I admit it, I’m a guitar snob. I have an 18 watt, point-to-point hand wired amp, a totally stellar guitar, and numerous boutique effects pedals. So when I wanted a fuzz pedal this weekend, I went to the local music store to check out some pedals. I was fully expecting to try a couple, be disappointed with the sound, and leave. The first pedal I tried was the Jimmy Hendrix Octave fuzz, which had an interesting sound, but was a one-trick pony. It was also $130, so it was out. The salesman then brought up a Double Muff, and it was KILLER. It’s one of the most responsive pedals I’ve ever played through. It’s also got a creamy rich tone with a beautiful crackle-metallic edge. Backing off the volume cleans up the tone in a very controllable fashion, making it simple to go from clean to unbelievably saturated.
So, I decided to buy the thing, and to my complete surprise, it was $52; extremely cheap for a pedal with such fantastic tone. There are a couple flies in the ointment though, the pedal is a bit large despite the simple circuit. Also, the inputs and outputs are at the top of the pedal, which is very different than every other pedal in my pedal board. On top of this, it uses an 1/8″ power plug unlike every other pedal I have. The pedal is also very sensitive to placement. You need to put it first on the pedal board, or all the stank comes out of it.
But these are minor inconveniences, my pedal board actually came with an 1/8″ plug, and a bit of judicious cable routing solved the strange jack placement. In the end, the Double Muff delivers the goods and for a price that just sweetens the deal.
March 28th, 2006 at 10:41 am
What’s this about you moving out West?
It’s been a while since I’ve visited these hallowed halls, I was glad to see a guitar post on here. I haven’t tried the Double Muff… sounds like a bad p*rn movie, but also sounds like a really nice deal.
I’ve been using the Captain Coconut 2, which is a Fuzz/Octave/Vibrato combination pedal with lots of customization settings. I don’t have much to compare it to, but it produces some pretty fun sounds.
Unfortunately, I’ve had to stow my Dr. Z amp (bought on SCohen’s recommendation) at my parents house because I’ve moved into a condo, but to replace it, I received a 10″ Fender Pro Junior amplifier for Christmas this past year. What a blast! Very portable and very clean crunchy tube sound.
Most guitar posts, SCohen.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
I remember the captain coconut. Remember? I was there when you bought it! I’m sure the coconut blows away the double muff, it has its own fuzz circuit, as well as a uni-vibe AND a ring filter. Great stuff, but unfortunately out of my price range. I still don’t make $300k a year.
Your amp taste is still good. The Pro Jr. is possibly the best mass produced amp around. I remember a while back, I had the thing cranked at Sam Ash, and a crowd formed around me wondering where all that tone was coming from. Great stuff.