Electro Harmonix Big Muff PI USA Reviews

Modern post-Gilmour sound

Honestly, I bought it hoping for classic Pink Floyd-like sound and was somehow disappointed after plugging it in.

It doesn't really sound that much Gilmourish as classic "Ram Head" version.

It however, delivers quite nicely aggressive, saturated tone.

Excellent for stoner/doom rock.

This pedal is a classic.

It is very good for a darker moody sound.

Very good for stoner/doom heavy rock stuff.

The size is very big and can be a problem if you don't have space on your board.

The power supply is 9v but with a small jack input. NOT the classic onespot supply type.

Big Muff

I love this product. Its big and practical and the effects are spot on

fantastico

Sempre grande

Not so many sounds, but great ones.

As stated in the title, in this big box you won't find many different nuances of distorsion, but I really love the few tones you can get out of it. it's a creamy and thick fuzz distorsion, probably the most famous sound of 90s rock. Think about Nirvana's legendary wall of sound. I had to buy separately an adapter as the 9V plug is different from standard pedals. Besides that and the large footprint in your pedalboard, I guess this is one of the best sounding distorsion pedals at this price, and if you're on the rock side, sooner or later you'll have to try one of these. Build quality is good, feels solid and stable. I tried it on a Marshall JCM900 and sounded really good. You can also blend it with a modulation pedal (mxr phase90 ie) and has creamy, tasty vibes. Works like charm with a fender stratocaster, and quite good on a gibson les paul as well. A one trick pony that deserves your attention, for sure.

One of my favs

Really good and solid construction, features the classic 3 knobs and the sound we all know, solid box with no fear of cracking or anything! thumbs up!

This pedal is just a super classic! Lovely tone, sustain and distortion. I get why it's considered a classic and a lot of bands use it.

I was looking for a better distortion in some of my musics. A better toned one. This was the solution and what a solution.

For those that don't know this pedal be careful, it has a low noise. The pedal isn't faulty it was just designed this way. The power input isn't the normal one (the one from the boss pedals and such) it is a mini-jack input power. Take that into account. In my case, I have cables for that so...

Amazing pedal. I won't be selling it in the near future!

Big Sound!

This 'little' metal demon is a must for any pedal board. It's big, it's chunky and it dominates your board, but it sure is worth it!

Whether you're ripping out sick guitar solos or slamming down on some deep metal power chords, this baby is what will give it that extra kick.

It has a range or a warm Hendrix-style sound which is great for high-toned guitar solos, or you can really Punch up the sustain and crunch down or some rocking out chords.

It's well built, as are all Electro Harmonix pedals and this is most clearly the centre piece of my board. A pedal I will never regret buying!

Electro Harmonix Big Muff PI USA

This is THE FUZZ. It must be used with a nice tube amplifier. Solid state ones make it sound... not good. It is great by it's own and superb with an OD in front of it. It has a pretty big footprint, so it is not for small pedalboards (if thats the case, check out its little and nano versions). The metal enclosure provides roughness and shielding. For the amount of distortion it provides, it is not very noisy (I use it with a Switch Mode Power Supply, which is very quiet and shielded guitars). Mind the power jack. It uses a center positive 3.5mm mono audio plug, so, it needs an adaptor to be daisy chained.

EHX

This is an great sounding pedal and that's probablly why it has been around for ages. It's a robust metal housing with the few knobs you need. I didin't believe it before I bought it, but it actually is as good as the hype...

Classic Sound

Very easy to use fuzz pedal, that provides classic sustained fuzz/distortion sounds that can be shaped using the 3 controls. The pedal is built very well and is solid enough due to it's size.

Fantastic pedal if used with the right equipment

To set this straight, this is not a pedal that works no matter what,and very few people use it in modern music. Big Muff is a fuzz (not a distorsion pedal). But most importantly, the Bifg Muff will not help you unless: you use a tube amplifier AND an overdrive; using only the Big Muff, even on a good amp, will get you a heavy fuzzy sound (closer to Heavy Metal than to the desired Gilmour).

HOWEVER this really is an amazing pedal: i am using the Big Muff for almost every solo, i used it in the studio, live gigs, i use it at home. I am always getting perfect sound, excellent sustain and great disruption for the solos (sometimes i use it for heavier rhythm lycks as well). I use it however in the following way: Fender Deluxe Reverb amp (also used other tube amps with it, Marshall, Bronx, or Fender Twin) - key is to use TUBE AMP, then i am always using it through my Ibanez TS9 overdrive (the Big Muff CANNOT BE USED without OVERDRIVE). This is the way i am getting the smooth sound that gets close to Gilmour or Hendrix.

Controls: volume (easy - you need it at >50%, guitar through Big Muff needs volume in order not to lose distinctiveness, especially on stage), tone - depends on preference, veeeery effective little twist, then sustain - less sensitive, anything in the range 40-80% will do. This pedal is NOT EASY TO SET, try all alternatives, experiment. This is why my score for Features is not top, as you really need to try different setups before concluding on your sound.

Two more things worth mentioning: the pedal is noisy, you will appreciate a noise filter (i am using a Boss noise gate), secondly it is usefull for solos to add a delay to the Muff+overdrive set (i am using an average analogue one, i also have my amp's Reverb setting at 3).

Again, i have to say that each type of Big Muff interacts very differently with each amp and overdrive pedal (and i really mean veeeeery different!), but if you find the right combination, miracles happen. My Deluxe Reverb amp and TS9 make wonders with the Muff. The Muff has defined my distorted sound, and mostly guided my work with solos, i would not change it for anything.

Good stuff for everything from smooth rock to stoner.

This pedal is a legend, and rightly so. The sound it generates is amazing. And you can easily tone in the perfect sound. I use this mostly for hard rock and stoner and I must immediately found the sound I was looking for. I've tried a bunch of Fuzz pedals before but they always lacked something. This didn't.

Build quality is ok. Knobs are huge and have a solid feel to them, and the box is built to last. My unit is a bit flimsy on one of the corners but nothing I can't fix myself.

Basic Big Muff

The basic Big Muff, current version. Smooth sound, not as much grit as some of the vintage ones or the russian ones, but does the job well. Great range of sounds from vintage Santana like tones to ugly Grungy noise. Good sturdy construction and great value for money.

The old reliable...

A very accessible stomp box with oversized controls that are easy to use.

Delivers that classic fuzz that you hear pretty much everywhere from Hendrix to Mudhoney to The White Stripes.

Have gigged it extensively and it has stood up to the road test.

Recommended.