Home › Forums › Help/Technical Questions › Please help! Problem with my Russian Big Muff

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  • March 31, 2010 at 6:09 am #80112
    Dub-T-123
    Member

    Hey guys. My name is Travis and I have had my Russian Big Muff for about a year and a half.

    I use my Muff with my Gibson SG and my VOX AC30 and it sounds awesome. The Muff is a huge part of my sound.

    So anyways here’s my problem. I plugged in my Big Muff the other day and it was making this really loud buzzing hum sound. When I touch the metal switch with my finger the sound changes a little bit but it’s still really loud. I opened the pedal up and I can’t see anything obviously wrong. The electronics in the pedal are too complicated for me to understand. I can change pickups and stuff but I can’t tell what’s wrong here. Also it’s really hard to clearly see anything the way the circuitboard is in there.

    Has anyone else experienced this problem? Does anyone know what it might be?

    I know you guys are probably thinking why doesn’t this guy just go buy another one because they’re pretty cheap or take it to a tech or something. I can’t really do this because I have NO money. I am kindof a starving musician. I scrounge and pinch pennies for my gear.

    If you guys could help me sort this out by myself that would be great. I’m really bummed because I love this pedal and it’s pretty important for my band.

    I can give you guys more information if you give me an idea of what you need to know. Sorry guys I’m not an expert on this stuff.

    Thanks in advance. I hope you guys can help me!

    March 31, 2010 at 9:56 am #108941
    The EH Man
    Moderator

    Sounds like a grounding problem. Have you checked the cables to and from the BMP?

    March 31, 2010 at 3:50 pm #108943
    B.Daws
    Participant

    Definitely a grounding problem. Make sure the wire that connects to the screw of the case hasn’t broken off or anything! Also in my experience the Russian Muffs can be a never ending hassle but are well worth it for their sound. Also people probably won’t be thinking “Why don’t you get another one?” because you know these pedals have been discontinued(you can obviously still get them but it may not be that way soon). Take some pics of the inside if you can, the board/wires/etc and maybe we can help you out some more. I have fixed two of these and modded my other one so I have some good hands on experience with them. Where are you from? Maybe we could work something out where you could ship it to me or something to fix it for free (other than shipping costs). I don’t mind helping anyone out who is starving due to chasing something they love!

    March 31, 2010 at 4:57 pm #108945
    SanquiFlerb
    Member

    It’s the grounding, there is a cable from the pcb that goes to one of the screws on the bottom. You must screw it (so you don’t need a soldering iron). Mine is dead silent. It’s great.

    March 31, 2010 at 4:58 pm #108946
    The EH Man
    Moderator
    Quote:
    It’s the grounding, there is a cable from the pcb that goes to one of the screws on the bottom. You must screw it (so you don’t need a soldering iron). Mine is dead silent. It’s great.

    The wire to the case is more for shielding, not grounding. Since the jacks are plastic there’s no ground connections made through the case.

    March 31, 2010 at 5:46 pm #108948
    SanquiFlerb
    Member

    Isn’t shielding and grounding the same? (well, at least now I know something)

    March 31, 2010 at 5:52 pm #108949
    The EH Man
    Moderator

    The case is grounded to the circuit through a wire to help reduce RF and electrical noise, thus the shielding.

    The ground is a common reference point for the circuit. If it gets broken in any way, you’ll get noise and other problems.

    The circuit will work fine even if it’s disconnected from the case and laying on a bench.

    April 5, 2010 at 5:51 pm #109033
    InvaderCC
    Member

    I think EH MAN has found the problem the way you describe what happens sounds just like the OP said his Russian was doing…Im about ready to buy about four of these Russian muffs so i have enough to last me the rest of my life…

    Message to EHX Since you discontinued the Russian muff why don’t you put all your technicians to work and figure out how to make the Russian in a nano or little muff size…

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