Tonal comparison of different Big Muffs - link with CLIPS

[11 Gauge]

Alright, folks -

So there's endless discussion about what it takes to build a Muff clone (or mod a newer RI or Russian) to get it to sound "good like an original."

...I stumbled across this:

http://www.stompunderfoot.com/BIG_MUFFS.html

While it's not a scientific A/B/C/D/etc. test, and the builder (they are all clones) admits that there may be slight variations from the originals, it's at least cool to have an entire grouping with clips all on one page, all used with the same guitar/pickup/amp/speaker/recording device.

If you listen closely, you will realize that (IMO) over 80% of the differences that you're hearing are due to different tone stacks (that's ONLY two resistors and two caps). The other differences (IMO) are mainly attributed to different transistor gains. More gain = brighter tones, more defined distortion, etc. Lower gain = rounder, darker tones.

...In regards to transistor gain, LOTS of people get thrown thinking there's really specific and special gain values (measured as Hfe if you're checking transistor data sheets). On the contrary (IMO), silicon BJT's sound fairly similar through ranges of gain, especially when you throw in the Muff's two pair of clipping diodes. If you want darker/rounder, simply go with a gain of 400 or less, but not too low (2N222's are out, IMO). For more "standard" Muff tones, around 400-700 are fine. To really get things sustaining, cutting, and very tight, go with a gain of 900 or higher, although I personally like to keep the limit at around 1300. But transistor gain is typically very secondary, as the clips somewhat illustrate.

Either way, enjoy the clips. They were a really cool find, and serve as a good ballpark reference for anyone who's building a Muff clone and trying to "nail" a certain model. This guy did all of the work for you! (No affiliation).

EDITED TO ADD: Notice how much more treble the ram's head has in relation to the triangle. While you could probably use the exact same transistors, the rh's are driven a bit harder than the triangle's. Also notice that the triangle has more mids, and the bass is more pronounced. This is mainly due to the difference of ONE resistor value (IMO) - the treble resistor, which is 39K in the triangle, and 22K in the ram's head.

...Also notice just how similar the triangle, the green Russian, and the Mayo all sound fairly similar? The Mayo is very nice in how it's very heavily tweaked, IMO. That is a fantastic schematic to have.

Being curious, I went to the products page and checked out the Son of a Bee, and man does that sound like a nicely tweaked Suppa Tone Bender (basically Vox's Muff clone with WAY more loose fuzz and bass, by changing the diode type, and location of a pair of them).

I also really like the 3 knob Foxey Lady - very fuzzy! Mr. Matthews was on the right path from the beginning, IMO.

[metulmykul]

Haven't made any Muffs yet... Good reference point!

[micpoc]

Wanna have some fun? Play all the samples at the same time; I suggest staggering them so you get a musical round a la "Row row row your boat" effect.

Great link, thanks for posting.

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by micpoc

thanks for posting.

No problem. As an update, I had to mod one of my (too many) Muff scratchbuilds into the "Whipped Muff," which is essentially a Skreddy Mayo.

...While many of the variations from a stock triangle are slight, they all add up to a cool twist on it. I can see why people dropped outrageous amounts of money on that pedal. Biggest contributors to tonal difference:

- 47pF bleeder cap to ground right after tone stack

- slightly different than stock tone stack

- output cap taken from voltage divider on the collector of the "recovery" gain stage (a junction of a 8.2K and 2.7K resistor in place of just a 10K)

...You could probably do any variations with the rest of the circuitry as you please, but the above 3 components are key, IMO. Keep in mind that Skreddy claimed that special (now unobtainable) transistors were responsible for the Mayo tone, yet the sound clips were created with all clones of all of the Muff variations. Very telling, indeed.

I want to build a Foxy Lady next.

[11 Gauge]

The guy changed his link, to add his own offerings of triangle, violet RH, and civil war Russian - I don't mean to plug his wares, just give an updated link that has the "close to as cloned" as possible. The T, VRH, and CWR are the same clips as before.

http://www.stompunderfoot.com/MUFFS.html