Let's talk uber-muffs

[ThurberMingus]

Eau Claire Thunder!

I can do you one better. Silver Rose is the ultra-ultimate-hella-assed-maximum Muff.

[whiskey_face]

Bluebeard.

All day every single fucking day.

[Uncle Grandfather]

Mountaninking Electronics Megalith should be on anyone's radar looking at muffs. It's not a big muff clone though.

[christianatl]

DUDE.

























YOU ALREADY KNOW.

[christianatl]

Bluebeard.

All day every single fucking day.

INCORRECT.

[coldbrightsunlight]

How did the LSTR stack up against the Musket?

I've had both, I found the lstr much fuzzier than the musket, which was much more smooth and like a distortion. The lstr is raw and less tame, much more 'open' sounding? But if you want high gain muff that sounds more like fuzz than distortion I think it's a great option. Definitely my favourite muff out of the not very many I've tried, including a green russian which everyone seems mad about but I didn't get the hype.

[BLOOD EAGLE]

including a green russian which everyone seems mad about but I didn't get the hype.

Once upon a time I would've rallied the villagers and convinced them you were a warlock...
But now not so much, vintage green muffs are ridiculously priced, and the Black Russians more so...
There are better options straight up clone wise...

And plenty of people taking it to another level aka "uber". (Which Bluebeard isn't)

[frigid midget]

I haven't tried too many either, I kinda have a love/hate thing with muffs. I just can't get them to cut through in a band, at least not unless I tweak it to the point where it hardly sounds like a muff anymore.

Anyway, pedals that always get mensioned in muff threads, besides the one you already mensioned: Bluebeard, Megalith. And Basic Audio, SUF, and Wren@Cuff supposedly make killer muffs as well.

I used to have a '70s BMP, a LSTR, Swollen Pickle MKII, Sovtek,...And maybe one or two other, can't remember right now.

And right now I've got a Musket, which is the closest I got to really liking a big muff. I still think it's not THE type of distortion pedal for me though. Does the job for leads, but for anything else but single notes I'd rather use a good distortion or maybe a tonebender type fuzz or something.

I might get a Hoof myself, to a/b it with the Musket. But I'm close to the point where it's just about tiny subtle differences, I doubt I'll ever become a huge big muff fan

So yeah, get a Hoof, and let us know what you think about it
And if you come across an affordable Barber Trifecta: Let me know, I may be in the market for one.

Forgot about the Megalith. How did the LSTR stack up against the Musket? I had forgotten about the Trifecta as well - I'll be keeping an eye out for those too.

Here's an interesting equation,

Earthquaker Palisades is to Ibanez Tube Screamer as [WHAT PEDAL?] is to Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi?

But anyway, Arcane Analog is pricey but knows his shit. Builds out of New Brunswick, Canada (my home province). Posts here once in a while.

No clue - maybe that Gnomertron pedal? As long as it brings giant walls of muffy goodness, I'm not overly concerned with versatility.

The LSTR was very 'Sovtek' sounding to me, which just isn't my cup of tea. Lots more differend shades of muff hidden inside the Musket. I mainly use it for smooth leads. It can sound massive, in a less boomy nasty way than the LSTR. And contrary to the LSTR, the lower gain settings can sound just as rad.
The Trifecta also seems tweakable enough to somewhat survive in a loud messy mix, without being overly cludded with tons of silly controls to waste my time on.

I'm not impressed about the 'bender' modes though. They sound great, but not different enough from the Muff mode to deserve the 'supa' and 'jumbo' titles imo. But that's all just based on the online demos, I'd really love to try one myself. They've become kinda pricey around there parts though, so it'll probably just never happen

[coldbrightsunlight]

including a green russian which everyone seems mad about but I didn't get the hype.

Once upon a time I would've rallied the villagers and convinced them you were a warlock...
But now not so much, vintage green muffs are ridiculously priced, and the Black Russians more so...
There are better options straight up clone wise...

And plenty of people taking it to another level aka "uber". (Which Bluebeard isn't)

Hahaha I only tried it out in a studio for a bit when my band was recording something. We did get some nice guitar tracks using it but I dunno it just didn't impress me that much. Maybe with more time or volume it could have been great.

And contrary to the LSTR, the lower gain settings can sound just as rad.

That's surprising, I actually really liked low gain settings on the LSTR. The dark fuzzy overdrive sounds are rad.

[UglyCasanova]

ARC Big Green sounds really, really good. I need one to call my own.

[digi2t]

Yeah, if I was in the market for the "Muff to end all Muff's", the Royal Beaver would be it. There's enough control there, including an extra gain stage, to not only emulate any Muff (or Muff based pedal) ever built, but also create your own Muff sound. It's a Muff version of the Zvex Inventobox. I'm sure that since most of the work being done, adding any other tweaks to it would be very easy (diode lifts, cap switch, etc.). I think it's the ultimate platform.

I've been really tempted to buy one, just so I can crack it open to see what going on under the hood, but I've been directing my money/time to other projects of late. If anyone wishes to lend me theirs for a cursory examination though, it would be greatly appreciated.

At the fuzz end of the spectrum, another pedal similar to the RB's "more of everything" angle is this;



The Smoder Audio Proto Fuzz Drive. More clipping and tone options that you can shake a stick at. If you can't find a great fuzz tone with this box, then fuzz isn't really what you're looking for. Don't bother looking for it. Smoder's not around any more, and this is the only example of the Proto Fuzz.

[t-rey]

Eau Claire Thunder!

Sounds like a reasonable addition to the short list, especially with that chaos button.

Maybe finding a non muff pedal and dialing it in to a sound similar to a muff would work for you.
Something with a few more EQ options such as a EQD Talons

The Talons is kinda fuzzy?

Bluebeard.

All day every single fucking day.

That's not unreasonable.

Mountaninking Electronics Megalith should be on anyone's radar looking at muffs. It's not a big muff clone though.

It's not? What is it? I've always kinda wanted one because Shrinebuilder.

Crazy prices. I'd love to have one though.

[t-rey]

How did the LSTR stack up against the Musket?

I've had both, I found the lstr much fuzzier than the musket, which was much more smooth and like a distortion. The lstr is raw and less tame, much more 'open' sounding? But if you want high gain muff that sounds more like fuzz than distortion I think it's a great option. Definitely my favourite muff out of the not very many I've tried, including a green russian which everyone seems mad about but I didn't get the hype.

Open and fuzzy? These are the descriptors I'm looking for.

including a green russian which everyone seems mad about but I didn't get the hype.

Once upon a time I would've rallied the villagers and convinced them you were a warlock...
But now not so much, vintage green muffs are ridiculously priced, and the Black Russians more so...
There are better options straight up clone wise...

And plenty of people taking it to another level aka "uber". (Which Bluebeard isn't)

Wait - you mean the black sovteks that people couldn't give away a few years back?

ARC Big Green sounds really, really good. I need one to call my own.

Those first run ones in the different enclosure were snazz as fuck.

The Smoder Audio Proto Fuzz Drive. More clipping and tone options that you can shake a stick at. If you can't find a great fuzz tone with this box, then fuzz isn't really what you're looking for. Don't bother looking for it. Smoder's not around any more, and this is the only example of the Proto Fuzz.

Jesus, the options on that thing is giving me anxiety.

[digi2t]

The Smoder Audio Proto Fuzz Drive. More clipping and tone options that you can shake a stick at. If you can't find a great fuzz tone with this box, then fuzz isn't really what you're looking for. Don't bother looking for it. Smoder's not around any more, and this is the only example of the Proto Fuzz.

Jesus, the options on that thing is giving me anxiety.

Yeah... I'm gonna have to crack open that puppy proper, and trace it out one day. I took a quick peek inside when I first got it, and it's bordering on Schumann-land. From what I recall, there's even dip switches inside, who fuckin' knows what they do.

Anyway, sorry for the highjack... carry on folks.

Eau Claire Thunder!

I can do you one better. Silver Rose is the ultra-ultimate-hella-assed-maximum Muff.

Dang... Silver Rose. Another one that's been on my "wish to dissect" bucket list. Good call.

[frigid midget]

including a green russian which everyone seems mad about but I didn't get the hype.

Once upon a time I would've rallied the villagers and convinced them you were a warlock...
But now not so much, vintage green muffs are ridiculously priced, and the Black Russians more so...
There are better options straight up clone wise...

And plenty of people taking it to another level aka "uber". (Which Bluebeard isn't)

Hahaha I only tried it out in a studio for a bit when my band was recording something. We did get some nice guitar tracks using it but I dunno it just didn't impress me that much. Maybe with more time or volume it could have been great.

And contrary to the LSTR, the lower gain settings can sound just as rad.

That's surprising, I actually really liked low gain settings on the LSTR. The dark fuzzy overdrive sounds are rad.

Different strokes for different folk and all that...But also: Though I obviously knew that a lot depends on your rig, just yesterday I was confronted with a MASSIVE difference when using two amps. For giggles, and to make up my mind about what'll eventually make it to my main board, I hooked up almost all my dirt pedals. Used an a/b/y box and ran everything to both a '65 Bassman head through an Ampeg SVT410hlf as well as my Traynor YBA-1 through a peavey 4x12 loaded with Jensens.

It was like night and day, the Musket for instance sounded like two completely different effects. Tons of saturation and mids from the Bassman, and a more glassy cleaner distortion from the Traynor.

My point being that even regardless of taste and musical styles, it's sometimes hard to really put value in someone review/opinion of a pedal
It's funny how we sometimes get hung up on tiny subtle differences between different Rat or Muff versions, when your amp's speakers make a LOT more difference and can totally fix or ruin whatever you like or dislike about some pedal.

So yeah, in short: The LSTR wasn't doing it for me personally, at least not on the amp I was using back than. Fwiw: Pretty sure it was a Fender Tone-Master, through a vintage Hiwatt cab.