Little Big Muff Review

Housed in a compact, die-cast box with smooth corners, The Little Big Muff presents the classic, true-to-heritage, 1970 tone that falls somewhere between the current U.S. Big Muff and the Russian Big Muff. Its long, silky smooth sustain proves that celebrated sound can indeed come in small packages.

Ease of Use:	8.8
Sound:	9.4
Reliability:	10
Impression:	9
Overall rating:	9.3
Users rating:	8.9
Comments:	22

overall: 8.8

Featured review by: timi_hendrix, on august 18, 2007

Price paid: $ 109.8

Purchased from: GAK

Ease of Use: This thing's pretty simple, three knobs, Sustain (equivalent to gain, essentially), Tone, and Volume. It takes a fair bit of tweaking to get the tone you want, but all the sounds you get out of this are usable. The pedal gets an 8 for this because a small change in the tone knob's position in particular can make a big change to the sound. // 8

Sound: I use an Ibanez SZ520QM with a swineshead venom bridge pickup into a Laney VC50 or Epiphone Valve Jr amp, with some other effects. You can get some very diverse sounds from this, it's deceptively versatile considering it only has two knobs to alter the tone. It goes from lo-fi, subtle fuzz with the dials low, to completely mental fuzz with the dials set high (though I find the latter tone pretty much unusable). I've used this as a booster for my Valve Jr before and it added a nice fuzzy edge to the amp's Overdrive. I personally run this through the clean channel of my Laney with the sustain dial set to 3 o'clock and the tone dial set to 2 o'clock for an aggressive, spitting fuzz sound. It sounds really fat and huge when playing rhythm, and I can get a great wailing lead sound (especially when I use my wah with it). This unit is supposedly voiced somewhere between the American and Russian units, I wouldn't know as I've never tried the other two. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This pedal is just a metal box with a circuit inside. It could survive being thrown out of the window. The switch isn't as durable as those found on some of my other pedals, but it's a very reliable pedal and has never cut out or broken on me. The addition of a standard 9 volt adaptor jack gives it a big advantage over the Russian and American versions, as does the smaller size. // 10

Impression: I think this is a brilliant piece of equipment, however if you don't like fuzz then you won't like this, there's no getting around that. I play hard rock music with my band, and anything from jazz funk to thrash outside of that. This pedal won't do everything, in fact it's kind of a niche pedal, as fuzz doesn't really suit most genres. I use it for a couple of my band's songs and it sounds fantastic, a nice contrast to a conventional distorted or overdriven sound. If it were stolen or lost I'd definitely buy another one, just because I love it so much. I think the pedal's fine as it is - it's a fuzzbox, does what it says on the tin. There are other fuzzes worth looking into - Notably the Zvex Fuzz Factory - but for the price this is a hard fuzz to beat. I'm giving this an 8 just because of it's fairly limited usage for some people. But it what it does do, it does brilliantly. // 8

overall: 9

Reviewed by: blessthefall15, on november 10, 2009

Price paid: $ 79

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: It is really easy to use. Only 3 knobs, volume, tone, sustain. Volume obviously controls the output level of the sound. Tone is essentially a treble boost/reduce and you can get a huge range of sounds with this one little knob. Then the sustain knob controls drive/sustain. // 9

Sound: It sounds great. I chose this because I can get everything from a bassy deftoneish distortion, to pop punk sounds, to a more gritty metal tone some what like a7x. It has a huge range of what sounds you can get. With it turned on it isn't very noisy at all when I'm not playing, but it is distortion so like most pedals there will be a slight fuzz in the background but nothing to worry about. // 9

Reliability & Durability: It is built like a tank! This pedal is made out of some sturdy metal and it doesn't look or feel like it could break.. It is very dependable, I've had it a while and nothing has gone wrong with it even after a couple shows. I would use it without a back up. The pedal it's self doesn't seem like it will ever break just make sure to have extra batteries or an ac adaptor. // 10

Impression: This pedal is awesome, there is better out there but for what I wanted (a relatively cheap distortion pedal that can get a wide range of tones.) it is hard to beat. It's a beast and seems like it could never break. Even the knobs are high quality and they're put on real tight so you don't have to worry about those getting messed up. Overall I liked it but it depends on what you want.. This pedal is better for more than one genre if you want something that can vary tone wise and keep it's distortion. How ever if you only play metal, or only classic rock or blues or some other genre I would look for something more specific to your playing. // 8

overall: 9

Reviewed by: Mitchell?, on january 27, 2009

Price paid: $ 70

Purchased from: Musicians Friend

Ease of Use: This pedal is pretty basic, with three knobs: Volume, Tone, and Sustain (gain/drive/fuzz). Big Muff's are finicky pedals, and you have to have a tone in mind when you sit down with it, or chances are you'll come out a funky tone you weren't aiming for. The tone knob is very important to what fuzz or dist. tone you get. The main to keep in mind with any Big Muff is that it's a bassy, kind've muddy, raunchy fuzz/dist. You'll need get a refined, bright OD, or normal dist. tone out of it. The Big Muff only makes Big Muff tones. For this pedal, I only mess with one knob most of the time, the tone knob. I keep the Sustain knob maxed, or nearly there, but I mess with the tone knob to shape the tone of the fuzz I want. Turn it back for a mega thick bassy fuzz, or turn it up for a sharp, biting fuzz. // 8

Sound: This pedal is meant for one tone, which is your classic Big Muff fuzz/dist. I use it with a PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow (mahogany body, two humbuckers) in front of a Vox AC15. Turn the tone down for a bassy, thumpin' fuzz, or crank it up for a harsher, spitting fuzz/dist. tone. Great rhythm fuzz tone with the tone at somewhere around noon and the Sustain knob at about 3 'o clock. You'll get a very sweet lead fuzz tone with the Sustain knob cranked and the tone a bit past noon. This pedal does have a bit of noise, but it doesn't affect the sound, and it's not even noticeable unless you're looking for it.

I got this pedal for a balls-to-the-wall fuzz/dirt tone that works for all sorts of things. The Big Muff just screams attitude, and for that reason it works in any situation that calls for rock n' roll, from classic rock, to hardcore. The Big Muff has a classic tone that will add to your arsenal, and it will add to any harder genre of music. I use this with a Fender MIM J bass for a sweet bass fuzz tone too. It works great for bass, but you have to turn back the tone knob to get more low-end. It's super sweet for bass, and in my opinion it works just as well as a bass fuzz as it does as a guitar fuzz. // 9

Reliability & Durability: The Little Big Muff is in a die-cast enclosure, and it's tough as nails. I've beaten the crap out of mine, and it's still running just as well the day I got it. I've actually spilled a whole can of Orange Fanta on it (yum) and it survived, miraculously. I would gig with this pedal without a backup for sure. // 10

Impression: Overall, I'm impressed with this pedal. It's just got this tone that screams at you. It's full of attitude, so it'll do it in any harder genre of music. I use the Little Big Muff for classic rock, to hard rock, to Indie, to hardcore. It fits in really well in just about any form of rock. My first Little Big Muff was stolen, so I've actually already replaced it. I'm on my second one, and glad that I bought it. I compared this to the fullsize Big Muff Pi, but really, they sound the same. Honestly. I needed the smaller enclosure of the Little Big Muff, which is why I bought the Little Big Muff, but I would buy the Big Muff Pi just for the added voodoo of the huge enclosure and the mega-sized knobs. // 9

overall: 10

Reviewed by: clashcityrawkr5, on june 10, 2008

Purchased from: Musicians Friend

Ease of Use: The electro harmonix xo line of small compact di-cast pedals are some of the most simple pedals to use. With a sustain(distortion) tone and volume pedal it is extremly easy to work and you can get so many different sounds out of it. It can't get any simpler for a distortion pedal to have 3 knobs. Extremely easy to dial in the right kind of sound you want. // 10

Sound: I run this pedal inbetween my LTD EC-1000 VHB with seymour duncans and my Vox AD30VT. This pedal is one of my favorites it is always on my board. It has a slightly different sound from the USA and Russian big muffs, kind of like a mix between the two. The distrtion can go from a crunchy AC/DC Overdrive to full out Hendrix fuzz. Good for White Stripes and Silversun Pickups stuff. Can sound just like Jack when used with my Micro POG. The effects never sound small or fake. I always keep the volume all the way up. I can use it with an already distorted signal to get a little boost with the sustain at 0.Great Vintage sounds and sounds good with a wah for a nasty sound. It is a fuzz pedal not just regular distorition so it's not good for everything. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This thing is built like a tank I don't think it could ever break. I wouldn't gig with a backup but I would take a battery just in case. I don't expect it to ever break, but if it did Electro Harmonix has great customer support. I have played so many shows with this pedal and I constantly stomp on the Switch. The only thing I have ever had to do is replace batteries and tighten a nut around the switch. // 10

Impression: This effect is one of the ones that I get the most practical use out of. I use it for different classic rock sounds and it sounds awesome on a bass too. I would deffinantly buy another one if it was lost or stolen. Electro harmonix makes some of the best pedals out there today. This pedal has everyhthing you could need to control it, It is simple and easy and you can get tons of great sounds out of it. // 10

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: demoniacfashion, on april 07, 2008

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: The Little Big Muff is great! Although the knobs are a little misleading, they're easy to figure out. The volume knob is selfexplanatory. The tone knob selects the bassness or trebleness of your input, and teh sustain knob should really be called drive, gain, or dist. It is so easy to get whatever type of fuzz you want from this thing. // 9

Sound: I use the Little Big Muff with a Fender Champion 110 75W amp and a Epiphone G-310 / Fender Strat / Ibanez JS1000. I like this pedal because it's virtually noiseless, which is a big upside from the distortion I get from the amp. I think this is a given, but do not use the Little Big Muff while on the Overdrive channel unless you want to get some really shit sounding distortion. You can get anything from clear crunchy to muddy and messy tones from this thing. With the sustain knob turned to max, the distortion is soooo sweet and crunchy. I love to play early Metallica songs on it, like Seek and Destroy. // 10

Reliability & Durability: The Little Big Muff has a very solid yet light construction, and it can withstand almost anything. The only weak points are the plastic knobs, ESP. the tops, but they are only weak compared to the rest of the body. You need a sharp knife to even start doing some damage. // 10

Impression: I like to play metal, and this pedal can provide some sick, but not over the top, crunchy distortion; blues, which can be achieved with the sustain knob at about 3:00 and the tone knob at 1:00; classical: the reverb on my amp combined with the true bypass on the LBM are a great team; also, you can get some real nice Pink Floyd-esque smooth distortions from this, and some great southern rock tones. I have been playing about 2 1/2 years. I previously owned a Behringer FX1000 pedal, but the LBM is a huge step up from there. This little pedal simply rocks! // 10

Comments

[jenkins3303]

this review greatly influenced my decision on what pedal I wanted to buy. I bought it, and its one of the greatest pedals Ive ever used.

[Kai07]

^ seconded. traded in my Boss OS-2 for this baby. not giving it up. I would rather have a Big Muff though (not Little)

[Johnonon]

I prefer the little over the NYC reissue. It's a tad darker and more like an older big muff

[ikarian-pride]

i so want one!!

[Draugoth]

It's a great pedal for the cost, the common suggestion though, because it does not seem to give alot of treble, is to run an overdrive pedal through it. It wrks pretty well, just need to fumble with the knobs to get the right tone settng.

[God-touched-me]

jt got one

[shwilly]

God-touched-me wrote:

jt got one

Hmm, so Justin Timberlake's got a Little Big Muff? I should've guessed...

[Sonic Blast]

just out of curiosity... What are some examples of songs that would use fuzz? I have no experience with it.

[WhereArtEsteban]

Hendrix I believe had a Big Muff Prototype, when the White Stripes have a heavy distortion its a Big Muff. Neutral Milk Hotel's louder songs sounds like a Big Muff but thats just a guess. Steel Train's Jack Antonoff uses it in most of his solos on their new album Trampoline.

I bought a Big Muff last week, Honestly though I wouldn't go for the little one. The Big Muff is only like 15 bucks more I think and the fun of the big muff is it's big ass knobs.

[higherworlds]

examples of fuzz: queens of the stone age, rolling stones, fu manchu, white stipes, jimi hendrix, all the good artists

[rancidryan]

whats the difference between this and the bigmuff?

[SLD.Potato]

WhereArtEsteban wrote:
Neutral Milk Hotel's louder songs sounds like a Big Muff but thats just a guess.

No, Jeff Mangum achieved the sound by recording a guitar part, and then recording the signal again over and over again until it got really fuzzy.

Woo! I never knew that knowledge would come in handy!

[underground48]

I bought one of these a few months ago and it was a good pedal until I stepped on the button and it stopped working, But it provides great tones and kicks marshall amplification ass

[delos666]

rancidryan wrote:

whats the difference between this and the bigmuff?

yes,what's the difference between them...

[bass_monkey]

underground48 wrote:

I bought one of these a few months ago and it was a good pedal until I stepped on the button and it stopped working, But it provides great tones and kicks marshall amplification ass

How can a pedal kick an amps ass? :S

[jpk6044]

WhereArtEsteban :
Hendrix I believe had a Big Muff Prototype, when the White Stripes have a heavy distortion its a Big Muff. Neutral Milk Hotel's louder songs sounds like a Big Muff but thats just a guess. Steel Train's Jack Antonoff uses it in most of his solos on their new album Trampoline.

Dave Gilmour is also a noted Big Muff user.

[Fender_M1A]

This pedal is great, I love it. It is the defining characteristic of my tone. This an my Fender can get me all of the classic tones from the early 90s "grunge" scene, a la Mudhoney, (Early) Nirvana, Soundgarden. Great for stoner rock like Witch, The Sword, Priestess. It is impossible to not get a good tone out of this thing.

[Lopez72]

whats the difference between fuzz and overdrive?

if i want an AC/DC or Led Zeppelin sound, should i get this?

[dadudeguy]

fuzz > overdrive. well to me at least. fuzz is usually more...over the top. basically when you hear fuzz thats tho only word you can use to describe the level of didtortion and low-end clipping.

[xorg3]

rancidryan wrote:

whats the difference between this and the bigmuff?

the wiring is in a smaller case, making it more portable. that's the only real differince

[nirvanapwns]

Lopez72 wrote:

whats the difference between fuzz and overdrive?

if i want an AC/DC or Led Zeppelin sound, should i get this?

for AC/DC more of an OD but i think angus and malcom used hot tube amps but yeah OD so the sound is clean enough to hear every note clearly also for some led zep stuff but i think jimmy used a fuzz every now and then for some songs don't know for sure though

[rocknroll93]

i have a big muff clone, great pedal, even for blues, i use it for solos.