Ugly Guitar Truth: EHX Green Russian Big Muff Reissue

Those that follow the history of the Electro Harmonix Big Muff know the pedal has had a long and complicated past. Starting life in New York City, the pedal has seen many revisions spanning decades and continents. Those casually aware of the pedal may be familiar with words surrounding the pedal like Ram's Head, Triangle, Civil War, and Russian. I won't get into all of those in this post, but I will take a close look at Electro Harmonix's latest muff, the Green Russian reissue.

What Does A Green Russian Sound Like?

Well, those unfortunate enough to be unable to find/afford a vintage Green Russian Big Muff (like my self) have to settle for finding clips on the internet. An excellent source for all things Bigg Muff is Kit Ray's site devoted to the accumulation of accurate Big Muff knowledge. According to the site's research, all Russian made Big Muff pedals (Green Russian, Black Russian, and Civil War) all have similar components and sound (Fatter Bass, Brighter and less-scoped Mids, and Less Gain) These features made it a natural for bass players looking to add a fuzz to their tone.

A Russian Spy?

It is speculated that maybe, just maybe, the Green Russian has been operating undercover for years and we just haven't noticed. Some suspect that the Nano Bass Big Muff has been a Sovtech Spy all along! Actually, there is a rumor that the Green Russian reissue is just a Bass Big Muff in a new coat of paint. (admittedly, that new coat of paint looks awesome.) The strongest case for this being the EHX website! From the Nano Bass Big Muff Page: "With voice inspired by the battle tank, GREEN RUSSIAN BIG MUFF" (emphasis mine). Well well well... I'll just leave this here:

Placebo Mojo

Expert wine tasters have been fooled into describing a white wine with typical red wine characteristics because it was made to look like red wine with food dye. Similarly, the same experts praised inexpensive wine when led to believe it was more costly, and dismissed top-shelf wine when told it was inexpensive. Why am I talking about wine? Because the same effect happens to guitarists. The Boutique Boom was born out of people wanting more expensive looking pedals. It's no coincident that re-boxing BOSS pedals became a big thing around the same time. You could pick up a used BOSS pedal and put it in a boutique looking box for less than most boutique builders ask for their pedals. I'm not better. I'd spend time swapping out the LED on a BOSS pedal and become the proud papa of a custom/modded pedal. There is something to be said for enjoying the way your pedals look. You always want to be proud of your rig, but remember to use your ears first.

Conclusion

It is well-documented that the Big Muff has had numerous variations. Each one of those variations having a different effect on the sound produced. Many variables come into play when discussing tone, perhaps none more hotly debated than mojo. Some tout the Green Russian as the superior Russian Big Muff others believe the Civil War Big Muff the best, but in all honesty, the circuits are nearly identical. All components have tolerances, some as much as 20%, so there is some truth to the "this one sounds different than that one". Is this the golden goose of tone the EHX has been reluctant to put out until now? No. This is a way for Electro Harmonix to offer a genuine Green Russian Big Muff... clone that was made in the far east, assembled in NYC and has already been on shelves for years under a different label (probably). But it looks really cool!
Also, just to point out, that according to NWinther of tdpri.com, the Cyrillic letters spell out "Overdrive". Which could be a shout-out to the Red Army Overdrive, the pedal that Mike Matthews of EHX produced before regaining control of the EHX brand and Big Muff name.

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