MusicRadar Verdict
A Big Muff at heart, but a great-sounding, well-made and handsome-looking boutique version.
Pros
- +
Superb sounds.
- +
Beautifully-built.
Cons
- -
Expensive.
MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.
Greer Amps pedals are designed by Nick Greer and hand-built in Athens, Georgia (hometown of REM).
A Big Muff-style fuzz, the Tarpit is based not on the common four-transistor versions, but on the version from the late 1970s, which featured two op-amps (ICs), was favoured by Billy Corgan, and is generally regarded to have a little more edge than the tranny versions.
To our ears, the Tarpit has a classic Big Muff sound and, in an A/B test with various vintage and modern transistor Big Muffs, the differences are subtle, with small variances in the midrange. It has a singing quality in the upper mids and a slightly crispier, grainier edge to the distortion.
This is an excellent variation on a theme and it’s out there for Big Muff aficionados who appreciate the nuances of different models. Others may question the price when there are less expensive alternatives around...
“I knew since I first listened to the music that it was gonna be big - because the music was incredible”: Charli XCX's Brat mastering engineer Idania Valencia on finalising a modern classic
“He stopped writing, I think, because he just ran out. He had used that guitar neck up. He did everything and anything that neck could do”: Sammy Hagar explains Eddie Van Halen's lost years
“After every take, Mutt would say, ‘Check the tuning, man!’ This went on and on for almost a year. One day, I just gave him the guitar and said, ‘You tune it. I can’t take this anymore!’”: How legendary producer Mutt Lange drove the Cars half-mad
