Custom Big Muff Build.

[DrNomis_44]

Hey Everyone,

I'm currently working on a custom Big Muff pedal build, using a phenolic Big Muff PCB I ordered online from PigeonFX which is based in the UK.

I've already got the PCB all populated with parts; I'm in the process of making a case for it out of some sheet aluminium I bought from my local Jaycar Electronics shop.

Here's a pic of the completed Big Muff PCB.

[DrNomis_44]

Here's a pic of the two pieces of sheet aluminium I cut for the two halves of the case I'm making for my custom Big Muff build, left is the bottom half, and right is the top half, I need to mark-out and drill holes for the in/out sockets, footswitch, and the three pots, luckily enough I have enough sheet aluminium left over to make a clip to hold the 9V battery in position, and I also need to figure-out how I'm going to make the 90 degree bends where they're needed.



Good thing I remembered all the metalworking stuff I learnt while doing my tech for my apprenticeship with my dad as a fitter & machinist in the late 90's, handy skills to have.

[fender3x]

This should be fun to watch ;-)

[DrNomis_44]

Time for an update:

Managed to get the sheet aluminium case completed and the pcb installed in it, it worked perfectly first time, apart from the tone control which worked backwards, soon got it sorted out though, sounds great.

[fender3x]

Looking forward to pics ;-)

[DrNomis_44]

Quick update on the Big Muff pedal build, I managed to finish building it and it worked perfect first time, had to swap two of the wires going to the tone control because it worked backwards, but, it's all sorted now, sounds great.

I managed to take some pics of it so I could upload them to this thread, here you go, I still need to spray-paint/label/clear coat the sheet metal casing, but it is all working.









Will post a link to a sound demo later on....stay tuned.

Here we go, here's a quick audio demo I just recorded in FL Studio 2025, I used an amp simulator plugin called Guitar Rig 7, and set it to a clean Soldano SLO 100 preset, to show the range of the Big Muff's tone control I tweaked it a bit in the middle where I let it sustain, volume on the pedal was set to half-way, and sustain was set to full, I used my Jackson JS 32 M guitar with a set of black Tonerider Firepower high output humbuckers.

https://soundcloud.com/drnomis_44/new_big-muff_demo

[fender3x]

That sounds awsome! Just great!

[DrNomis_44]

That sounds awsome! Just great!

Yeah, I'm very happy with how it sounds, seems to have more mids in the tone than a lot of the Big Muffs I've heard, which tend to sound mid-scooped, I went with the Ram's Head four-transistor circuit, but used four BC547C transistors, which seem to work fine, all four clipping diodes are standard 1N4148 small silicon types.

[fender3x]

That may be why I like the sound of it. I tend to like the gut-punch of mids forward ;-)

Cool looking PCB. Is there an advantage to phenolic vs the more common (at least now) green (fiberglass?) boards?

[DrNomis_44]

That may be why I like the sound of it. I tend to like the gut-punch of mids forward ;-)

Cool looking PCB. Is there an advantage to phenolic vs the more common (at least now) green (fiberglass?) boards?

Not really, phenolic is what was easily, and cheaply, available back when the Ram's Head Big Muffs were being made, I've been getting more into having mids in my guitar sound, mids are where your loudness frequencies are, mids help your guitar tone cut-through a live band mix better.

Phenolic does tend to be more brittle than FR4 Fiberglass, especially when it ages.

Both phenolic and FR4 fiberglass, as insulating material, do the job equally, but I think FR4 Fiberglass has a higher dielectric strength, which is a measure of how much voltage an insulating material can withstand before suffering a puncture and leaking current, but, since the Big Muff only runs on +9V DC, the dielectric strength is a moot-point.