Comfortably Numb or Comfortably Lame? EHX Rams Head Reissue: You be the judge!

Episode 4 - Demoing the EHX Rams Head Reissue pedal. Throughout the demo I pair it with other pedals to see how what we can do with it. Demo start 00:02:38 Muff With TD 00:03:15 Muff with Boss GE-7 00:03:56
Gear used:
Fender MIJ Strat
Seymour Duncan SSL-5 bridge pickup
Boss CS-2
EHX Rams Head Reissue
BK Bulter Tube Driver
Vintage Boss Ge-7 EQ
Slate Digital Plugins for post FX (mastering compression, EQ, D16 Repeater delay).
AKG P220
Shure 57
Seinheiser 609
MXL 990 MXL 991
Focusrite 18i20
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Disclaimer: No nose hairs were hurt during the making of this episode.

[@mononoaware1960]

This is honestly the closest I’ve ever heard anybody get to Gilmour’s screaming leads! Your bends, touch, and feel are spot on man.

[@willpell7441]

Got a Rams Head... Love it. DG runs a PROCO RAT into it to drive it, so that's what I tried and WOW! Sound is huge. Add a MXR Dyna Comp up front and a treble boost of choice to the rear and viola.. Robert is your Mom's brother.

[@zach-jj8pc]

Where did you hear he uses a pro co rat to drive it? I usually hear that he uses a transparent overdrive after it, like his tube driver. But I usually do like you and put a medium to low gain pedal into it to boost the sustain.

[@willpell7441]

All things Dave

[@kjek1]

I don’t think he uses a RAT to drive it. He does use a RAT but not for that. His overdrive of choice is generally always a BK Butler tube driver. Or a tube screamer in the late 80’s, and colorsound power booster in the 70’s.

[@ImYourOverlord]

He didn't always use a RAT. It can be as simple as treble boost to Ram's Head to compressor to EQ to chorus.

[@salsisha]

Fantastic job. After a lot of frustrating tentative to get Gilmour sound for Comfortably Numb I finally almost there after I saw you using GE7 to boost the mids. I have one that I wasn't using and then I just put after my big muff and Bang. That's it. Thank you so much for that. I really happy now. You made my day.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Those GE-7s are great for adjusting the overall tone. I don’t think David Gilmour used one on the comfortably numb stuff but that’s how I was able to achieve the sound

[@nicknickson3650]

sounds more Gilmourish than the Gilmourish channel's demo of this pedal. Well done! Really nice pedal, definitely my favorite Big Muff reissue so far. The Russian is also pretty cool, but much "doomier." Rams head seems like the optimal Gilmour box.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Thanks!

[@bradleybeauchamp5582]

I remember when Elecro-Harmonix announced they were going to do a reissue of the Green Russian Big Muff. Being a big David Gilmour fan I really started to get excited when they announced they were going to do a reissue of the one that started it all the Triangle Big Muff. I was hoping they would eventually do the Rams Head Big Muff, and I'm glad they did. The problems with trying to find an original Rams Head Big Muff is of course price, and the other major problem is finding one that sounds good and somewhat close to the one Gilmour has, and normally you can't find that out until you spend a few hundred and up dollars. As I'm sure most people know back then quality control wasn't the best and parts would differ from pedal to pedal depending on stock and what they could find at the time. Different electronic components such as resisters and a couple other things changed over the course of production making close to a handful of different variations of the Rams Head Big Muff, and even variations of those variations. There was about 4 different variations of the Rams Head, there was the red lettered and logoed variation, Blue variation, Purple variation, and a Black variation. I believe Gilmour's guitar tech bought multiple pedals trying to find one that had the same sound for a back up pedal to the original Rams Head that Gilmour had. After trying multiple pedals to no avail that was when David Gilmour's guitar tech decided to build his own pedals based off of what was used to build the original Rams Head that Gilmour liked. He also would build pedals that were modified and slightly changed from the originals. Anybody that wants to know the history of the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff pedals in exceptional detail, and also very highly detailed info on David Gilmour's amps and pedals there settings and order, and how he got his tone in general through out the years, backing tracks, lessons, sound clips, demos, and building a Black Strat like David Gilmour's, go check out a website called Kitrae.net/music/music_big_muff.html.

[@jme92685]

Wes, I’ve got a serious request. The tone you got for this solo is so awesome! Is there a chance you might do a video like this for the first solo?

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

That was a few years ago. I could probably get a decently equal tone with my new setup. Stay tuned!

[@lespauldisciple3349]

My two cents... I have the Ram's Head reissue and it has quickly raced to the head of the line in my fuzz pedal collection. The EHX Op-Amp (Reissue) is awesome as well but of the two I find myself grabbing the Ram's Head 9 out of 10 times.

[@thedonal]

I got one of these last month. Find it a bit too harsh on it's own, but with a Klon clone after it (TC Zeus here), that mid bump thing really gets it into the ballpark. Great pedals. LOADS of presence to it. That ram really does have balls!

[@dr.stevenpennym.d.3241]

The greatest solo of all time by David Gilmour. Loved your playing.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Thank you!

[@dr.stevenpennym.d.3241]

@@weslikestoplayguitar6767 BTW, i’m tired of hearing about Eddie Van Halen. He was a guitar player. He was nothing special. There are so many guitarists out there that are more accomplished than Eddie.

[@nathanrking]

Seriously fantastic. This sold me on the pedal.

[@nathanrking]

And seeing the pedal order is very helpful...

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Thanks! The pedal sounds even better live in that room. It was immense fun to demo.

[@brucerobenalt8048]

Really enjoy your videos! As a fellow Gilmour fanatic, I really appreciate what a great job you do demonstrating gear in a Floydish context. Can’t wait to see more from you!

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Thanks! I like doing all videos "in context". It's how I prefer to hear demos as well!

[@ImYourOverlord]

Alchemy Audio does a sweet mod service for this pedal, too, if one is interested in expanding tonal options without losing anything.

[@ax_el_alvarez]

Ok. I’m getting a Ramshead. Also, great rendition to the Pulse version of Comfortably Numb!!!

[@14glagla]

I own one and I'm very happy with it, I use it with an EHX Crayon 69 before it and it gives the Ram's Head more presence and clarity. I'm very pleased to hear good words from you about this pedal.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

14glagla thanks! Definitely a good pedal specially if you add other pedals in the chain...you can get a good range of tones

[@14glagla]

@@weslikestoplayguitar6767 I have two questions : 1) I've seen you tested the Green Russian version but did you test the Triangle version ? 2) Was there a plus with the addition of the CS2 comp before the Big Muff ?

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

@@14glagla Haven't tested the triangle (unless you count testing the JHS muffaletta). I use the CS-2 as the first pedal in my chain and it's always on. It gives the guitar signal more body and punch and sustain, which makes everything else afterwards sound sweeter and fuller. Check out my CS-2 video I did where I show straight clean signal with CS-2 on/off and then a BK Butler Tube Driver lead sound with cs-2 on/off. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXSaqYhraa2Fo7c

[@14glagla]

@@weslikestoplayguitar6767 Thanks a lot ( from France)

[@benjaminluscombe7199]

@@weslikestoplayguitar6767 So are the EHX Muff Reissues ok with a pedal before them? I always had thought that Muff pedals needed to be first, which makes them a bit limited. My BYOC Large Beaver always sounds better as the first in chain, but I'd prefer to be able to use a CS2 before a muff. So AOK to do so with a reissue? Cheers

[@vikingbluesbreaker729]

I know I’m a year late, but boosting the rams head with a jrad archer ikon is amazing

[@mingzheli5748]

What a legendary tone! You make my day!

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Thanks!

[@frankbizzoco1954]

Im a year late too, but I'll share my setup. I boost my Rams Head with a power booster clone after the muff. Putting the tube driver, or any other clean boost before the muff will add gain, and not shape the tone as Gilmour did. The tube driver and power booster act more like an equalizer if placed after the rams head, and give the desired effect. It cleans everything up nicely. Then the Electric mistress, chorus, and delay are in my effects loop, and goddamn! Instant Animals/Wall era Gilmour when all of those are on. The hard part is equalizing everything together

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Equalizing can definitely be tricky. Took me a good number of hours to get everything dialed in but the results were great.

[@surfarijeff7884]

Great playing and demo on the Rams Head. Sold! Also have a 10 band MXR EQ on the way, before grabbing this pedal. I like what you said about having one pedal do one thing really well. I've also got the EHX Big Muff OP on the way. Decided not to get the Muffuletta and just focus on the two EHX reissues I really dig for less money than the JHS. Thanks for the help!

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

My favorite combo in this vid was definitely the EHX with the BOSS EQ set to a mid-boost. The video is fine and all but in the room, the sound was amazing!

[@thegourmetchef30]

Great soloing in there! Thanks for making this

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Thanks!

[@marcosgenaro4667]

Thank you so much for your instructive helpful videos. I bought a BK Buttler and the Rams head because of you. Now, should I put the ram's head before BK Buttler? I am new to stacking, so it might be helpful to know! Thanks! you are the best!

[@antonyfaulkner8649]

Hey Dude, incredibly good video all round. Subscribed and looking forward to more of your content. Thank you.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Thank you!

[@TheTerribleGuitarist]

I have the muff and have been running it thru my Marshall Valvestate 265. The fuzz just sounded too much through that amp. Yesterday I got the Boss Cs-3 Compression, mixed it with the rams head (turned the volume down on the rams head but up elsewhere) sounds waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better. The compression pedal helps a ton.

[@timbennett6644]

Great video. I have this pedal too. It's magnificent, I use a colorsound powerboost after the muff. There is a difference for the better.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

I'd love to try a colorsound powerboost

[@silviolutti1522]

I say my thoughts. In my opinion the ram's head doesn't need a compressor or even an overdrive. I think that the boss ge-7 placed after as mids boost is more than enough, indeed, in my opinion it "breathes better". Congratulations for the video.

[@frankswildyear]

Sounds gorgeous

[@chrisfortson8495]

Incredible video - great playing! thank you for sharing

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Thanks for watching!

[@bigstick5278]

If anyone is going for the David Gilmour sound, he used like a half Dozen Boss GE-7 EQ's to create a broader range of tone.

[@ImYourOverlord]

He had each EQ connected to each of a number of pedals.

[@thomasd9237]

👍👍 nice job ☺️

[@mjc4art]

Nice review. Looking forward to getting this pedal.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

It's a great buy!

[@HeiligerGrimmnir]

Got my Rams Head a couple weeks ago and run my JHS 3 series distortion into it on its gain setting for a bit of boost. It sounds amazing. Certainly doesnt hurt that I got them both for $75 each. 😂

[@augustusbetucius2931]

The CS-2 is a *great* compressor, but... It sounds very different from an MXR Dyna-Comp, which is what Gilmour was using then. so it's going to change the tone noticeably. I know, how far is anyone willing to go to re-create that sound. It requires a Hi-Watt amp as well. At a minimum, it would require a strat, Dyna-comp, into the Colorsound Overdriver. Why the GE-7?

[@tideslider664]

Sounded great what about delays I heard delay

[@jme92685]

My favorite fuzz is a bc109 fuzz face but this sounds awesome!

[@dragui9932]

Great demo!

[@mattgilbert7347]

Gilmour's use of the Muff is quite unique. He doesn't have massive amounts of gain going on, but he's very clever in how he stacks and sets his pedals to make that Strat & HiWatt sing. Ofc Pete Cornish probably made a major contribution to DG's pedal nous! When you've got someone like Cornish on your side, you'd be feeling extremely comfortable - and anything but numb. Great job. The setup sounded great, well-played. Very enjoyable and informative. I run a FET Driver or a GE7 after my RH Muff. Works a treat. Sometimes i "sandwich" the Muff between the MXR & the Boss pedals - depends on the amp..Headroom, speakers, cab - it all matters.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

It is quite unique. I mixed up the muff with other pedals on this video to compare. My favorite by far is Muff > into a GE-7 as a mid boost. That part of the video I can really hear it singing.

[@mattgilbert7347]

@@weslikestoplayguitar6767 That's a great way to do it.

[@tunaXonXtoast]

rig rundown would be great, im trying to build a huge gilmour rack right now and I think this may help.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

tunaXonXtoast you being sarcastic or for real? Because I have a rig rundown on my other channel

[@tunaXonXtoast]

@@weslikestoplayguitar6767 I didnt even know you had another channel.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

tunaXonXtoast kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6C3Y3qGqtFrmqM

[@tideslider664]

I have it great pedal

[@benigumo2000]

Very awesome

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@rareform6747]

Love Mine !

[@squirelova1815]

"It's ALIVE !"

[@carlhuffman6792]

How do you keep your trem from diving when u bend your notes great video thank you

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Hi Carl, I generally use 4 springs in my Tremelo cavity. That keeps the bridge locked to the butt of the guitar and it won't flex when you bend notes.

[@karlmartin849]

Wow! I didn't think it would sound that good with compression! Do you find the cs-2 to be noisy?

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Not noisy at all, if used right. The guitar goes straight into the comp and then the comp'd sound goes into everything else. So you get a really nice tight, punchy sound throughout the chain.

[@jakedibiase7404]

What amp are you using here? Don't see that listed.

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Running two Re-issue Vibrolux reverbs in stereo with replaced tubes and speakers

[@joshterwolbeck7428]

Great and outstanding Confortably Numb Guitarsolo, get a Chickenskin. Yesterday i ordered an Ram's Head Muff, to get the Real Gilmour Tone. Great great Video thank you, best regards from Germany

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Thanks!

[@KYCDK]

it's pretty bad with a solid state amp or going in amplitube otherwise it's great

[@davidyoung8875]

if your running the cs-2 what's the point of the big muff

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

The cs-2 is used as a clean boost/sustainer as the first pedal out from the guitar. Makes everything that follows sing that much more.

[@johnsisson2]

Did you use any sort of delay for this video?

[@weslikestoplayguitar6767]

Hey John. It's been awhile so my memory is foggy. I did use delay...either a rack unit or a built in delay plugin on my Slate plugin suite for DAW.

[@rossellaferrari8160]

Non mi dire che usi solo 2 effetti per ottenere il suono di comfortably.....non ci credo

[@jordantydings4508]

Video starts @ 2:30

[@pulsfloyd]

Great ,it sounds terrible Real