The Muff Distortion is a distortion pedal from Nemphasis. Guitar World reviewed it alongside two other Nemphasis pedals, the Liquid Mind Analog Chorus and the VTComp Guitar Optical Compressor, and the reviewer called it "definitely my favorite pedal out of the bunch"1.
What it does
The pedal carries three knobs: Sustain, Tone and Level1. Sustain sets how much distortion and sustain the circuit produces, Tone shapes the overall color, and Level sets the output. Under the back panel there is a fourth control that is easy to miss:
"there's Fat Switch under the back panel, which offers a lower voicing."
Guitar World's reviewer, Billy Voight, described the pedal's range broadly: "Everything from nasty Deep Purple bass tones to a smooth violinlike Santana lead tone." He also tied the pedal to its heritage, writing that "if you think about the name and the pedal's artwork, it's a souped-up version of exactly what you think it is!"1
His verdict on the pedal within the three-pedal review was plain: "This is definitely my favorite pedal out of the bunch."1
The Muff name and its relatives
The Muff name is most closely associated with Electro-Harmonix, whose Big Muff has been described by the company's founder Mike Matthews in a MusicRadar interview as "the Big Muff distortion/sustainer"2. Several Electro-Harmonix pedals carry the Muff lineage in different directions: the Micro Metal Muff is a "Distortion with Top Boost"3, the original Metal Muff offered "tons of gain, flexible multiband EQ and a top-boost circuit" according to a Guitar World review4, and the Nano Metal Muff distills that metal-tinged distortion into a smaller enclosure5. Nemphasis's The Muff Distortion sits in that same family of high-gain Muff-style pedals, with its own lower-voicing Fat Switch as the distinguishing control1.
Questions
What controls does the Nemphasis The Muff Distortion have?
The pedal has three knobs: Sustain, Tone and Level. Under the back panel there is also a Fat Switch, which Guitar World's reviewer described as offering a lower voicing. That combination gives players control over how much distortion and sustain the pedal produces, the overall tonal color, and the output level going to the rest of the rig.
What kind of sounds can the Nemphasis The Muff Distortion produce?
Guitar World's reviewer, Billy Voight, described the pedal's range as covering everything from nasty Deep Purple bass tones to a smooth violinlike Santana lead tone. He also noted that, given the name and the pedal's artwork, it is a souped-up version of exactly what a player would expect.
Sources (5)
- Review: Nemphasis Liquid Mind Analog Chorus, The Muff Distortion and VTComp Guitar Optical Compressor, Guitar World, 2013-05-23
- Interview: Mike Matthews (Electro-Harmonix founder), MusicRadar, 2012-05-28
- Micro Metal Muff, Electro-Harmonix
- Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff, Guitar World, 2007-04-26
- Electro-Harmonix Nano Metal Muff: Miniature Metal for the masses!, gearnews.com, 2020-12-30
