Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi | History & Modern Takes on the Circuit

[@xuxuang8574]

I just can't get enough of the big muff tone. It's the perfect blend of heavy and melodic, and the bass rumbles the trunk and the highs are like a DMT rattlesnake slithering through dimensions. Just the pinnacle of fuzz for me.

[@EricMerrow]

I’m absolutely with you! Such a great pedal!

[@siriplaydopethrone8973]

DMT rattlesnake holy shit what an epic description.

[@rude_tech]

Dude WHAT! Thanks for the love! Super sick to see the 3MuF-14 in the same vid as the Black Math too. PS it's got a built in overdrive switch and you can switch out the socketed clipping-stage transistors if ya nasty ;)

[@EricMerrow]

The 3MuF-14 is awesome man!!! You killed it!

[@lichen8855]

I have to say I really think it deserves the shoutout. That is a sick pedal with killer features!

[@rude_tech]

@@lichen8855 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@therewasascene]

Sockets?! Oh you sweet man :)

[@ushnicyuvnikof2748]

The Black Russian is the best for me! It's also the most underrated.

[@EricMerrow]

heck yeah!

[@nojuanatall3281]

I have a V7D black russian and it's the best IMO. Super creamy fuzz. Sounds so good. I did pick up a rams head reissue and it is way harsher than my V7D. Still really enjoyable.

[@rareform6747]

I use the Nano Russian Big for boost , roll back the sustain and turn up volume 💫Tube Amps Only

[@bfitz111]

OBSESSED with big muffs EHX and all the clones and deluxe versions. My fav is the black russian from EHX but then the Moose Electronics Dobsky VG is my favorite of the clones (russian variant too) just cant get enuf of em. Great tone out of the Jazzmaster and the Black Russian u got there!

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much!!!! 👍👍🤘🤘🤘

[@StuSunboy]

The Musket Fuzz from BlackOut Effectors is also a super versatile fuzz pedal.

[@EricMerrow]

👍👍👍👍

[@bassage13]

I still have the original black Russian muff. Bought it new over 20 years ago.

[@EricMerrow]

That’s so rad! I think that’s my favorite version of the Big Muff

[@stevewallek990]

"If you want a cleaner sound turn the fuzz down" - ha ha good joke. Seriously though, excellent vid! Really informative.

[@EricMerrow]

😂😂 fair enough! Thanks for watching!

[@LittrellyK]

My favorite circuit! I enjoyed the riffs you used to show off each pedal.

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much for watching! Glad you liked the video 🤘🤘

[@BabylonSun]

This is my favorite demo vid for some of the Big Muff Variants

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much!!

[@CamiloSinger]

Nice to see the absolute madman that is Alec featured here! Also worth noting is that the Black Math has an internal mids control.

[@EricMerrow]

The Black Math is really great!!

[@conorfowler]

Awesome video, love the mix of demos and history of the pedal! I've had my black Russian for about 20 years now and it's probably still my favourite pedal. I did get a Tone Wicker version for playing live, which has that high boost. The MF-4 is a beast too, and I've always wanted a green Sovtek!

[@EricMerrow]

I really dig the Black Russian version! Great choice! Thanks so much for watching Conor!!!!

[@mikeroadblock]

Green was my first.

[@MetalHeadHippie]

Dig the little history lesson Eric.. Just ordered The Void Master & FU-2 Green Smoke.. Love The Void and still waiting on the FU-2. Peace Bro Again Thanks.

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much for watching! I’m really glad you enjoyed it!

[@ScamLikely9327]

Hizumitas is one you missed and it’s my favorite. I have a Black Russian and a rams head reissue. My first muff is currently loaned to a friend, the Germanium.

[@EricMerrow]

I’ve heard only good things about the Hizumitas! I want to try one sometime soon! 🤘 thanks for watching!

[@randyhollandsworth626]

Awesome video! Keep up the great work.

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much!

[@wisdomoverfear2685]

Back in 1978 the first pedal i got was a big muff distortion pedal ...but it looked a little different then all the ones i see here !

[@EricMerrow]

You might have had the triangle version? It’s a silver enclosure and the knobs are shaped in a triangle

[@wisdomoverfear2685]

@@EricMerrow yep !

[@Pedaltvchannel]

Awesome video Eric 🤘

[@EricMerrow]

Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it!!

[@chriscurran1967]

Wow Eric, I had no idea that there were that many Muff clones out there!!! These types of videos are tough for me, comparing a bunch of things I already dig, then asking me to pick a favorite, can’t do it brother!!! They all sounded good!!! Great video as always!!!🤘🤘🤘

[@EricMerrow]

So many muffs! Thanks for watching man. Glad you liked the video!

[@CuaxB]

I wish back in the late 90s early 2000s when I bought my first Big Muff that I would have known about the Black Russian version. I got the nyc ri but Im pretty sure I could have gotten a black v7d or at least I think the time should line up.

[@EricMerrow]

It's crazy how many versions they've had!

[@CuaxB]

@@EricMerrow Honestly I think you should try and do a video of them. Do from the beginning to current or close. that would take awhile and get expensive if you bought all the pedals. I would watch it multiple times like I do the ones you have already. I have a bit of a muff obsession. Will you ever do a solo Zander American Geek demo?

[@ushnicyuvnikof2748]

Oh man 7d black Russian is the best one!!!

[@allistairspiker4833]

Hey Eric, Hope ur well mate. I love the Minotaur Sonic Terrors Swamp Lord and Blackout Effectors Blunderbuss 🤘

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks for watching and sharing those sweet pedals! I’m gonna have to look into them!

[@ZanderCircuitry]

Great vid man!

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much dude!! Your American Geek is absolutely amazing!

[@gaetanclybouw]

Fig Fumb from stone-deaf is fun, but I have a early 2000 (V9 3003a) USA Big Muff, the first one that is true bypass, there is something HUGE sounding that I don't seem to get out of the new reissue's, need to get it serviced because it craps out from time to time but I always pick that one for recording

[@EricMerrow]

🤘🤘🤘

[@craigswensen434]

That High On Fire riff with the USA muff sounded great!

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks a ton Craig!

[@octave-up-up-up]

Love to hear PUP in a gear demo!

[@EricMerrow]

Heck yeah! PUP is the best!! 🤘🤘

[@AcidBathX_YOLO]

3:31. cool riff

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks a ton!

[@program17]

SUCH A GREAT VIDEO!!!!

[@EricMerrow]

Thank you so much!

[@Gabriel_ribeiro27]

Ótimo vídeo,graças a legenda do KZbin pode compreender as versões do pedal,sou baixista é curti os testes feito por você no contra baixo!

[@EricMerrow]

❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👍👍

[@MetalHeadHippie]

Always Liked DBA Fuzz War & That Oprichniki sounds killer also..

[@EricMerrow]

Both are so great!!

[@EuBrPaMa]

​@@EricMerrow😢😮😅😅😮p 90s

[@christopherrusch]

the black russian! where is THAT reissue? i want that Black Angels sound!!

[@christopherrusch]

also, this an INCREDIBLY well put together video! thank you for your service, can’t believe this app is free

[@EricMerrow]

I would LOVE a Black Russian reissue! You should check out Frost Giant electronics - they just came out with a trio of muff pedals and one is a Black Russian. Also wonderful audio technology has the Nivicola which is a take on the Black Russian. Thanks so much for checking out the video!

[@JonDeth]

The fundamental design is to produce soft diode clipping overdrive and transistor hard clipping so you get a 50/50 blend of the two. All of these variants from boutiques are typically attempts to bring the hard clipped fuzz out to stand in front of the soft clipped overdrive. I have a formal background in electrical/electronics engineering and their Germanium Big Muff is a really bizarre design for it being commercially because adding the bias controls is really a novelty I would expect from a hobbyist that runs a boutique brand. It allows you to adjust the Class of performance and with bias messing with charge carrier saturation so you lose input A.C. signal to get it to bias and switch on, and you hear the crossover distortion and nonlinearity. I'm not a fan of the sound but as a DIY pedal to be cloned, it may teach people a lot more about the actual chemistry and quantum mechanics of transistors. There's heaps of commercial and boutique designs alike biased wrong, but in 99 out of 100 you can't hear it and that characteristic adds to what people like about them. With the Fuzz Face, it's brutal and you can really hear it as your sustain decays and the transistor becomes very nonlinear because it's switching on and off and you won't hear a strobing, just the siganl loss and distortion. With the Germanium Big Muff, you can adjust it so it's quiescent and linear or so it has to be driven hard with input signal to switch on and becomes very nonlinear. *In short, it kinda sounds like crap but it's on purpose lol. It does exactly what some people want more of from these very old and crude fuzzes and overdrives.*

[@williamgarcia3191]

Hey what's the white firebird looking guitar??? 👀👀👀

[@EricMerrow]

That’s a first act custom shop Delgada!

[@darklight4815]

Im a fan of the new op amp muff,the NYC standard muff,and also the bass big muff (which is supposedly the green Russian)😮 and ive never been a huge fan of fuzz but over the years its grown on me quite a bit

[@EricMerrow]

You’ve seen the fuzz light!!! Welcome! 😂

[@darklight4815]

@@EricMerrow haha right on!

[@BigMuffLover]

10:15 i wasn’t expecting high on fire

[@deadlegs187]

Nice riffs mate

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks!!

[@deathmetalhell]

my favorite big muff style pedal is the sonicake fazy cream

[@EricMerrow]

That’s a great one! Very affordable too!

[@DavidElDorito-zt7yy]

Whats the 2nd riff you did on the triangle big muff

[@EricMerrow]

I was just improvising. If it’s something else, I didn’t do it on purpose

[@MusicLand53]

There's a Russian Black Big Muff for sale on the OfferUp website. Dude wants $400. So, I checked out Reverb. I see them going anywhere from $190 to $450. The difference in price must from when that particular pedal came out. My question is how you can date the pedal and know what the pedal is worth. Any ideas. Thanks.

[@EricMerrow]

I’m not the best person to ask about dating pedals and music gear but I do know that a lot of times, you can find a date stamp on the potentiometer casings on the inside of the pedal

[@nimlhug138]

Riff at 10:15?

[@danm5945]

“10,000 Years” by High on Fire

[@MxMattieMcD]

My fave HoF song!

[@EricMerrow]

Yep, it’s 10,000 years! 🤘🤘 thanks for watching!

[@nimlhug138]

@@danm5945 Thanks. Recognized it but couldnt remember from where

[@KupalskiDziadok]

Hungry Beaver by Soundlad Liverpool is an interesting take on big muff cirquit.

[@EricMerrow]

Awesome! I’ll have to read up on that one 🤘🤘

[@ralvknights]

Great video. You miss the Earthquaker Hoof, KGb Fuzz by Valco, KMA Chief Disruptor and the JHS Muffeleta.

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks for watching!!

[@thankyouspaceexpert]

Killer video. New subscriber here.

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much!!

[@chrishepburn1503]

I wonder if the Black Math fuzz is a nod to Jack White and the White Stripes?. They have a song called Black Math and he famously uses the NYC Big Muff

[@rude_tech]

it is, Alec is a big White Stripes fan

[@EricMerrow]

Yes, it absolutely is a nod to the White Stripes! Thanks for watching!

[@Wurmt0ngue]

+1 for playing high on fire

[@EricMerrow]

🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@elynch03]

U should have done a little. Bass with the Operanikki by electro foods !!! I love that pedal man it’s my go to fuzz on bass very versatile and the clean blend makes huge difference with fuzz in my experience far as original big muff I like green Russian a lot. I got one of those too great video man enjoyed it 🔥🤘

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks for watching! Each of these pedals could definitely have their own video showcasing the multiple settings and instruments!

[@frankenjobber]

What’s the riff at 8:50?

[@EricMerrow]

Just something I came up with while filming. Thanks for watching!

[@frankenjobber]

@@EricMerrow well, you came up with something awesome!

[@snicker576]

Hi, such an awesome video! Is that a Dinosaur Jr riff with the Black Russian? I'm 99% sure, but can't think what song it is

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks for watching! That riff is kiiiinda “going down” from Dinosuar Jr!

[@snicker576]

@@EricMerrow thanks! Was driving me nuts, didn't want to have to go through their whole discog to figure it out

[@EricMerrow]

@@snicker576 I mean... there are worse ways to spend your time! haha Thanks again for watching!

[@nojuanatall3281]

V7D black russian is my favorite.

[@EricMerrow]

Heck yeah!!

[@colourentlu521]

good video ，helps a lot

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks for watching! Glad you liked the video!!

[@shawnmann]

What are those cords you use right at the beginning of the video? Sounds so rad.

[@EricMerrow]

It's a Bmin, Dmaj, F#min, Gmaj. The way I play the chords is fretting the low E string and the G string to get the major and minor intervals. I'm also playing the D string open on each chord. Hope that helps!

[@shawnmann]

@@EricMerrow perfect, thank you Eric!

[@Erok480]

Hizumitas is right up there for me

[@EricMerrow]

Heck yeah! 🤘🤘

[@patrickschilcher9386]

Love It!!

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much, Patrick!

[@mistershabadoo]

Right on, Eric! Sick muff shootout! I adore the green Russian and I’m really digging your bass riffs on this one! The 3Muf-14 is a killer pedal, as is the MF-4! Really dug this one, my man! Cheers!

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much for watching, Zach!!

[@malcolmhitchen5158]

black Russian sounds epic

[@EricMerrow]

Heck yeah! I think the Black Russian is my fave too!

[@Farmer_Jack]

That Fuzzlord RIPS!

[@EricMerrow]

🤘🤘

[@LewWelchThePoet]

Browne Amplification T4

[@EricMerrow]

Right on! 🤘🤘

[@Sarcasticallyincharg]

BAT Pharaoh for me

[@EricMerrow]

That’s a great one!! Thanks for watching!

[@mikeroadblock]

I have the Black Forest.

[@ValleysOfSaturn]

Based on your guitar collection, I would says you have a pretty nasty form of GAS. ;)

[@danielcarter3928]

i love my black russian.

[@EricMerrow]

Yes!!!

[@rareform6747]

Sold my 1977 Big Muff and very sorry because the head room was "BIG" compered to new ones 👎

[@zachb5803]

Fig Fum 💯

[@EricMerrow]

🤘🤘🤘

[@BillDerBerg]

Da

[@EricMerrow]

🤘