Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About Us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • Cyber Monday plugin deals still live
  • Recording Week 23
  • Beatles - Now and Then
  • Red light fever
  • Take our survey to win a £300/$350 Ticketmaster gift card
  • 30 beautiful acoustic guitar chords
  • 86000+ free music samples
  • How to make an AI cover song

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. News

Review round-up: Russian fuzz pedals

By Alex Lynham
( Total Guitar )
published 19 July 2018

Four updated takes on the Green Russian Big Muff from Electro-Harmonix, EarthQuaker Devices, Way Huge and Cog Effects

The Green Russian Big Muff Pi, that was produced in the early 1990s by EHX’s sister company Sovtek, is widely credited with turning around the fortunes of the then-ailing company. 

The legend goes that the units were housed in materials taken from scrapped Russian tanks and they were legendary for switch faults and the lack of power jacks. Nevertheless, the Green Russian Big Muff Pi came to be highly prized for a generation of players who were looking for an alternative to the thinner, brighter NYC Muff fuzz sound.

In standard tuning, these coveted fuzzes deliver robust highs and fat bass, while in drop tunings they’re instant stoner and doom riff machines. 

So do these modern reissues deliver on that formula? Let’s find out…

Page 1 of 5
Page 1 of 5
EarthQuaker Devices Hoof V2
$179/£185

EarthQuaker Devices Hoof V2

Although based on the Green Russian circuit, the EarthQuaker Hoof eschews the silicon transistors of the original for a hybrid design using both germanium and silicon. 

This results in a woolier tone with less treble content and no ability to conjure squishy octave artifacts that you’d normally associate with the Fuzz Face circuit. The tone sweep is very usable, particularly when paired with the shift control: a mids pot in the style of the AMZ tone control, one of the most famous DIY mods for the original. 

Being able to tame the mid scoop, or add extra bite brings a new dimension. 

4 out of 5

Page 2 of 5
Page 2 of 5
Electro-Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff
£75

Electro-Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff

Given the number of modifications, clones and evolutions of the original, you’d expect to find the reissue prosaic by comparison, but though there are no bells and whistles, diming the sustain control and then sweeping the tone from left to right gives immediate access to the fat stoner tones, thick grunge and lo-fi, slacker-style treble scratch that have ensured the legacy of the original. 

The rock-solid build quality, added to its svelte form factor and attractive price point, make this pedal hard to resist. 

5 out of 5

Page 3 of 5
Page 3 of 5
Cog Effects Tarkin Fuzz
£130

Cog Effects Tarkin Fuzz

Although this purports to be the same circuit that the EHX reissue is based on, when settings are compared side-by- side it’s noticeably less scooped in the mids and tighter overall in the bass frequencies, arriving at a sound that’s closer to modern adaptations of the original circuit that bring the mids forward. 

With the mids more present, it’s more like a distortion at times than the classic Big Muff fuzz tone, but the sounds are in the ball park, with additional low and high pass filters useful for altering the tonal scope of the pedal. 

Not for the purists, but for big, focussed riffing it’s hard to beat. 

5 out of 5

Page 4 of 5
Page 4 of 5
Way Huge Russian Pickle
$159/£177

Way Huge Russian Pickle

Based on the so-called ‘tall font’ version of the Russian Big Muff, the Way Huge Russian Pickle has probably the most pronounced bass response of the four reviewed pedals on this page, offering thick bass and a punishing amount of fuzz and volume on tap. 

With the tone rolled up there are brighter sounds on offer, but it’s a little bit of a balancing act to find the sweet spot between treble sizzle and bass thump. 

Stoner rockers will no doubt delight in the syrupy, legato sustain, but grunge fans might find it a bit on the looser side, especially when in dropped tunings. 

4 out of 5

Page 5 of 5
Page 5 of 5
Alex Lynham
Alex Lynham
Social Links Navigation

Alex Lynham is a gear obsessive who's been collecting and building modern and vintage equipment since he got his first Saturday job. Besides reviewing countless pedals for Total Guitar, he's written guides on how to build your first pedal, how to build a tube amp from a kit, and briefly went viral when he released a glitch delay pedal, the Atom Smasher.

Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition. image
Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition.
Subscribe and save today!
More Info
More about guitars
Jack Stratton mixing masterclass

“I am not your guru, OK? I’m not Rick Rubin with a beard”: Vulfpeck’s Jack Stratton promises to be your “cool professor” as he launches a new mixing masterclass that takes you inside the ‘Vulf Sound’

Kevin 'Geordie' Walker of Killing Joke, who died on 26 November, aged 64

“No man was cooler than Geordie, one of the very best and most influential guitarists ever”: Martin ‘Youth’ Glover leads tributes to late Killing Joke Guitarist Geordie Walker

Latest
Sundragon Super Dragon, the new limited edition Super Bass replica developed for Jimmy Page

Sundragon and Jimmy Page unveil the Super Dragon, a “faithful recreation” of the modded Super Bass that was his “number one amp” from Led Zeppelin II onwards

See more latest ►
Most Popular
5 unmissable deals on synths, samplers and drum machines that will be gone by tomorrow: Korg, Novation, Sequential & Elektron

By Matt Mullen27 November 2023

A year of Drumeo’s highly-rated drum lessons is currently down to $150 for Cyber Monday – in a few hours it will cost you $240

By Daryl Robertson27 November 2023

24 must-have Cyber Monday deals the MusicRadar team is buying this year

By Chris Barnes27 November 2023

I've used the Yamaha HS5 monitors in my home studio for five years - and now they’re discounted for Cyber Monday

By Matt McCracken27 November 2023

If I wanted to set up an entire home studio for less this Cyber Monday these are the 5 discounted products I would buy

By Matt Mullen27 November 2023

The best Cyber Monday iPad deals are on the cheapest models, so if you want to start making music in Logic Pro, you can do it for less

By Ben Rogerson27 November 2023

I used to sell pianos and keyboards for a living - and with up to 80% off Yamaha, Roland, Kawai and Casio at Sweetwater, this sale is the best I’ve ever seen

By Daryl Robertson27 November 2023

"There were guitar players weeping, they had to mop the floor up. He was piling it on, solo after solo" – how Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton changed guitar forever

By Julian Piper, Jamie Dickson, David Mead27 November 2023

The Line 6 HX Stomp is already the best-value multi-effects and amp modeller but with $100 off and a free $79 bag it's on a whole new level for Cyber Monday

By Rob Laing27 November 2023

If you want to switch to a new DAW, there's no better time than Cyber Monday: Bitwig Studio 5.1 is $100 off at Sweetwater until tomorrow

By Matt Mullen27 November 2023

Avid has extended its Pro Tools, Sibelius and Media Composer reductions to Cyber Monday and beyond: you've now got till 4 December to save 20% on subs across their industry-standard range

By Will Groves27 November 2023

  1. Creative Labs Prodikeys
    1
    The gear that time forgot: 15 synths, samplers and controllers that could have been classics, but weren't
  2. 2
    At last! Yamaha's DTX electronic drum kits have finally been reduced for Black Friday - these are the 3 we'd buy
  3. 3
    Fender guitars for much less: Why I think these Squier Classic Vibe deals are the top electric guitars and basses to buy in the Black Friday sales for beginner players and well beyond
  4. 4
    At last! Yamaha's DTX electronic drum kits have finally been reduced for Cyber Monday - these are the 3 we'd grab right now
  5. 5
    The Line 6 HX Stomp is already the best-value multi-effects and amp modeller but with $100 off and a free $79 bag it's on a whole new level for Cyber Monday
  1. Cyber Monday team recommendations
    1
    24 must-have Cyber Monday deals the MusicRadar team is buying this year
  2. 2
    Apple’s brand-new MacBook Pro M3s have got the Cyber Monday price cuts we wanted, but they won't be around much longer
  3. 3
    Mastering your music couldn't be easier with the new LANDR Mastering Plugin and it's almost $100 off over at Plugin Boutique
  4. 4
    Not all audio interfaces are born equal: here’s why Focusrite’s Clarett+ can take the quality of your music to the next level
  5. 5
    Geddy Lee says that Paul McCartney has tried to convince him and Alex Lifeson to tour again: “He was lecturing Al about how great it is... ‘You have to do it, man. You have to get back out there’”

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.