# Muffin Fuzz (Big Muff - Triangle variant)



## MichaelW (Sep 27, 2022)

So this might be my last build report for a while.

We have Hurricane Ian coming right over my house as a Category 1 as of the last update sometime Thursday.
We should be feeling the effects starting tomorrow afternoon as the feeder bands start creeping into Central Florida.

Cat 1 is not a big deal for us Floridians. More of an annoyance than anything else. But I will probably be losing power, internet and cell for a bit.

I knew I should have invested in a butane soldering iron   .

That and a "Mustang Headphone Amp" hahah. Well, might be time to break out the ukulele and acoustics!

Anyway, I spent most of the day doing storm prep. Got my generators out of storage, blocks of ice frozen and helped out a couple of neighbors get ready. Since I took the day off, I decided to try to get one last build in before the storm hits. I needed something fairly easy and fast so I decided to build the Muffin Fuzz board I got in my last haul from PedalPCB.com.

I've built I think 4 or 5 fuzzes now and starting to get a sense of very wide range of tones available. One thing glaringly missing in my fuzz-education was a Bg Muff. When I started looking over the build docs to prepare for the build I was faced with option overload with all the variants I could build with this board. So I consulted with the resident fuzzolgists @Big Monk and @Coda.

After chatting with them a bit I decided to start with building the Triangle variant. I have a feeling I probably need to order a few more of these and build some of the other variants.

I had recently scored some vintage Telefunken BC239C's from Electronic Goldmine. They all measured between the low 200's and low 400's in gains. Based on @Big Monk's guidance I chose 4 of the lower gain ones to use. I also followed his advice to use linear pots for all the controls.

Other than that, some substitutions I needed were the 4nf cap (used a 3.9n that measured on the high side). The 50nf caps I used 47n's that measured a bit on the high side. 

Build went super smooth and fast and when I fired it up I was like WOW. This thing is pretty awesome! Loud as heck too!
It was exactly as @Coda described it would be. 

"lots of sustain, singing, sweet highs, big ol' fat low end, with a little bit of crispiness to provide definition..."

That about nails it. It's definitely different from the Fuzz Face variants I've built. It might be my favorite fuzz yet. There's a whole lotta Fripp and Gilmour in this box to explore! Thanks for the guidance @Coda and @Big Monk. Now I gotta order a few more boards.....hahah.

I got these orange enclosures to build the XC Phase before realizing it wouldn't fit. I have one more I'm saving for my Dist+ build when I get to it. Looks very much like I remember the old MXR boxes color. But not the Big Muff Pi I played when I was kid. Although I think I've seen EHX release an orange one at some point. But this is MY Triangle Muff....and it's orange....so......


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## fig (Sep 27, 2022)

Looks great Michael! With consultants like that, it was a sure win!

Stay safe my friend.


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## steviejr92 (Sep 27, 2022)

Im in the same boat here. Stay safe man! Awesome pedal as always!


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## GizzWizzKing (Sep 27, 2022)

I love the reluctance to use electrolytic caps on this one. I hope the threat passes quickly not just so we get to see more of these builds.... but partially for that reason yes.


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## MichaelW (Sep 28, 2022)

I was actually a little confused by the silkscreen layout with the option of e-caps. I assume that some of the other variants call for e-caps? The values seemed more "film cap-ish" so that's what I went with hahah.


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## Dan0h (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> I was actually a little confused by the silkscreen layout with the option of e-caps. I assume that some of the other variants call for e-caps? The values seemed more "film cap-ish" so that's what I went with hahah.


You are all good. Here is my Green Muff build. All film as well and sounds exactly like the real one I bought as a teen in the 90s.


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## Big Monk (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> I was actually a little confused by the silkscreen layout with the option of e-caps. I assume that some of the other variants call for e-caps? The values seemed more "film cap-ish" so that's what I went with hahah.



I think 1u film box caps might be a tight fit so Bugg made those slots electros. Plus there are some of the original circuits with 1u electros so....


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## Robert (Sep 28, 2022)

The NYC EHX uses 1uF electrolytics, the solid state portion of the "Bigger Muff" used 10uF, there's at least one other variant that had a couple 10uF scattered around.


For film caps use the outer two pads.   

For electrolytics use the positive and center pad.


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## MichaelW (Sep 28, 2022)

Dan0h said:


> You are all good. Here is my Green Muff build. All film as well and sounds exactly like the real one I bought as a teen in the 90s.
> View attachment 33021


I think that's the next one for me, the Green Russian. I've heard so much about it but never played one.


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## joelorigo (Sep 28, 2022)

Stay safe!

FYI, the Bayonet (my new favorite build) is a modified Russian...


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## MichaelW (Sep 28, 2022)

What do all these variants refer to? I know the "Ram's Head" has a Rams Head on the enclosure....but what about the rest of them? "Civilian"?


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## Robert (Sep 28, 2022)

Civilian - Civil War
Double-G - G2 (although I'd recommend the Germanium II project for that)
Martian Fuzz - Dead Astronaut Space Fuzz (one particular setting)
Bigger Muffin - Solid-state portion of the Bigger Muff
Stomp 75 - SUF 75 Rams Head
Mask Us - SUF 76 Rams Head (J Mascis / Dinosaur Jr)
The Fox - Foxx Tone Machine


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## MichaelW (Sep 28, 2022)

Robert said:


> Civilian - Civil War
> Double-G - G2 (although I'd recommend the Germanium II project for that)
> Martian Fuzz - Dead Astronaut Space Fuzz (one particular setting)
> Bigger Muffin - Solid-state portion of the Bigger Muff
> ...


Ok I didn't realize those were "pun laden" names....I was taking them seriously...hahah


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## Dan0h (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> I think that's the next one for me, the Green Russian. I've heard so much about it but never played one.


I love the Green Pie… and I love that these clones are so accurate can you tell which is which? Original Muff vs Clone Muff


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## Coda (Sep 28, 2022)

Robert said:


> Civilian - Civil War
> Double-G - G2 (although I'd recommend the Germanium II project for that)
> Martian Fuzz - Dead Astronaut Space Fuzz (one particular setting)
> Bigger Muffin - Solid-state portion of the Bigger Muff
> ...



*The Fox - Guild Foxey Lady…


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## Bricksnbeatles (Sep 28, 2022)

Robert said:


> The Fox - Foxx Tone Machine


Another king crimson guitarist’s signature fuzz, but I think you meant Guild Foxey Lady


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## Big Monk (Sep 28, 2022)

I had to look into why you left C2 off!

I'd toss it in there if it was me.


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## Feral Feline (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> So this might be my last build report for a while.
> ...


So tomorrow morning and not another one this evening?


Great looking build, asperusual; interesting build report, natchrally... Can't beat an orange pedal with black knobs, gets me drooling every time.


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## Route14 (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> I think that's the next one for me, the Green Russian. I've heard so much about it but never played one.


I've built lots of Muffs over the years but never did a Green variant until just last week. I always thought they were all pretty close but the Green Russian surprised me. A bit more grit than the other variants. I highly recommend it. I also recommend the Dream Fuzz and Cream Pie for over the top saturated sustain. Stay safe!!!


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## Mentaltossflycoon (Sep 28, 2022)

Fretless through a green bubble was my sound for years.


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## Coda (Sep 28, 2022)

I am one of the few that prefers the Civil War to the Green Russian. Creamier, with a fuller body, and tighter low end, compared to a lot of bass, and a very aggressive (like a wild cat)…but hollow.


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## steviejr92 (Sep 28, 2022)

Coda said:


> I am one of the few that prefers the Civil War to the Green Russian. Creamier, with a fuller body, and tighter low end, compared to a lot of bass, and a very aggressive (like a wild cat)…but hollow.


Almost bought a Sovtek Deluxe Civil war...your making me regret not getting it.


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## Barry (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> So this might be my last build report for a while.
> 
> We have Hurricane Ian coming right over my house as a Category 1 as of the last update sometime Thursday.
> We should be feeling the effects starting tomorrow afternoon as the feeder bands start creeping into Central Florida.
> ...


Looks great, stay safe and we'll see ya on the other side of Ian


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## benny_profane (Sep 28, 2022)

Coda said:


> I am one of the few that prefers the Civil War to the Green Russian. Creamier, with a fuller body, and tighter low end, compared to a lot of bass, and a very aggressive (like a wild cat)…but hollow.


Interesting. Doesn’t the civil war have 430pf feedback caps compared to the green’s 470pf? I’d expect the civil war to be brighter and less smooth? But maybe that’s what you’re referring to as a tighter low end.


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## MichaelW (Sep 28, 2022)

Big Monk said:


> I had to look into why you left C2 off!
> 
> I'd toss it in there if it was me.


Just followed the build doc for "Triangle" variant. I left R23 out as well. What would it do if I put it in? 

Sounds pretty darn awesome the way it is.


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## swyse (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> Just followed the build doc for "Triangle" variant. I left R23 out as well. What would it do if I put it in?
> 
> Sounds pretty darn awesome the way it is.


That's just to prevent popping when the effect is switched, usually people use 1m or 2.2m for it, but a lot of older designs didn't have it, same with the filtering cap c14, don't need filtering when only a battery can power it.


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## Coda (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> What would it do if I put it in?



A completely populated PCB is a happy PCB…it puts the solder on its skin…


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## MichaelW (Sep 28, 2022)

swyse said:


> That's just to prevent popping when the effect is switched, usually people use 1m or 2.2m for it, but a lot of older designs didn't have it, same with the filtering cap c14, don't need filtering when only a battery can power it.


I'm not getting any popping switching it on and off. But I think I would like a bit more resolution on the fuzz knob. Seems like all the adjustment is between full CCW and about 7 o-clock. But there's a lot of tones in that little bit of sweep.


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## swyse (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> I'm not getting any popping switching it on and off. But I think I would like a bit more resolution on the fuzz knob. Seems like all the adjustment is between full CCW and about 7 o-clock. But there's a lot of tones in that little bit of sweep.


did you use a linear taper pot? It's basically just a volume control for the first boost stage, so maybe a log pot would feel better.


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## MichaelW (Sep 28, 2022)

swyse said:


> did you use a linear taper pot? It's basically just a volume control for the first boost stage, so maybe a log pot would feel better.


Yah, I used a B100k. I think maybe the next variant I build I'll try an A100.


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## Coda (Sep 28, 2022)

If your fuzz isnt maxed out you might as well get a Tube Screamer…


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## Locrian99 (Sep 28, 2022)

Kind of a cool mod you could do if you want is to run two wires from the 3n9 pads to a dpdt 3 position put the 3n9 across the two middle legs. A 4n7 across the two top and a 10n across the two bottom and you have a switch for boosted, flat or (stock) scooped mids. Actually that wouldn’t quite work with that set up like it does on vero.    You could though still add a switch a 2 position and run the 3n9 across the top and like an 8n2 for flat  mids across the bottom or a 15n for boosted instead of scooped.


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## Coda (Sep 28, 2022)

Locrian99 said:


> Kind of a cool mod you could do if you want is to run two wires from the 3n9 pads to a dpdt 3 position put the 3n9 across the two middle legs. A 4n7 across the two top and a 10n across the two bottom and you have a switch for boosted, flat or (stock) scooped mids. Actually that wouldn’t quite work with that set up like it does on vero.    You could though still add a switch a 2 position and run the 3n9 across the top and like an 8n2 for flat  mids across the bottom or a 15n for boosted instead of scooped.



This is a good one. I did a similar mod to my Mask Us build, except I have it set for stock and boosted mids…


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## MichaelW (Sep 28, 2022)

Locrian99 said:


> Kind of a cool mod you could do if you want is to run two wires from the 3n9 pads to a dpdt 3 position put the 3n9 across the two middle legs. A 4n7 across the two top and a 10n across the two bottom and you have a switch for boosted, flat or (stock) scooped mids. Actually that wouldn’t quite work with that set up like it does on vero.    You could though still add a switch a 2 position and run the 3n9 across the top and like an 8n2 for flat  mids across the bottom or a 15n for boosted instead of scooped.


I booked marked this to come back to it. Sounds like a cool mod! I'm really thinking the Green Russian is the next variant I want to build.


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## benny_profane (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> I booked marked this to come back to it. Sounds like a cool mod! I'm really thinking the Green Russian is the next variant I want to build.


Do it! It’s a good one. I like the flexibility of the mid scoop/flat/boost switch too.


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## Feral Feline (Sep 28, 2022)

My favourite Muff tone stack mod is Aion Halo style, uses an on-on-on switch for boosted, flat, scooped — in that order.


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## Big Monk (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> Just followed the build doc for "Triangle" variant. I left R23 out as well. What would it do if I put it in?
> 
> Sounds pretty darn awesome the way it is.



I read up on it because i was curious and Kit Rae seems to indicate it was simply left out due probably to a shortage of 500p caps for that run. 

Basically a bean counter decision. Every three pedals with a cap left off would generate enough caps for an extra pedal!

You might notice it become a touch smoother.


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## MichaelW (Sep 28, 2022)

Big Monk said:


> I read up on it because i was curious and Kit Rae seems to indicate it was simply left out due probably to a shortage of 500p caps for that run.
> 
> Basically a bean counter decision. Every three pedals with a cap left off would generate enough caps for an extra pedal!
> 
> You might notice it become a touch smoother.


I kinda dig the "edge" of this one I built. Definitely has a cool "bite" to it.


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## Big Monk (Sep 28, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> I kinda dig the "edge" of this one I built. Definitely has a cool "bite" to it.



Nothing wrong with that at all. I was just curious about that iteration that the triangle from the build docs is based on so I had to look it up. 

I really enjoy learning how off the cuff that early EHX stuff was. Bargain basement leftover parts, no consistency, removing caps from a design to make more pedals!


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## MichaelW (Sep 28, 2022)

Big Monk said:


> Nothing wrong with that at all. I was just curious about that iteration that the triangle from the build docs is based on so I had to look it up.
> 
> I really enjoy learning how off the cuff that early EHX stuff was. Bargain basement leftover parts, no consistency, removing caps from a design to make more pedals!


Gotta make payroll baby!

Edit: I think they officially call the practice "factoring" these days in accounting right? hahaha.....


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## cdwillis (Sep 29, 2022)

Hope you're staying safe in this hurricane.

I built a bunch of muff variants a few months ago. The Triangle style was one of my favorites. The Violet Ram's Head might be my favorite all around muff. I'm not sure what the parts list shows for the Ram's Head off the top of my head, but I built two versions from Kit Rae schematics, a Violet V1 the 470pf caps and V2 with the 560pf caps. They were pretty close, but the V1 sounded better I think with the 470pf caps. The 560pf caps in the V2 made it a little too smooth. Definitely check this one out if you build another after that Civilian


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## almondcity (Sep 29, 2022)

I got a question for yall. Is there a way to make the bass end of the tone control useful at all? I know maybe using like a C taper pot might shift the range over but is there anything else that can be done?


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## swyse (Sep 29, 2022)

almondcity said:


> I got a question for yall. Is there a way to make the bass end of the tone control useful at all? I know maybe using like a C taper pot might shift the range over but is there anything else that can be done?








I have no idea what muff version if any this is I'm working from, but you could try this jumper from the way huge swollen pickle as a simple mod. It gives you a different feel to the tone control retaining a lot of treble except for the most bassy settings. 
Before:






After:


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