All About Muff

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:40 am

I've just finished building a Musikding Fuzz Factory and am thinking about having a go at some kind of Big Muff next. What I'm wondering is, how do the different Muff's compare? I've got Mikes Vero layout for the Green Muff and will probably go with that, but how does that compare with the current Big Muff that EHX produce? What is the Muff with Tone Wicker? Is it the same circuit with some switchable bits or is it a different circuit all together? What about other historic Muffs that are still well regarded other than the Green Muff? I know about the IC Muff, but what's the Ram's Head? Are any of these particularly harder than the others to build or any more likely to catch fire or something if built wrong?

Given how popular Muffs are, would it be worth having a thread stickied here or in the Resource Forum comparing the different Muffs and with a description of them, a la the Marshall FAQ thread?

Thanks!

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:51 am

BacchusPaul wrote:Given how popular Muffs are, would it be worth having a thread stickied here or in the Resource Forum comparing the different Muffs and with a description of them, a la the Marshall FAQ thread?

LOL - with pics?

There is a Wikipedia page on the Big Muff and variants, worth a read, but something more encyclopaedic could be useful... like this?

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:54 am

NickS wrote:
BacchusPaul wrote:Given how popular Muffs are, would it be worth having a thread stickied here or in the Resource Forum comparing the different Muffs and with a description of them, a la the Marshall FAQ thread?
LOL - with pics?

There is a Wikipedia page on the Big Muff and variants, worth a read, but something more encyclopaedic could be useful... like this?

Brilliant Nick. That's exactly what I'm looking for and then some. Thanks!

Post by **Mike** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 9:39 am

Most of the transistor Muffs are just a few component subs different. I like the Violet Ram's Head and Green Muff versions best. The

http://www.pisotones.com/BigMuffPi/psst ... rsions.htm (this is a great resource for circuits, mods etc)

Most of the changes are tweaks to the tone stack, clipping stage filtering and some of the gain staging. You get the impression this was mainly to tweak around the stock of transistors EHX happened to have to hand.

The new NYC reissue is quieter (at least the one I owned was), more saturated and more scooped than the ones I've built, and I think the Green and Ram's Head are more throaty and raw. The Little Big Muff gets better reviews.

The IC Muff is a completely different topology using op-amps and sounds really different. It's basically Siamese Dream in a box.

The Tone Wicker is a Big Muff with a bypassable tone control and also lifts on the clipper stage feedback caps which smooth off clipping of the high frequencies - these make it more abrasive.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 11:02 am

That's an interesting read too. So, by that page, the current American Muff is the third edition? I was under the impression that there had been dozens of minor revisions, so I'm assuming the distinctions he marks out are pretty broad?

Reading that it sounds like Green Russian or original Triangle Muff are what I'm after. I like big raspy, middy fuzz.

Post by **Mike** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 11:35 am

No Big Muff is really middy, if you're building one definitely add a mid control as specified in the mod section - really great modification.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 12:40 pm

If you want to know about Big Muff sounds and history try this:

http://www.kitrae.net/music/music_big_muff.html

I am currently into the Russian Muff sound. I currently have a Black Russian Muff and Mike is going to build me a Civil War Muff.

It's amazing how many versions of The Big Muff there are and how different they all sound.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 2:55 pm

taylornutt wrote:If you want to know about Big Muff sounds and history try this:

http://www.kitrae.net/music/music_big_muff.html

See 2nd post...

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 3:54 pm

NickS wrote:
taylornutt wrote:If you want to know about Big Muff sounds and history try this:

http://www.kitrae.net/music/music_big_muff.html
See 2nd post...

I didn't see where the link was pointing. Sorry for the duplication.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:13 am

Mike wrote:No Big Muff is really middy, if you're building one definitely add a mid control as specified in the mod section - really great modification.

Sorry for the thread bump and the denseness, but how to do this? I need to order an extra 25k pot, a 22n cap and a 1k resistor?

Replace C1 with a 22n cap
Replace R2 with a 22k to 25k potmeter (wired as a variable resistor) with a 1k resistor wired in series.

http://rkerkhof.ruhosting.nl/Taas/Mods/Big%20Muff.htm

JohnnyTheBoy · Post by **JohnnyTheBoy** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:55 am

I owned the NYC Muff for some time, running with battery power, but i needed a chain-able dc and a smaller enclosure to fit my board, so i sold it to my bass player..
Then i got hold of Mikes #1 Green Russian Muff, and I've gotta say its a much better all-round fuzz than the original, and i can definitely get more of a Pumpkins tone out of it...so i heartily recommend it

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:07 am

BacchusPaul wrote:I've just finished building a Musikding Fuzz Factory and am thinking about having a go at some kind of Big Muff next. What I'm wondering is, how do the different Muff's compare? I've got Mikes Vero layout for the Green Muff and will probably go with that, but how does that compare with the current Big Muff that EHX produce? What is the Muff with Tone Wicker? Is it the same circuit with some switchable bits or is it a different circuit all together? What about other historic Muffs that are still well regarded other than the Green Muff? I know about the IC Muff, but what's the Ram's Head? Are any of these particularly harder than the others to build or any more likely to catch fire or something if built wrong?

Given how popular Muffs are, would it be worth having a thread stickied here or in the Resource Forum comparing the different Muffs and with a description of them, a la the Marshall FAQ thread?

Thanks!

Musikding also sell various Big Muff kits, you can compare parts lists for each version side by side.

Post by **Mike** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:58 am

BacchusPaul wrote:
Mike wrote:No Big Muff is really middy, if you're building one definitely add a mid control as specified in the mod section - really great modification.
Sorry for the thread bump and the denseness, but how to do this? I need to order an extra 25k pot, a 22n cap and a 1k resistor?

Replace C1 with a 22n cap
Replace R2 with a 22k to 25k potmeter (wired as a variable resistor) with a 1k resistor wired in series.
http://rkerkhof.ruhosting.nl/Taas/Mods/Big%20Muff.htm

Yup, I can give you some help afte rthat if you give me some decent photos or cricuit/layout diagrams for your build

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:09 pm

Thanks! I'll be using your veroboard layout from the resources forum. I've looked up mods and such but have a hard time with schematics.

I'm assuming a tone bypass would act on the mid control too?

Eitherway, I've been chatting today to a few people who I'm going in on this with partswise and it looks like it'll be another month or so before this gets done.

Post by **Mike** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:25 pm

Yup a bypass would take the whole tone stack out

I'll give you some pointers when the time comes

Grab yourself from desoldering braid while you're at it if you haven't got any

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 9:52 pm

A quick BUMP since I've decided I'll have a crack at building my own muff too.

I spent ages this evening poring over the circuit diagrams on the links, but got a bit puzzled at the controls on the early Triangle and Ram's Head versions. The footswitch is fair enough, but what's the deal with the separate on/off slider? Seems a bit superfluous to me...unless it was a workaround for the days before true bypass? I can't think of another reason why it would need two on/off switches.

Second question: transistors. Most Muff versions seem to use NPN while others use PNP. What I've read so far suggests that the transistors have less of a bearing on the resulting sound than the choice of caps and resistors, but I realised I'd need an isolated 9V DC supply for it if it used PNP trannies. I'm assuming that the polarity of the transistor matters less than other parameters?

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:20 pm

Yes I want a MUFF too..

or just buy this one.. I actually have no experience in building pedals, but Ive always wanted to try..
And the Muff schematic dosnt look too crazy(tho it has a lot of components,if I understand correctly)..

► Show Spoiler

luciguci · Post by **luciguci** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 12:57 am

I believe the On/Off switch was to just cut the power off from the battery. The bypass switch is different, since it just cuts the circuit out of the signal path.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 1:22 pm

izodiak wrote:
► Show Spoiler

That's a Muff Overdrive which is based on a '60s EHX plug-in Muff, nothing like a Big Muff Pi fuzz. The newer Double Muff is just two of those in one box.

Brandon W · Post by **Brandon W** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 3:10 pm

I have a very old muff fuzz that doesn't work. We are trying to fix it. I really want it to work...

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