Home › Forums › Help/Technical Questions › Russian Muff is it Fuzz or Distortion

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  • October 17, 2009 at 12:05 am #79132
    InvaderCC
    Member

    I just got a Russian Big Muff ..I find it to be a very cool pedal..At the same time it wasn’t what i was expecting..I was thinking that the Russian Muff was more like the Dunlop Fuzz Face or a darker Fuzz than the Big Muff pi..To me it seems it is more of a heavy overdrive/Distortion box than a Fuzz..How does EHX classify it? Also do other share the same view as me?
    Regardless im extremely happy with it and have found it a major addition to my gear regardless of it being a Fuzz or distortion..Also i have heard others talk about the cheap quality of the Russian model Big Muff at first glance it seems like it is pretty rugged ..Is there something to worry about on the inside?

    October 17, 2009 at 4:41 am #102356
    Mr.Grim
    Member

    not sure on the od/distortion debate as i never owned one, even tho it is on my wish list.

    and i may be wrong but i think the quality debate was an issue with the input, output, and AC jacks. a lot of the Russian made products (like my EH mini mixer) is the jacks were soldered directly to the PC board without any nut on the enclosure to support it. so repetitive hook up and removing of cables would eventually loosen the solder connections on the PC board, and result in crackling noise, or complete removal of passing a signal, i think they may have changed that with newer models.

    another prob (again i may be wrong) may have been with the foot switch itself. they had been cheap in the past like Radio Shack momentary push buttons, made for fingers and eventually would break do to repeditive use.

    but if yours is a newer model, has nuts saporting all jacks like most pedals, and a good foot switch (looks like US pedal ones but may be black in this case as to silver), i don’t think you will have any problems, otherwise in my opinion the Russian made products were built like a tank!

    October 17, 2009 at 5:45 am #102360
    Ned Flanders
    Moderator

    Big muffs are technically fuzzy distortions, not fuzzes, not distortions and definitely not overdrives.

    BTW, there’s no DC jack on the Sovtek muffs. And IMO the plastic jacks are just as strong as any othere plastic jacks,just dont walk on cables that are in them, this goes for MXR/Dunlop too. And there was only one Sovtek muff with no nut supporting the plastic jacks,all others have a nut.

    Also,the “built like a tank’ Sovteks (the cast aluminum ones)havent been made in over ten years, the current ones are light weight folded steel like the EHX classic enclosures.

    The thing you will more than likely have trouble with is the pots,they are cheap as shit and always fuck up in the current issue (they’ve been the same cheap pots fo the past 8 years at least) models.

    October 21, 2009 at 7:22 am #102474
    DarkAxel
    Participant

    mine is waiting on a post office

    my friend tried it when it arrived it to him (i don’t have a paypal and he purchased it on ebay for me) and was very surprised – but he is sort of crazy, when he likes the effect, it’s because it is as crazy as it can be. so he’d love to have 30% more sustain and more of this “destroyed speaker” effect… but he said that its a cross between distortion and a thick fuzz

    i know about the DC jack, about the plastic jacks and so on, but how’s the bypass? is it ok? does it need to be resoldered to TB? (and would it work properly if i do it?)

    October 21, 2009 at 12:43 pm #102480
    Ned Flanders
    Moderator

    IMO,non true bypass big muffs sound like shit in bypass mode. of course it will work….if you do it right!

    I have diagrams in the mod pages thead in this forum on how to true bypass a couple different Sovtek versions,even using the original big silver switch(you loose the LED though but if you need an LED on a big muff you’re deaf).
    I was gonna make one true bypass with the big silver switch and an LED using thr millenium bypass system but TBH honest I cant be bothered making any more Big Mufff diagrams.

    here’s the one using the original sovtek switch,which doesnt have the same lug layout as a regular DPDT swich so the wiring is different but you wont find this switch on too many black Sovteks, especially not any made in the last ten? years.:
    http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o127/truthandshame/Big Muff/SOVTEKTRUEBYPASSED.jpg

    And here’s the mod pages thread for true bypassing the more modern black versions with regular small switches:
    https://www.ehx.com/forums/viewthread/117/

    And the diagram for the current black Sovtek:
    http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o127/truthandshame/Big Muff/CCCPBIGMUFFTBD.jpg

    October 21, 2009 at 2:38 pm #102488
    DarkAxel
    Participant
    Quote:
    And the diagram for the current black Sovtek:
    http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o127/truthandshame/Big Muff/CCCPBIGMUFFTBD.jpg

    thanks! :) i’ve got it already and it sounds pretty sweet, it really fits the purpose why i bought it

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