The Big Muff x Page The Definitive Big Muff Resource and History \VISIT MY SWORDS, KNIVES und FANTASY ART WEBSITE wor kitten Evolution of the Big Muff Pi Circuit - Part 4 - 2005 to Present PART 1 -PART2-PART3-PART 4 HY ARE THE TRANSISTORS LABELED IN THLE REVERSE ORDER?= Note that Q1-Q$ and DL-DS are labeled in reverse order from inp o output on these = ‘ona typical schema. This isd othe fact hat they ae printed inthis order onthe atl VI, V2, and V3 Big Mut PCB's. To epi frm being confusing for those Since this is primary a reference for vintage Big Mui owners, and to keep the EH tation, we have used tis order onal Big Muff schematics, including post 1980 Thave als ted to Keep the part numbers consistent fom sebematie to schema VINTAGE DISTORTION mouifed Sov Bie Mur~ Beringer came ou with visually bla, China made knockoff ofthe BMP in 2005, called te VD-I Vintage look and name, the ete was nota clone ofa V2 oF V3 era BMP, But as based on the Plesto-ilamonix small box, black Rossan Sovek Big Muff crevit. The sout ‘eater side than the Russian circuits. Smoot, but with the heavy low end removed bythe modified tne section. The component values are very smart the black F tone stage i diferent, The low pass functions the sme, but the high pass pathways have been modified, emaving most of the hoomy bass, nd some of the aera 2 T00k esetor,instoad ofthe common 22k high pss resistor, with a huge 22M resistor added R27, creating a Doosed midrange, Another interesting eet, aun Section mos, tbat when the gular volume i timed down, the dstrtion gates and puters, something like a dying batey infu? pedal ven though SMD components get «bad rp inthe DIY builder community, it appears the smal component sie and ight eixeuit cack a the Behringer offer noise be fashioned thn-ole components. This pedals smost completly silent, ven st maxim gin, Something {have never found with any oer Sovtekbaced Big Malt VD-1 Vintage Distortion - 2011 model Big Muff Clone Ia soveusaset neato ren iin ge Onesie onc co Eee og ment ‘Snare mon mnt dirt en an ren sober a rn ao 6 ‘wor BigMutPage.com lew crit sol WD conponersthe wad che ostream clei anfastose zen HOOF msi Yoler Ray’ Head By fu -1n.2005 Jamie Stilman of Barthquaker Devices, n between managing tours for The Black Keys, madea superb modifc the Hoot. Vary close to the schematic below, he Hoof i often referenced as a modded groen Russian BMP cre Indeed is genesis was wilh Jame reverse engineer ‘owned ty Dan Auerbach ofthe Black Keys, bu the original four kno® version [awn i actually close oa violet era Ram's Head cro with mods tothe clipping end produed by the mos ae similar to @Soviek BMP however, bul with much less batlom end. The orginal Hoot was a sme, tzeenob clone, bt the ae version a ‘id range pot inthe tone stage. ‘Appopul mod othe BMP circuit was to trade the Silicon transistor ot for Germanium transistors, wich basicaly what we hav ere the two clipping stages. C BMP ctcuit ar aid wo stpooth ou the tne boeause they ier out move high fequaey sound han Si, They also reduce the ain'signal love, whick haste Tet of sa Anothcr poplar BMP mod popularized around 2002 was to change the standard Silicon clipping diodes for LD’, which are essentially diode, giving aeiesat vou ‘comprest the sigal less han Silicon, resulting in lower Volume and a lightly cleaner and brighter dstron, The Hoof bas been made with od, alate, clear LED's ‘FLED’ produce sig diferent variations on the clipping tone abd gain Inthe Heof these two mods result in wide tone range that can go from a Rams Head ype fn to a masally Marshal type tone, with sme sovick Big MufTin between, I dacs #0t quite mach the sound of any of thse, but has its ova thing going 0, which articulate. Ther is alsa slg less mule cleanup when the guitar volume is tumed down, and te pedals slighly less nosy than a trditional BMP. The Shift concol i estenialy the AMZ tonelpresence contol mod, and this it probaly the hes use ofthe AMZ. one contol Ihave head in Big MofPelone, with = tone actos the pot sweeps. The volume po «huge 1M (1000k) and te sustain pti 50, rather tha the standard 100k pots ypicaly used ina MusHoowf CtwuDaccnion aves Modified Violet Era Big Muff Clone ie seine BigutPage com imuaactmacrpacnoncerouRetalgetinicige tary erin Cone sta et ea ed Ml rates 200 thoes edlgng an tr tage Sarda cen pgs he beech snc Geant ‘etm dons sapere asters tne EDs cong be sist ir eigen Sd 9 ean nd se arto eso are $iahy ghar scey oranda antes ot ml wore mange caop bogs ean fra LARGE BEAVER woulfed 197 Ram's Head Bip Mul - I 2006 B.0.C. (Build Your Own Clone) created built-t-yoursI vintage Big MufT kit called the Large B the pars to assemble a Big Mu I could be bu ether asa V1 Big Mult (Irangle 72 #2 schematic on page 1), ora Ramis Head (Ra's Head 76 HY schematic on pat sounding varans. The Beaver also included atone selector switch, llowing yout choose the stock scooped mid range, flat mid range, boosted midrange, or tne by range scoop i the main reason my people end vp nol geting along wit the UME. Icon vomit go Tost n a band mi, oF simpy doesnot sound good with cert ‘competing midrange, This mod makes the BMP very vetails, overcoming those sss, [Below isthe Ram's Head 76 #2 schematic from page 2, similar tothe one BYOC used, but beter in my opinion, with similar one selector mod using my prefered boosted mi Version 2 BIG MUFF - 1976 RAMS HEAD tcrmvna » skondedes + wes Selectable Mid Range Switch Mod SaaS repentant ‘www BigMutfPage.com ear ‘Gano ‘tr booesm er bypsbing te tenet, Cite choke slow mad ange eae ‘acne cooled ving te one knob Stownon POWER ROOSTED BIG MUFF ~The Electro-Harmonix LPB-1 (Linear Power Boose) is simple and effective litle booster circuit made by EHX way back in 196 around using ito deve or fllow my’ Big Mall inthe sgl chai for yeas, nd i i one ofthe deca combos | alvays wished LHX would acoally make (a Big Mu Boos combo is another), There was a Big MufDbooster combo clone nade in 1971 ealed the Ace Tone Fuze Master FM-3, but the booster stage was switched sepurat ‘zc In the early 2000's I started to see some boutique Big Mufls being made that included the LPB-1 bul in, ore smiar booster crest ike the AMZ mostet boos inline tage ofthe BMP circuit The last sage ofthe Big MUI is Basically the same a he LPB-1, so it seemed «natal ies to throw another one in rot ofthe cite raking eBig Muff witha preamp booster. Below se tace ofa custom modded BMP | found on ebay in 2005, Abi beavy onthe saturation and low end for most peoCIVIL WAR BIG MUFF with POWER BOOSTER MODIFIED LPB-1 CIRCUIT . RUSSIAN BIG MUFF CIRCUIT -CIVILWAR VERSION vue om ‘Combination ofthe Electro-Harmonix LPI booster cil anda Ruslan ig Mut ‘wow.BigMutfPage.com Jur andy cone ro 1 cee ter than the ane above. The boos ping prs sho UZ2 BOOSTED BIG MUNK «Another version ofthe Civil War Big Mul witha preamp bo Jack Orman (muziqus.com) came up With, silat a single BMP gua stage, minus the fed ‘emoved to give a clean boost tothe ig Muff mp stage like the LPB-1 CIVIL WAR BIG MUFF with FUZZ BOOST t soosten AUSSANBIGMUFFCRCUT -CILWARVERSION, \ stage onthe fon capacity. Tis pro slight 1 disorion Boost, fm inant man Combination of» booster cuit and» Ruesan fig Muff ‘www. BigMutfPage.com ‘Wao ae Oru conan Seo icp eam" Od eM cpr aplred eks MUSKET mode Sovtek i Mf Hw do you make the Mu with LPB- Power Booster shown sbove even beter? Refine the input saturation an adda bunch o ‘ery tweakable, Blackout Esfectors did jot that n 208 andthe rent tone ofthe most versatile Sovtek ig Muff clones out thee, te Musket V2, shown inthe sche Pot adjusts the LPB-Istuation nto the Big Mu input tage, similar to what the input switch onthe Muff Diver (chown above) did. The Mids pot a variant on dhe A onto ets you aust the mierange frequency sso0p fom Matto boosted, The Big Mul art ofthe circuit is simply a lack Rosia with the OS7GF clipping cap ct the battom end in check, MUSKETT Big Muff and LPB-1 Clone moDIFIED Input LPO-TCIRCUIT. SATURATION BIG MUFF CIRCUIT - BASED ON ABLACK RUSSIAN BIG MUFF Combination ofthe Elecro Harmonix PB-1 Booster aut and a Russian Big Mull ‘www.BigMuffPage.com Wand. aay cape martin” ap apete cee and yap metal pope‘COLOSSUS mouifed Sock ig Mul Mojolland FX made an excellent Big Muff clone in 2011 called the Colossus. is nearly ideatial othe Civil War Big Mull swiped the same tone circuit and mids pot layout asthe Musket Instead of «pot to set te inp evel like the Maske, the Caloasus uses thre position EQ switch TE fiom the Civil Wer were the use of large S60pr cape at C11 and C12, This wae marketed as being based onthe Civil War Sock BMP, but those only sed 430pF o 5 Conpazed to the Misket V2, the tone sectionals has lig larger eape at C9 and C14, and a lightly smaller resistor at RS, but I blieve thoge sume values were in ‘versions, so they were likely just copied from tat, Overall, ike the sound of the Colossus andthe mide contol range slightly bet than the Musket, Colossal Civil War Sse enn ' Modified Russian Big Muff Clone ears ene nee \ ee SEE eee eee eee eee ee ee eee SUPEROOL LIDER modified Sook Big Mul) =The Collide was yet another modified Rassan Big MufF lone (xcontnucd), thi one a tweakable, bas pita rend "Eanthbound Audio in 2008. Mark at Frtabound added a Depth pot atthe inp stage, similar the Focus pot inthe Muskot schematic showa above. The fone secon include «50K mi range pot at R27, a vara’ on the AMZ onefpretence cont, lowing adjsiment to the mid-range frequency. Limiting resistors at R12 and RIS at resistors in a Russian Big Muff, and feedback resistors at C12 ahd RIS are 1M (10004), around double the size of a Russa Big Muft This coats alot mote drive, ct lpping stage than a aional Russian BMP, Supercolydyr Sea u Modified Russian Big MuffClone Satish stntamguegucn : ‘oda Rec ul, 18 ena cp porate atuaton sepa age beng ene Cat Chcstveadty ain one ‘iver nets ag tence eth ny hve sent aie hy mth otgalte hve mare Tan Son seo ‘www. BightutfPage.com Step oveantc te altioneera nye md engetanny sey eater rege PHARAOH modfed 47 Ram’ Head Bi Muff The Pharach by Black AstsTonework followed a few years after the Collider shown above, but was aparently gp MPSA transistors n Q¢ and 2NS089 in Q1-3, along wi atalum input and output caps. The basic Big Mul part ofthe ect inthe Pharoah s very silat the show on page I, with several mods ha alow fora wide range of tonal diversity. The input resistor i the Fist stage has been converted 1 abi (39) and low (390) the low cut filtering in the input stage, but unfortmatey also affecting the input signal level, causing large volume diference between th tWo sides. The high sides Mus input, and the low side allows for lower gin, ovedrve-like tones, ‘A254 pot vas added to the toe stage in place of the RS low pas resistor, yet another variant on the AMZ toncipesence control allowing a boost othe highs. The lo enlarged 2.2pF to balance the low pas ilerng The lrg cap an esis t C9 and RS on the igh passwd ll for lens mid ange scoop thin the "47" Rams [An SPDT (onofon) switch was added ta the second clipping stage to toggle between bypassing the dades completly (a popular mad tothe AMP ciruit originating Toncbender- volt ig Mu clone), or switching to ithe Germanium or Silicon diodse, nother common BMP mod, The Germanium side gives a sight ferent than the aditonal Silicon diodes, with a smooth overdiive-like character when the low sie ofthe input switch i selected, The Germanium also compres the sound Silicon diodes, so theresa arg volume cut whea they te switched on. On average, Ge diodes start clip a around half the voltage of Si, s the outpt level is aro vas added to the Ge clipping lop to help bring the output level backup, bu thre i sla volume drop when engaged. The volume disparity between the switchable « ‘bern ther impractical na live situation (as des the blindingly Bight LED) withoct having t adjust the volume, but the meds d allow for armuch wider well ro than a stock BMEPharo Sas ddeasv2- at cmt ON Modified “47” Ram's Head Big Muff Clone rele C wwwBigMuttPage.com Caomecaoccractnel2 « ‘tg ul nat ery aroha ad BP cu wh eed tat lo rade rage fal erty The Rpt rents ben cma os) Sateen teow et the ae An SPOTS ne Sess png sge tenis tte typasng doses Shin eb Geemnn Scones replete ow ss restr avr on the iz oefesence onal stewing anette high There aeseape Coes enaged towbar hen pes re ‘vectors ane onthe highpass aon resid ange scoop thant kas Heea and more rnaunceghoh P19) IRON BELL mele Bie Mu with no mie coop «Sry Pedals released the P19 in caky 2012, MojoHand FX apparently liked the P19 circuit a ot (Mare « posted his schematic onlin), Beease they sped i later that yer for their ron Bell pedal, The Inn Bell version tthe one raced ees, nus the power iltering and {ajo diflerenve from the P19 being tht Mojottand replace te mids switch with a pot and made some minor component vale changes lied as follows ‘+ The orginal P19 has 10 a¢ RIT instead of 1k + O0s79F a CS instead oF 0.686 1 200m at 22, R2, and R10 instead of 1400, 1200, and 3900 respectively 227k a Ré insea of 2 You will otce the tone section layout incang the pot labeled Colour) i denial to the Basket Eectors Musket, only with diferent component values okesp i Jump sound. This tone section mod, which lls you adjust the level ofthe midrange Fequeney boos, is variant onthe AMZ.tonepresence col “The small input cap st Cl males the sound more atculat and helps reduce nose. The large emer resistors st R22/R2/R1O and large feedback cape at CL1/12 aso from the BC3S0 transistor (used in he P19) low and to hei smoot othe tone na rma ml the tone tends o get mas at low sistin settings because the hig filtered out asthe sustain seduced. The 0022. bleed cep aeror the sstan contol a C16 filters out more lows and rtans highs fra more balanced sound a ow to. tfeble bleed cap in guitar, The adtional S6OpF cap across the volume po! at RIS operates the same way. The large 33a eap after te fone section a C3 (pea Tow end. I show the common INATMS diodes in shit schemas, but Mae says he uses a spel blend of mismatched diodes for an eve 0 slight assymet= clipping in ‘The component values ofthe P19 are not really based on any exiting EHX Big Muft, they ae just Mar’s unique blend ofthe Pi, with ach stage a mix of his custom tone The sour is very smooth, wih a bosted mid rane (no scoop, and nota bass as typical maf Te was made with David Gilmour's Pink Floyd Big Mul tone Siredéy Pik Flesh ad Pig Mine, and stan ou really nicely sna band nix. Mar sid he wat ispitedby the Pte Comish P-L, but hile more of hi teaton than 8 Rants Head sounding ete lron”P19” Bell ‘Sethian ae Wo rym i won ighutPege com {2457 acta owes ng RSet ‘tees azote P9212 Nj Papp edhe P9 at es ete carte Bence 202 Ten al snes hem hoon nate tt tnd ede nyse rar pena ee ain yoo Shs Mah eter te ey amp ie econ tr Senay ograrra easy og ghey oj ata ae ed Spb apronse san scmeyoTescun esas eng roarbs sacl nnd esenge stad cea el eae ERSION 9 "NYC REISSUE" BIG MUFF Pl - Four v c ‘V9 "NYC REISSUE” BIG MUFF - I finish ofthis eitcut evolution ace going back io the fist versio ofthe rebors Big Mul Pi fom 2000 (discontinued), Note NOT the ereuit fom the current current version of the BMP made by Electro-armonit oF from anyother current version. It also docs nol mclge the power fering protcetion, and LED components, just the audio cite. Also note thatthe asso ace actually Iabeled in reverse (Q1-Q4) on the actual iu boa fom what i sh ‘This 2000 reissue version was anew tke onthe BMP circuit from EHX designer Fran Blanche fom when EHX was jus restating a a company again inthe USA. T appear to bea mix the ate 10's V2 BM, with a deeply mid-seooped tone section from one ofthe easly VI BMPs, and 3900 erie resistors in the clipping tagesPrevious USA Big Muff used 1N4148 Silicon diodes, but EHX changed to IN6263 Silicium Schotthy diodes forthe issu in 2000. These compres the sound more omtibting othe diferent sound ofthe estes, EIDX changed back to IN138 by 2008, There were, and sill ar, complainers who say the ris forthe sound. The Big Muff Pi is an evelving and eve The 3005-4 rovsion fom 2001 was basically the same ike the sound of his one alo. EEX decided to change the citi 2007 then again a 2008, eo the current Jes "donot sound as good sth oi olectble classe just asthe 1970's Big Mufls are considered today. Version 9"NYC REISSUE” BIG MUFF hanging cite, and this was jst he latest evolution have no doubt that whea this version i but as you can se fom this article, there never was one “original” First version with 3003 peb 25-30 years old aby cna. www. BigitutfPage.com { hobby pedal make o are handy wit and all schematics on this website, Through-hol cir Tate venom fe Mra gM wh 20 eat ely eed nerd Pe 0% dese ran Ex wth large capacitors, esos, do thing seems tobe transitioning to micro zed SMD components, machine pedal iets, Be aware tat the stat ar layout forthe BMDP canbe found at he Turretboard.org website. The layout is well dwn and for equipment, pat ad i ransistors, age oldeing ton and want to build your own, o experient with these der to follow: Pant mbes correspond othe pat numbers idly becoming ated ono ict board, Sip board fam way o play around withthe old sb walved ae probably higher than sn {willbe adding more schematics of eer discontinued production and boutique BMP clones in the fue. Twill not post the schematics of anything in he curent Big Mf, Tone Wicker Big Mul, or Bas ig Mu, so dont lok for them hee, thing ofthe past for mas prod iy buying a8, o-Harmonix BMP ora BMP. PART 1 -PART2-PART 3-PART4 ENTER THE SITE FOR A HISTORY OF ALL BIG MUFF VERSIONS AFUZZ AND MUFF TIMELINE Kit’s Secret Guitar, Gear, and Music Page VISIT MY SWORDS, KNIVES and FANTASY ARF WEBSITE www kiae:net repro