Stomp Under Foot Civil Unrest

The Civil Unrest is a fuzz pedal from Stomp Under Foot, a builder known for its takes on the many iterations of the Big Muff. It is based on the Sovtek Big Muff, the version players call the Civil War, and it adds a mids control to a circuit that is famous for scooping them out. Premier Guitar described it as the company's attempt to deliver the oomph of a Sovtek with sharper mids¹.

What it does to your sound

The Civil War Big Muff is loved for big, burly fuzz and sustain, and criticized for the midrange it takes away. Premier Guitar put it plainly: the Stomp Under Foot Civil War delivers "burly heaps of fuzz and sustain at the expense of a certain midrange presence," and the Civil Unrest is the company's answer to that. The reviewer also noted that Stomp Under Foot is not the first company to tackle the case of the missing mids in a Sovtek-style circuit, but that its take adds a dedicated mids knob to do it¹.

The same review found one trade-off: it "lacks the low end of the Civil War fuzz platform it's built on"¹. That matters if you are comparing it against the Civil War, the pedal it grew out of.

The controls

The Civil Unrest has four knobs, described by Premier Guitar as "four black knobs for level, gain, mids, and tone"¹.

The mids control is the reason this pedal exists. Stomp Under Foot suggests setting it around 9 o'clock to land in the signature Civil War tone, then using the mids and tone together to move through the range of Russian fuzz sounds². Griffin Jennings, writing in Delicious Audio's Big Muff buying guide, called the mids control "very useful for live situations"³.

The Vintage Mini version

Stomp Under Foot also sells a limited edition Civil Unrest Vintage Mini. It is handmade in the U.S.A. and uses NOS (new old stock) through-hole components². It is listed at a regular price of $279.99, on sale at $249.99, an 11% discount as of October 2026². The maker notes blemishes in the finish, which is the reason for the reduced price².

Where it came from and who builds it

Stomp Under Foot has built clones of nearly every important iteration of the Big Muff, according to Premier Guitar, which called the company's Civil War its most popular¹. The pedals are designed by Matt Pasquerella, whom Delicious Audio describes as "a Muff expert and historian"³. His other Big Muff-based designs on this site include the Ram's Head, the Green Russian, and the Red Menace.

Build and appearance

Premier Guitar's reviewer described a subtle sparkle finish in the darkest shade of gray or black, with four black knobs and a bright blue LED. Inside, silicon transistors sit on the PC board among a sizable array of other transistors, resistors, and diodes¹.

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