Electro-Harmonix Nano Big Muff Pi

TOTAL GUITAR FEBRUARY 2017
S
ome of the greatest
distorted guitar riff s and
licks ever were created
using the unmistakable
sound of fuzz. Marty Robbins’
guitarist Grady Martin is the
man credited with accidentally
discovering fuzz back in 1961,
when a dodgy preamp gave his
guitar the classic distorted tone.
Fast-forward a few years and
pedals that replicated the eff ect,
such as the Maestro Fuzz-Tone,
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff and
the Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face
were catching on with Keith
Richards, Carlos Santana and
David Gilmour and many others.
Fuzz has come a long way since
those early days, so here we’re
looking at four modern pedals
and the fuzzed-out craziness
you can wring that from each of
them. Ranging from smooth,
brass-like sustained notes to
shrill, teeth-grinding velcro fuzz
tones, it’s all here. Let’s dive in.
FUZZ PEDAL ROUND-UP
102
F
rom Kirk Hammett’s KHDK stable,
the Scuzz Box off ers two very diff erent
modes (Fuzz and Scuzz). Fuzz is much
like any germanium fuzz (think Hendrix-era
Fuzz Face), giving great dynamic tones that
clean up nicely with your guitar’s volume,
while the tone and deep knobs act more as
high- and low-cuts respectively. Where it
really comes into its own however, is on the
Scuzz setting. This gives you a gated velcro
fuzz tone with hint of octave/bit-crushed
eff ects, but never becomes thin and grating in
the top-end like some more extreme fuzzes
can. There’s also a buff er switch that’s really
handy for reducing interference when used in
conjunction with other pedals or long cables.
T
he Big Muff is the world’s best-known
fuzz pedal, and similar to its far bigger
relative, the Nano incarnation has three
controls: volume, tone and sustain. The Nano
does a great job of emulating the classic Big
Muff riff s, with that familiar scooped mid
sound, particularly when the tone is set past
12 o’clock – although this can make it
struggle to cut through live. That said, this
Nano has a quieter noise fl oor than its big
brother, making it useful for stacking with
other dirt pedals – a Tube Screamer or similar
will boost those mids back up. Compared with
the original, this holds up very well indeed.
KHDK Scuzz Box
HAMMETT-APPROVED DIRTBOX
Electro-Harmonix
Nano Big Muff Pi
THE BIG ONE’S LITTLE BROTHER
£169
£62
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FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
BEST BUY
AWARD
Words: Dan Wild-Beesley
TGR289.gear_pedals.indd 102 12/20/16 12:50 PM