EHX Big Muff 2

[BearBoy]

Not sure if there are any Big Muff fans on the board but EHX have been (very) busy releasing a whole load of variants of their "long lost" Big Muff 2 pedal.

There's an interesting video on the pedal's history that they released when the first version was announced last December:



In a nutshell, Bob Myers, who helped design the original Big Muff, came up with a design for a dual op-amp version in the late 1970s but it was never produced and the design was forgotten about until the JHS guys visited him whilst doing research for a book on EHX and found his designs in his garage and decided to see what it would sound like.

First up was a "big box" version, produced in conjunction with JHS Pedals:

Big Muff 2.jpg (70.17 KiB) Viewed 184 times

This was quickly followed by a smaller version in EHX's "Nano" case:

Big Muff 2 Nano.jpg (37.03 KiB) Viewed 184 times

They then added a Bass version to the range, adding a blend control and a bass boost switch:

Bass Big Muff 2.jpg (51.57 KiB) Viewed 184 times

Next came a Tone Wicker version, adding a switch to bypass the toe control and a tone wicker switch, that adds extra high end:

Big Muff 2 TW.jpg (54.08 KiB) Viewed 184 times

Lastly, for now, they've announced a Deluxe Bass version with extra tone shaping controls, XLR DI output and a noise gate:

Deluxe Bass Big Muff 2.jpg (93.53 KiB) Viewed 184 times

Has anyone tried any of these out? Quite fancy the Tone Wicker version (I've got the Tone Wicker version of the original Big Muff and find the wicker control really useful for getting it to stand out better in a mix).

[fuzzbuzzfuzz]

They certainly look very tempting. 
(There was also a special edition of the big box in Yellow for Third Man Records).

If I didn't already have a complement of Muffs I would be tempted with the smaller green Bass unit (clean blend!) or the Tone WIcker mid-size. Both look aesthetically pleasing and offer a little more than a standard machine. 
My only caveat is I have this insatiable urge to change those rather dull black knobs for others (usually cream) and in the past I've managed to pull the entire innards of the potentiometers right out. Those EHX knobs are hammered on tight! Quite a pain to fix, and I'd say it's a 50/50 roulette as to whether they break.

The other complication is the absolute smorgasbord of clones and variations out there and not always for so much more, I believe Stomp Under Foot already have also released their take on this circuit. They also have some fabulous old OEM Muff variation circuits, such as the ELK, Hohner etc.
I would also add I found the demos to not be that fulfilling of the new "2" circuit, a bit harsh perhaps?

Did you end up buying one?

[BearBoy]

(There was also a special edition of the big box in Yellow for Third Man Records).

So there was! Here's a picture for the sake of completeness:

Big Muff 2 TMR.jpg (56.19 KiB) Viewed 121 times

If I didn't already have a complement of Muffs I would be tempted with the smaller green Bass unit (clean blend!) or the Tone WIcker mid-size. Both look aesthetically pleasing and offer a little more than a standard machine.

Yeah, those two both look great imo and both have some interesting to add sonically. The blend would be useful but I really like the extra high end the wicker gives on the normal Big Muff so am tempted to opt for that one.

My only caveat is I have this insatiable urge to change those rather dull black knobs for others (usually cream) and in the past I've managed to pull the entire innards of the potentiometers right out. Those EHX knobs are hammered on tight! Quite a pain to fix, and I'd say it's a 50/50 roulette as to whether they break.

Luckily I don't share the urge to swap them out on my EHX pedals Have you got any pictures of your modified ones? Although maybe I'd be better off not seeing them in case they give me any ideas...

I would also add I found the demos to not be that fulfilling of the new "2" circuit, a bit harsh perhaps?

I've found the demos to be something of a mixed bag tbh (hence wondering if anyone here had picked one up). Harsh is fine if it's the right kind of harsh But some have been a bit underwhelming.

Did you end up buying one?

Not yet but pretty sure I'll try the Tone Wicker version at some point.

[bigtone23]

The amount of Muff circuits out there is quite overwhelming!
I'm sure y'all are familiar with this site https://www.bigmuffpage.com.
I have a V2, V4 and V6. These three span a pretty good sweep of the Muff thing. A BM2 would be different from mine, but I'm not sure I'll get one unless it crosses my path for a great deal someday.