Electro Harmonix Triangle Big Muff Pi

1
This is the collection’s
boutique stompbox lover’s
option, with an appropriate
pricetag to boot. The Royal Jelly
houses parallel distortions (overdrive
and fuzz) with two independent mix
channels for the user to toggle
between. The fuzz circuit is fixed
with just a Buzz switch to ‘nasty up’
the top-end, so the amount of fuzzing
is dependent on the input signal. The
Honey knob controls the overdrive
amount, ranging from mild breakup
to something more explicitly Rock.
Coupled with the quality dual Hi/Lo
EQ and Dry level knobs there is a
wealth of tone and usability on offer.
The Royal Jelly works very well with a
guitar/amp setup, as well as electric
piano/organ, but is also no slouch
when it comes to synth/loop
reamping. This is the most refined
tool of the selection, though it can
bare its teeth when dialled up full.
beetronicsfx.com
VerDICt 8.4
2
The Big Muff needs no
introduction, having been in
production in some form for
almost 50 years. This is a recreation
of the original ’69 circuit, packed
into a pedalboard-friendly case. As
any guitarists out there surely know,
the Big Muff is never a subtle effect,
even when dialled back, and yet
there is still a lot of range between
the Tone and Sustain knobs within
the Big Muff sound-realm. This
Triangle version has the big gain/
smooth sustain you expect
accompanied by a less harsh
distortion characteristic than we
recall from other versions. Excellent
for guitar, but also works well with
monosynths and drum machine
kicks/snares (when blended).
ehx.com
VerDICt 9.0
3
Ok, so we said this was
about fuzz and overdrive,
but we lied. The Plasma
Pedal stakes out its own patch of the
distortion landscape by the use of a
xenon-filled tube, instead of a
transistor or vacuum tube. The input
signal drives electrical discharges
across the xenon tube which produce
a distorted analogue at the other
end, as well as a pretty light show.
The sonic effect is an intense,
scrambled and crackling distortion
which gates as the input decays (this
threshold is adjusted with the
Voltage knob). There are EQ and
Blend controls to mix and shape this
heavy effect, which comes into its
own amongst other pedals. The
gating effect makes it highly
percussive, though at full tilt you can
also zip around for a smooth yet
ripped sound. It plays well with
guitars, bass and monosynths, as
well as drums in a reamping context.
The novelty comes at a price.
gamechangeraudio.com
VerDICt 8.0
4
In its most subtle form The
Pelt can rough up your
tone, shaving off some
transients and adding sustain, while
at the other end it does indeed get
very hairy. The range is impressive,
with plenty of variation available via
the Fuzz/Bloom knobs and the two
tone switches (Mid cut/boost and
Thick). The Pelt can deliver buzzy
bee leads and bloated doom stomps
within a couple of tweaks. It’s also a
well-designed pedal (magnetic pedal
hatch – cool!) with backlit knobs.
Fares well on synth and electric
piano, as well as guitar, but less
useful for drum loops (not its
primary application, to be fair).
shop.fender.com
VerDICt 8.7
FM VerDICt
THE HIGH PERFORMER Triangle Big Muff Pi. It’s by
far the most simple distortion in the group, there’s no
dry-wet control, but what it does is spot on.
3
4
Gamechanger
Audio Plasma
Pedal
£299
Fender The Pelt
£96
THE BEST VALUE The Pelt. Combined with the
wealth of variation afforded by the tone/fuzz character
controls this is a lot of effect for under £100.
Fuzz/drive pedals | Grouptest
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