Electro Harmonix Ram's Head Big Muff Pi Distortion Fuzz Sustainer Pedal

Product Information

V2 "VIOLET" RAMS HEAD BIG MUFF PI / LYLE DISTORTION SUSTAINER / MARVELTONE DISTORTION SUSTAINER / GUILD FOXEY LADY - The fourth variant of the V2 circuit, and first of the so-called "violet" Big Muffs, due to the violet colored ink used. Most of these had violet, blue, or purple ink, and some very rare units were red. Arguably, the schematic shown above could also be said to be the first violet Big Muff, as it is nearly identical other than the collector resistors, but that version did not appear in as many Big Muffs with the blue or violet ink. V2 Ram's Head Big Muff - Clipping cap values ranged from .047uF, .1uF, .12uF, and 1.0uF clipping caps. That is one reason why there is not really a definable difference in a Ram's Head Big Muff and a Triangle, other than the enclosure. They both spanned the same wide range of possible sounds. You will find the same range on the Guild Foxey Lady version of the V2. The Russian Muffs are coveted by bassists and heavy players for their big, boosted low end. They are very smooth and have slightly less gain than the other Muffs. If you’re worried that a vintage Russian has some special unobtanium in it, don’t be. These circuits are identical to the 90s versions. Russian Big Muffs - The high pass resistor value was almost always 22k high pass resistors, creating heavy but smooth bass with the mids scoop frequency boosted a bit.

This variant includes all the same deluxe features as the Sovtek version but uses the NYC muff as its circuit blueprint. It just comes down to which base model you prefer. TRIANGLE BIG MUFF PI - This is one of the common circuit variants, from around 1971, easily identified by the large green capacitors used. It seems to be the fourth circuit variant for the V1. The low pass filter cap at C10 in the input stage was omitted, likely because of a shortage of 500pF caps during that production run. The 10k input resistors at R19 and R12 were reduced to 8.2k, and remained this way on most V1 variants that came later. This boosted the gain into the clipping stages, giving a bit more drive and crunch. Most of the Big Muffs I have seen with this same circuit variant had .1uF caps where my V1 of this variant uses .12uF. The same circuit was also used in the Guild Foxey Lady OEM version. Matthew Holl of Wren and Cuff is a Muff expert, and the Caprid is his tribute to the coveted early 70s Ram’s Head Muffs. He referenced four versions of the circuit and combined what he believed to be the best parts of each to create this replica. Even the circuit board and the enclosures are the exact same design as the classic versions. It also happens to look just incredible. David probably own several so-called triangle Big Muffs but there are no reports on him using one during the Floyd days. However, one is seen on top of the Pete Cornish 2006 All Tubes MkII pedal board during the last leg of the On an Island tour, between May and August 2006. The pedal was connected via send/return looped with a T-Rex Replica echo. Possibly used for Echoes where both pedals needed to be engaged simultaneously. Pete Cornish P1 Another highly versatile od/distortion/fuzz, the Shigeharu is capable of everything from punchy overdrive to full on IC Muff destruction. Holding down the momentary Havoc foot switch engages a spitty upper octave for maximum chaos.VERSION 3 BIG MUFF PI - Approximately 10 circuit variants exist, each made in extended manufacturing runs. Shown on left: A vinatge V1 Big Muff circuit with ceramic capacitors, carbon composition resistors, and NPN FS36999 Silicon transistors. Shown on right are two other vintage Silicon transistors used in Big Muffs, the PNP 2N5087 and NPN BC239

The exact circuit also appeared around 1976 in the V2 Big Muff enclosure, without the power filtering, tone bypass switching, and with different transistors. It was used in guitarist J Mascis' (Dinosaur jr) favorite Ram's Head Big Muff. The exact V3 tone bypass schematic later became the standard BMP circuit in the V6 Big Muff Pi, so the Mascis Muff is essentailly a V6. That may be why J likes that particular V2 so much. None of his other V1 and V2 BMP's have this circuit. V2 Rams Head Big Muff - The high pass resistor value started with 33k, which was the most common value. 22k was the second most used, but there were also some variants that used 39k. A peek at the circuit reveals few overt clues about how the new Ram's Head differs from other mass-produced, four-transistor Big Muffs, or how it might achieve any special Ram's Headiness. There's four prominent but generic BC547 transistors arrayed on a through-hole printed circuit board. And if it weren't for the handsome reproduction of original Ram's Head graphics on the circuit board and enclosure, you'd have little reason to suspect it was special. Animals is interesting because on most of the lead parts the Yamaha is almost left completely out of the mix. However, for some solos, like the ones in the verse sections on Dogs, the Yamahas are mixed quite high almost leaving out the dry signal from the Hiwatts.For example, here are some general measurements from a few 1973 era violet Big Muffs, versus what the printed values show.