Product Description

A pinch smoother than its American-made comrade, the Russian Muff exhibits slightly less sustain, yet retains that unmistakable Big Muff sound. Prized by bass players for its edge, and sought after by guitarists seeking its unique flavor.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10468 in Musical Instruments
• Brand: Electro-Harmonix
• Model: CLASSICSBIGMUFFPIRUS
• Released on: 2008-06-30
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 5.25" h x 3.40" w x 7.50" l, 1.60 pounds

Features

• Has the same classic "nasty" sound that the original Big Muff had years ago
• Has an outrageous level of gain and a truly vicious distortion sound
• Uses low-noise military capacitors
• Has three controls that let the player dial in the finest harmonic distortion/sustain ever produced
• The Volume control adjusts the output level

Customer Reviews

Rich complex distortion
For years I used Rat distortion boxes for guitar and for bass. Now I play bass a lot more in bands, and find the Rat sound to be weak and one dimensional. I sold off my rat and tried out a number of other distortion boxes at a local shop and settled on the Big Muff Pi. This thing is rich. The complexity of the distortion is incredible compared to what you get with most other pedals--must be the brilliant Russian engineering behind it. It has three knobs: Volume, Sustain, and Tone. The Volume is obvious, the sustain is really the distortion level. For the Bass, I run the sustain very low, and the volume higher and get a great mix of clean and distorted tone. Sometimes I run the sustain knob turned all the way off and this thing still drives the sound nicely. Too much distortion on the bass and you loose your ability to cut through the rest of the band in my opinion. The Tone knob adjusts the center frequency of the distortion. I run mine way over to the left and distort the low end around 200-400 kHz. You can crank it around and get anything from a low grumbly distortion tall the way to a really tinny irritating heavy metal sound. This thing is versatile, and no matter how you like your settings, the distortion it produces is rich in harmonic overtones, multi-dimensional, and unlike any other boxes I've tried. Highly recommended.
My only complaint is that this box is designed to work only on battery power--no AC adapter at all. Fortunately now there's an adapter from One-Spot that can be connected to a battery lead and then to an AC adapter. Hopefully Amazon will start carrying that soon.

Does what a muff does
Great range with more sensitive controls than the US version. Once dialed in, it sustains for days. No longer comes with the wood box, as pictured.

Complex Monster
I first fell in love with the Big Muff after hearing R.E.M.'s album Monster, where it's present on virtually every track. The Smashing Pumpkins, among others, also made extensive use of it. I purchased mine back in '94 and was quickly impressed by its versatility. This Russian built beast has three knobs: volume, tone, and distortion and by playing with these, you can create many different sounds. This pedal can range from a simple overdriven sound to a full out crackling, almost uncontrollable roar. My pedal is now fourteen years old and I've never once had an issue with it cutting out. It's solidly built, so much so you could probably brain someone with it and cause some serious damage. Plus, it's fairly affordable as far as effects go. A solid buy.