Thinking of picking up the Tone Wicker Muff

Gr8Scott

Gr8Scott

Wookieologist
For the record, I'm not going to buy one looking for crunchy tones. That isn't what fuzzes are good for IMHO. They are good at taking a very focused kind guitar sound and turning it into a loose and indistinct almost keyboard-like tone. Very different than most of the tones I have in my rig as things currently stand and different is good sometimes. I've always admired the Siamese Dream tone quite a bit and I think this particular pedal seems like a pretty good deal at $89 with quite a bit of flexibility for such a price point.

I've researched a bit and have found that some like to use a TS clone in the front of the Muff for a bit of an EQ curve change and possibly a volume boost going into it for a more distorted sound. Any other types of pedals sound good running with this pedal?

I've seen a Muff Pi shootout vid with the Christian Slater sounding guy. One thing I noticed in that shootout is that the original large Muff sounded better than all of the other pedals when they were used with stock settings. It seemed to have more "harmonic content" and richness to the tone. Is there a difference in construction that causes this or is it just a case of the reviewer owning one really good version of the original and just getting lucky? There was a distinct difference to my ears until he cranked the volume on all of them. Here's the video below.



Any thoughts or suggestions from those who own this pedal? Likes/dislikes?
 
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Re: Thinking of picking up the Tone Wicker Muff

I have one. I like it both with and without the wicker engaged. Huge sqaure-wave fuzz. Very synthy. Which I dig.

My understanding is that the base circuit is identical to the USA Big Muff and that the only difference is the switchable tone and the wicker switch. But, the USA bIg Muff is in a much bigger case, so I don't know. Is the BM Nano supposed to be the same guts as the big one? Because the Wicker is the same size as the Nano.

My favorite mode is Tone Off and Wicker On. Sounds GIGANTIC.
 
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Re: Thinking of picking up the Tone Wicker Muff

Scott,

I had one briefly, and it's got all kinds of tone-shaping options. It did particularly well with a boost in front. But it just wasn't my cup of tea. I like a thick crunchy tone, but it was hard to get as much definition as I like with the fuzz engaged.

I definitely heard some Smashing Pumpkins tones in there, and some Corrosion of Conformity. And there's lots more. It did not clean up well, like I've heard a Fuzz Face does. If you like fuzz tones, I'm sure there's something there for you, but I learned a good lesson from that pedal. Fuzz tones are not for me or my playing style.
 
Re: Thinking of picking up the Tone Wicker Muff

I'd agree with all of that. It's a not a pedal I turn on just a little.

misterwhizzy said:
Scott,

I had one briefly, and it's got all kinds of tone-shaping options. It did particularly well with a boost in front. But it just wasn't my cup of tea. I like a thick crunchy tone, but it was hard to get as much definition as I like with the fuzz engaged.

I definitely heard some Smashing Pumpkins tones in there, and some Corrosion of Conformity. And there's lots more. It did not clean up well, like I've heard a Fuzz Face does. If you like fuzz tones, I'm sure there's something there for you, but I learned a good lesson from that pedal. Fuzz tones are not for me or my playing style.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Thinking of picking up the Tone Wicker Muff

Thanks guys. I'm going to have to research the nano muff to see if it has different parts in it. Am I the only one that hears the difference between the original muff and the other two with stock settings in that video BTW?
 
Re: Thinking of picking up the Tone Wicker Muff

Sorry, I meant the Little Big Muff, not the Nano.

And yes, I hear a difference between all three of those pedals, though the Wicker and the Little models sound VERYVERY close and the big one is still in the same ballpark, but definitely different.

That's not the currently produced NYC BM, is it?

Here's what wikipedia says: "the Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker which is virtually identical to a standard 2008 revision NYC Big Muff except that it has a tone bypass switch which completely bypasses the tone-stack and a high frequency filter switch which mixes in a higher frequency that would normally be filtered out."

Makes me wonder if the NYC he has is an older one that differs in some way from the current reissue. *If* it's true that the TW model is just an NYC in a smaller box, with extra features, I see absolutely no reason not to go with it over the other models. That was my thinking when I made my purchase, I know.

But if that's not really true, then..well, the choice gets more complicated.
 
Re: Thinking of picking up the Tone Wicker Muff

I researched the Big Muff PI and came up with the following page:
http://www.kitrae.net/music/big_muff_history3.html
The Little Big Muff and the Wicker both use SMD components. I think that's one reason they sounded so similar.

Real-estate is a concern on my currently being developed pedal board (OMG it's going to be a MONSTER!!), so I'll probably have to stick with the smaller version. This means the tone wicker is going to be my choice regardless. There seem to be differences from unit to unit given tolerances of the parts, so maybe I'll get lucky and receive a good one...

The smaller one wins by default for that reason alone. I worked for four hours on the pedalboard case etc today. I'm not going to put up pix until the build is completed and ready for prime-time, but it's definitely going to fit my style and personal preferences. The EHX Big Muff Pi Tone Wicker would really look great sitting on the angled second tier.
 
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