Talk:Big Muff

Songs heard

I think we should put the artist first (alphabetically), then list any songs and description afterward. Right now the list is dirty and disorganized. If nobody objects, I'll fix this later. --Bakkster Man 17:31, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

Done. --Bakkster Man 22:27, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Name Dropping

It seems like a lot of the introductory paragraph is full of musicians who are simply a wikipedian's favorite, and not actually representative of artists who made the Big Muff popular. We should compile a list of the most influential artists to use the Big Muff and those who used it liberally, then prune the introduction. Maybe a History section would be better for a more comprehensive list of artists. --Bakkster Man 22:30, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Jimi Hendrix

The big muff was used by Jimi Hendrix right before he died. The creator of the big muff apparently let him try it out before it was released, and Jimi liked it so much that he planned to make another album using the pedal. Unfortunately he died before it could be done. So yes, Jimi Hendrix did use the pedal once, although he never got to record with it.

Also, the creator of the big muff (sorry his name escapes me at the moment) made the pedal trying to get that Jimi Hendrix tone. So Jimi was integral in the creation of the muff, even though people think he never used it.

Added information about Jimi using the big muff prototype.

wow, do you know what recordings he used this on? when you say "album", are you referring to the first rays of the new rising sun sessions? Joeyramoney 23:21, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

If you read above again, he did not use this on any recordings. He planned on using it but never got to. He tested a prototype of it, thats all.

The creator of the Big Muff Pi is Mike Matthews. DavidRavenMoon (talk) 15:56, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

I have read many, many articles both online and paper based, and the only "proof" that Hendrix ever used a Big Muff (or even knew they existed)seems to come from Mike Mathews lips. This is now getting repeated and repeated to the point it will be accepted as thruth. Mike Mathews is, of course, the single person most likely to benefit from this rumour. If wikipedia could generate further independant proof, it would be a great contribution of "rock history". Similarly Mathews has proof that Santana sent him a cheque, but I've never seem proof that Santana ever played (or received) his pedal

Jonathan F Dean - not logged in — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.254.158.36 (talk) 07:20, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

Difference?

Although the article shows pictures of both a "NYC re-issue" and the "Russian Sovtek" version, and mentions that bassists prefer the Russian one, it never once mentions the difference? Are they essentially the same thing, just one version is made in Russia since it can be made cheaper? (compare with the guitar industry, with Standard Fenders being made in Mexico and Squiers being made in east Asia) Or is there a real difference? (which would explain the bassist preference) --CannedLizard 06:18, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Explaining the differences between the two would probably be beyond the scope of the article and would venture into hardcore gearhead territory. The differences are primarily in construction. In the Russian version, the input and output jacks are plastic and are connected to a PCB board, whereas on the American versions the jacks are made of metal and are wired in a standard manner.

Further complicating matters is the fact that there are at least three and possibly more versions of the Russian Big Muff Pi, and construction details vary among the three versions. The reason bass players seem to prefer the Russian version is that it seems tonally somewhat harsher than the vintage or current American versions. Of course, it might also be that since metal bass players are more or less functionally deaf, it might sound all the same to them. Bass players also have to pay twice as much money as guitar players for strings, so they therefore have less cash available and prefer to buy the cheaper version.

Incidentally, THAT WAS A JOKE. The sonic difference between the vintage units, the modern American units and the Russian units is actually negligible to my ear. The Russian Big Muff does seem a bit harsher but not significantly so. I have been playing guitar for 30 years and actually owned a mid-70s Big Muff Pi, and to my ear the modern American-made units sound exactly like the "vintage" models, if not actually better.

happydog, who keeps forgetting his damn password

Name

Technically the pedal is called the "Big Muff Pi" - the large Greek letter pi on the case is part of the name, which was originally based on an obscene slang expression for a woman's genitalia.

The very first variation was called the Big Muff, the second was known as the Big Muff II, the third was the first variation to carry the Pi badge (because as you know, Pi is a little more than 3). The reissues are just most similar to the third variation. NIRVANA2764 21:41, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

Would a brief section about the name be appropriate to the main page? 64.171.68.130 20:37, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Absolutely, as long as we can find verify NIRVANA2764's claim above that the π is really Pi and that it was meant to mean "something a little more than 3". BTW, where I saw "Pi" in the text, I substituted π, since none of the photographed examples have "Pi" spelled out. --Theodore Kloba (talk) 18:43, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

I've never seen a Big Muff or Big Muff II, and I've owned the very first units on the market, when they were current, including the Guild Foxy Lady, which was identical to the Big Muff Pi. It was always called Big Muff Pi, and it's STILL called a Big Muff Pi. This included the army green Sovtek unit. The other units were the Muff Fuzz which plugged into the guitar like the LPB-1, and Little Muff which was a smaller floor unit. The joke is that this is a "fuzz box" and along with "muff pie" are both slang names for a woman's genitalia.

OK here's Mike Matthews' blog on the subject, and he shows version 1, which is the Big Muff Pi

http://electroharmonix.ronsound.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=45

See the large Greek letter Pi on the box?

And here's the Big Muff Museum: http://www.big-muff.net/ You can see that the Little Muff is also the Little Muff Pi.

So that should settle the name issue... it's Big Muff Pi and always was. DavidRavenMoon (talk) 16:16, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Should the article be renamed to Big Muff π? Starman1984 (talk) 16:51, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Versions

The article mentions "a large-box version of the Big Muff known as the Deluxe Big Muff PiThis version included an onboard compressor in addition to the standard Big Muff features. It was available in 2 versions: one with a BLEND switch and another with a SERIES/PARALLEL switch." The version with a Blend control is called the Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi, which is intended for use with bass guitar, and has gate and crossover features: http://www.ehx.com/products/deluxe-bass-big-muff-pi/product-photo The Deluxe Big Muff Pi for regular guitar comes with mid boost and gate features. Neither of these models have an onboard compressor as far as I know. http://www.bigmuffpage.com details all known models (about 30 different ones!). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Breun (talk • contribs) 20:31, 27 May 2016 (UTC)