Your Favorite Muff?

[Tremster]

mayo.

Mayo it is.

[culturejam]

My favorite is usually whichever one I just finished building. 

[lars]

My favorite Big Muff sound isn't from a Big Muff at all. The Electro Harmonix Micro Synth is like a Big Muff on steroids. It gives you the same heavy fuzz sound but with the added octave controls and sweep options. Most people think they are hearing a Big Muff on Smashing Pumpkins recordings, but the Micro Synth was used much more; and still part of their regular pedal board setup. It would be an interesting pedal to try to clone...

[ch1naski]

I used to use a vintage bass micro synth, and it was a huge sound, altho a bit gated. I loved it.

[Willybomb]

I'm first to admit that I haven't played with enough muffs.

Got a rabbithole here though, think I might build it to PI specs, or something.

[stringsthings]

One of the first pedals that I ever bought way back around 1980 was a Big Muff Deluxe.  I didn't know the differences between op amps
and transistors then, but I really liked the sound of the Deluxe.   ( for some reason, when you turned the compressor on, it was in parallel
with the fuzz ... not my cup of tea )  So my favorite is the op amp  version.

OT:   I would really like to build a clone of the compressor.  By itself, it had a over-the-top kind of squish effect that I liked.  Totally
not transparent.  I've read it was a soul preacher, and I've breadboarded one of those and it didn't have that sound.  If anyone knows
of a working soul preacher circuit, I'd be very interested.

[thesmokingman]

"Where's Carl?"
all zombie thread jokes aside ...
my first pedals were an op amp big muff and early v1 small stone I paid a whole $20 for at a yard sale ...
the "ram's head 73 #18" on kitrae is the sound I think of when I think of "the big muff sound" ...
I can also admit to buying into the hype of sovtek amps and pedals because that was what was in magazines and catalogues when I was a teen.
now if I were to pick just one out of that, I guess it would be the op amp big muff

[jimilee]

I must say, I haven't played with nearly enough muffs either. I do like the green Russian tremendously.


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[Muadzin]

I've built almost every of the EHX Muff variants on Kitrae's site. Of them I like the all ceramic Triangle and the Violet Ram the most. Many Muffs are way too boomy and muddy for my taste but these have the right balance. The op-amp is also very good in its own way. Of the Russian Muffs I never liked the Green Russian, to muddy for my taste, but I can understand why bass players love them. The Civil War was more to my taste.

The best Muffs though are the Skreddy Muffs. They're all good in their own way with my favorites being the Mayonaise III and the P19. The latter you can actually use with a mid boost switch. Which is something that is mandatory for basically all Muffs. The scoop may sound great in the bedroom, but in a band setting it will murder your sound faster then an AK-47. I've installed the Skreddy mids switch in all my Muffs and just flicking it to the flat setting is basically all you need to reappear in a mix again.

[stringsthings]

The latter you can actually use with a mid boost switch. Which is something that is mandatory for basically all Muffs. The scoop may sound great in the bedroom, but in a band setting it will murder your sound faster then an AK-47. I've installed the Skreddy mids switch in all my Muffs and just flicking it to the flat setting is basically all you need to reappear in a mix again.

Very true.   When I was a teenager, I didn't know much about EQ in general, so I always wondered why my guitar would sound buried in a band sound.
But I always loved that distorted, fuzzy sound.   Since it was my first experience with distortion, it made a huge impression on me.

[JC103]

Here is clip from a dude on the Gilmour forum, it should suffice for the dirty mind in the gutter muff rhetoric required by the OP:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf-uctPysAs&feature=youtu.be

I've got about 6 muff builds kicking around. Triangle, Violet Ram x2, Civil War x2, and the Duplex Drive G2. They all sound different, it really is amazing what component type n' tolerances do to the circuit. Wima vs. generic box caps, ceramic vs. mica, or even tropical fish. Then there are the trannies which add another dimension to the texture of the distortion. You could spend years trying to find the right one. Looking forward to trying out the ?Lady and the Mayo. So far NOS trannies, tight tolerance ceramics, and fish caps seem to be the most pleasing to my ear.

Try adding a the Cornish buffer inline before the muff, you may find you do not need a mid switch after all. Just add volume and you'll cut through! (100w EL34 powered amps are a prerequisite lol)

[darrenw6000]

i did see a diy pedal somewhere where someone had a rotary switch where they could select the various muff's, i thought that was a cool idea.

Only sampled 2, the triangle and rams head, definitely preferred the triangle. I would love to sample some more variety of muff.

[jimilee]

Nice fuzz pedal


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[jimilee]

Nice fuzz pedal


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[dont-tase-me-bro]

having all the different versions on a rotary switch is a cool idea