What Do You Think Is The Best Big Muff?

[Neta]

Hey guys!
I've recently completed my first pedal (successfully) - the NPN Boost.
I want to take and bigger and more useful challenge and I've decided on the well known BIG MUFF!
The only problem is there are 12 versions and hundreds of variants.

So, which one is best in your eyes?
Just for the record, I'm trying to make my guitar tone a bit fatter, fuller and of course with more sustain. Though I guess all the Big Muffs fit that description.

Thanks for the help!!

[nocentelli]

It's hard to recommend a favourite Muff - even the experienced bmp fanatics can't agree on what characterises a particular version. Furthermore, some of the different versions include fairly trivial alterations to cap or resistor values that may well make little audible difference. I'd suggest picking a popular version (e.g. "violet ram's head"), laying it out on the breadboard, and then listening to the result. If it's too scooped or not bassy enough, for example, you can then use the endless Big Muff resources on the net to tweak it to your taste.

Personally, i find the tone stack to have the greatest influence on the "stock" big Muff sound when tweaking. The bmp has an inherent midscoop which is not to everyone's taste: You can alter the tonestack values to remove this scoop, or add a mids/body/presence pot to allow for the degree of mid boost or scoop to be dialled in (search for amz bmp presence mod).

[Electron Tornado]

Some like the ram's head, some like the triangle. Some like to argue the pros and cons of both. The only way to determine for your self is to listen to different versions. If you want to build one, there are a plethora of sources on the web. There are a couple of places that sell kits, liek General Guitar Gadgets and Build Your Own Clone. The one from General Guitar Gadgets is set up to let you build either of a couple of different versions on the same PCB. The kit from the other company may as well, but you'll have to check.

Modding the tone control is seems more versatile than other mods, IMO. Use the Duncan Tone Stack Calculator to help you see what the stock frequency response is and see what different mods will do:  [ur]http://www.duncanamps.com/tsc/[/url]

Take a look at these discussions:  http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=78111.0

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=88048.0

[thehallofshields]

I'd recommend using the 'Triangle' BMP Layout from Tonepad.

http://www.tonepad.com/getFile.asp?id=94

It's the original, with reduced caps for a balanced bass response.
(The original-original is way too much bass for guitar)

Russian is too Woofy, Rams Head is too Sharp, Triangle is just right.

Then take a look at Big Muff Mods:

http://rkerkhof.ruhosting.nl/Taas/Mods/Big%20Muff.htm

Play around with them, and put one on a switch.

[Zipslack]

Okay, do I have to be the first one to say, "Your Mom's" ?