Let's DIVE into a BIG Russian MUFF! - Electro Harmonix Sovtek Big Muff Pi Reissue FIXED
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- Опубликовано: 11 окт 2024
- I like Big Muffs and I cannot lie! In this vid, we'll tear into a piece of Russian Muff Pi and come out all sticky...from the super glue we had to use on the LED. The Made in Russia version of this pedal is, of course, the one with the giant green box and huge, clunky on/off switch. This was was broken, not working when it came to me, we'll track down the issues in record time and demo with a Fender Telecaster into a solid state practice amp for maximum grunge goodness.
Just an FYI for anyone reading:
A great way to make a heavy duty battery clip is to use the terminals and base from a used up 9 volt battery.
Pull it apart and keep the top and bottom black fibre/plastic bits; solder on some leads and then use a small amount of hot glue on the inside to join to two pieces; you can then use heatshrink tube on the leads if you want. They look good and outlast vinyl ones. Virtually indestructible.
Such a simple circuit, so much sound. Gotta love a muff.
Brilliant idea with the shrink tubing on the battery terminal!
Thanks.
Edgar Burnett I must concur...thought it was genius, and it came out very well.
When I'm building stuff on the cheap, I always make 9v terminals by scavenging the connector from a dead battery. It just pries up ready to be soldered, hotglued and shrinkwrapped!
I sure do like the effects of those pedals. The small stone sounded great! Yep dirty pots. The big muff sounds like my old fuzz tone.
I sincerely wish I had your knowledge of all of this stuff...especially with the amps. I have successfully redone wiring in a guitar that had terrible noises and such but never have I done these more sophisticated things. Your knowledge of electronics, capacitors, transistors etc. is quite mesmerizing. I actually watch a lot of your vids just to watch what you end up doing to fix something. The repairs you do with the Phaser pedals are excellent and the playing guitar with them is quite relaxing. Great vids man!
Hey Brad, great video as always - I wish I had your talent man... thanks for sharing this with us.
The Guiarologist is the preferred Amp-Tech for all of the Superheroes!! ... And for some Evil-Villans too!! :)
I just bought a few hundred each of these exact Soviet era transistors and diodes used in these pedals. I also got a whole bunch of original knobs and switches...I couldn’t resist. The Russian datasheet says transistor hfe is between 400 - 1000. I’ll be testing a bunch to check the accuracy. I’ve tested them before and they’re all over the place.
I own five (three are V7 tallfont) Sovtek muffs myself and really like them, obviously. ;)
Really cool video! Makes me want to assemble some pedals now.
Holy cow Brad man, the tone you got from that Pedal and that playing was awesome.
Great job.
Hey Guitologist. thanks for posting the video. I really liked your choice of riffs, they show the deep throaty sustain, & squealing distortion of the pedal.
Oh the TONE!!!!!! Great job!!!!
Definitely I like this open tone...Greetings from Brazil.
I think I have been baited and switched. But not enough switching yet. More Pi Pease. Sounds good Brad. Tele and a Muff, Lucky guy.
It's sounds awesome. I've got a clone of a Russian big muff but this makes me want the real thing. Thanks for sharing
I rehoused mine into a smaller hammond box and made it true bypass with a triple pull double thrrow switch. Works great and is way smaller.
HEY GUITOLOGIST! sounds really good! electro harmonix are working with billy corgan on a big muff based on the one he used for the siamese dream album it should be out next year.
Hey Brad, my number one glue that I use is "Shoe Goo". Amazing stuff sticks to anything and flexible to boot. I rarely reach for super glue or epoxy anymore.
+Michael Danieli thanks for the suggestion
Shoe Gloo that is flexible to boot...love it!
Easy Peazzy Brad nice playing as always!!Cheers have a great weekend!
I just love the way the Pi sounds, wish I still had mine. :(
Heh-heh....Hey Beavis! He said 'Big muff Pi(e)!!'
Editing skills 10+
Thanks. I don't like to over-edit. Sometimes letting the camera just run can create a relaxing vibe. But on a repair this easy, might as well cut to the quick.
My dad bought me a Green Russian for Christmas of '97. I would say the date on the board is what you think it is. Thanks for resurrecting this piece of history.
Very informative video! Wish you showed when you soldered the battery clip back on. One of the wires on mine popped of last night and now I’m going to have to solder it back on.
thumbs up for the Batman transition alone!
Another shout out to youtube's Fran Blanche and FranLab!
BIG MUFFS ARE FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like the heat-shrink solution. Neat.
I've been insulating battery connectors lately with hot glue. Sometimes you get that soft plastic cover flapping about the place and it doesn't take contact adhesive too well.
Good old hot glue appears to bond quite well to it. Time will tell ...
I owned and loved both these pedals, sadly they broke really quickly but sounded amazing when they worked. I remember the smell of the paint when I opened the boxes on em
Loved the jam session✌
Sweet quick and easy fix. 👍
Love my Muffs quick and easy.
The Sovtek Big Muff sounds awesome. Such a simple circuit...but it works. Nasty but musical. Had a Blue Wah Fuzz handed down when I was a kid (Sorry cannot remember the brand, 70's or late 60's for sure). I'm sure the circuit was similar with the addition of a potentiometer. Loved it and miss it. Not sure what became of it.
I had an electro pedal in the late 70's called "muff fuzz" little brother to this I think. It was an odd 60's fuzz distortion tone. I think it was attempting to emulate the Hendrix overdrive tube tone or perhaps early Keith Richards "satisfaction " tone
Way to muff dive, Brad...you just stuck your face in there until you had it licked! Really made 'er scream and moan while you were at it...helluva job...
Yeah, we worked up a good sweat on this one and got her screaming in the end.
well as old as she is,, she is a screamer,,but will she keep screaming,,depends.
Not trying to criticize too much, because you know way more about electronics they I do, but I've built a couple pedals. I think it's typically better to use a hot glue gun to help hold in an LED. That way you can always peel it off easily if you have to take it out of the enclosure for some reason later on.
Commando Brando I like to use hot glue only in inappropriate situations. :D good suggestion.
Hot Glue Tip: When needing to remove the stuff, apply some isopropyl alcohol. It doesn't melt the glue it just gets between the bonded surfaces. Unsticks the glue innit. ;^)
KozmykJ prove it
+YUKI JINJUJI ;^) Try it for yourself.
For an initial test I 'd try it with some hot glue stuck onto a relatively smooth surface so you can see the effect. Then try it on a rougher contact surface. It may well be that on a really rough irregular mating surface that the IPA may not free it totally. But it's always worked for me.
Given that HG can often be pulled off just by mechanical force the tip is just a way to make removal easier.
Clearly, if the HG has wrapped around a closed loop or a long post then the encirclement will have to be undone by additional means.
I was cringing at the super glue. Hot glue would definitely be the best option here.
No muff too tough, we dive in 5
Damned sweet sounding muff you got there!
Jack
Bronzesnake thanks jack
Put your ear down on it and you can hear the sounds of the ocean.
well the civil war model i had was built with the 092 package can transistor. this is like 8th version after the bubble font but before the black russian.
thats some solid casing on these ones. they seem rigid.
The outer casing is thin gauge steel, but they are reinforced on top with a second bent plate.
'Muffs are a trip,,,so many variations. Had a 'red script' version from the mid '70s that ruled. Strat into a Magnatone for UFO and Trower stuff. This was replaced by the large logo version which was the one ri'd awhile back. A little too stoner rock for me.
Always wondered about the Ruski version. Pedal was gone for years before these were made in the mid '90s.
wonder if Fran worked on this?....great fizzy sounds reminds me of the Groundhogs 70's psyche rock!...hey are you going to do a T Shirt?...would be fun to have one for christmas! 😄👏🏻🎸
I'll have one ready by Easter.
Every one should have a big muff pie at least once in their life
Best title for a video 2017!
I bought the same version in the 90's. Never really cared for it, but at the time I never really gave it a fair shake. Only until recently I realized they have gone up in price quite a bit. Sold for $400 on reverb within a few hours.
If you backlight that board and post a picture so you can see the traces and included a parts list this could easily be recreated.
If it was build in 1997 it was built the same year I was born. Sounds awesome btw really need to look if I can get my hands on one.
If U use 1 of those curly cords to plug the guitar in, you'll be able to listen to an AM radio station when you activate the MUFF.
Quick an easy fix with the Big Muf 3.14159.............. can’t remember the rest. Nice vid Brad.
Haha
Batman may be your foe in this video! Those Big Muffs have a nice tone don't they!!Yeah buddy brings back Jimi,Peace.
Great video on this pedal also bro.
Holy stomping Robin, it's a Bat muff...... I mean a Big Bat Muff pi
By mallet and reaper, just dive right in there comrade .
I'll hammer and lickle...uh...sickle myself to victory.
And they cried," don't let the old pedals die"!
Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye.
So you're muff diving? Rock on \m/
i watch another channel called johns arcade where he pretty much does the same thing as you, except he works on old school arcade cabs...im so glad theres one for guitar repair too lol
+darkinertia2 thanks for watching!
Sounds cool, nice video!
Ha ha on the title.
The original Big Muff was my very first pedal. I got it specifically to play Aint seen nothing yet by BTO.
big bald muff pie.. that's what's for dinner.....
That is the base of the Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream sound right there.
+Nick Kravatz yep. I was there.
No I think Billy used a 1970s op amp big muff
Op amp muff sounds quite different to this version
Reece Wright your right. Billy used an op amp big muff
MXR Distortion II and late 70s op amp big muff is that sound.
Using shrink tubing on the battery ingenious!!!
+Steven Miller whatever works
My favorite 'Muff circuit. Always wanted one of these but the prices are just too much. Instead I've built a few clones over the years for myself and the occasional friend.
My brother had one of these. he hated the cheap pots and chunky switch always breaking or coming loose on his. Plus since he was a huge Smashing Pumpkins/Billy Corgan fan he wanted to upgrade to a player's grade vintage one. He felt the tone of the older ones was so much better. Funny enough Billy's mid seventies version was after Mike Matthews was accused of using cheaper parts for the new versions. so the SP tone is the later model that some people feel is inferior to the earlier "rams head" versions, like my brother got. But still better than the Sovtek version in his opinion.
Hey Brad, I have a question about a broken pedal I have. It’s a Boss DD-7 delay that I bought not too long ago and while pressing the switch messing with the loop/hold setting the pedal just died. Won’t turn on or anything but the switch seems fine, maybe I just fried it somehow.
I opened it to check it out and man the circuit on the thing looks like it could belong in a Macbook. Anyways, just hoping maybe you had worked on one before and could share some insight. Thanks!!
Sounds so good
Way to dive into that big muff, lol
+Davy Oneness missed opportunity on the title.
Carvin is still around. They changed their name back to their Original name Kiesel Guitars. One of the family members broke off and is making Carvin pickups still...
Are you testing the You Tube algorithms? "Big Russian Muff" so funny....
Testing...prodding provocatively...po-TAY-toe...po-TAH-toe...
Mini-pots!! I tried to re-box mine. No success...I don't remember why I attempted this. It seemed like a good idea at the time...
I must have an older model because I have a top plat that comes off, then theres a 2nd plate that the pots, switch and light bulb are attached to. The Pots have russian letters on them too. The board has a penciled "H" on it.
I luv shaved muff ... in love with muff..down with muff
Subtle
sounds great!
I usually hate fuzz but that one sounds pretty good.
Who made the first stomp box? maybe a good docu-video...
some tasty riffage!
Harbor Freight Superglue. Good stuff.
Mudhoney time!
I see you have serviced a Muff-pie or two in your day. 🐒 😂😂😂
+Bryan Wayne Muff pies are my new specialty.
The Guitologist I hear ya bro! 🤣
You said something about Fran Blanch deigning the Rusky made BigMuffπ. Was it a new circuit that did the same thing or a redesign OR she was responsible for the circuit layout\component choices?
Someone in a comment on the previous video informed me she might not have had anything to do with this pedal. She worked on a later version.
Ah yes super glue and tape the key to all that is good!
50 years from now. Amp tech: "THAT'S NOT BUDGING. IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE GLUED THAT. YEAH. YEAH THEY DEFINITELY GLUED IT. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! ITS SUCH A SHAME NOW I HAVE TO RIP THIS OUT."
Acetone dissolves cyanoacrylates.
Sounds killer
Dammmm is that a Soviet era big muff? The Soviet era were the BEST sounding big muffs ever to exist, you just can't compare it to the new ones.
Edit: I just read the full title, and am disappointed, I listened to this video with the volume down since it's midnight.
CS: GOPNIK
most of the electronic parts are soviet era.
@@W_H_K still cool, but I think that they're cooler when they're the ones from 70s and 80s, you know, you wouldn't get an extreme amount of guitar effects from the Soviet Union unless it was ehx
It's a camel Muff!
+William Whalen Siberian Camel.
Man your iron is a monster!!!!!
I live in Russia and I have a big Muff made in USA but I like the sound of the Russian big Muff. Let's exchange I will send the us big Muff and you're gonna give me a Russian Muff))
At 3:34 I thought you were going to say I accidentally farted and it stinks like sulfur
You, sir, are producing my videos from now on!
Nice Work, that one looked easier. I love your playing Brad.. Are these pedals yours to keep?
Thanks man. No, not mine. They belong to a customer here locally.
I wonder are these Brian Gilbert’s pedals?
Didn't you do a video where you completely removed your entire muff?
If I’m gonna make myself a fuzz, it’d have to be the Jeff beck fuzztone, not sure what it was called anymore..
Lovely pedal. I'm missing the battery lid on mine but glad to have the huge wooden box for it :) perkabrod on insta
+Eric Öhman you could fabricate a battery cover. Rectangular piece of metal and another bend piece riveted on.
Had one for a very short time then sold it. I prefer humbuckers .Strat players liked because they fattened the 2@4 position and humbucker players preferred the treble boost . There is a very good reason Boss pedals became the standard of the industry by 1980. Their overdrives and distortions were far more universally usable as well as sounding better. Not everything Vintage is good. EH had a bad reputation for being Noisy vulnerable to CB radio transmissions.
These old soviet potentiometers are notorious to get dirty. Nice sound though for such simple circuit._
Do you have the schematic for this pedal? Great videos!!!
I didn't even need to look it up to get this one going. Try google?
Go to www.effectslayouts.blogspot.com he has layouts and schematics of a lot of pedals, including pretty much all BMPs even the tone stacks
how did you clean the pots? i usually just use canned air for my stuff but there's got to be a better way.
Servisol Super 10 switch cleaner ftw. Safe on plastics. Leaves a thin lubricant behind after it evaporates.
thanks for the help!!
I always use deoxit d5!
Colby M Another vote for Deoxit D5
I might go for a chemical reagent cleaner if corrosion was the main issue. Otherwise I'd stick with solvent and residual lubrication. Servisol has never let me down in over 40 years. A bonus Plus is it's about 1/4 the price of Deoxit for us in Britain. ;^)
Hi great video! Would you happen to be interested in selling your 1990's russian big muff? Thanks :)
Hope you dont have to replace the LED...
Always wanted a big muff as it is Gilmour's choice of crunch box, but always seemed so expensive. More so now that I know it's got about as much electronics in it as a davy lamp.
Make one!
ai, 'spose so. www.musikding.de/Der-Muff-Green-Russian-Distortion-kit
If I get a few spare minutes, I might make one.
Tom's Line Firecream is a reasonable facsimile of a Muff for not-a-lot-of-pennies
I have a Civil War Big Muff with input inssues. Id to have that thing fixed for multimle reasons.
"Biggest Russian Muff I've ever seen" BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Maybe "muff" doesn't have the double entendre designation to a certain tuna flavoured some someun it has here inthe Great White North - Canada!
Jack
I have no idea what you're talking about. :P
OK so up in my neck of the woods, North of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, "muff" is code for vagina! I assumed this was a universal North American nomenclature!
Sorry for the confusion!
Jack
Canada
wait...were you being facetious?
Jack
:)
Sorry, I have to agree. I am also from Canada. I'm pretty sure that everyone understands the big muff "double entendre" It is the incomplete sentence that no one understands.
saw it on the small clone video!!!!
Watching this drunk was quite trippy with the music