Home › Forums › Help/Technical Questions › 1970s Little Big Muff bypass problem
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December 4, 2010 at 9:06 am #81052mikejmeehanMember
Hooray for me! First post. Current EH gear: Reissue Little Big Muff, 1970s Little Big muff, Memory Boy, Double Muff, nano muff.
Anyway…I just got the original 70s Little Big Muff. Sounds fantastic but when bypassed there is a HUGE volume drop (compared to just plugging the guitar stright in to my amp) and, if you listen closely, you can hear the fuzz faintly in the background. Does anyone know what the problem is? Do I have to live with it?? Do I just have to use a TB bypass pedal or convert it to TB??
Cheers
MikeDecember 4, 2010 at 2:52 pm #112885The EH ManModeratorIt’s not true-bypass so you could do that and it may take care of your problem.
December 6, 2010 at 7:30 pm #112918KartoonHeadMemberThis happens with nearly every ‘vintage’ pedal in the world. It’s do to with how the bypass switch is wired; the input is always connected to the effect input, even when bypassed, meaning half of your signal is going into the muff circuit when you’re not using it, and most likely ending up being flushed to ground with some leakage into the output (which you can hear).
Quick solution; wire it for true-bypass, or if you don’t know how to, take it to a professional. They’ll probably charge you about £15 for it as the switch for true-bypass is expensive, £5 on it’s own, so £15 for this modification is reasonable.
If you want to avoid opening it up you can always use an FX loop pedal (like the EHX Switchblade) this, shockingly, is cheaper to make yourself than it is to pay someone to mod the pedal for you, it will however take up more room on your board.
Your call!
Hope this helped.
December 6, 2010 at 8:47 pm #112922The EH ManModeratorQuote:If you want to avoid opening it up you can always use an FX loop pedal (like the EHX Switchblade) this, shockingly, is cheaper to make yourself than it is to pay someone to mod the pedal for you, it will however take up more room on your board.Your call!
Hope this helped.
The Switchblade isn’t a loop pedal, it’s an ABY box.
December 7, 2010 at 12:06 am #112925KartoonHeadMemberOh, you’re right about that, do EHX not do an FX loop pedal then? *hint hint*
December 7, 2010 at 10:38 am #112940The EH ManModeratorQuote:Oh, you’re right about that, do EHX not do an FX loop pedal then? *hint hint*Nope.
December 7, 2010 at 11:58 am #112941KartoonHeadMemberWell they should. I’ll put it in the ‘Idead/Suggestions/Feedback’ bit. Hopefully someone’ll get round to reading it.
December 7, 2010 at 12:47 pm #112945mikejmeehanMemberI’ve modeified it to truer bypass. Works fantastically, especially for for a 35 year old pedal. i have a little big Muff re-issue and it is nothing compared to it (althought I know it’s not intended to be a competitor). Huge.
December 7, 2010 at 1:00 pm #112946KartoonHeadMemberGlad to hear it! Any chance of getting some clips? I do love clips ^^
December 7, 2010 at 1:21 pm #112947The EH ManModeratorQuote:I’ve modeified it to truer bypass. Works fantastically, especially for for a 35 year old pedal. i have a little big Muff re-issue and it is nothing compared to it (althought I know it’s not intended to be a competitor). Huge.Depending on the year your vintage LBM was made, it could be an actual Big Muff with preset Tone and Sustain (4 transistors or 2 op-amps) or it could be a Muff Fuzz in a floor box (2 transistors or 1 op-amp).
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