Op Amp Big Muff
MANUFACTURER
ElEctro-Harmonix
MODEL
op amp Big muff
CONTACT
www.EHx.com
PRICE
£75
PEDALBOARD
114
Guitarist november 2018
Tech Spec
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: Fuzz/
distortion pedal
FEATURES: True bypass
CONTROLS: Volume,
Sustain, Tone, Tone
Off/On switch,
bypass footswitch
CONNECTIONS:
Standard input,
standard output
POWER: 9V battery or
9V DC adaptor
(not supplied)
DIMENSIONS: 70 (w)
x 115 (d) x 54mm (h)
A
nother Big Muff Pi from Electro-
Harmonix? Well, why not? It’s the
company’s pedal after all, and they can’t
let those boutique companies who offer their
clones have all the fun. And that’s what this pedal
is about. This is one variant that EHX has so far
passed by for reissue, but it is one that has spawned
many clones due to its difference from normal
transistor-based Big Muffs and its association with
one particular band.
In 1978, EHX briefly switched the design of its
Big Muff Pi from its traditional four-transistor
circuitry over to a design based around the more
cost-effective op amps (integrated circuits)
and with one less gain stage. This particular
model, known as the IC (or ‘Version 4’ to Muff
aficionados) didn’t last long with only a few
thousand made and production soon passing back
to transistor circuitry. Now, that version may have
remained in obscurity were it not for the fact it was
used by Billy Corgan on the Smashing Pumpkins’
Siamese Dream album. This created a demand for
the vintage pedal that, in recent years, has been
met by various boutique versions, something that
doubtlessly influenced the original manufacturer
to get busy…
The nano-sized pedal sports the usual Big Muff
triumvirate of Volume, Tone and Sustain knobs but
also includes a switch that bypasses the Tone knob.
It delivers that typical Big Muff Pi combination
of fuzz and distortion, but the devil is in the detail
here. Compared with what you might get from a
typical transistor-based Big Muff, there’s a little
more coarseness to the sound, an underlying
grainy crunch that lends itself to grungy riffing and
thick ’n’ heavy chordal work. This is, of course, is
tempered by the tone knob, which at the clockwise
extreme gets a little too thin and nasty while being
a little woolly at the other. In between, though,
are the sweet spots where you can dial in the right
amount of edgy presence or instead go straight to
a no-nonsense sound that cuts through the mix by
flicking that Tone Bypass.
VERDICT
Those after that particular Smashing Pumpkins
experience will find it here, in a reasonably priced
compact pedal from the original manufacturer.
Anyone else who gives this pedal a roll will find
a solid source of edgy fuzzy distortion that lends
itself to all manner of heaviness.
Op Amp Big Muff
EHX discovers that a tweak its boffins did to the Big Muff
in 1978 is actually quite popular… so they’ve reissued it
Words Trevor Curwen Photography Joby Sessions
9
PROS
Recreation of a rare Big Muff Variant;
small pedalboard footprint; true bypass switching;
Tone Bypass switch
CONS
Nothing
ElEctro-Harmonix
GIT439.peds_elec.indd 114 04/10/2018 14:30