ElectroHarmonix

130 SUMMER 2006
long with Tube Screamer-style
overdrive, fuzz is one of the most
common boutique effects, with
people prepared to shell out big bucks
to tone gurus with the promise of
capturing the classic sounds of their
heroes in a roadworthy unit. Inevitably,
a pedal as iconic as the suggestively
monikered Big Muff Pi hasn’t escaped
its share of high-spec imitators. In
recent years, this has often been
in response to the infl ated price of
vintage examples, along with perceived
shortcomings in modern reissued
pedals. However, two new designs
from Electro-Harmonix look set to give
lovers of all things fuzzy something to
smile about.
Little Big Muff
Since the mid-nineties, two versions of
reissued Electro-Harmonix Big Muffs
have been widely available: the silver
version with its iconic red and black
cool-as-funk livery manufactured in
New York City, and a slightly cheaper
Sovtek pedal manufactured in Russia,
with a black powder-coated housing
and yellow decals. Although fairly
similar-sounding units, the Russian
version is generally a little edgier and
the NYC model a little smoother.
The key complaints that players
have voiced over the last few years
about both Muffs revolve around the
oversized housings, which command
a huge amount of pedalboard real
estate, considering the circuit’s relative
simplicity, without being the most
robust or confi dence inspiring when
subjected to frequent gigging.
This isn’t the fi rst Little Big Muff
to appear in the Electro-Harmonix
catalogue. A pedal with the same name
existed in the late seventies, housed
in a Small Clone-sized enclosure, but
it featured just a single volume control
and a two-way tone slider switch,
with a milder level of distortion on
tap. With the new Little Big Muff, the
Electro-Harmonix design team seems
to have listened to what players want,
delivering a pedal that promises to
address all the issues
with the full-size
versions, with no
compromises in terms
of sonic performance.
With regard to power,
unlike the full-size
models that require an
old-school mini-jack
adaptor if you want
to utilise a nine-volt power supply,
the new Little Big Muff has a standard
barrel socket, just like a BOSS or
DigiTech pedal. Adapting the aesthetic
of the full-size NYC version, the Little
Big Muff’s compact die-cast housing
is smart and robust, although lacking
an access hatch for battery changes,
so you have to unscrew the back. That
said, a circuit like this has such a low
current draw that batteries tend to
last for quite some time. It’s also worth
noting for studio use that a Big Muff
fi tted with a dying battery is capable of
spitting out really satisfying lo-fi scuzz.
Metal Muff
Alongside the Little Big Muff, Electro-
Harmonix has introduced a brand
new addition to the stable in the
shape of the Metal Muff, or Metal Muff
With Top Boost, to give its full title.
Looking all S&M thanks to its spiky
take on the classic logo and black and
chrome livery, this promises to be
the dirtiest Muff yet. Although most
players will associate Top Boost with
Vox amplifi cation and
all things sixties, in
this case, Electro-
Harmonix has included
the feature with a view
to ensuring that those
riffs and solos scythe
through a dense mesh
of dirty rhythm guitar.
Sharing much of the
Little Big Muff’s rugged construction,
but in a larger case with a pair of
footswitches, the Metal Muff is a sturdy
beast. The amp-style knurled metal
knobs look great, but don’t grip the
pot shafts quite as tightly as the plastic
counterparts found on its sibling.
Again, battery access is achieved by
removing the four screws that secure
the base plate to the housing, and
although the Metal Muff has a slightly
Electro-Harmonix Little Big
Muff Pi & Metal Muff
£52 & £55
Dive into a world of aural pleasure as we treat you to a pair of
brand new Muffs with contrasting fl avours by Chris Vinnicombe
A
ELECTRO-HARMONIX LITTLE BIG MUFF PI & METAL MUFF £52 & £55
EFFECTS CD TRACKS 4 & 5
PHOTOGRAPHY JESSE WILD
Single-coil pickups
appeal to the trashier
side of the Little Big
Muff’s nature, while
humbuckers deliver
the cream
ELECTRO-HARMONIX
LITTLE BIG MUFF PI
PRICE: £52
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: Analogue fuzz
stompbox
CONTROLS: Sustain,
tone, volume
CONNECTIONS: 6.4mm
jack instrument input
and output
POWER: Nine-volt mains
adaptor (not supplied) or
one PP3 battery
OPTIONS: None
RANGE OPTIONS: Other
fearsome dirtboxes from
the Electro-Harmonix
stable include the full-
size NYC Big Muff Pi
(£52), the Double Muff
(£44) and the valve-
powered Hot Tubes
(£122)
CONTACT: Electro-
Harmonix products are
stocked by a number of
UK dealers including
Hot Rox
UK 0115 9873163
www.ehx.com
ELECTRO-HARMONIX
METAL MUFF
As Little Big Muff,
except…
PRICE: £55
CONTROLS: Volume,
top boost, treble,
middle, bass, distortion,
individual footswitches
for effect bypass and top
boost on/off
OPTIONS: None
GIT279.rev_eh 130GIT279.rev_eh 130 20/6/06 09:46:1920/6/06 09:46:19