This is a library of perfboard and single-sided PCB effect layouts for guitar and bass. I'm not an electrical engineer by any stretch of the imagination, just a DIY'er who likes drawing layouts. It is meant for the hobbyist (so commercial use of any of these layout is not allowed without permission) and as a way to give back to the online DIY community.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

EHX Big Muff - Green Russian

With the exception of the IC BMP ('77, '78) you can theoretically build just about any version of the Big Muff on any other version's layouts, but the values listed in this one are for the Tall Font Green Russian version. This one is smaller than the BMP layout I did with on board pots and you should be able to fit it in a 1590B if you shave down the sides of the board a little.

One of the better sounding versions of the Big Muff (IMHO anyway) and sounds great on both guitar and bass.



And if you want to cut through the mix a little better, here's the Green Russian with a modified tone stack, adding a mids control. Pinkjimiphoton over on FSB suggests using a higher value pot for the mids control (250k-1M) than the normal 100k that's listed. 


Update 3/16/15:
Modeffected pointed out that these 2 layouts were missing the 12k resistor from the power rail to the collector of Q3. Both layouts have been updated and should be correct now.

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42 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2015 at 9:13 PM

    what's the dimension of pcb? i want to make one pair of pcb of your's page but i don't know the size, sorry for my english . thank's :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dtgehringJanuary 13, 2015 at 9:23 AM

      It's 2.3 x 1.3 inches or 58.5 x 33 mm. Good luck with the build and let me know if it works for you.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousMarch 16, 2015 at 2:35 PM

    on the stock green pcb layout is a missing resistor that should go from the power rail to the collector of the third tranny from the left.
    i put it under the board as i was troubleshooting and it work as it should.

    when i look at the layout with the mids add-on, the same resistor is missing.

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  3. dtgehringMarch 16, 2015 at 3:42 PM

    Thanks for catching that. Updated the layouts.

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  4. InakiLinaresRabascoMay 27, 2016 at 11:57 AM

    Verified (mids control version). Very Nice tone!!

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    Replies
    1. CANEPLAJanuary 26, 2018 at 9:39 AM

      you use 100k for mid? i do one but dont have any diference of the pot open or close. have a amazin sound even without the tone pot work ehehheheheh

      Delete
    2. CANEPLAJanuary 26, 2018 at 10:10 AM

      ha! i change the 100k mid pot for 1M and works!

      Delete
  5. UnknownJune 20, 2016 at 3:57 AM

    i have to say this is the best version of big muff out there. also, verified.

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  6. Mattia BertoniJanuary 18, 2017 at 3:34 AM

    Dumb question, where is the "out" pin in these two boards?

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    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsJanuary 18, 2017 at 10:06 AM

      It's in the notes on the bottom left. Output comes off the 2nd lug of the Volume pot.

      Delete
    2. Mattia BertoniJanuary 18, 2017 at 4:28 PM

      Thx! I don't know how i missed that, as i said, dumb question :)

      Delete
  7. IvMMay 17, 2017 at 8:33 PM

    I'm into this one!
    The "mids" knob add in parallel the 47nf cap to the 3.9nf one, am I right?
    So, I can play with that value

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsMay 18, 2017 at 9:09 AM

      They're not really in parallel, as the Mids pot is really before the 47n cap, but yes, that 47n value can be tweaked for the mids.

      Delete
  8. AlexMay 27, 2017 at 9:14 AM

    Built this, and it passed signal right away. All the pots work, except it barely distorts. When I pull the first transistor, nothing happens with the sound, could this mean I have short? Possibly the 500p is bad?

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    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsMay 27, 2017 at 10:28 AM

      Yeah, something is definitely shorting. Time to pull out the multimeter.

      Delete
  9. UnknownJuly 31, 2017 at 4:42 PM

    Can 470pF capacitors be used instead of 500pF?

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    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsJuly 31, 2017 at 4:44 PM

      Yes

      Delete
    2. UnknownJuly 31, 2017 at 5:19 PM

      I'm trying to debug my build.

      Voltage readings are:
      Q1: C=7,49V; B=0,62V; E=0,047V
      Q2: 7,42V; 0,62V; 0,049V
      Q3: 7,30V; 0,58V; 0,011V
      Q4: 7,68V; 0,96V; 0,386V

      I assume Collector voltages should be around 3-4V.
      Any ideas what might be wrong?

      Delete
  10. UnknownAugust 2, 2017 at 11:09 AM

    I've checked everything multiple times. There's just clean sound of the bass guitar and high pitch noise. No fuzz at all. I used C549B transistors. Please help. :)

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    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsAugust 2, 2017 at 11:49 AM

      If you're using the BC549B you probably need to use higher gain transistors (like the BC549C). I'm guessing the clipping stages aren't being amplified enough to create distortion.

      Delete
    2. UnknownAugust 2, 2017 at 5:07 PM

      Turns out I soldered the transistors backwards... :|
      Now there's fuzz and all but also some of that high pitch noise...

      Delete
    3. Effects LayoutsAugust 2, 2017 at 9:27 PM

      Been there. Glad you got that sorted. Try throwing a 10-100n cap from voltage to ground and see if that helps with the noise.

      Delete
    4. UnknownAugust 3, 2017 at 7:03 AM

      I've cleaned traces a little bit and the noise is gone.O_O Thank you for your help. Great project.

      Delete
  11. CharonAugust 14, 2017 at 6:30 PM

    Just put one together w/ mids control and sockets for the transistors inside the carcass of a destroyed Little Big Muff Pi. Initially using MPSA18. Sounds huge. Thanks!

    http://imgur.com/vC9KFpj

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  12. korjelosAugust 22, 2017 at 11:13 AM

    I think the third emitting resistor is 300 Ohm, not 100 Ohm, as it shown in the layout. Am I right?

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    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsAugust 22, 2017 at 12:34 PM

      You're right, it should be 390Ω. I probably just copy and pasted that resistor and forgot to change the value.

      Delete
    2. IvMAugust 22, 2017 at 6:41 PM

      I guess it isn't too critical: maybe a bit more of imperceptible gain?

      Delete
  13. IzznoNovember 7, 2017 at 10:54 PM

    2 questions from a newbie. Should all the diodes be the same? And what transistor should I use if I want to play it "safe" (this will be used with a bass if that changes anything.)
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsNovember 8, 2017 at 12:02 AM

      They don't have to be. They're a good to experiment with in this circuit. I'd suggest using sockets and trying out some different diodes if you don't want to go with the stock 1N4148s. Red LEDs sound good (3 or 5mm), 1N4001s, and even schotky diodes can sound interesting. Transistors should all be high gain, low noise silicon types as listed in the layout. They don't play a big factor in shaping the sound of a Big Muff all that much.

      Delete
    2. IzznoNovember 8, 2017 at 7:53 AM

      Amazing thanks a lot. I have sockets coming in soon, I'll definitely try them out.

      Delete
  14. Ricco SeixasMay 30, 2018 at 8:23 PM

    You can mark this as verified !!!
    project carried out with Q1-4 bc548.
    thank you for the excellent layouts you provide !!!
    I did the uncontrolled version of mid.

    ReplyDelete
  15. turbotrampJuly 4, 2018 at 5:22 PM

    I have used bc547c instead of 8/9. Could it be the reason of very low distortion level? The tone and volume range is ok I think. The only problem is that the effect sounds like gentle overdrive.

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  16. RodrigoJanuary 13, 2019 at 2:10 PM

    podrias publicar los voltages en cada Q=transistor? YO LO HICE CON BC548B Y SUENA MUY BIEN.

    ReplyDelete
  17. RodrigoJanuary 13, 2019 at 2:11 PM

    POR FAVOR MUCHOS DE AQUI ARGENTINA QUEREMOS HACER EL METAL MUFF, PODRIAS PUBLICARLO MUCHAS GRACIAS.

    ReplyDelete
  18. ArielMarch 21, 2019 at 8:59 AM

    Yes!!!! It would be great to be able to make the 🤘🤘🤘metal muff🤘🤘🤘

    ReplyDelete
  19. Márcio Eduardo Moraes WinterOctober 21, 2019 at 1:12 PM

    One dumb quetion: Where is the complete list of components to buy?

    ReplyDelete
  20. UnknownOctober 4, 2020 at 5:48 AM

    helli, i need sone help with that one, any one can take a look on my build?

    ReplyDelete
  21. UnknownMarch 3, 2021 at 1:39 AM

    Would it be ok to replace silicon diode with germanium?

    ReplyDelete
  22. UnknownJanuary 6, 2022 at 11:55 AM

    Hey guys. I have a green russian reissue ehx. Love this, but I'm finding it adds a lot of noise (im not a tech or builder, but i have a tech that can build and mod pedals). Can you suggest a good mod for making it more less noisy (hate to use too much ngates) ?

    ReplyDelete
  23. SamunesSeptember 19, 2023 at 8:13 AM

    No sound :'(

    ReplyDelete
  24. harly_wakeMay 18, 2024 at 7:04 AM

    Fx work. But what could be causing the problem with self-oscillation? I cleaned the circuit of flux and other things, but the problem did not go away.

    ReplyDelete
  25. WastellaSeptember 21, 2024 at 9:32 AM

    I built this with Russian MP11 germanium transistors with the mids control. It works fantastically with no value changes. I was pretty shocked about that. Give it a shot!

    ReplyDelete

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