MusicRadar Verdict
For all the 'what ifs' and overthinking, the Big Muff 2 is a great pedal. The question, to my mind, is whether the Deluxe version earns its keep. That's tougher. To me, it doesn't, and I'd be looking at either the wedge-enclosure Big Muff 2, or the Nano 2, depending on budget.
Reasons to buy
- +
A new take on a classic sound.
- +
Flexibility from additional features.
- +
Aggressive voicing.
Reasons to avoid
- -
Other Big Muffs or the Nano 2 are much cheaper.
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What is it?
When JHS Pedals were researching The Electro-Harmonix Story, EHX gave them access to Bob Meyer's workshop and notebooks.
Meyer, the co-founder of EHX, was the inventor of the Big Muff, and there, in his notebooks, was an alternative Op-Amp Big Muff that never was. Having found a new take on a classic fuzz pedal circuit, inevitably, it had to get made.
Specs
- Launch price: $188 | £189 | €179
- Type: Fuzz pedal
- Controls: Volume, Blend, Tone, Sustain, Gate, Mids, Frequency, High Q, Low Q, Wicker
- Features: Fuzz pedal
- Connectivity: Input, Output, Power, Exp
- Bypass: Buffered
- Power: 9V DC Centre-negative PSU, 45mA
- Dimensions: 146.05 x 120.65 x 63.5 mm
- Contact Electro-Harmonix
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★½
Like any of the EHX Deluxe line, this is a solid unit with a sensible control layout. Its main issue is about its functionality as much as its build. It sports two footswitches, and yet one of those is simply to toggle the mids. This is a huge missed opportunity for a premium-price pedal with two footswitches.
This means it can switch between a 'rhythm' sound and a mid-forward lead, but that's an assumption about how you might use the pedal. A better solution to the same conundrum would be to stick a boost or distortion on the other switch, mirroring how many players already stack the Muff.
Alternatively, since it's double the price of the Nano version, it would have been possible to just have two Muffs in a single enclosure.
Usability and features
Usability and features rating: ★★★★½
The Big Muff 2 Deluxe is straightforward. For most players, the Wicker and Q controls will be set-and-forget, as, to be honest, will be the Sustain and Tone controls. This reveals a weakness, because on some level, it shows that those extra controls don't do anything essential.
Being a harsh purist, I can't really imagine who's asking for a blend control on a Big Muff (besides bassists, who are catered for with the Deluxe Bass Big Muff 2), or an expression control. Back when I gigged regularly with one, I didn't move the controls for Sustain or Tone in nearly 10 years – only the Volume knob changed depending on the venue backline.
Still, all these gripes have also been true of every big-box or Deluxe Muff, so the Big Muff 2 Deluxe isn't unique in that regard.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★½
The first thing to say is that yes, this does sound different to the Op-Amp Big Muff, but that's not surprising, since the circuit is pretty different. The Op-Amp Muff had three pairs of symmetrical clipping diodes in a soft-clip configuration on a single stage. The Big Muff 2 takes a different approach; like the transistor Muff, it has four stages. Unlike the transistor Muff, while all are cascaded, there are three clipping stages rather than two.
Like both the transistor and Op-Amp Muffs, the diodes are arranged in a symmetrical soft-clip, and, again like the transistor Muff, it has a pair per stage. This makes sense, as Meyer was presumably adapting what he knew, having designed the original Muff. By comparison, the Op-Amp Muff is more of a bottom-up redesign.
What's more surprising then, given the differences, is how similar it sounds to the Op Amp circuit. There's a more pronounced bass response, but that's not a deal-breaker.
The DIY community has commented on the noise issues in the unmodified Meyer circuit, and that's why the Gate control is the most useful feature of the Deluxe
Being a habitual Black Russian Big Muff user, I'm used to assuming the Tone control should be somewhere around or past 1 o' clock. The DIY community has commented on the noise issues in the unmodified Meyer circuit, and that's why the Gate control is the most useful feature of the Deluxe.
The mids being on their own and having a dedicated Q control enables, with an expression pedal, some EHX Cock Fight-style pseudo wah sounds. Still, it's a bit of a niche feature compared to simply scooping or bumping the mids.
Like other Muffs, this responds best at higher sustain settings. Though running it with sustain dimed exacerbated the bass rumble, I did it anyway. As far as I can tell, that's the correct way to run a Big Muff, and this pedal is no different. It records well, it stacks as you'd expect - a boost in front will drive saturated lead sounds, while a drive after will tighten it.
However, in both cases, the more pronounced bass response will need taming. Marshall-voiced amps handled this better with flat controls, to my ear, but it's nothing that can't be handled by amp EQ.
With bridge humbuckers, it's especially cutting. The sharper bridge 'bucker also helps tamp down the additional bass output. Single coils work equally well – you could get the Smashing Pumpkins multi-tracked humbuckers and single-coils wall of sound effect pretty easily on record.
The Big Muff 2 is more aggressive on the whole than either the transistor or Op-Amp Muff. Even so, it's not a day-and-night difference. The pedal can flex between rhythm and searing leads easily – just don't expect them to be 'violin-like.'
Verdict
There's one unspoken question which is at the heart of the Big Muff 2, and that's whether Mike Matthews knew about it. Obviously, he signed off on this modern reissue.
Even I have to concede that, especially when the Op-Amp already exists, it's perhaps a little short of the hype, even if it is a cool pedal
According to JHS he said it had "something special," but that it strayed from the voicing he usually preferred. The question is whether he heard it at the time, and decided it was a dead-end.
By implication, Meyer did. Now, as a self-confessed Op-Amp Muff fanboy, obviously I'm glad it exists. However, even I have to concede that, especially when the Op-Amp already exists, it's perhaps a little short of the hype, even if it is a cool pedal
MusicRadar verdict: For all the 'what ifs' and overthinking, the Big Muff 2 is a great pedal. The question, to my mind, is whether the Deluxe version earns its keep. That's tougher. To me, it doesn't, and I'd be looking at either the wedge-enclosure Big Muff 2, or the Nano 2, depending on budget.
Test |
Results |
Score |
|---|---|---|
Build quality |
Solid as you would expect but EHX could have been more imaginative about how the dual-footswitch setup. |
★★★★½ |
Usability and features |
Easy to use, though you might wonder what the point of the Q and Wicker controls are. |
★★★★½ |
Sounds |
It sounds best at higher Sustain settings but there's a pronounced low-end rumble. |
★★★★½ |
Overall |
The Deluxe is a cool pedal but is it enough to distinguish it from the others in the series? That's up for debate. |
★★★★½ |
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