The Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Family Compared

The Big Muff Pi is Electro-Harmonix's analog fuzz pedal, and the family around it has grown into one of the largest version lists of any stompbox. The core circuit is a four-transistor design that Ana Sounds' history describes as producing a thick and rich sound with scooped mids and better sustain than the Fuzz Face¹. GuitarPCB's technical analysis calls it the first overwhelming success of Electro-Harmonix, owing to the distinctive sound, price and reliability². Mike Matthews said in 2017 that, in terms of units sold across all versions, the Big Muff is the company's number one seller³.

The current lineup mixes the standard Big Muff Pi with reissues of vintage circuits (Triangle, Ram's Head, Op-Amp, Green Russian), compact versions (Nano, Little Big Muff), feature-expanded Deluxe models, bass-specific Muffs, and a few pedals that carry the Muff name without using the Big Muff circuit at all. This page puts them side by side³.

The Big Muff: Electro-Harmonix's analog fuzz

The original Big Muff Pi runs on an analog circuit whose thick, rich sound with scooped mids and better sustain than the Fuzz Face makes it easy to recognize¹. Tru-Fi's history of the pedal describes the original circuit as known for its thick, saturated fuzz tone²⁴. Every current version in the family, from the standard Big Muff Pi to the Bass Big Muff Pi, is listed by Electro-Harmonix as analog⁴¹⁹.

The family also includes pedals that share the name but not the circuit. Kit Rae's Big Muff history is explicit about this: the Muff Fuzz, Metal Muff and Double Muff are excluded from the version list because "None of those are actual Big Muff circuits, and none have any of the signature characteristics of a Big Muff's tone"³. The Double Muff is built on the simpler two-transistor Muff Fuzz architecture rather than the four-transistor Big Muff Pi²⁵, and Jeds Peds describes the Muff Fuzz as a much lower gain effect that does not sound much like a Big Muff²⁶.

How the Big Muff versions differ

The clearest way to see the family is side by side. The table below covers the current versions, what each circuit is based on, and the current draw where Electro-Harmonix publishes one.

What actually differs between them

The big split in the family is circuit lineage. The standard, Nano, Little, Triangle, Ram's Head, Green Russian, Tone Wicker, Germanium 4 and Bass versions all trace back to the Big Muff Pi circuit in some form²⁴. The Op-Amp and Big Muff Pi 2 versions use ICs instead: Kit Rae's history notes that the IC-based Big Muffs, like the V4 and V5 op-amp Muffs and the Deluxe op-amp versions, are not really based on the Big Muff circuit³, though Electro-Harmonix still lists them as analog¹⁰⁵. The Metal Muff, Pocket Metal Muff, Muff Overdrive and Double Muff sit outside the Big Muff line entirely³²⁵.

The second split is era. Kit Rae's tone-difference history describes the version 9 "NYC Reissue" tone as being in the same family as the early-1980s version 6 Big Muffs, a bit more muffled and modern sounding, with very scooped mids and a grungier character³⁰. Within the version 9 run, the first version is the most like the old early '70s Big Muffs, with a bit more note clarity than later revisions and slightly less bass, while the later revisions have a thicker and bassier sound with less note clarity but a beefier bottom end than most vintage Muffs³⁰.

The Russian and Bass versions sit on the low-gain, bassy side. Kit Rae's history states that Russian Big Muffs and the Bass Big Muffs are generally lower gain and bassy³, and that the V7 and V8 Russian circuits were very consistent, with only three slightly different circuit variants used³. Electro-Harmonix describes the Russian Big Muff as "A pinch smoother than its American-made comrade, the Russian Muff exhibits slightly less sustain, yet retains that unmistakable Big Muff sound"¹². Stompbox Book's Derek See writes that the Russian Muffs "are known to have the punch of V1, and the roar of V3"³¹, and that US-made Big Muffs "feature a tone similar to a '70s model but with more noticeable low end girth"³¹.

For the Triangle specifically, Stomp Under Foot's Matthew Pasquerella describes the V5 as essentially the same as the V2 with a little more gain throughout³².

From the Muff Fuzz to the Big Muff

The family tree starts before the Big Muff itself. The Muff Fuzz was the earlier, lower-gain two-transistor design²⁵²⁶, and the Big Muff Pi grew into the four-transistor circuit that became Electro-Harmonix's first overwhelming success². The Sovtek era came next: Tru-Fi's history notes the Sovtek-era Big Muffs of the 1990s are named after the Russian company that owned Electro-Harmonix at the time, and are known for their aggressive and gritty fuzz tones²⁴. The current Green Russian and Sovtek Deluxe models reissue that era¹¹¹⁶.

The Bass Big Muff arrived in 2008 as version 11, based on the Russian Big Muff circuit³⁰. Kit Rae notes the Black Russian V8 small-box Muffs are discontinued, but the V11 Bass Big Muff sounds very similar and was intended as a replacement³⁰. Electro-Harmonix describes the Bass Big Muff as "Inspired by the mythical bass response of the Black Russian Big Muffs of the 90's, the distortion of the Bass Big Muff hits like a ton of bricks, sludgy mortor and all."¹⁹

Since then the family has kept expanding. Tru-Fi's history points to models like the Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker and the Big Muff Nano as examples of the range²⁴, and the current lineup adds the anniversary, artist and Deluxe versions listed above.

What reviewers and historians said about each Muff

Published commentary on the family comes mostly from the historians and makers who have documented it:

• Kit Rae, on the version 9 NYC Reissue: the tone is in the same family as the old version 6 Big Muffs from the early 1980s, though it is not actually a reissue, with very scooped mids and a grungier character³⁰.
• Kit Rae, on the V11 Bass Big Muff: much less gain, a fatter bottom end and brighter mids than the USA Big Muffs like the V9, V10 and V12, with the normal setting for guitar very close to the black V8 Russian Big Muff tone, though less noisy at full sustain and smoother³⁰.
• Kit Rae, quoting Mike Matthews in 2017: in terms of units sold for all versions, the Big Muff is Electro-Harmonix's number one seller³.
• Derek See at Stompbox Book, on the Russian Muffs: they have the punch of V1 and the roar of V3³¹.
• Electro-Harmonix, on the J Mascis Ram's Head: "The fuzz is sonically more articulate than other Big Muffs with excellent string separation and dynamics"²⁸.
• Electro-Harmonix, on the Sovtek Deluxe: devastating low end, crisp highs and non-scooped mids¹⁶.
• Ana Sounds, on the original: a thick and rich sound with scooped mids and much better sustain than the Fuzz Face¹.

Electro-Harmonix also published a side-by-side comparison of the Triangle, Ram's Head and Op-Amp Big Muff Pi reissues²⁷, which is the maker's own demonstration of how the three vintage circuits differ.