EHX English Muff'n - Am I missing something?

[npsiwak]

So I got a EHX English Muff'n from another forum member almost a year ago and thought id be using it like madness from all the online demos I have heard. Unfortunately every time I try to use it, Im not impressed by the sound, it just seems too gritty even in low gain settings. I go straight back to my unmodified TS9-DX, my OCDv3, or even my fender deville dirty channel. Im using the stock tubes in this which are 12AY7s I think.

The amp I generally use is a Mesa Boogie F-30, so Ive got plenty of gain on tap if I want it. I wanted to use this pedal as some smooth overdrive thats very harmonically pleasing...

So my question to all of you is: What am I missing here? How do you guys run your English Muff'ns? Is this pedal all that great?

Convince me to keep this thing, because I am thinking of selling it and getting a compressor (which I think I need more anyways)

 

[dziarmag]

check the solo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71LSWZr0dHA

 

[npsiwak]

sounds like a fuzz factory...

 

[Drifting]

I really tried to like mine.

The high end was just so brittle and harsh, I had to keep the Treble almost off, which screwed up the other EQ settings, and the bass was way boomy and flubby.

 

[npsiwak]

I really tried to like mine.

The high end was just so brittle and harsh, I had to keep the Treble almost off, which screwed up the other EQ settings, and the bass was way boomy and flubby.

I might be in the same shoes as you. I can get good money for this thing on craigslist...

 

[soulsonic]

It could probably be modded. There are good circuits that could likely be worked into the "frame" of what's in there.

 

[jorgenegeland]

My experience was that it was really harsh and trebly and wasn't really useable with other pickups that humbuckers. Still, sounded pretty good with the buckers for some rawk rhythm sounds.

 

[Rod]

I tried one...It was a horrible sounding pedal...It's not you

 

[Lespaulsignature 74]

I like mine toasted with Jelly or Butter....lol

 

[Wesman61]

I have one as well as a Hot Tubes and they are both horrible sounding. There are piles of solid state distortion pedals out there that are better sounding and smaller.

 

[brewtality]

The key to using the English Muff'n is starting with the bass and treble knobs at zero and the mid knob at 10 then work your way from there. If I use it as a distortion pedal, I normally settle with bass at 8:30, treble at 10:00, mid at 2:00. If I use it as a preamp in my fx loop, bass 8:30, mid 2:00, treble 2:30. Awesome, awesome sound. I use 2 JJ 12AX7's and set the gain at 11-12:00 ish depending on my guitar. Instant JCM800 tone. If I want a more metal type tone, I just step on my SD-1 to push the gain further. the English Muff'n just cant cut it as a stand alone metal distortion pedal. It will sound flubby once I set the gain past 12:00.

Don't lose hope just yet. I had trouble finding its sweet spot too at first. But once I got it, it became a keeper.

 

[emowery]

I just got the English Muff'n Yesterday, and I am liking the sound. You do have to spend a few minutes to appropriately EQ it to sound nice with your respective amp to get the maximum response from it. With the gain, I can go from a slight tube amp breakup bluesy tone, to a classic rock/Led Zeppelin tone, all the way to a more modern punk rock tone (Green Day, etc...). I think this pedal is for people like me who do not have a tube amp, just a solid state. This does a good job of being an "amp in a box". If you already have a tube amp, then this pedal may not be needed. Otherwise, if you are looking for tube tone, but do not want or can not afford a tube amp, then this pedal is the way to go. This has plenty of gain for me, just using the stock tubes. You can swap those out with two 12ax7s if you need more. I am not sure how much the gain can be increased, but I think if you are a metal head, this pedal would not be for you. I am very happy and highly recommend this pedal.

 

[Bill Ruppert]

I have used the English Muff`n on countless sessions and I must say it my favorite pedal for classic rock sounds.
The bass and treble controls a VERY active and you have to watch where you park them or it can sound to bright and muddy.
I set the treble between 9 an 12 o'clock and the bass never above 11 o'clock.
Below is a typical setting I use into a clean amp for recording.
It always sounds great and is producer/engineer approved!
Bill

 

[Zeon45]

I tried one awhile back and ended up returning it. Like others I found it to be pretty harsh and unmusical. Much happier with my BK Butler Tube Driver. That thing ROCKS!!

 

[soundchaser59]

Peter Stroud has a knack for making any EHX pedal sound great...... but I've always ended up selling every piece of EHX I've ever tried. I guess I am EHX incompetent.... and I notice that Peter's demos never do show how his guitar knobs and amp knobs are set.

Like any pedal, I think these are very closely linked to what pickups you have and how your guitar knobs are set. If you use high output pickups then you will easily overdrive the signal in the pedal. Try starting out with your guitar tone knobs set on 5 and your guitar volume set on 3 or 4, then start tweaking the pedal knobs. Seems like most OD type pedals perform much better with a cooler, cleaner signal from the guitar.

 

[Rod]

I tried one awhile back and ended up returning it. Like others I found it to be pretty harsh and unmusical. Much happier with my BK Butler Tube Driver. That thing ROCKS!!

I did as well

 

[Renardm]

I have this pedal because I used to play through a solid state. I didn't find the overdrive useful at all and it sucked tone when bypassed. It does clean up really good though. I could't get it to sound anything like the demo on EH's site, even through a tube amp. The one with the guy from Sheryl Crows band.

 

[scr@tchy]

Regarding Peter Stroud's guitar/amp settings, on the demo vid I can see clearly that the strat is in the neck position and the volume is on full but I couldn't see where the tone was. When he lets you hear the Muffn's bypass tone the amp sounds like it is set really bright, especially for a strat neck pu.

When he uses the SG I can see that it's tone and volume knobs are set to full, but he doesn't play the bypassed sound with the SG. Sounds great in the vid, maybe it is supposed to be 12ax7's stock and the one you have someone put 12ay7's in there for fun?

 

[shakeshakeshake]

I like this pedal a lot, if it wasnt so big I probably would have not traded it...

I like it because it doesnt really sound like anything else, it can be harsh but the eq is very effective

Its good for a trashy kind of gain and is very glassy and spongey from my experience with it

 

[EricPeterson]

I had one and I liked it, you got to keep the treble rolled back. It cleaned up nicely as well, in the end I just didnt use it that much and there were other things I wanted to try.