Heres a comparison video I’ve made between an original V1 Electro Harmonix Small Stone and the Reissue.
Original Electro Harmonix Small Stone VS Reissue
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Electro Harmonix Muff Overdrive & Double Muff
Double Muff
The Electro Harmonix Double Muff was one of the first pedals, bought for £35 in 2004. I took it home and quickly plugged it in, and it sounded completed different to how I imagined it would (I wasn’t wise or bold enough to actually try the thing out before shelling out 35 of my hard earned pounds). I was expected a full on onslaught of a wall of sound like you get from a Big Muff, but this was a lot more restrained- there was a lot less gain and way more mids. My misconceptions on what I was getting actually really helped mature my guitar sound in the long run.
The Double Muff is essentially two single Muff Fuzz pedals housed in one housing. The controls consist of two simple volume switches- one for each Muff- and a Single/Double switch to choose whether you have one Muff Fuzz or two cascading. As volume 1 is the first muff in the signal chain, this really does what it says on the tin- control the overall volume. The gain is fixed, so cranking the volume won’t have any effect apart from making you go deaf (unless you’re putting it infront of a preamp with some distortion on, which I wouldn’t recommend, as the result is an awful farty mess). Because the second Muff is later in the signal chain, this acts more like a gain control for the second Muff, so you can get some very fuzz tones (without going too deaf).
Sound
The sound on the Double Muff is very hard to pin down. This is because I’ve never come across a pedal that varies in sound so differently between different amps. Back when it had a permanent residence on my pedal board, my amp was a Vox Valvetronics VT30. Using a slightly crunchy Fender Clean or the AC30 model, I could get some sublime tones. Enough overdrive to sustain a solo but not too much to get muddy and lost in the mix (this is one of the reasons I’ve never had a Big Muff on my pedal board). I was constantly kicking the large (but annoyingly not an actual foot switch) single/double control to change my tone. Life was good. Then I upgraded to a Peavey Classic 30. For some reason unknown to man, these inanimate pieces of equipment hated each other. The mid tones that help set this pedal apart from other Muffs just made a shrill and thin sound. As there are no tone shaping controls available, it had to move off my pedal board in place of a Blackstar HT Drive. I also tried it with a Vox AC30 to the same effect. Now my amps are a Blackstar HT 5 (which is what I’m using in the demo video) and a Hughes and Kettner Statesman. The Double Muff sounds quite good through both amps, but are honestly not the kind of sound I’m currently going for right now. Overall, the Double Muff is a a dark distortion that can sometimes go into a light fuzz, and it generally suits single coils more. A Strat neck pickup with a bit of tone rolled off can sound very sweet.
Muff Overdrive
The Muff Overdrive is exactly the same pedal as the Double Muff, hence the name, so pretty much everything I’ve said about the Double Muff applies when its in single mode. Personally, I normally use the Double Muff in Double setting, so the appeal of the Muff OD is limited to me. It being called an “Overdrive” is a bit odd- its a dark distortion or a light fuzz if anything. The description on the Electro Harmonix site is “Reissue of the original 1969 Muff Fuzz.” I own the original Muff Fuzz, and the two sound completely different (video comparison coming). I think this is a real missed opportunity to reissue an amazing sounding and very simple pedal-instead, Electro Harmonix have released a mediocre one.
Summary
Cost wise, the Muff OD can be picked up for around £29 and the Double for £39 (this is for the new design, which has a much smaller footprint but the single/double switch which is impossible to switch with your feet, unlike the big box version.) I’m not too sure why you’d go for the Muff OD for a such a difference in price, unless you want to get two and have a “true” Double Muff with two independent foot switches.
The Double Muff for the money is a very pedal. It’s a pretty unique sound that still cuts through in a band environment. But, if you are able to, please try it out with your own amp before buying as it results really do vary wildly.
Demo 1 with Blackstar HT 5
Demo 2 with Hughes and Kettner Statesman
Bob Bradshaw Custom Audio Effects
Here’s a really cool video a friend sent me of Bob Bradshaw of Custom Audio Effects. He talks through his custom pedal boards, specifically his custom switching and routing systems.
I’m a fan of true bypass looping systems and use a Loop Master system myself for pretty much all the reasons that Bob states, although its not automated. I was considering the Carl Martin Octa Switch which you can programme each control as a “patch,” but I think I use too many combinations of effects. I did have a bit of hard time working out how to use it with my effects loop, but you can do so by sacrificing one loop and feeding the amp input and the effects out and leaving it on constantly.
Mike Einziger using Squier Telecaster
Heres an interesting quote from an interview with one of my all time favorite guitarists, Mike Einziger from Incubus. He talks about the gear he used when recording their latest album, If Not Now, When?:
“I was in Guitar Center in Hollywood and I found this Squire Telecaster and I loved it and bought it. I hadn’t really had that affinity for any guitar in kind of a while so I got this stock Squire. I used that for many, many of the songs including “Tomorrow’s Food.”
This once again shows to me how good some cheaper guitars can be (especially Squier’s). Not only is it used on an album released by a very successful band, but its used amongst vintage Jazzmasters, SGs and American Strats, and you can’t tell the difference in quality. And it was stock!
He doesn’t mention what Squier it was, but I saw Incubus a few months ago (and I’m seeing them again this Friday), and he was using a Thinline Tele. Heres a photo I took:
Looking at the headstock, it does say “Fender”, so I’m guessing he got a few made up by the Fender Custom shop for the store.
It’s also worth noting: “I hadn’t really had that affinity for any guitar in kind of a while.” This means that not only does it sound good, but its fun to play too. I think a lot of us can forget about having fun when we spend hours debating what material of bridge saddle to use- guitars are meant to be fun, regardless of price.
Source: Ultimate Guitar
Heights
I’m going to see one of my favorite local bands on Saturday, Heights. If you like hard hitting, technical, interesting three piece instrumental-prog-rock, I’d check these guys out.
Electro Harmonix Little Muff Pi demo
1975 Electro Harmonix Small Stone Version One
I’ve managed to snap up a V:1 Electro Harmonix Small Stone to my great surprise. I’ve never even seen a V:1 before, so I’m chuffed to own one!
Comparing it to my 2005 re-issue Small Stone, it retains the usual Small Stone characteristics but goes to further extremes. With the colour switch down it’s a lot more subtle- barley noticeable on when the phase is slow. It sounds fantastic with the speed control between 12 O’clock and 3 O’clock. The same setting on the re-issue is still too over the top for me, which is why I got a Script Phase 90, which I’ve been using for the past 6 months after having the Small Stone constantly on my board for the past 5 years. But with the colour switch up, its extremely over the top and can almost sound like a Flanger when its changing from negative to positive sweep. Very cool if you want ultra in-your-face phasing, but I do tend to keep it in the colour down position.
I’ve recorded a run through of pedal and will do a comparison with the Re-issue Small Stone and the Script Phase 90 as soon as I get a chance.
1975 Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff Pi
As you may have noticed, I’m a bit obsessed with collecting vintage EHX Muffs at the moment. This is my second, the Little Big Muff Pi. This is not to be confused with the recent reissue, which is effectively a Big Muff in a smaller chassis.
The LBMP was first released around in the mid 70s (mines from 1975), and they are effectively a big muff with the circuit board sideways (to save space) with no gain or tone controls. It has a single control for volume and a tone switch. This switches between two extremes- the tone being rolled all the way off for a very dull, bassy sound or the tone on full, creating a very bright, almost harsh sound. It is possible to modify this to Big Muff spec, but I want to keep the integrity of the pedal intact. It’s a shame that EHX did this with the tone circuit, as it would have been cheaper for them to have no tone switch at all but keep the tone between 40% or 60%- and it would have sounded better!
I’ve got a few more Muffs on the way and will do a mega comparison video as soon as they’re here (I need to keep off eBay for a while….)
Adam
1978 Electro Harmonix Muff Fuzz
I’ve just got a 1978′s Electro Harmonix Muff Fuzz.
As you can see, it’s very beat up. It’s rusty and has some gaffa tape stuck to it which doesn’t want to come off.
It’s also very very small, by far the smallest pedal I own. This is quite funny considering how huge some Electro Harmonix pedals have been (I’m looking at you, Big Muff Pi)! I suppose it’s probably to do with it not having a footswitch or an LED, and the original design had a jack socket mounted to the pedal, so you had to plug it directly into the amp. Even a medium sized pedal sticking directly out of an amps input isn’t a great idea.
Theres not alot going on inside. To be honest, I never quite trust a fuzz pedal that has a lot going on inside!
I wasn’t expecting much from this. I thought it would be a cool thing to have, but it I didn’t think it would sound very good. I’ve had an Electro Harmonix Double Muff for a good few years now, and the “Single” Muff setting generally doesn’t sound great- I normally go with the “Double” setting. The “Single” can sound quite weak- more like a raspy overdrive sound than a fuzz which can also be unbearably bright. It’s also very picky with what amps it sounds good (or even usable) with. With the Muff Fuzz, I plugged it, played a power chord and was blown away. You get a very full, warm fuzz sound, which isn’t too distorted so you can’t hear what’s going on, but it isn’t too weak either. I’ve only tried it with my Telecaster, but it sounds great in any pick up position. The neck pickup sounds especially nice- very creamy and with tonnes of sustain.
Any way, I’ve recorded a quick demo video of a couple of its sounds. Enjoy!
Squier Classic Vibe Custom Telecaster: PT 2
It’s been more than a while seen I’ve posted on here as I haven’t had the time or anything interesting to say, so I thought I’d break my silence with some of my thoughts on the CV Tele. I’ve had a lot of time to get to know it- I’ve been using it as my main guitar since I bought it in January for rehearsals and recordings.
Completely stock, the guitar is excellent for a sub £300 guitar. But as I mentioned in my previous post, I had plans to upgrade it.
The first thing I did was put on some D’addario 10-52s. Some people may find this to heavy on a guitar with a 25.5inch scale length (especially in standard tuning), but they feel really solid to me (I tend to hit the guitar quite hard and they never go out of tune). And they don’t half sound good too! You can feel the guitar resonate a lot more from the extra string movement.
As I mentioned in my first review, the electrics weren’t great but the pickups were quite good for a £300 guitar. I liked the bridge pickup quite a bit- it had a nice bit of bite to it, but the neck pickup sounded a bit hollow. Also I had to really watch how much gain I was using at rehearsal as they were microphonic. These have been swapped out for a set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity, as have the stock pots and switch. The new pickups are fantastic and bring the guitar to a whole new tonal level. The bridge pickup is my ideal bridge single coil- moderate output so it drives the amp just right and you maintain the classic Tele “twang” without being overly harsh and piercing. It sounds great clean or distorted- it cuts through like a knife on both. The neck pickup is very nice- extremely warm, if not too much so. I tend to like a lot treble, which this is shorter on than most single coils. But, this takes away a lot of the harshness that you can get from too bright single coils, especially when distorted, where it sounds massive. If it contiunes sounding too bassy for my liking, I may swap it for a Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro. Also, microphonic feedback is now only an issue if I have my 50watt Valve head extremely loud with full gain, which is to be expected on any vintage spec single coil. Lastly, they look great- they are aged out of the box. You even get old school vintage style clothe on the cable as well as rusty screws- very cool! 
I changed the pots for CTS pots and the 3 way switch to a 4 way switch- this allows to have both pickups wired in series like a humbucker, for a fatter sound. This sounds great, but I mainly use either the neck or bridge pick ups individually. It’s worth noting that if you want to change the pots, you’ll have to get a new control plate and control knobs, as the stock pots and the CTS pots are different sizes. As you can see, I’ve had the whole control plate switched to allow for easier volume swells (the volume pot is the first pot) and so I don’t accidentally hit the pickup selector switch.
I was asked in a comment if I had changed the bridge or the bridge saddles to have brass saddles. I was initially thinking of changing to a Wilkinson Compensated bridge, but have decided against it as the stock bridge is fine for now. Historically, the original 60s Custom Telecasters used steel saddles instead of brass saddles.
The neck is still a tiny bit too thin for me, but is still comfortable and playable. But, as its a high gloss finish, after hours of standing in a hot rehearsal room, the neck can get quite sticky. I may sand it down when I feel brave enough or swap it to my 80′s Maple Squier (which annoyingly needs a re-fret).
I’ve not made anymore modifications as there isn’t really much else that can be changed- the tuners are fine, the mint green scratch plate looks great, the nut works well. I removed the string tee just to tinker with the guiar, but it’s obviously there for a reason as the high E fell off three times in one song.
Overall, I love this guitar and I’m very happy that I bought it. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a Tele without spending too much, especially if they want to change the electrics over at a later date. Stock it sounds good, but modified it sounds amazing.
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(note- I will try and add some video demos as soon as I get a spare minute.)