Turning the Big Muff Pi Into a Super Muff

[Paul Marossy]

I recently did some of the mods to a Big Muff Pi at premierguitar.com directly for a client. I did the basic mods plus the ones to make it "creamier" and I also did the dual tone control mod.

Now I haven't played a Big Muff Pi before this morning, and I was playing it this morning and I think that it is a pretty versatile pedal with all of these mods done to it. I made a quick soundclip of it to demonstrate how tweaking the controls will change how it sounds. The guitar I am using is my SpankenStrat with only the bridge pickup, which is a DiMarzio FRED. The tone controls are very interactive and yield a wide range of sounds.

Doing the mods was a real pain in the rear, however. The first thing that I found is that tracks on the PCB will literally melt away if you keep the desoldering braid on one spot too long. I've never seen a PCB like it before - it's like the tracks are actually made from tin, and not from copper. I found that it's better to hold the soldering iron to the component being removed on the solder side of the PCB and pry the part off from the opposite side, and then quickly use some desoldering braid to clean up the holes. The other thing to keep an eye on is to not break any of the very fragile wires while doing the mods.

To do the dual tone control mods, it requires the relocation of the status LED and the enlargement of the hole where the LED was mounted. This allows for the addition of the second tone control. See the picture below:



Also, it's a good idea to mark where each wire of the ribbon cable goes in case any of these wires break while doing the mods. It's also very helpful to do this when you do the dual tone control mod as you'll need to reconnect three of the wires in the ribbon cable.



Just a sidenote: The owner of the pedal had replaced the input & output jacks for some reason, and I had to find a better way of supporting the PCB rather than the foam and electrical tape that was used - another thing I had to fix. I kept some of the foam in there to prevent anything from shorting out, and for supporting the end of the PCB. It took about 3-4 hours to do the repairs and to mod it.

[petemoore]

  Thanks Brian Wampler and Paul Marossey !
  One day I'll rip open my BMP, put it in a better enclosure w/LED + some tonestack mods.
  Nice smooth tones and a nice range of tone controlling ! Big thik Muff-Tones !

[Paul Marossy]

I guess I should have played it a bit before I modded it so I could see what the differences are. Doh! 

Anyhow, I think it sounds really good at some of the settings. That's the kind of tone I am usually trying to get with whatever I might be trying to use, but it's just a little bit more aggressive. I like it. 

[makaze808]

every hawkwind rythm sound from one demo, cool. Just whack a flanger on it, delay, panner and you'll be away.
You sound like me playing

If your every in manchester pop round for a session.

Keep muffing.

[Paul Marossy]

What's a "hawkwind rythm sound"? 

[John Lyons]

The band Hawkwind...come on Paul. First Budgie and now Hawkwind.
You gotta brush up on your english rock/prog/space rock bands! 

John

[Paul Marossy]

The band Hawkwind...come on Paul. First Budgie and now Hawkwind.
You gotta brush up on your english rock/prog/space rock bands!  

John

Oh, sorry, I'm an instrumental rock, jazz & fusion nut. I also listen to all kinds of stuff in addition to that. But I am afraid that I am not familiar with Hawkwind, either.  

[frequencycentral]

http://www.hawkwind.com/

Their 40th anniversary this year. I'll be at Wulfrun Hall on the 17th December for sure.

[manson]

Nice mods What is the idea behind changing R22 to 1M ohm?

[Paul Marossy]

http://www.hawkwind.com/

Their 40th anniversary this year. I'll be at Wulfrun Hall on the 17th December for sure.

Wow, they've been together almost as long as I have been alive! 
I think their guitar tones are a little smoother than what is in my soundclip, though. 

Nice mods What is the idea behind changing R22 to 1M ohm?

I'm not real sure. It seems like you would want to keep it at 470K, doesn't it?

[frequencycentral]

http://www.hawkwind.com/

Their 40th anniversary this year. I'll be at Wulfrun Hall on the 17th December for sure.

Wow, they've been together almost as long as I have been alive! 

Being 'older than Hawkwind' is something you should keep quiet about Paul. 

[makaze808]

Rick,  it'd be great to say hello at that gig, I'll be there for sure, I'll nudge you nearer the time.