Why you're doing it wrong: Big Muff tips and clips

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

If you think I demoed the Muff>TS wrong, check this out: kzbin.info_XVijxjgceU?si=cFgvr_KuzLlBEboJ

[@MetalheadOv666]

“A tube can go into a muff, and really scream but a muff can’t go into a tube!” 😂 Definitely the funniest part of the whole video!

[@jimm8594]

I’m a muff aficionado, you can tell by my browser history 😂

[@mykhedelic6471]

Heh heh, porn reference. 🙄

[@tsafanyoh]

No muff too tuff!! 😉

[@michaelfowler3187]

Afuzzianado extraordinaire especialist

[@thefuneralparade]

ahh,yes..good ol muff in the buff.

[@thefuneralparade]

we're all muff rubbers here.

[@douglasdog1]

I love running an SD-1 into a big muff. SD-1 has more aggressive mids than a tubescreamer

[@johnf.r6658]

Oh that sounds interesting, wonder how it translate to a cheap transistor amp that I use, I'm thinking about going for a clone of an OCD to pair with my tone wicker big Muff, currently I get more mids from a Tube screamer ts9

[@Esenin472]

it has been my set up for years, SD-1 into Black Russian Muff even tho lately I switched their places and I keep the SD-1 last in the chain

[@swissarmyknight4306]

SD-1 or BD-2 (depending on how tight I want it) is my main Muff sound. Huge fan of the SD-1. Its also cheap and readily available.

[@stevenburvenich168]

Treble booster into a muff works too! I added a flat mid switch mod as well. Great stuff.

[@Bob-of-Zoid]

I have a big muff deluxe, and I love it! It covers all of the old variations of muffs, and then some!

[@oceanwolfwon9393]

I died of laughter of him saying "don't just sit there and buff your Muff" 😂😂💀💀

[@TheJayTeeGee]

Walrus Audio Eons is my favorite muff. It's based on the ram's head. It has five different clipping options, a 2 band eq, and a voltage/bias knob. You can get a lot of great sounds out of it.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Dude, this one is definitely on my radar and would be my first dip into the world of Walrus. The amount of tones it covers sounds insane! And shows just how flexible that old Muff circuit can be. Those clipping options alone make it a dirt chameleon!

[@AzuriteCoast]

Think it'd sound good on bass, too?

[@justfortier]

Yup, that one is on my list. I just wish it had favourites since it has so many sounds!

[@therapist6328]

My green tank of an early 90's Sovtek bubble font Big Muff Pi is still my favorite. I also have the NYC, the Deluxe and Triangle but the Russian one that came in a little wood crate with the sliding top lid is the cat's meow.

[@bristlefist]

same here

[@PeeFunk2008]

My first two pedals were a TS9DX and that same Muff. I ran the screamer into the muff for years. Gave me the sound I was looking for. I still keep them on a mini board seperate from my main board. They just sound so good together.

[@saltnutzzzz]

Same here. Very Bogner-esque. Been doing it for almost 20 years.

[@MohnishGroverMusic]

I do the same, cheers, they are the only drive pedals I have.

[@silviolutti1522]

I agree! If you put an overdrive after the big muff you kill your sound. As you say, the overdrive should be placed before the big muff, even better if you use a full range overdrive, more or less "transparent" like boss bd-2. Greetings!

[@robmac6508]

Thanks for tip, I shall try Boss BD 2 before my Black Russian Muff 👍

[@pedromgt9559]

David Gilmour disagrees with your statement

[@silviolutti1522]

I do not think so! You should read more about how David Gilmour uses big muff/overdrive.

[@KYCDK]

@@silviolutti1522 yeah david gilmour placed the powerbooster after fuzz, the guy in the video here just has no idea how to set it up, he has the gain on the tube screamer at 1:00, which is obviously gonna sound like shit, the gain should be as low as possible

[@WhoDaF0ok1sThatGuy]

I noticed that a Muff works so well with a TS9. On my Peavey, there’s a Muff effect so I paired that with my actual TS9 and holy hell! What a revelation! It sounded great and despite how chunky it was, it actually turned out to be a pretty damn good tone for King Diamond and Mercyful Fate! I had the tone higher on both (~60-65%) with decreased muff volume and 70% Sustain. It sounded great. Next pedal I’m getting is a muff. The MXR Distortion+ and TS9 already make up a larger part of my tone. Keep the D+ in line for Iron Maiden stuff and put the muff on for Mercyful Fate! (Btw, an EQ pedal goes a long way people!)

[@canaan_perry]

Tone bypass is a good thing to add to these. Opens the sound up a lot.

[@Intaminator]

All hail the Pharaoh! Also the best damn stackable muff I've encountered. Takes whatever you throw at it.

[@machinotaur]

Deluxe is the way. I'd moved away from Muffs for a while; but when I saw the Sovtek Deluxe, I realized instantly the potential of it, and it hasn't disappointed me ever since. Clean blend is a great feature for not only bass, but also adding note definition for guitar chords and arpeggios.

[@jamesf2918]

Jesus man! Funny, informative and helpful. I gave up on this rabbit hole years ago because I couldn’t get the right sound, but I’m definitely going to revisit this.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Thanks man! 🤘

[@mcswordfish]

A Muff is/isn't a Fuzz in the same way that a Tomato isn't/is a Fruit To an Engineer/Botanist, it's an Overdrive/Fruit To a Guitarist/Chef, it's a Fuzz/Vegetable FWIW, I really like running my Blues Driver clone into my Muff - the BD is my preferred OD to push my amp and it does magic things with the BMP too.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

That's actually a perfect analogy!

[@markbrown7421]

I just got my first Muff, it is a Deluxe Big Muff. It has made my life so much better. Now I am here watching videos about Muffs, this is how it starts. Weeks from now I will have remortgaged my home in search of the best and biggest Muff.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Join the club, mate! 😅

[@Ethan-fh1xc]

I've found that running a ds-1 on the lowest gain in front of a big muff adds the perfect amount of bite that I'm looking for from it. Sounds amazing on my strat.

[@waddledoo4033]

I totally agree! A little bit of overdrive/distortion after a big muff can sound really good! But just a little little bit 😁

[@timwhite5562]

The trick to run a tube screamer or mid-bump EQ'd overdrive after a Muff is that it's the last in a 3- pedal stack. You run something with either a flat or slightly scooped EQ into the front of the fuzz: a Timmy; Blues driver, etc. You set the gain low, and the volume at or around unity (slightly higher if anything). You set the Muff with the gain low and the output for unity or a slight boost, then the Tube Screamer with a volume boost and the gain for taste. *Edit:The different levels is about the amount of compression that you end up with, since stacking pedals tends to increase it. That's how you get the "Comfortably Numb," tone. I've been a luthier for twenty years and an amp builder and tech for 15. It ALL started because I wanted that tone but didn't know to do it at first, then found out but couldn't afford the vintage muff, the reissue didn't work well and there were no real affordable clones at the time, so I built one. Gilmore did it with a Color Sound boost into the front. Those had a flat/slightly scooped midrange. It opens the Muff up, then the TS gives you the midrange. If I'm not specifically going for that sound however, I just run the mid-eq into the Muff. It sounds like a dimed British stack and makes even the most icepick-like bridge pickup on a Strat sound HUGE.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

I'm gunna do a short of this exact tip. It sounds insane enough to work!

[@timwhite5562]

​@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox it'll work. 👍 You might have to fiddle with the output volumes, but that's a 15-second undertaking. Edit: I just read it again, I had meant you set the Muff with the gain low and the volume at unity or a little below. Setting the individual output and gain is more about dialing in the amount of compression you're getting from running all of them into each other. *And you're 100% on point about using a buffered pedal before a Muff, it allows you to do a slight cleanup that you can't really do just plugging the guitar in, the pickups impedance is just too high. Some two transistor Fuzz will do the same. I built a 3 transistor fuzz clone of…something I don't remember. The circuit was essentially a Fuzz Face with an extra gain stage that acts as an input boost. It takes the guitar signal and slams it into the Fuzz circuit, it's akin to running a boost into it, but in the same circuit. Later I installed a switch to turn off the boost. If I ran my guitar into it, it would cleanup like a fuzz face: wooly fuzz, then clean and glassy with no in-between. One day I stuck an MXR micro-amp first to level out the pickup output of two different guitars. When I set the Micro at unity and rolled the guitar volume down it cleaned up like an amp or overdrive. The Muff is a four-transistor, basically two fuzz faces cascading into each other. It can handle various signal strength and impedance levels without trouble.

[@jankafka7330]

I don't pay any attention to fans who don't spell 'Gilmour' correctly.

[@MichaelWinter-ss6lx]

@timwhite5562, exact same reasons for the same "carrear",. I recomend FETs for the buffers, they come a lot closer to tubes. Try out a bootstrapping circuit as input buffer. That really hangs onto the knobs/pickups, with an input impedanz of 150 megaohms! Oh, and please excuse my misspellings, been stuck on another continent for over 50 years and www is only a recent addition to life, it wont repair much anymore. 🤘 📼 🎸🎛️..🔈🎵🎶

[@timswanson9893]

I put a cry-baby in front of a vintage big muff. I pretty much kept the cry-baby on all the time (fix position like Trower). It served as my tone control. Both pedals were battery operated only versions. I'm having trouble with my new muff driving a solid state 2-ch Marshal. It sounds flat and does not have the crunch the old one had. Splitting the sound with a TC Nova delay into a different amp (Roland Cube) helps my wall of sound. My pickups have always been DiMarzio DP101.

[@sejuyz]

I gave it a go and it improved 300% my tone.

[@dtb2229]

I just picked up a Deluxe Big Muff last week and I fully agree about how great it is. You can pretty much obtain any muff sound you want with it, and you have the option of using the mid switch as a solo boost or as a better way to hone in on that tone you're looking for. I can't believe no one talks about it and it's only about $30 USD more than the Ram's Head reissue.

[@Bob-of-Zoid]

Have you tried it with an expression pedal yet? If not, DO IT NOW!!! Happy freaking muffing!

[@dtb2229]

@@Bob-of-Zoid Actually, I have not! Gonna try that out today

[@Bob-of-Zoid]

@@dtb2229 You just may be in for a great time! May take some getting used to though.

[@andrewlambie7872]

If you run a big muff into a tube screamer, dial the drive almost all the way back. The purpose of the TS then becomes focusing the Mids of the big muff

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

I tried this and many more knob settings. Check out my follow up Short. Can't say I liked any of the combinations!

[@OfficialTuxedoMask]

2:36 woah shots fired lol I love JHS, Josh always suggest you just try things out everyone is searching for a different tone. But i like the friendly jab. And I like this channel!

[@Mike-rw2nh]

I’ve yet to see a muff connoisseur who doesn’t wear a wedding ring. Subbed, good sir. Very much subbed.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Haha! Thank you, my friend. This must be the secret ingredient to true Muff satisfaction! More content coming soon!

[@BigBoss1292]

I’ve always constructed my signal chain so that as the signal moves into the gain section, I move from boosts/ overdrives into distortions and then into fuzzes since they’re the most extreme type of gain I run, my logic has always been that I want to drive the fuzz, not fuzz up the overdrive and kill it’s character… it’s always worked out for me fantastically. Currently I’m running: LPB-1 > Boss 59 Bassman >Fulltone OCD > Boss DF-2 > Ram’s Head Big Muff > Op Amp Big Muff And then after those I use the JHS haunting mids to boost the EQ and let the Big Muff’s be usable in a live band application.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

I've always done the same. I've never understood why so many people think of going low gain to high gain. It's always made more sense to put the hotter signal into the hotter pedal that's got the room to handle extra drive rather than squashing it into something that caps out at crunch.

[@75YBA]

You really know your stuff. Great sense of humour. Brilliant! All the best from 🇨🇦

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Thanks dude! I bloody love your country. Can't wait to visit again 🤘

[@ThoughtsEtcEtcEtc]

Melvins part sounds sick. Flashing me back to Fantomas… which was muddy AF but they were competing with Mike Patton’s shrieks and all sorts of insane Slayer cymbals and it just worked.

[@ShaighJosephson]

I have the Deluxe Big Muff and it's very tempermental about what you put in front of it... The beast wants to be up front and be fed a clean buffered signal...

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Yeah 🤔 would that be because the buffered signal slumps again by the time it hits the Deluxe? Have you tried buffering after? That can also be very effective for a muff

[@MrJesusCrisp]

Expected a bunch of nonsense like with so many of the "you're doing it wrong" videos, but that was absolutely great advice!

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Haha! So glad to not be click-bait 😅 Thanks!

[@novakingood3788]

I've never got on with fuzz pedals (I know...a poor workman always blames his tools), but some of my all time favourite guitar tones are from guitarists using fuzz, so I'm always interested to see how I could incorporate them into my sound.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

All you need is fuzz! Thing is, a lot of the most popular ones have such a particular sound that they can alienate people. But they don't have to be super scooped, saturated or buzzy. If you check out something like a good Fuzz Face and treat it like a distorted amp, you'll find they're amongst the most flexible and toneful drive tones out there!

[@ltxr9973]

I remember having get used to the feel as well when I was first using fuzz pedals. They are usually pretty responsive to the knobs on the guitar, use them.

[@mindfield9832]

Definitely recommend a fuzz face. Use your volume knob and go down to 8 or 9 and you have overdrive. So, many good tones from it.

[@The.One.True.B]

It took far too long for me to starting dropping my guitar volume and like 2-3 with fuzzes to get a whole other kind of sound from them that I love.

[@tiagomaia3047]

Yes! I always run an overdrive INTO the muff! Never got a sound I liked the other way round!

[@lucasgoncalvesdefaria7121]

TRUE OMG I can't BELIEVE how many times I've seen ppl telling ppl to put the TS after and I'm like "Dawg, ahev you tried this yourself? If so? Are you ears healthy?" because it makes ZERO sense

[@75YBA]

Amazing playing, had no idea you did drums and vocals. Always the best chief!

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Thanks again, dude!

[@BellsCuriosityShop]

I have a bigger laugh at "inserting tube into big muff and hear it scream" than "buffing your muff". Maybe that says more about me than your average viewer. I bought an original Black Russian back in time. I didn't seem to get on with it, but I didn't understand the concept of which pedals needed a really clean amp to use and which ones were better for crunchy or already overdrive amps. I probably still dont, but I generally don't drive the sh!te out of everything. After a few years of marriage and mortgage my finances appeared to be more favourable and I started experimenting with Boss pedals for a time and traded the Muff for an SD1 at a nearby shop (they allowed £10 for it - I thought at the time the wiser decision would have been to sell it on eBay to try to get market value for it). It was the last Boss I bought new, and the only one I have kept over the years. I kept my Fuzz Face as I always preferred.then round of that to the Muff. I got that in 92 or so (a year or two before the Black Russian), clearance of stock of Crest reissue at Soho Roundhouse (the new name for Sound City I think, but long since gone. I tried to drill out the casing and install a socket for wallwart but made a balls of that. LOL. I have a used Opamp reissue on its way and will see how I get on with a Muff this time. It would have been a Pumpkins sound I was after as Siamese Dream was an inspiring album from the time I got it.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Hope you like it, man! The OpAmp is awesome. If you're not feeling the scooped tone, flick the tone switch and it becomes a full range monster!

[@BellsCuriosityShop]

@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox "full range" as in also good on bass?

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

I'd say all Muffs handle bass well, so yeah, but more that the mid range flattens out with the tone stack bypassed. Best reissue for bass is hands down the Green.

[@freehey629]

I think Muff into an overdrive started off with David Gilmour using a Muff into a Tube Driver. What people are missing is the Tube Driver has a fuck ton of headroom compared to the ordinary overdrive so boosting it with a Muff doesnt make it sound like flubby ass.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Damn, man, that's interesting! It might well be that through Chinese whispers, Tube Driver became Tube Screamer! Thanks for that.

[@KYCDK]

yeah and tne guy in the video has the gain on the tube screamer at 1:00, no shit that's gonna sound like shit, the gain should be as low as possible

[@Blinkerd00d]

I make a muff based circuit that has a mids knob with a preboost circuit (ie a buffer) in front of it. It has a second stomp to switch on or off the buffer/boost.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Nice! Is that your own design?

[@Blinkerd00d]

@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox it is... I do pedals as a side thing- I'm an engineer by profession, and for the last year or so I've been working on a massive project and its left me with little free time. I'm not taking orders at the moment, but I do have one of them built already if you're interested.

[@CorbCorbin]

I’m still using the Black Arts Pharaoh, after almost ten years. I used to use a random Boss pedal, at the front, to help with the wah problem with a Fuzz Face, snd it really made the Pharaoh kick. The Pharaoh has the rare ability to cleanup with volume roll off, in the Silicon mode. I did turn an OD after it, but one must remember to turn the gain down, and it works like a boost, and it can tighten it up, but not a TS. I also have a Boost pedal, that has a Mid Boost, with a knob for where in the signal one wants to boost, then an overall volume boost knob. The Midphoria V1, from Magnetic Effects. It also will work like the Tubescreamer does in your video, put before the Miff pedal, or any pedal, and it gets pretty hairy on it’s own, with the Mid boost up high. Great for solos, or insane rhythms that cut through any mix.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Hail the PHARAOH!!!

[@StephenTiffoney]

I totally agree about tube screamer before big muff. I have never understood why people run a screamer after a muff.

[@jimszikk775]

The sound by that connection you hate is amazing! Ofcourse not all the time but for a specific riff like a intro or something!

[@scotscub76]

That's what I thought. It sounds shit but Weezer and Mudhoney had that sound on some tracks :0)

[@michaelbreach5862]

I’ll never understand people putting a tube screamer at the end of any time stack.

[@matthewkalan4786]

It's funny because, for about 2-3 months now I'm running a DBA Fuzz War into a Boss SD-1, and it's sounds almost like Colour Haze. I'm actually happy with the resoults, it pulled me out of my comfort zone and gave me a different perspective on dirt pedals. An important note is that I only use the neck pickup, and the gain settings on the amp is very low, so as on the pedals. So I admit that a full on blast from the fuzz and the overdrive would sound like crap.

[@Mike28625]

Distortion is a bit heavier than overdrive And it's like a ramping up process from weakest effect to strongest. OD is just a little color on the line, fuzz shapes the line, then distortion... Distorts. Color>shape>texture.

[@ByroniusHuge]

Really appreciate this video, I've been trying to troubleshoot my tone with a wicker muff and have been hitting the wall. Looking forward to doing some rearranging!

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Awesome! Glad it helped. What is it you're gunna try?

[@ByroniusHuge]

@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox I want to resequence my boost and an equalizer in front of the muff. They currently are behind it, and your video perfectly reflected the problem I'm having with that.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

@@ByroniusHuge Sounds good man. Well. I hope it sounds great! 😁

[@jamesalfano5740]

I used a 70:s Big Muff w tone bypass switch for years, now using a Metal Muff : more gain + Bass Mid & Treble controls. Running it into a Blackstar set for crunch w MMuff sustain from 0-2 gets a total sustained sound right into the harmonic octave. I'm in Heaven man!

[@michaelbartholomew8155]

I love My Ibanez 850 overdrive. Probably the best "Muff" style pedals I've ever used. Loads of gain and the tone control is actually very useful.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Ah, one of the "secret" Muffs! Nice!

[@pattepato4592]

I just ordered one, thanks for sharing your experience. I will come back and share my impressions.

[@alexanderfischer1293]

Love your attitude of simply stating that a particular configuration sounds shit! I applaud that. Guitarists have become so un-creative, just copying/repeating what others say.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Thanks, man! I'm often disappointed when people conclude "it's whichever best suits your needs and budget" or something like that. I mean, reading manufacturer stuff and bringing me to that conclusion. I want to know an actual hard-line opinion!

[@grory667]

I own a russian pi, and always ran it at the front of the chain to preserve its huge low-end. None of my other pedals, later Muffs included, matched it in that regard. I came to not rely on it for saturation-- as far as the actual fuzz tone there's better options for that. I get my good results putting bright overdrives/clean boosts behind deep fuzzess, but it depends on the pedals and also the particular sound you are trying to achieve. But Buffers, yes; clean overdrive in front, yes; turn everything down to use it all together... One thing tho', to my ears big muffs with tube screamers sound terrible. So many better options. I just "retired" the Muff a couple months ago, but it was on my board for thirty straight years otherwise.

[@Telorchid]

Started my Big Muff quest with a Catalinbread Manx Loaghtan and an EQD Hoof. Did not really care how accurate they were to any EHX iteration, just wanted to explore. Years later, the Hoof is still on my board. It straddles the line between 2-3 transistor fuzz styles (the Muff is technically a 4 transistor fuzz, iirc) and distortion; kind of a nice middle ground. The 'boutique' move to add mids and/or EQ flexibility to the basic Muff circuits are very useful, but on the other hand I'm not interested in and Muff arms races, in the latest and greatest Muff variant, either from EHX or smaller companies (although it's nice EHX has made affordable reissues of various kinds.) Never liked running anything into a TS, only liked it as a pre-boost. The last gain pedal in the chain has an outsized effect on the tone shaping, and the TS IMO is just so focused that it does no favors to the characteristics of the breakup circuit that comes before it. More 'full range' overdrives seem to work better for that. Subdecay Super Nova Drive did this well; something of a sleeper that one.

[@lucky65strike]

I know bass muffs are a little tangential to this video, but to reiterate the point that you made about buying OG if it's OG sound you're after - every time I try out some new fuzz/drive for bass it takes a solid hour of tweaking to get a sound I'm vaguely happy with, then I A-B it with the deluxe bass big muff, realise I've wasted my time, and consign yet another pedal to the runners up drawer while the EHX takes its rightful place back on the board. If you're after big muff sounds, try a big muff first.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Hell yeah. There's so little that the Deluxe doesn't achieve, it's incredible!

[@Fostext]

Would it “accurate” to say Muffs and Rats are in a weird but cool hybrid grey area considered ‘Fuzztortion’?

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Absolutely! The Rat can get very Muff like at its upper end of gain and that's when people describe it as "fuzzy" - but it ain't no Harmonic Perculator, it's definitely more of a muff with mids and cut bass. I think fuzztortion describes them perfectly.

[@timhall7297]

First off the hisumitas is the ultimate muff secondly run the slamurai from all pedal into it and it will show you the entire universe !!

[@Ryan-rn3cf]

Place a boss eq pedal after the Big Muff, leave everything flat except the highest frequency. turn that slider up halfway. It should make every muff sound better and have no idea why that is.

[@Vosraider]

In my experience, the only overdrive that work after the big muff is a klon with the gain set low. Because it blends the clean signal with overdrive it is far less muddy than run a big muff into a tubescreamer.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

I agree I particularly like a Klon after harsher distortions like a HM-2 or DS-1. It rounds off the shrill top end and fattens then up.

[@user-fw8te9ku3z]

A muff CANT go into a TS, it sounds so bad really, the only scenario I can see working is if it’s a TS inspires pedal that has no clipping option(like EQD plumes) but even then it’s still way better before the muff

[@mattgilbert7347]

MI Audio Boost n Buff on either side of the Muff sounds fantastic.

[@mattgilbert7347]

I LOVE my Pharoah. Good call. The Buffalo FX Ram's Head with a mid control is also really sweet, but I'd be just as happy with my Deluxe Big Muff Pi reissue. It does everything.

[@gamezharks]

You always hear the "don't put buffered pedals infront of your fuzz" mantra but it doesn't apply to the big muff, I like my Marshall Guv'nor 2 going into it, it's been modded to sound more like a Guv'nor 1 and the specific type of midrange that pedal has sounds great into the rams head setting of my JHS Muffuletta.

[@JackBealeGuitar]

Thank you. I always run a ts into a muff and have always been told to do the reverse. Have a nano NYC and a black Russian. Always have one on my board

[@whatsallthefuzzabout]

The way I run it, (skipping unrelated pedals) guitar - Blues Breaker - Centaur - black box Russian Muff - MXR Micro Amp + (in loop) gets everything you'd ever want and everything in between.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Nice. There's definitely a lot to be said about using the characters of other ODs to boost different parts of the mid-range. I can already hear how MASSIVE that rig would sound 🤘

[@STRATMAN1969]

I Love your handle .I would buy that shirt .

[@whatsallthefuzzabout]

@STRATMAN1969 thanks, its for my Instagram, did 1 test video for here and will maybe do more 🤷‍♂️

[@emmarossignol4445]

I tend to use a Micro Amp before my Big Muff Deluxe, got that from Jack White. I'm curious what you like about having it after the Big Muff?

[@whatsallthefuzzabout]

@robertrossignol4445 after the muff and in the FX Loop it acts as purely a DB boost/EQ as opposed to a gain boost which is what it does at first. The reason I use the + model specifically is the ability to adapt the EQ. It can then do the same for all of my drives etc and I can stack my drives before to add gain where wanted. I just find it works best for me that way as its more versatile.

[@josephbenz4913]

I’ve always said, “If you need to run a fuzz into an overdrive to enjoy it, you don’t like fuzz.” So please…leave some of those NOS transistors for those of us who do!

[@mollyrose2896]

I really like the sound of a muff running into a sd-1 (boosting, no drive added) reminds me of John Dwyer’s fuzz sound

[@waddledoo4033]

On the other side you can add a little bit of overdrive after a big muff, it just sound good! I had a Boss ME-50 multi effect and i use the BD-2 recreation with just a little bit of drive and a little bit of tone tremble and it was just singing ! I don't have it anymore because the combo pedalboard and big multi effects was too much to transport for me 😢 but i gave it to a very good friend so no regrets 😊

[@waddledoo4033]

Now i'm looking to have either a tube screamer, a centaur or even a real blues driver to put after all my distortion chain (glove→RAT→Triangle Muff) as a always on effect just to boost the high mids (i loooove bright sound)

[@marthasneedle5787]

Doctor Fuzz is back, good to see! (Wiseacre guys 😉)

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Ah! My dudes!! Great to hear from you and thanks for watching! 🤘

[@Fusso]

Yeah, I always used a NUX Tube Screamer going into a Russian Muff, always on, all the time. It just cuts into the band mix, specially live. The full on FAT Muff sound is wonderful alone in your room, but when you put actual drums and a bass into the mix they disappear. I never really understood people that say to put the overdrive after the Muff. I imagine they just don't know that Muff doesn't work like other Fuzzes and they really don't need to go first in your line.

[@STRATMAN1969]

With Fuzz it's to emulate a over driven tube amp .With Muffs it's because of the mid scoop . I love Muffs latter in the line ,but this is why I have a E.Q. at the end.

[@ElChadinotunes]

Nice! My band uses the Hizumitas on bass and the Deluxe muff for guitar! Great bonecrushing tones!

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Heavy! I often think that's where the Hizumitas belongs as it's got low end like the Russian.

[@john_duncan]

I have a deluxe big muff pi, and the pamphlet inside says that if the tone pots do not fit your tastes you can unscrew the back plate snd use a 2mm wide flat head screwdriver and adjust the tone pots away from factory settings. Apparently there are 3 pots for the mid bypass section.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Wow! Deluxe wins again!

[@Tanzi24]

Muff after everything, always! I run various overdrives, distortions and fuzzes on my board and the Muff is after all of them.

[@daddurs2206]

As in closer to the amp or closer to the guitar input?

[@Tanzi24]

@daddurs2206 Closer to the amp. I've got a Wren & Cuff Caprid and it's the last gain pedal before modulation, delay/reverb etc. It sounds great getting slammed with a Rat or DOD 250! One of the things I love about the Muff is there's not a huge volume boost when you hit it with other pedals, it just affects the tone and texture.

[@daddurs2206]

@@Tanzi24 thanks man, I’ll do some rearranging and check it out 👍🏻

[@TheUnknownReject]

Joff from wolf alice used to run a tube screamer into his muff for the first album sorta like Billy Corgan

[@erikwilkenfeldt252]

awesome video. opened my eyes, and maybe ill take the big muff off the shelf now. What about the one with the Wicker switch tone wicker? should I have the wicker engaged or no?

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Thanks! I'd say yes, generally. It'll help lift it out of a mix, anyway. Pair that with turning the tone off and you have a completely new beast that'll stand in a mix as good as any distortion.

[@haglifesmatter]

thank you, i hated using muff and drive now i use drive and muff, can't believe i never tried it

[@coupe-lee]

I wholeheartedly agree with all of these points and tips. However, I think that the Warlow from JPTR FX is worth checking out. I’ve got several muffy pedals, and that one has it’s own special place. That’s particularly true for it’s ability to go between a muff tonestack, Rat tonestack, or run them in parallel!

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Absolutely man. That thing is a legend! It's high on my wish list. (Which is growing as this comment section goes on! 🤣)

[@doubled5383]

I just tried a Skreddy Pig. Has a mid boost toggle on it. Great pedal

[@Gibson1976uk]

My favourite muff type pedal is the Thorpyfx Fallout Cloud!!! :)

[@MrCarthus]

Had this come up on my suggested and I'm glad it did. I've subscribed. I've got the Big Muff Pi with tone wicker which adds some brightness to the circuit. I run a RAT before it occasionally

[@eduwardjunior3155]

yes! the rat into the pi muff = a good time

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Awesome! Thanks for the sub! Rat into Muff is a killer tone. Ticket to DOOM town!

[@MrCarthus]

@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox yeah it is! Look forward to hopefully more content from you!

[@nicoguarini28]

Is the Ratt a buffered pedal?

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

No, it's true bypass. But every pedal is buffered when it's on.

[@MPA551]

I found this to be true, just buy chance when messing about with pedal orders. So its Tube into Muff to be clear.

[@jazzmaster21]

Big Muff w/Wicker is outstanding!!!

[@Mike28625]

I like to add chorus to muff. It's magical.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

I've got my OG Small Clone on standby for grungy goodness!

[@AndrewWukusick]

The one instance that I find works well with muff into overdrive, is I run my green russian big muff into a Blackarts Toneworks Black Forest, but I'm using that overdrive as a preamp into the effects return, or even ampless into a cab ir box. Sounds mean as hell

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

I would never deny a Black Arts Toneworks pedal working great for anything!

[@leehenderson8132]

HERES THE ONE YOU NEED MADE BY RUDE TECH ITS CALLED THE "3 MUFF-14".IT IS THE BEST TO MY EARS.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

LOOKS BADASS. THANKS!

[@AIONmogwai]

Tube Driver into Civil War Big Muff.

[@johnf.r6658]

I have the tone wicker muff and it's awesome, my first pedal ever, working as new for more than 10 years now, I use it mostly with the tone off, wicker sometimes off or on, it's a massive sound, also don't get how people enjoy the tube screamer before the muff! It sounds very wrong to me but I guess it's all q matter of taste and what you want to do with it, great video !

[@motherfuckerlimited1019]

TS after muff is for going into dirty amps, really just to get the output level up, which optimally could be done with a flatter response pedal, like a micro boost. TS before feels absolutely necessary.

[@Vermonster23]

I really enjoy my dirty Russian muff….. I’ve got it set up to where it is barely driving anything, and when stacked with the amps distortion it is amazing. And also gives you a nice 50s type of gravel by itself.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

That's cool. I think Muffs are underrated as gritty drivers. I love a barely on Rams Head into a driven Mig-50. HUGE!

[@Vermonster23]

@@doctorfuzzzdirtbox fuzz, pedals can be used for so much more than peeling the paint off the walls.😈

[@matiasmoulin2126]

apart from being very entertained, I learned from that video that the stupid tube screamer lying around for ages actually has a purpose! Thank you!

[@raulazurduy5407]

I like running an Blues Driver into a big muff, sound awesome!

[@STRATMAN1969]

I'm running a Hudson Broadcast into a big box NYC into a JB-2 into a E.Q. I love all the tone options .

[@CTripodi1965]

I have the NYC EHX Big Muff, the BAT Crown of Horns (I like it's tone much better than The Pharoah), and Hizumitas. I like all 3, but like the tone I get with the Hizumitas and Crown of Horns more, plus with the CoH, I get that volume boost but lose the tone stack. The Hizumitas can get much louder and more dirtier than the other 2 that I have. I liked your video, it gave me some ideas, thanks.

[@chrisboucher8493]

I agree with most everything, HOWEVER, I was struck at how the hizumitas or whatever sounded pretty much nearly exactly like the deluxe big muff, but was like 1/5 the size! Probably costs more, but you definitely save on space and a bunch of extra controls one might not want.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

You do save on space, but a Hizu can't do a fraction of the tones in the Deluxe whereas the Deluxe will get all manner muffy goodness. And with a gate, (which is surprisingly useful!) So you gain a huge lot of flexibility to know that you can fit it into your sound, whatever that sound is.

[@darthcolorlesstheblind6717]

Jokes on you, the Hizumitas DID solve all my problems, lol. All jokes aside, this was a great video.

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Haha! I don't doubt it, man.bits still awesome. Thanks!

[@TheFlutecart]

It's not a Fuzz, it's a Muff. I've said the same thing. And it does need a buffer or active circuit in front to sound best. Gilmour's custom Cornish Muffs had nice buffers in them. But an active Wah pedal in front is good noisy fun.

[@jasondeleon6492]

Just ran a TS7 after a triangle muff and it sounded like a robot with diarrhea

[@phillipwesson8785]

Really appreciate this knowledge man 🎉

[@dereknoland9975]

my op amp muff hates anything with a buffer in front of it ,sounds squealy and weak . maybe just my ears , great video

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

The Op-Amp has a shit of high end already so it doesn't surprise me

[@ThoughtsEtcEtcEtc]

Had to look at an old demo tape from January 2000 to confirm that my first chain was morally wrong: Danelectro Longhorn bass to Big Muff Pi (Russian), Boss Bass Overdrive (mainly for EQ tbh), MXR Flanger. But this was the first sequence I used. I probably then kept the three in the same order, but just reversed it - MXR Flanger, Boss Bass Overdrive, Big Muff Pi. AAAAAAHHH NOW THERE IS A FUCKIN CRAZY SOUND. Or. Duh. Put the OD first, then the Muff, the flanger. Anyway… MXR Flanger plus Big Muff is some psych shit right there. Trust I. Various combinations of the three will basically give you jungle Drum n Bass / Reese type shit, but from a bass guitar.

[@nine9whitepony526]

Jesus, I've always ran it the other way, never even tried OD into Muff. I'll give it a go

[@doctorfuzzzdirtbox]

Prepare yourself for TONEZ!

[@flaminx0r]

Great video and love your humour 😂

[@ryanloughridge]

I agree with not having a tube screamer after a muff, but there are some other OD’s I like putting after a muff. For instance, the Earthquaker Westwood Transparant OD gives any distortion or fuzz a nice wooly sweater on those cold days.

[@removedot]

Off all the Tube Screamers Ive used the one that has worked the best with Fuzz is the Behringer

[@coupe-lee]

I agree that some of the more “transparent” or “amp-in-a-box” style circuits do work better after the muff than a tube screamer. The Benson preamp or some bluesbreaker types actually can work pretty well. However, I also like that the less transparent types can make the big muff chug!

[@bentheintern]

I used to use my boss DS-1 with tone cranked and dist basically all the way down as my clean tone and my muff clone would have way more transients and mids

[@Coolbeans1492]

I thought i liked the green russian the best. But as i listen more and more i like either the rams head because of its clarity. But i also love the standard range big muff pi. The standard may not be the exact same circuit as the pedals from the 70s. But it’s still the original and a great sounding thing. It’s got more gain and is more of a wall of sound. I think it’s also more stack friendly in its design as most of the classic pedals have become. In the past they were designed under the assumption they would be run on their own and now they are designed with stacking in mind. If that was not the case then maxon would have never designed the ts9 which added more high end from the previous 808 and made it more ideal for boosting and stacking.

[@guiillhvieira925]

lost a chance to name the video "buff your muff"

[@the_nondrive_side]

I actually would take it further to say the bass muff with a proper compressor before and the blend bypass optimized with both you really have a one and done setup with a bass guitar tone.

[@Scamc1974]

That riff made me cream my jeans. Love the page!

[@rmv9194]

I never loved the big muff on guitar (maybe for some very specific lead tones or stoner tones), but I love it on bass.