Electro-Harmonix’s legendary pedal needs no introduction, but we’re going to give it one anyway. All pedal and tone nerds have encountered the majesty of the Big Muff at some point, in one form or another, as its unmistakable fuzz effect has found its way onto countless recordings by some of the industry’s most revered artists for decades. Seriously! Pin pictures of your favorite bands and artists to a dartboard and give it a toss — everybody knows somebody who has a Big Muff! But, surely, there must be a reason for its undying greatness, one that goes beyond the basic principles of pedal construction. And, indeed, there is! In fact, there are quite a few reasons.
Its totally unhinged and blissfully distorted fuzziness has given generations of guitarists and bassists a commanding edge both onstage and in the studio. Playing one is a rite of passage for amateur and pro rockers alike, thereby engraving its authority into an ever-expanding community of musicians. These days, EHX offers an enticing selection of about a dozen variants of the famed pedal in order to speak to the souls of pretty much every rock and roller out there. And, with its perpetually affordable price tag, the Big Muff and all of its brothers and sisters give guitarists the chance to chase their fuzzy dreams with limited financial stress. Meld each of these factors into one rock-steady unit, and you have not only a pedal design of epic proportions but also one with the longevity to truly stand the test of time. Rock and roll will never die, and neither will the Big Muff!
Conception
The roots of the Big Muff extend deep into the 1970s, when the beginning of the decade saw a heavier commercialization of some of the most sonically strange sound effects to emerge from the ’60s. In fact, the Big Muff’s earliest germination came in the late ’60s, courtesy of the curious mind of EHX president Mike Matthews and his Muff Fuzz brainchild. Although notable fuzz pedals had reared their heads before, such as the Fuzz Face and Maestro FZ-1 (who could forget the opening riff of “Satisfaction”?), they just couldn’t offer the excitement of reliable and precise tone shaping. It was this issue that sparked numerous refinements by EHX in an effort to achieve both the famously molten fuzz effect and the uniquely customizable parameters needed to give guitarists the creative freedom they craved, consequentially skyrocketing the pedal’s appeal and commercial success.
“We plunged into production, and I brought the very first units up to Henry, the boss at Manny’s Music Store on 48th Street, NYC. About a week later, I stopped by at Manny’s to buy some cables, and Henry yelled out to me, “Hey Mike. I sold one of those new Big Muffs to Jimi Hendrix.”
Mike Matthews, EXH Founder and President
That Sound!
Fuzz has got to be distortion in one of its coolest forms, and nobody does fuzz like EHX! The Big Muff’s instantly recognizable effect unleashes a stature of signal deformation that’s just as dialed in as it is chaotic. A bit of an oxymoron, we know, but if you’ve ever really listened to or played a Big Muff in person, then you know that there’s a certain elegance to its attitude. You can wrap your brain around it — it pushes all the right buttons and isn’t off lost in some other dimension (though we aren’t saying there’s anything wrong with that either!). So, technically speaking, what’s all the fuzz about?
Its magnificent sound arises in part due to its ingenious circuitry. A 4-stage transistor chain boosts the guitar’s clean signal into a dual-stage circuit of nirvanic distortion, which is launched through a final round of tone preservation that results in the grainy and perfectly sustaining fuzz that we’ve come to cherish so lovingly. Layer in a user-chosen degree of volume, tone, and sustain to establish a perfectly suitable balance of effects, and you have the foundation for a long line of truly revolutionary fuzz pedals. Big Muffs have specifically worked their way into the early stages of pedal chains on the boards of so many guitarists partially because the sheer magnitude of their sound preserves the effects of succeeding pedals with an unrivaled distorted nature. There’s just nothing quite like having a Big Muff on your pedalboard!
“The thing that sort of caught me about the Big Muff was the sustain of the pedal. I can just play one stroke of my guitar, and the expression of the distortion will sort of just change automatically. In a way, the Big Muff plays itself . . .”
Wata of Boris
Trusted by Legends
If we tried to make a list of all the artists who use (or have used) a Big Muff to gig and record — well, needless to say, we’d be here for a while. The fun part is that this means there’s a good chance that you’ve experienced the Big Muff in a wide range of tonal and specially effected manifestations, and you may not have even known it! David Gilmour preferred the Big Muff for Pink Floyd’s Animals recording sessions in 1976 — the legendary, distorted guitar entrance in “Dogs,” anyone? EHX was there! The same goes for the likes of ’90s grunge and alternative-rock icons like Kurt Cobain on “Lithium” and Billy Corgan during the recording of Siamese Dream.
The Big Muff blew open the door to a new millennium at the foot of Jack White, who used the stompbox — often in conjunction with an octave effect — as his trademark sound throughout his career with The White Stripes and various other projects. Other notable acts such as The Black Keys took advantage of the Big Muff’s effortless style during the bluesy garage-rock revitalization period of the 2000s, unleashing the enormousness of the fuzz pedal’s sound upon yet another new generation of rock fans. John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers used one, so did Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails, and so does the Arctic Monkeys’ Jamie Cook — there’s just no end in sight!
And any discussion of the Big Muff wouldn’t be complete without mentioning how it has just as easily transformed bass fuzz, as well. An increasingly popular distortion pedal of choice for bassists, different bass-oriented versions of the Big Muff have wound up on the boards of four-string legends like Cliff Burton of Metallica and John Paul Jones in his time with supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. When bassists chase after a distorted sound, the first pedal they’ll likely turn to is the Big Muff!
You get the idea — the Big Muff has been everywhere, and it still has work to do.
“All I used in The White Stripes for seven years was an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff and the Whammy.”
Jack White
A Cornucopia of Fuzz
A huge part of what makes the Big Muff so great is that it comes in so many different variations. And with more variations comes the likelihood that you’ll find the right combination of controls to reel in the exact sound you’re looking for. Keep it classic with the Big Muff Pi, the Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi, or the Triangle Big Muff and explore spot-on replications of some of the earliest renditions of the EHX fuzz. Maybe a few more shaping controls like Frequency, Blend, Gate, and Wicker are closer to the direction you’d like to take, in which case some of the larger models such as the Deluxe and Sovtek Deluxe Big Muff Pi pedals would be a wonderful fit for your rig! Whatever your ideal fuzz — if you can dream it, chances are the Big Muff can produce it.
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi Fuzz Pedal
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Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Big Muff Pi Fuzz Pedal with Mid-Shift
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Electro-Harmonix Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi Fuzz Pedal
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Electro-Harmonix Sovtek Deluxe Big Muff Pi Fuzz Pedal with Mid-Shift
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Electro-Harmonix Triangle Big Muff Reissued Fuzz Pedal
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For thunderous distortion on the lower end, the Bass Big Muff Pi and its ultra-expanded Deluxe big brother are great choices for tracking down and uniquely contouring the ultimate fuzzed-out bass tones to complement your heavier sound. All of these effects and more are merely branches of the entire Big Muff family tree, and they’re all available right now at Sweetwater!
Priced Within Everyone’s Reach!
Modern effects pedals can easily reach over $200, and a lot of them offer not a ton more than the more reasonably priced models — but not the Big Muff! These days, the only Big Muffs you’ll find fetching that kind of money are the originals that ran the gauntlet back in the day and lived to tell the tale. The beauty of the Big Muff is that, despite its many variants, EHX has kept the price considerably low over the years. This way, guitarists of all ages, calibers, and budgets can get into the Big Muff game without breaking the bank, which only further extends the life and popularity of this classic fuzz.
The Legacy Continues
The EHX Big Muff has had an incredible history of dousing the rock-and-roll scene with fuzzy mayhem on some of the largest stages and most renowned albums. From its unique engineering to its star-studded cast of players, it’s truly made its mark on music history and will continue to do so for generations to come. If you’d like to experience this pedal’s iconic charm firsthand, then be sure to check out all of the Big Muff models we offer here at Sweetwater! And, as always, if you’d like to find out more about the Big Muff and what version is the right fit for your needs, then give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700,and our gear experts will be standing by to help. Keep it fuzzy!
