Russian Big Muff

Kinda stupidly bid on a Russian Big Muff on Fleabay today and snagged it for $76. Was that a good deal at all? Should've done more research, but fairly certain I could flip it at least.

Not a bad deal. They are starting to go up in demand, so sit on it(not literally) for a while

A ridiculously good deal. Those things are going up thanks to the Black Keys. I've got an old green one that's been having problems lately. $76 is a steal.

I love my Russian, picked it up several years ago for about $40.00 as I recall. Sounds good to my ears.

A ridiculously good deal. Those things are going up thanks to the Black Keys. I've got an old green one that's been having problems lately. $76 is a steal.

They sure make those fuzz pedals sound amazing....
Its the black one, not the green one.

Noticed the prices are slowly creeping up. There has been several on eBay lately too.

I remember buying it new for $40 from MF after finding out on Sonic Youth forums that they used them on their boards. Though I imagine they were modded since they like to mod most of everything they use.

I find it a bit hard to use with chords and strumming but it certainly loves single notes. In no time you'll get the Black Keys sound.

As a fuzz pedal, I like the voodoo lab one a lot more--a bit more versatile and less overwhelming.

I liked the pedal from the first day I got it but the pedal had a lot of negative reviews and people would keep saying how they loved the nyc one better. The day after EHX stopped production, that's when all the rave reviews and high prices started appearing for used ones. I guess you don't speak ill of the dead?

$76? I guess that's a good price but back in my day...

Anyone compare the new bass big muff against this black russian one?

Anyone compare the new bass big muff against this black russian one?

This is a question I am curious about. I've heard it compared in discussion, but never seen a direct comparison. Time to go check out YouTube?

I owned a black russian muff a few years ago. It's a great pedal. My only issue at the time was no power jack... and I'm lazy and forgetful. Not a good combination when you're in the middle of a set and your fuzz fizzes! LOL

I will say, I never got a bad sound out of it... But I do wish it had come in a smaller package as well... these days I'm stingy when it comes to pedal size as well.

Man, when did I turn into such a crotchety old guy about pedals? :mrgreen:

I think I bought mine new for about $80, but that was years ago. I have no idea how much they cost now.

I have a black Russian Big Muff, think it was $40 at the local Music Go Round. They are kinda big and the battery only thing is a pain sometimes, I use one of those 1 Spot battery adapter cables sometimes if it stays on the board for awhile. I alternate the Big Muff with a Wampler SloStortion at times.

Yeah, definitely a good price. The used market is strange for the Russian Muffs though. The green ones command a hefty tag, and I've seen black ones go for anywhere from $60 to $150.

Check out GC's Used Gear section, that'll help give you an idea of resale prices


While I'm here, I have a NYC Muff, picked up a black Russian thinking it would replace the NYC, and returned the Russian the next day. It's a great pedal, don't get me wrong, I just preferred the NYC more.

In case anyone needs to research Big Muffs for future reference, this site is handy in explaining all the versions and stuff.

http://www.kitrae.net/music/music_big_muff.html

In case anyone needs to research Big Muffs for future reference, this site is handy in explaining all the versions and stuff.

http://www.kitrae.net/music/music_big_muff.html

Also somewhere on the site they compare the Russian black one and the USA Big Muff, for MIsc1600 wanted to know.

I had a silver Russian one that came in a wooden box with a sliding lid. It was too much for me. I sold it to a female punk rocker from NYC. She loves it, so it found its home.

Anyone compare the new bass big muff against this black russian one?

I'll compare a bass muff to the green one. I had a green Russian (mid nineties) as I mentioned before and it started going bad. I tried to replace it with the little big muff, but that just wasn't cutting it. I tried a bass big muff and it got a lot closer to my beloved green. The general tone is pretty close, but there seems to be a little, a smudge, of that low end compressed fuzz missing from the bass muff. On the green Russian, there was this layer of smooth bassy fuzz that seemed to lurk beneath the surface. The bass big muff seems to be less compressed and woolly but it has a lot of features missing from the Russian. It has a cool dry channel that you can blend your uneffected tone with fuzz, like a sparkle drive. It also has a bass boost to bring more bass into it, and a separate output for a clean signal. I'm a big fan of the bass muff and highly recommend it.

black russians are good, the green bass muff is good. . .they are all good. some quirks, yeah. . .but still good.

you can get the battery only muffs modded to have a connector to mains. .

I don't know about anyone else, this may be a local terminology thing, but a thread titled "Russian Big Muff" made me laugh so loud I woke the dog up.

The Black Russian models come in several different varieties, depending on how old they are. The last ones manufactured are the cheapest, and the get more expensive going back. The green ones now go for $200 and up, the cheapest black ones for about what the OP paid, and the older black ones for $100 to $125 or so. The OP got a reasonable deal, you'd be hard pressed to find one much cheaper than that.

I'm going to have to try the bass muff. I have an old green russian, a newer black russian, and a double muff (which is great, I recommend them highly).