Trying to feel the Big Muff love -- need help

Well, I've had my Biyang Fuzz Star sitting here for a few months now, and after plugging it in the first day to make sure it works, I haven't done anything with it. Reason being, I'm not a real Big Muff lover in the first place. But after reading such good reviews for the Biyang, I figured I couldn't go wrong at such a stupid-low price, and maybe, just maybe, I'd learn to love a whole new fuzz flavor, adding more color to my palette in the process.

First off, *please*, don't anyone say 'Just use your ears.' Of course, I shall use my ears! But I'm looking for a few tips from the Big Muff experts to help set me on the right course before I end up misunderstanding and disliking this BM as much as all the others I've laid hands on! So...

I'm using a Tele, through the Biyang Fuzz Star, straight into a clean Fender amp. Now, is it folly to crank this thing straight up and hope for the best? Do true BM lovers only find that the pedal comes alive at certain settings? Is it nutty to run the tone knob anywhere past 12:00? Do true BM fanatics only use it with single coils? Can I run it at only half gain and still experience something 'magical'?

I'm just grabbing at straws here - pulling it all outta thin air -- because, in all my years, I've never been able to make a Big Muff work for me. But here I am with a $50, highly reviewed pedal and I'm willing to give it one last go. An good tweaking tips out there?

Thanks, folks! :-)

I'm using a Tele, through the Biyang Fuzz Star, straight into a clean Fender amp.

That's a good setup.


Now, is it folly to crank this thing straight up and hope for the best?

Start with gain dimed. Keep up or back off as necessary


Do true BM lovers only find that the pedal comes alive at certain settings?

I think the BM needs to be the loudest thing in the chain of using for rhythm and lead. Sustain dimed, master volume pedal such as EH Signal pad for bringing volume down for rhythm.


Is it nutty to run the tone knob anywhere past 12:00?

Heck no.


Do true BM fanatics only use it with single coils?

It works well with HBs, but I prefer singles. Helps a bit with clarity.


Can I run it at only half gain and still experience something 'magical'?

Yeah. Volume is key

I've never been able to make a Big Muff work for me

That sounds like a personal problem:razz::wink:

Thanks, folks! :-)

No prob.

Crank the tone knob almost maxed. Use your neck pickup. Gain fairly low, maybe about 9-10 o'clock. Level wherever you need it. Add some moderate reverb and you're there.

With these settings I can get some really cool lead tones, Gilmour-ish type stuff. I'm using a tonewicker big muff. I honestly couldn't live without it.

Hmm. I wouldn't run the tone too high. You may get a fizzy sound if you do. I put my tone around 11 o'clock. I also wouldn't max out the sustain, so as not to lose too much note definition. I put that around 1 or 2 o'clock.

I often don't run the Big Muff by itself, because it can sound somewhat stiff at times all alone. I often put a TS-808-like pedal ahead of it and use them in tandem. I've found that teaming the Muff with other effects really loosens it up. Delay, chorus, or overdrive are what I use for that.

If you click on some of the tracks in my sig, you can hear that I'm using a Big Muff on all of them at separate times, but never by itself. For instance, in the first track, I use a bunch of other effects with it, like echo, overdrive, pitch shifting and chorus*. Well into the second track I do a blazing solo using a TS-808 into a Big Muff. By itself, I don't think the Big Muff is well suited for playing that fast.
You may find that you like the pedal better when you stack it with other stuff. While I do that a lot, I think the Big Muff sounds pretty cool by itself, too.

All this said, I don't really use my Big Muff much these days. I've since replaced it on my pedal board with a Wampler Triple Wreck, which can do way more stuff, as well as do the whole fuzz thing really well.

* For the first track, it was my goal to get a video game-ish sound (just with waaay more power and ooomph). Like something from the Sega Genesis, and the Big Muff was useful for that. An example of said sound:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8f-NL6Wtbo

IMO, no two people use a Big Muff in the same way. When you consider all the component variations on the originals, that makes it more of a moving target (all the people trying to ape the tones of their favorite Muff user).

Most Muffs have more than enough gain, so diming the Sustain (or fuzz) control is pointless, IMO. The saturation and harmonics simply become too strong for playing anything other than stoner music, punk, or just super aggro noise infested, feedback laden sounds.

The Fuzz Star has 2N5088 transistors in it, so that puts it towards the end of the spectrum of "higher gain Muff." The toggle is also subtle on the FS, but if you play with it in conjunction with the fuzz and tone controls, you should be able to tweak to something in your liking (I hope!).

The tone control setting becomes partly dependent on the Sustain/fuzz setting. Many Muffs compress heavily early on, so some like to counteract that by pushing the tone control towards the treble side. As the Sustain/fuzz gets increased, you get the saturation and treble response that lots of folks like, but it often requires cutting back the tone control.

I refer to there being a *sweet spot* with the tone setting, but you probably won't find it until you settle on a Sustain/fuzz setting that you want, first.

The FS also uses a linear taper level control, so unity gain is really low on the dial, especially at one of the toggle settings. If you exceed unity gain with a Muff, it can sound harsh IMO. If you are under unity gain, a Muff will "get lost" oftentimes. Bottom line there is that it is trickier than a lot of folks realize, ensuring that you have actual unity gain. The scooped mids tone circuit makes it a bit harder to determine as well.

Bottom line - there are no cookbook settings. A Muff isn't that type of pedal IMO. Simply introducing a tone control to a fuzz causes this. I simply have not witnessed two people setting a Muff up the same way, except for maybe punk kids that dime the Sustain and match each other's tone setting.

By itself, I don't think the Big Muff is well suited for playing that fast.

If two capacitors are changed, it really shines for that.

All of the stock signal caps in a Muff (not counting the tone circuit ones or "clipping band" ones) are .1uF.

If the two .1uF caps that come before and after the Sustain control are swapped with .01uF caps, it simply excels for tight/harmonic/hard rock/fast solo stuff.

My #1 Muff scratchbuild has those two caps in it, and it blows away every other pedal I own for those uses. I simply favor it over all other distortion pedals in a similar category. And - the cap swaps indeed turn it into a distortion pedal as opposed to a fuzz.

Thanks for weighing in, everyone, that was a wealth of good info! And, .011, I really appreciate your BM expertise, so, bearing your advice in mind, I'm off to find the sweet spot on my Fuzz Star! :-)

I'd like to add that, in my opinion, BM's sound much better when paired with a TS clone that has the gain dialed down.

Thanks for weighing in, everyone, that was a wealth of good info! And, .011, I really appreciate your BM expertise, so, bearing your advice in mind, I'm off to find the sweet spot on my Fuzz Star! :-)

I dissected mine back in Dec of last year, when I had a little time to do so.

I posted my findings with pics in Burnt Fingers - here's the thread:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/burnt-fingers-diy-effects/304773-tweaked-biyang-fuzz-star-fun-pics.html

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/burnt-fingers-diy-effects/106118d1324349493-tweaked-biyang-fuzz-star-fun-pics-fs_rh_side_angle-jpg

I've since reverted the tone stack stuff back to stock, IIRC. The analysis also shows where to put the two smaller valued caps to tighten up a Muff to use it as more of a true distortion/OD, w/o the need to tandem it w/a TS or something as some folks have replied that they do. It's the pair of yellow caps in the pics that get replaced, if you might be interested, and can have someone do that for you (or do it yourself, but I don't want to assume).

The 2N5088 transistors could even be replaced with lower gain units since they are thru hole, and not SMT. IDK if it's worth the trouble for the average Muff user though.

Anyway, lots of potential just tweaking with the knobs & switch, and more potential if someone can put it under the knife. Those box caps actually make it easier to remove and replace versus other "slippery gumdrop" types.

It's okay not to like the Big Muffish sounds. I don't care for it either.

If two capacitors are changed, it really shines for that.

All of the stock signal caps in a Muff (not counting the tone circuit ones or "clipping band" ones) are .1uF.

If the two .1uF caps that come before and after the Sustain control are swapped with .01uF caps, it simply excels for tight/harmonic/hard rock/fast solo stuff.

My #1 Muff scratchbuild has those two caps in it, and it blows away every other pedal I own for those uses. I simply favor it over all other distortion pedals in a similar category. And - the cap swaps indeed turn it into a distortion pedal as opposed to a fuzz.

Hmm. That's really good to know. Thanks for that tip!

Hmm. That's really good to know. Thanks for that tip!

Here is a video of the DiceWorks Fuzz Epic. The builder (Erich Holden) combines the Muff circuit with a Tonebender , but there is one called the Muff Diver that doesn't have the two-in-one format, for example.

The DiceWorks "C" switch one changes the pair of caps that I mentioned. The "C" switch two changes the tone circuit caps to give the mid bump for the "Gilmour sound." The switch two requires that the two tone caps be "reversed" - the treble cap is used in the bass circuit portion, and the bass cap is used in the treble circuit portion. Treble cap - tiny .0039uF. Bass cap - big .01uF.

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...Jump ahead to 2:47 to hear what it sounds like when just the two caps are swapped with "C" switch one.

I'm personally content with just the sound of the 1st switch in "C mode," as I like the stock Muff tone control for distortion sounds. So I just hardwire in the pair of .01uF caps to replace the stock .1uF caps, before and after the Sustain control. It's that simple.

If you like the sound of switch two, it is really more like a supercharged TS, since it chops off ALL of the bass and bumps up the mids. I think it can sound a little thin with single coils, but apeing the Gilmour tone is obviously pretty appealing. And by changing 4 caps, you can get it w/o switches.

I put everything (The Volume, Tone, and Sustain) at 2 O'clock. I've also learned that it's best to run it into a dirty amp, if the amp is clean is sounds very fizzy, trebly, and thin. A dirty amp get you a nice fat monster tone. I use a big muff w/tone wicker: it's my most used pedal by far.

I just used my FS briefly today. Level and Fuzz/Sustain cut back to around 11:30, and tone control set to taste - just enough to get the top end content interesting. This was with a crystal clean Super Reverb.

The knocked out mids with the stock Muff tone stack are surreal with an amp like a SR or bigger, because it will move the low end, and the treble won't go to pot. That said, it's not for everyone. IMO, a bit more volume is in order, as in gigging volume. And many folks simply won't find that appealing! If there isn't a 2nd guitarist in the band, the sound man will probably have some hard complaints....:mad:

you might try a real muff. . .i love mine, lots of good tones and never any problems. i am fussy about fuzzes, most of them leave me cold.

check out the Big Bass Muff on youtube, great sounding pedal. here's just one of several demos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cDTyXjp_Cc

I have 2 real Big Muffs, one is current and one is from the mid to late 70s -- not sure which, it's packed away somewhere. Just never bonded with that sound. I love Fuzz Faces and some other kinds of fuzzies because the dynamics and timbre of the note change over its duration, whereas the brick style compression of the BM always left me feeling a bit fatigued after awhile. However...

I am finding the Biyang Fuzz Star to be a somewhat different animal. For $50 you cannot go wrong! I've been playing with it and I'm thinking I *just might* find some use for it.

Thanks for the latest info, 11 Gauge, I'm off to tweak some more.

And thanks to *everyone* who has responded, I learn something from all of you! :-)

...the brick style compression of the BM always left me feeling a bit fatigued after awhile. However...

I am finding the Biyang Fuzz Star to be a somewhat different animal. For $50 you cannot go wrong! I've been playing with it and I'm thinking I *just might* find some use for it.

I think the little 3-way toggle actually helps in this case. I usually hate toggles as they seem like a crude afterthought with many pedals, especially dirt boxes - you get one good setting and others that you never use (IMO).

Anyway - go back to my Burnt Fingers thread when you get a chance. Even if the FS in stock form is somewhat usable, there are two little "treble transient smoothing" caps that can be added, and all you have to do is take off the bottom cover and carefully tack them to the solder side of the pedal.

Those two little caps can make a Muff a LOT smoother. Here's a pic again, but do go check the BF thread for specifics on the caps.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/burnt-fingers-diy-effects/106122d1324349517-tweaked-biyang-fuzz-star-fun-pics-fs_smoothing_caps-jpg

Use the DC jack location to help you determine where the caps have to go. The little "221" cap goes across the two end lugs of the level pot.The little "102" cap goes from the middle lug of the tone pot to a ground solder point on the circuitboard. Both of them just bleed off some treble to make the treble response much more pleasing and less fatiguing.

A little zap of a soldering gun will attach them, and if they sound bad, they are easily removed.

BTW - 221 = 220pF & 102 = .001uF (or 1000pF).

My suggestion would be to get an OD with a mid hump (TS, etc.) and run it into the Fuzz Star... to my ears, Muffs tend to sound better dirtying up an already hairy tone than they do straight into a clean amp. Plus the TS's bumped mids would fix some of the scooped-ness that sometimes buries the BMP in a live mix.

I keep my sustain pretty low, season to taste with the volume. It's not for everybody though. You may just not get on with it.



And that's ok!




(BM113, if you're reading this, uhh, I'm just kidding! Of course Big Muffs are for everyone!)

I keep my sustain pretty low, season to taste with the volume. It's not for everybody though. You may just not get on with it.

And that's ok!

(BM113, if you're reading this, uhh, I'm just kidding! Of course Big Muffs are for everyone!)

Lol