Favourite Big Muffs and other fuzzes for Jazzmasters?

[davidpggarrett]

I sold my Op Amp Big Muff reissue and replaced with Keeley Moon Fuzz. Wampler Ratsbane and Function f(x) Professional III tone bender clone are also in the arsenal. I still haven't got myself the Jazzmaster yet, though - Rickenbacker 360/12cw took out a big chunk of the budget!

[therizzla]

I've been really digging my Barber Exacta Fuzz with my Jazzmaster through either my Twin or YGM-3. It replaced the Arc Big Green on my board.

[distressed]

Ram's Head, Fuzz Factory, Mongoose.

[Gav Haus]

Wren and Cuff Garbage Face Jr is my current love. Bloody great.

[B.T.]

Baja Tech Da Moaf. Like if a Rat and a Big Muff had a baby.

[OffYourFace]

i moved this to effects

[hulakatt]

So, my W&C big box Caprid kinda got me back in to Muffs again, which I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with. I've always found them to sound amazing one day and absolutely horrible and unusable the next with no changes to any settings, on the amp or pedal, with no discernible reason? Humidity? Phase of the moon? Temperature? No idea. Anyway, as I said above, I ended up with a few more W&C muffs, sold all my SUF muffs and stumbled in to an absolute gem of a muff called the Otsola Sustainer! From the little information out there, Otsola mainly builds Tonebenders and Fuzz Faces with a Muff or two and the rare Small Stone for good measure. Very small builder from somewhere in Scandinavia I think. Anyway, even more than the W&C Muffs, this Sustainer, is dead stable and sounds the same every dang time I turn it on! It also doesn't sound really like a russian or triangle or ram's head but just kind of a really, really good general Muff, not sure exactly which circuit that is.

Edit: Looks like it's based on a Triangle Muff.

I've had it for a while now and am well past the honeymoon phase, even if it doesn't sound like it. I just realized I never mentioned it here and really thought I should, it's quite the Muff and worth tracking one down if you can.

[sal paradise]

So, my W&C big box Caprid kinda got me back in to Muffs again, which I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with. I've always found them to sound amazing one day and absolutely horrible and unusable the next with no changes to any settings, on the amp or pedal, with no discernible reason? Humidity? Phase of the moon? Temperature? No idea.

Funnily enough I’ve just put a green Russian back on my gigging board after a time without fuzz & I’m hating it. I feel exactly the same as you about big muffs. A couple of days ago I chanced upon a great deal on a wren & cuff small box violet caprid. Looking forward to that.

Most recently I’ve been enjoying the Lovepedal mkiii on my home board. I think it balances the fuzz face massiveness with slightly more gated typical tonebender sounds.

The others that I rotate around: square wave db mki bender, am sun face Bart (although I sold that to raise funds ) and a few Balls fuzzes. The recent Palestine charity fuzz is really cool.

I also ordered a zonk clone from square wave bd the other day, because fun. Not actually sure what I’ll use it for. Will keep me out of trouble of an evening making noise with that.

[hulakatt]

So, my W&C big box Caprid kinda got me back in to Muffs again, which I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with. I've always found them to sound amazing one day and absolutely horrible and unusable the next with no changes to any settings, on the amp or pedal, with no discernible reason? Humidity? Phase of the moon? Temperature? No idea.

Funnily enough I’ve just put a green Russian back on my gigging board after a time without fuzz & I’m hating it. I feel exactly the same as you about big muffs. A couple of days ago I chanced upon a great deal on a wren & cuff small box violet caprid. Looking forward to that.

People always talk about Fuzz Faces and Tone Benders and how temperamental they can be and kinda treat Muffs like they're super stable and that's rarely ever been my experience. The W&C ones are pretty stable for me so far and I have a few now.

I always feel like I'm supposed to love the Green Russians but I think that because I started playing in the 90's and they were on everybody's boards and they were just so damn cool! They sounded awesome (to me at the that time anyway) and they were the coolest looking pedals I had ever seen. The whole "built out of surplus russian tank parts" mythology didn't hurt either. I just couldn't afford one and when I could, I got a brand new black russian, not knowing there was a difference and I hated it. It died only a few months later anyway and I've maintained a very low opinion of them ever since, despite their recent popularity.

[OffYourFace]

that's weird, I've never encountered an unstable BM... except for my '75 Rams Head that I used to have. But that was due to solder joints breaking.

They always sound the same to me, good or bad.

I have two BMs left. One is my TYM Reverse graphic. It's based on a V6 but sounds way better than any V6 I've heard. It's got some good upper mids that cut thru but still sounds fat. You can palm mute and get tight rhythm sounds with it too. I love it.

The other I made with a PCB that our Admin Jay designed. I built it based on my old 73 RH with some interesting transistors I got years ago. They are Motorola 2N5089s with a white dot on top and red, green and white stripes on the back. Idk anything about them but they sound amazing. It's my favorite BM. The Tym is a close 2nd, it's just slightly different.. more gain I think whereas the DIY one is more "amp-like".

[B.T.]

I always feel like I'm supposed to love the Green Russians but I think that because I started playing in the 90's and they were on everybody's boards and they were just so damn cool! They sounded awesome (to me at the that time anyway) and they were the coolest looking pedals I had ever seen. The whole "built out of surplus russian tank parts" mythology didn't hurt either. I just couldn't afford one and when I could, I got a brand new black russian, not knowing there was a difference and I hated it. It died only a few months later anyway and I've maintained a very low opinion of them ever since, despite their recent popularity.

The early green one with the big silver stomp switch and the “civil war” Russian made ones were really good. I mistakenly sold my green muff only to want another a few years later.
Ended up getting the black one thinking they were the same just in a different enclosure. They were not, and I immediately returned it. I still have the wooden box the green one came in though so I got that going for me which is nice.

[Jonesie]

So, my W&C big box Caprid kinda got me back in to Muffs again, which I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with. I've always found them to sound amazing one day and absolutely horrible and unusable the next with no changes to any settings, on the amp or pedal, with no discernible reason? Humidity? Phase of the moon? Temperature? No idea.

Funnily enough I’ve just put a green Russian back on my gigging board after a time without fuzz & I’m hating it. I feel exactly the same as you about big muffs. A couple of days ago I chanced upon a great deal on a wren & cuff small box violet caprid. Looking forward to that.

I had one of the violet caprids, full size though, it didn't last long. It had a really sizzly top end that I didn't love, and if I turned the tone knob down enough to dial it out it was just mud.

I got a Vick Audio 73 Ram's Head Fuzz, which, as you likely guessed, is a clone of a Ram's Head muff, but it has a three way mids switch. Scooped / Flat / Boosted. It sounds pretty good, but I still don't love it, especially with my Walrus ACS-1 Headphone amp, it just overpowers it entirely.

I've been enjoying my MXR Classic 108 fuzz way more in the "blow it all up" fuzz position. Gives a good wall of fuzz, still has midrange and actually cleans up with a volume knob, should I want to. With the buffer knob I can go from a woofy fuzz to a fizzy splattery one too.

[Dr Tony Balls]

I dont remember if i've posted this here BUT.....A key to Big Muff enjoyment for some is getting rid of the standard tone control. Its a signature sound of the Big Muff circuit, but it can also be not the sound for everyone or can contribute to the guitar tone getting lost in the mix of other instruments. Its why EHX added the Tone Bypass to some Muffs in the 70s, later calling it "Tone Wicker" on 2000s models. Pete Cornish does this on his G2 Muffs replacing the typical BM tone control with a more basic treble roll off. I do a similar thin on the "Little Big" fuzzes I make, as well as the "PRF Sustainers" that were made for charity in 2020. It turns the muff into a more mid-focused high gain overdriver and is a nice alternative, imo.

[BlueMelody]

Jext Telez White pedal and the Acid Fuzz Sonic Boom really sound great w/ my Jazzmasters. As far as muffs, the Russian varieties pair particularly well w/ JM’s, I have a few old big boxes.

[sal paradise]

I had one of the violet caprids, full size though, it didn't last long. It had a really sizzly top end that I didn't love, and if I turned the tone knob down enough to dial it out it was just mud.

I got a Vick Audio 73 Ram's Head Fuzz, which, as you likely guessed, is a clone of a Ram's Head muff, but it has a three way mids switch. Scooped / Flat / Boosted. It sounds pretty good, but I still don't love it, especially with my Walrus ACS-1 Headphone amp, it just overpowers it entirely.

I've been enjoying my MXR Classic 108 fuzz way more in the "blow it all up" fuzz position. Gives a good wall of fuzz, still has midrange and actually cleans up with a volume knob, should I want to. With the buffer knob I can go from a woofy fuzz to a fizzy splattery one too.

Oh I should have known better than to expect the w&c to solve my big muff frustrations. It might just be time to accept that I can’t quite get on with them.

TBH, the mkiii & Fuzz face are perfect for me. Heavy enough& sound really alive. I’ve also got the FZ-2 for a gnarly sound that’s pretty easy to dial in tone-wise.

I’ve read a lot of good things about the MXR classic fuzz. They are smashing it right now with their range. I’d like to try one. But I need another fuzz like a hole in the head. I rarely ever use them in bands, but I just kinda love having lots around