend you get it, its so much cheaper than a fuzz factory, but they do sound different. I prefer this, but it's your money.
Okay, so I got this pedal for Christmas. I was thrilled and loved it. Then, a strange thing accurs. The volt knob begins to fail. When I try to adjust it, it shuts off, but only at a certain point. When it's at full it kind of works. It can play, but it sounds HORRIBLE. So either I'mma go back to the store to get my money back or get a new pedal.
Nice Golden Boy lick!!!! I noticed the P logo you guys use looks like the Primus logo from the Brown album era! Nice Demos btw!
I love that he played Primus!
Fuzz is like a funky version of destruction :D
Damn I want this badboy. Sounds like just what I need for my sludge/stoner riffs
I love this pedal but my overdrive gets like no gain at all. Its pretty much just a clean boost for me.
The Big Muff Pi w/ tone wicker is a fuzz. The Germanium 4 in this video appears to be a distortion/overdrive pedal. Hope that answers your 1st question alright. :0)
i've tried one of these.... i liked it for using the left side as a boost. i ended up getting the bass big muff instead though. that pedal sounds awesome with p-90's
will there be any demos of the new fender blacktop series and the new hot rod III amplifiers?
seems perfect for stoner rock stuff like queens of the stone age
sorry to comment again, but why didn't we get any thicker muff distortion sounds on the strat?
riffs in this vid are top notch!
lol yeah i figured that out pretty quickly. turns out the problem is i live in an apartment so i can't turn the amp up very loud. when i took it over to a buddy's house and could actually turn the amp up past 1, I could get the overdrive sound from the video
@tvtalent all of the above. It's part Overdrive, part Fuzz. But the fuzz isnt a wild fuzz sound like say.. a dwarfcraft shiva. It is a germanium fuzz, which sounds more "tube-like"
I love this pedal, I actually based on this video, no shop around my idea stocks this pedal, my only beef (english/yorkshire slang for mild problem) with it is the distortion side anything about 2/3 level should just goes mega MEGA !! but thats the only problem i geuss works well with other amps just my vox :P
will it ruin the speakers in your cab if you use it on a guitar not a bass ?
Hey guys, which do you think is more versatile, the Germanium 4 Big Muff, or the Big Muff with tone wicker. I predict it will be the Germanium, but can you get the sounds of the wicker with the Germanium?
@JacobMorrisNinetyTwo
What kinda guitar you usin? the pickups usually dtermine the feedback u are talkin about. e.g i have a fender jaguar, its got single coil pickups that are not really meant for heavy distortion, so its almost like pluggin a microphone into a dist pedal! or if you have like a sg or les paul with double humbuckers, your only gonna get that sweet soundin singing feedback sound. hope this helps.
p.s the only o.d/dist pedal i can use is a big muff. must be the freq. response
@Fluffypopcicle I disagree. Distortion/Overdrive pedals add versatility to your rig. I used to own a rectifier, and I wasn't satisfied with its drive. To me, its not the end all be all sound. Right now I have the best tone I have ever had, it I get it from a fender with the use of several nice overdrives and dirt boxes.
I might just have to get this thing, it sounds cool and looks sweet.
Since this is a germanium fuzz(?), is this one of those pedals that you need to put at the front of your signal chain (before any buffers) like you would with a Fuzz Factory?
@RiffsandBridges I have the same problem, Did you resolved?
@akamarutv I was thinking the same about a Big Muff with tone wicker, but with this one, I think I might be able to set the distortion up for heavier sounds, and the overdrive for lighter. Thinking about live usage, of course.
The 'Big muff pi' version of this pedal is misleading; this is a distortion/overdrive, not a fuzz. It has a completely different circuitry to the muff w/Tone wicker. The 'Big Muff pi' is merely marketing.
It depends, what pick ups are you using?... If you are using vintage/low output single coils... it wont saturate too much... maybe a little bit compressed... but if you use humbuckers or hotter single coils pick ups like p90's It's going to break up earlier at low or medium gain.
I own a Les Paul and a Jaguar, so I've made some comparisons...
Another issue with this pedal is temperature and battery charge.
PD:Sorry for my poor english =P
hi, if in my sequence of pedals i put the "germanium muff" after a whammy , will i obtain the terrible oscillation of germanium pedals?? i experimented that before with a fuzz face. thanks for your attention
did those riffs proud, naiiiiled that solo too, qotsa = fuckin' amazing
My OD side doesn't have nearly the gain that the OD in this video has. I wonder if it's defective somehow?
stupid question here, is this more fuzz sounding? or more OD/Distortion
is this a fuzz-overdrive or a distortion-overdrive?
I want Andy to narrate my everyday life.
So, would this be a good choice for using the distortion part for a stoner QOTSA-like tone and using the OD part to boost an already driven tube amp for a metal tone?
is it possible with some setting to get anywhere close to Big Muff pi's tone with this pedal? the name is pretty misleading cuz tonally it seems just a variation on germanium od..
@ProGuitarShopDemos I think he meant it starting only getting starved tones
which pedal is better for metal the line 6 uber metal or this big muff??
@DeltyBoy I owned it , and I wouldn't recommend it for metal, have you tried the metal muff ?
This pedal is a real killer, I like it!
awesome! wanna get one now!!
@Gaelmusicvideo why not? you mean for a real high gain distortion???
hey i'm thinking about selling my big muff and ds-1 to get this. do you think that would be a good idea?
How the hell do you get the overdrive to sound like overdrive? I bought this pedal 2 weeks ago and still can't figure out how to make it sound like anything but clean.
hey andy, what about demos with a backing track or a live band? itl be great to see if these fuzz boxes can cut through the mix.
I kind of like it, but I think I'm more hooked on Andy's playing than I am on the pedal. I bought the red pedal because of Andy's vid and it's awesome. I bought Satch's overdrive. Only used in once, did not like at all.
hey mann great video, loved the sound of this pedal and literally just bought one, but could you tell me if it comes with a power supply, if not then could you tell me where to get one cos im not sure if this would run off normal 9v DC? thanks again mate! :)
does the original big muff pi have a germanium trasistor?
Hey does anybody know how this sounds on bass?! i cant find any bassist using this online !?
What if one uses a boost pedal to compensate for low output pickups?
anyone? may i know ur opinion please? i was planning to buy the Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde, but then I went to a music store and I found Germanium 4 Big Muff... Anyone can tell me the difference? please help... never heard the 2 twin pedals with my own ears...
Hey, I'm trying to decide between this and the standard Big Muff pi USA, I'm looking for something that will give me a Jack white sound. I know that Jack personally uses the normal Big Muff, but does this offer the same dirty sound?
This is an awesome pedal but I think I'd have to have another type of distortion to go with it.
I've always thought the Big Muff was the perfect QOTSA distortion/fuzz pedal. I wonder how the guys at my local guitar shop love it when I come in, tune a guitar down to C and try out a muff pedal this some Queens riffs!?!?!
what is bias??
Good sound!
SOLD. Im getting one.
I think i need one of these !
Germanium distortion 4 would be a proper name.
@kess924 depends on what you're looking for... it doesn't nail either of those, so if you're attached to the sounds you get from them, don't. but i just got this, and couldn't be happier. i was hoping it could replace either my Germanium OD or my Big Muff Wicker, but to my surprise, nope. but it's really versatile, and totally great. def. my fav. pedal in my lineup... i think it's even better than this demo let's on... i love the fuzz i get with the right side + my original germanium OD.
Can you get Fuzz Face-type sound from this?
Germanium effects tone a lot. I think it's kind of a waste to get a pedal like this unless you have a tube rig.
what means BIAS ?
please take a review with bass guitar
@smoss469
EHX pedals of the XO series aren't particularly consistent. so the germanium doides can vary a bit - aswell as the pots used.
Golden Boy?! nice one Andy.