The Big Muff sound is more familiar to you than you might expect, and despite its silly name, this thing packs a punch.
The Big Muff line of guitar pedals is a fuzzbox guitar pedal produced in the heart of New York City by the company Electro-Harmonix. There have been a few different iterations of this signature fuzzbox pedal, some of whom were played by legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Santana, and more.
But now a new Big Muff pedal is out, and it’s fantastic on more than just guitars! We actually included it on our list of best pedals for analog gear which you can check out after reading this.
What Is The Electro-Harmonix J Mascis Signature Ram’s Head Big Muff P
The latest iteration of this guitar pedal is the Electro-Harmonix J Mascis Signature Ram’s Head Big Muff PI made together with legendary guitarist J Mascis.
This thing packs a punch one more than just guitars.
This small piece of hardware pays homage to the sonic palette of J Mascis and is based on featuring equal parts highly sought-after Violet Ram’s Head Muff pedal; the thickness and sonic clarity of this pedal are second to none.
Who Is This Pedal For?
While it may be evident that the target market for a guitar pedal like this would be guitar players, more and more music producers and synth enthusiasts have been investing in boutique guitar pedals to run their synths through.
Because in a world where all music producers have access to the same plugins, having just a few boutique effects like this guitar pedal can drastically separate your sonic palette from the rest of the producers.
And when I ran my Korg MS-20 through this thing, the distortion from the pedal and the resonance from the synth made one of the most beautiful filter sweeps I’ve ever heard come out of my studio.
Simply put, this pedal is a powerhouse for all musicians and shouldn’t only be in the studios of guitarists.
Is This Pedal Right For You?
This can always be a challenging and subjective question to ask.
Guitar pedals can always be a dangerous road to walk down simply because they often come at a price that is affordable enough to justify but expensive enough to add up quickly. So it’s prudent to consider which ones you want to include in your arsenal.
I’ll say this straight up; this is not a soft pedal; at least regarding sound and tonality. And the fact that there isn’t a dry/wet knob like there is in a plugin means that you have to commit to this sound or leave it off your rack.
That being said, if you’re looking for fuzzy and gristle distortion to add to your FX sweeps and bass lines, this pedal is perfect for including in your studio (whether you’re a guitar player, synth player, or whatever).
SPECIFICATIONS On This Pedal
Circuit: Analog
Bypass: True Bypass
Audio: Mono
Power Supply: 9V battery included (optional 9.6VDC-200mA power adapter not included)
Dimensions (in): 4.5 x 2.75 x 2.1
Current Draw: 2mA
Year Released: 2022
UPC: 683274012438
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
