Awesome Opamp Big Muff tone!

One of my favourite tone memories has been that of the Smashing Pumpkins on their first few albums. The massive thick Big Muff tone always sounded phenomenal to me. Despite my love for this tone I never really had a need for a Big Muff, but since modifying and building my own pedals I thought it might be fun to build one. I understood that my favourite Muff tones came from a Big Muff that was only in production for a few years too – the Version 2/3 Opamp Big Muff made in the late seventies. These are quite different to other Big Muff builds over the years, which used transistors. The Opamp models differ in tone, in that they are slightly less fuzzy, cut a little better in a live setting, and aren’t as smooth when it comes to sustain. I decided that if I were to build a Big Muff that it would be the Opamp model. (more…)