A thunderous, ripping riff on the Ram’s Head theme.
Cutting, open, and airy fuzz that communicates chord detail and packs a punch.
You can, ostensibly, buy the same pedal without a signature and with less fancy paint for 17 bucks less.
$132
Electro-Harmonix J Mascis Ram's Head Big Muff Pi
ehx.com
If there is a single quality that distinguishes the music of Dinosaur Jr., it is the band’s knack for wedding brute force to heart-wrenching melodicism. And though much is made of the band’s volume, the most important pillars in Dinosaur Jr.’s musical architecture are the deceptively tuneful sensibilities of songwriter and guitarist J Mascis.
Mascis and Dinosaur Jr.’s ability to graft Gene Clark’s sense of song to Motorhead’s megatonnage is a trick that can feel just short of sorcery. And as anyone who has tried can attest, communicating nuanced, beautiful melodies and moods through a haze of fuzz damage is not easy. For starters, you need a fuzz that doesn’t crumble under the harmonic weight of a first position chord. Strangely, given its capacity for sheer horsepower, an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff is pretty good at that task. Where other archetypal fuzzes like Tone Benders and Fuzz Faces tend to turn to a spitty mess when you play a C chord, a Big Muff stays surprisingly cohesive. This capacity for clarity and potency caught J Mascis’ ear in the earliest days of Dinosaur Jr.’s evolution. And as much as any other factor, the Muff became a critical underpinning of Mascis’ live sound.
The J Mascis version offers heaps of the balanced but scorching tone colors that make the music of Dinosaur Jr. so melodically monstrous.
Electro-Harmonix elected to celebrate Mascis’ allegiance to the Big Muff with a signature variation of the Nano Ram’s Head. That’s no small matter: In EHX’s long, storied history, this is the company’s first signature edition. Appropriately, the J Mascis does not disappoint. It does everything the already awesome Ram’s Head Big Muff does. That’s little surprise given that EHX tells us there is no significant difference between a regular Ram’s Head circuit (in its current guise) and the Mascis version. I played the two side by side for a long time and swear I heard a more present high-end and a touch more buzzsaw aggression in the J Mascis. Your results—or perceptions—may vary. Either way, the J Mascis version offers heaps of the balanced but scorching tone colors that make the music of Dinosaur Jr. so melodically monstrous.
Vive Le Différence
As is noted often in Premier Guitar, there is no definitive Ram’s Head Big Muff. Inconsistencies in components during the original run make the likelihood of any two Muffs sounding identical pretty slim. Even Mascis’ own favorite original Muff is an oddball, with wildly drifting component values that have thrown obsessive circuit detectives like Matt Holl for a loop.
Those inconsistencies aren’t generally an issue these days. And admittedly the differences I heard when comparing the J Mascis version to my own current-issue Ram’s Head were small. At times I wondered if they were attributable to inconsistent potentiometers or some other factor. At other times, I became less sure that they even existed at all. But if pressed, I’ll stand by my assertion that the Mascis—at least at my preferred range of gain and tone settings (anywhere between 1 o’clock and maximum)—is both a little more buzzily aggressive and clearer in the high midrange. Perhaps the lesson here is to try both versions, or a few of each, in the flesh and let your ears decide.
There are many musical styles suited to the J Mascis Ram’s Head tone profile. Dave Gilmour fans that love his extra-grindy tone from live Animals tour bootlegs will seriously dig the way it both growls and soars with extra attitude. It also generates high-gain variations on psych-punk ’66 fuzz colors that would make a Super Fuzz blush. And high-desert-dwelling Iommis will love its doomful mass.
The Verdict
Whether or not you choose to spend an extra 17 bucks to acquire a J Mascis Ram’s Head rather than a regular EHX Ram’s Head will probably be down to the degree of your Dinosaur Jr. fandom, your completist tendencies as a Big Muff collector, or your preference for purple-on-white paint schemes. But while EHX insists that this circuit is identical to the less expensive Ram’s Head, I heard enough difference to underscore the notion that—even in times of tighter-than-ever manufacturing and component standards—small differences can exist among similar pedals, and that it pays to try a few out. Whatever the baseline, the J Mascis Ram’s Head Big Muff positively cooks for a 132 dollar fuzz, and is more than capable of the detail and copious power that made the Big Muff an indispensable part of the Dinosaur Jr. formula in the first place.
Electro-Harmonix J Mascis Signature Ram's Head Big Muff Pi Demo | First Look
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Stompboxtober is rolling on! Enter below for your chance to WIN today's featured pedal from Peterson Tuners! Come back each day during the month of October for more chances to win!
Peterson StroboStomp Mini Pedal Tuner
| The StroboStomp Mini delivers the unmatched 0.1 cent tuning accuracy of all authentic Peterson Strobe Tuners in a mini pedal tuner format. We designed StroboStomp Mini around the most requested features from our customers: a mini form factor, and top mounted jacks. |
This four-in-one effects box is a one-stop shop for Frusciante fans, but it’s also loaded with classic-rock swagger.
Great, lively preamp sounds. Combines two modulation flavors with big personalities. One-stop shop for classic-rock tones. Good value.
Big. Preamp can’t be disengaged. At some settings, flanger effect leaves a little to be desired.
$440
JFX Deluxe Modulation Ensemble
jfxpedals.com
When I think of guitarists with iconic, difficult-to-replicate guitar tones, I don’t think of John Frusciante. I always figured it was easy to get close enough to his clean tones with a Strat and any garden-variety tube amp, and in some ways, it is. (To me, anyway.) But to really nail his tone is a trickier thing.
That’s a task that Jordan Fresque—the namesake builder behind Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario’s JFX Pedals—has committed significant time and energy into tackling. His Empyrean is a five-in-one box dedicated to Frusciante’s drive and dirt tones, encompassing fuzz, boost, and preamp effects. And his four-in-one, all-analog Deluxe Modulation Ensemble reviewed here is another instant Frusciante machine.
The Frusciante Formula
Half of the pedal is based off of the Boss CE-1, the first chorus pedal created. The CE-1 is renowned as much for its modulation as for its preamp circuit, which Boss recently treated to its own pedal in the BP-1W. The other half—and the pedal’s obvious aesthetic inspiration—is the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress, an analog flanger introduced in the late ’70s. Frusciante fans have clamored over the guitarist’s use of the CE-1 for decades. The Chili Peppers 6-stringer reportedly began using one in the early ’90s for his chorus and vibrato tones, and the preamp naturally warmed his Strat’s profile. Various forum heads claim John dug into the Electric Mistress on tracks like “This Is the Place” off of 2002’s By the Way. The Deluxe Modulation Ensemble aims to give you the keys to these sounds in one stomp.
JFX describes the DME as “compact,” which is a bit of a stretch. Compared to the sizes of the original pedals its based on? Sure, it’s smaller. But it’s wider and deeper than two standard-sized pedals on a board, even accounting for cabling. But quibbles around space aside, the DME is a nice-looking box that’s instantly recognizable as an Electric Mistress homage. (Though I wish it kept that pedal’s brushed-aluminum finish). The knobs for the Mistress-style as well as the authentic Boss and EHX graphics are great touches.
The flanger side features a footswitch, knobs for range, rate, and color, and a toggle to flip between normal function and EHX’s filter matrix mode, which freezes the flange effect in one spot along its sweep. The CE-1-inspired side sports two footswitches—one to engage the effect, and one to flip between chorus and vibrato—plus an intensity knob for the chorus, depth and rate knobs for the vibrato, and gain knob for the always-on preamp section. The DME can be set to high- or low-input mode by a small toggle switch, and high boosts the gain and volume significantly. A suite of three LED lights tell you what’s on and what’s not, and Fresque even added the CE-1’s red peak level LED to let you know when you’re getting into drive territory.
The effects are wired in series, but they’re independent circuits, and Fresque built an effects loop between them. The DME can run in stereo, too, if you really want to blast off.
I Like Dirt
The DME’s preamp is faithful to the original in that it requires a buffered unit before it in the chain to maintain its treble and clarity. With that need satisfied, the DME’s preamp boots into action without any engaging—it’s a literal always-on effect. To be honest, after I set it to low input and cranked it, I forgot all about Frusciante and went to town on classic-rock riffs. It souped up my Vox AC10 with groove and breadth, smoothing out tinny overtones and thickening lead lines, though higher-gain settings lost some low-end character and overall mojo.
The chorus nails the wonky Frusciante wobble on “Aquatic Moth Dance” and the watery outro on “Under the Bridge,” and the vibrato mode took me right through his chording on 2022’s “Black Summer.” On the flanger side, I had the most fun in the filter matrix mode, tweaking the color knob for slightly different metallic, clanging tones, each with lots of character.
The Verdict
If you’re a Frusciante freak, the Deluxe Modulation Ensemble will get you within spitting distance of many of his most revered tonal combinations. If you’re not, it’s still a wickedly versatile modulation multitool with a sweet preamp that’ll give your rig instant charisma. It ain’t cheap, and it ain’t small, but JFX has squeezed an impressive amount of value into this stomp
A classic-voiced, 3-knob fuzz with power and tweakability that surpass its seemingly simple construction.
A classic-voiced, well-built fuzz whose sounds, power, and tweakability distinguish it from many other 3-knob dirt boxes.
None, although it’s a tad pricey.
$249
SoloDallas Orbiter
solodallas.com
You’ve probably seen me complain about the overpopulation of 3-knob fuzz/OD pedals in these pages—and then promptly write a rave review of some new triple-knobber. Well, I’m doing it again. SoloDallas’ Orbiter, inspired by the classic circuit of the 1966 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, stings and sings like a germanium Muhammad Ali. Mine’s already moved to my pedalboard full-time, because it delivers over-the-top fuzz, and allows my core tones to emerge.
But it also generates smooth, light distortion that sustains beautifully when you use an easy touch, punches through a live mix with its impressive gain, and generates dirt voices from smooth to sputtering, via the bias dial. All of which means you can take gnarly fuzz forays without creating the aural mudslides less-well-engineered Fuzz Face spinoffs can produce.
“Fuzzy forays are gnarly as desired without sacrificing tonal character or creating the aural mudslides less wisely engineered Fuzz Face spinoffs can produce.”
The basics: The 4 3/4" x 2 1/2" x 1 1/2" blue-sparkle, steel enclosure is coolly retro, abetted by the image of a UFO abduction on the front—an allusion to the flying saucer shape of the original device. Inside, a mini-pot dials in ideal impedance response for your pickups. I played through single-coils, humbuckers, Firebird humbuckers, and gold-foils and found the factory setting excellent for all of them. There’s also a bias knob that increases voltage to the two germanium transistors when turned clockwise, yielding more clarity and smooth sustain as you go. Counterclockwise, the equally outstanding sputtering sounds come into play. For a 3-knob fuzz box it’s a tad costly, but for some players it might be the last stop in the search for holy grail Fuzz Face-style sounds.
MayFly’s Le Habanero Boost and Fuzz pedal, designed with input from Trevor May and Lucas Haneman, offers a wide range of tonal options from clean to scream. Responsive to player touch and guitar volume, stack the Boost and Fuzz for endless sustain and harmonics. Perfect for exploring your inner David Gilmour.
MayFly’s Trevor May and LH Express’ Lucas Haneman have been cooking upsomething real good. Le Habanero is a dual boost and fuzz pedal specifically designed to be very responsive tothe player’s picking hand and the guitar’s volume control. With Lucas’ input, the pedal was specifically tweakedto give a ton of tonal options, from clean to scream, by just using your fingers. It heats up your tone with a tastyboost, scorching lead tones with the fuzz, tantalizing tastes of extreme heat when boost and fuzz are combined.
The boost side is designed to ride the edge between clean and grit. Keep the drive below 12 o’clock for cleanboost but with active treble and bass controls, or push the gain for clear/clean sustain with great note definition.
The fuzz side is tuned to match the tonality of the boost side and offers a load of sustain and harmonics. The fuzz features a unique two-pole filter circuit and deep switch to help match it with single coils or humbuckers.
Stacking the Boost and Fuzz gives you even more. Want to explore your inner David Gilmour? Switch both onand turn up the volume! Want to switch to Little Wing? Turn the volume back down.
- Combination Boost and Fuzz pedal, designed to work well together.
- Very responsive to guitar volume and player’s touch.
- Use Boost and Fuzz independently, or stack them.
- Boost features Treble, Bass, Volume, and Drive controls.
- Fuzz features a two pole Tone filter, Deep switch, Fuzz and Volume controls.
- Stack them to create endless sustain and plenty of harmonics.
- Wide form factor for better footswitch control live.
- Full bypass using relays, with Mayfly’s Failsafe circuitry.
- Suggested Pairing: add a dash of Le Habanaro to spice up a MayFly Sunrise guitar amp simulator!
MAP price: $185
For more information, please visit mayflyaudio.com.