Four generations of Big Muffs (clockwise from top left): Little Big Muff Nano, Reissue Russian Big Muff Pi, Original Russian 'Tank Metal' Big Muff Pi, Original Little Big Muff Pi
Amongst guitarists and pedal fanatics the world over, there simply isn’t a more famous fuzz box than the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff. Introduced in the early 1970s, for several generations now these pedals have produced lush, booming, ever-sustaining guitar tone for everyone from David Gilmour to Santana, to the Smashing Pumpkins (who singly coined the undisputed sound of the Big Muff in the 90s), legendary grunge pioneers Mudhoney (who even named an album, Superfuzz Bigmuff, after it), Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, the list goes on. Bass players have also taken to the pedal’s grinding low end in droves – the late Cliff Burton of Metallica most notably, but also Chris Wolstenholme of Muse, whose Russian version is a renown part of his signature sound. Even more notorious are the early Russian models (see the big green box in the bottom right of the photo), which were rumoured to have casings moulded from recycled Russian tank metal.
Few pedals have evolved so much over such a long period of time, but the EHX Big Muff continues to be much loved and heralded by musicians everywhere.