MUFF OBSESSION

How do you know something is yours....

2010-11-14T04:49:00.000-05:00

set it free and see if it comes back?
remember this:
http://sovtek.blogspot.com/2010/05/sold-civil-war-green-black.html

twas a sad day.
well THIS VERY UNIT popped back up on ebay...
and it came home.
paid a little more than i sold it for.
but this time i think she's staying for good.

other news I:
as i'm re-shifting my focus on hand made electronics i think i have reached a balance with my muff collection.
i have been dumping my pedals slowly, and recently i managed to get rid of MOST of my muff clone/based pedals. As of this writing i only have my wren and cuff pickle pie, but i don't see me getting rid of that anytime soon, or really ever, as i don't think i'll ever buy an original swollen pickle.

other news II: i have 3 deluxe big muff units, i wanna unload 2 of them however, only one currently works.
i finally got to popping open the working unit to compare them.
here's the working one:

and the non- working units...:

seems we have a little problem doesn't it houston...

working model a's board is a completely different board than non-working models b+c.

(sigh)...

other news III:

muff obsession II once again delayed. hopefully i'll stop doubting the images for booklet already done...

or hopefully i'll make some prints that are truly mind blowing, that even i can't say no to.

you know a tribute just needs to be perfect imho...

Typical Me... + Miscellaneous Tidbits

2010-07-26T02:16:00.001-04:00

So i pulled out all the images for muff obsession the other day, and decided i didn't like them anymore.
so starting from scratch again.

Also i sold my black muff with the bubble letters on ebay, knowing full well i'll buy another in the future.
only to have it "get lost" in the mail... suffice it to say, won't be shipping to malaysia again, ended up be a close $200 loss, not cool.

Also learned EHX has discontinued the russian big muff, so you can get them at a higher than average cost now. Used to be you could get them for $30-$40 used on ebay, now you can get them for around $60.

Next on the agenda, picked up a germanium4 big muff. Here is my initial review from a forum i visit too often:

here's some early samples:

http://rapidshare.com/files/406846809/germanuium4_muff_demo_w_pollen.mp3.html

this first ones using the pollen as a source, i did no manipulation of the source at all.
i let the source run anywhere between 10-15 seconds on all the samples, trust me you'll know when i kick the distortion in.
the distortion is actually the first effect in the pair as opposed to the overdrive. i think that's weird it's usually the other away around isn't it?

anyway i start with the gain and bias down, the volts and volume up.
i kick in the gain at a mild pace followed by the gain.
next i start to lower the volts, lowering the volts lowers the overall volume, something to be aware of.

then i kick in the od section
the od section only has the volume up, i raise the volts back up.
then gain, then bias, then tone.

http://rapidshare.com/files/406846810/germanuium4_muff_demo_w_drone_comander.mp3.html

pretty much the same test except using the drone commander as a source, i leave it on the opening tone for most of the test, then start to play around a bit at the end to give you an idea of it's abilities with variable sources.

http://rapidshare.com/files/406846811/germanuium4_muff_demo_w_metal_sample.mp3.html

this last source is using a recorded loop from my sp 202 that happens to be a piezo-ed metal source...
again pretty much the same test.

complete first impression:
the distortion section is awesome, this has a lot of potential, and i think your right with the fuzz factory comparison.
the devolt is a no-brainer these days, glad ehx is finally taking notes from the underground again.
i am a little underwhelmed by the overdrive section. but i'm also not a big od fan. i think the tone control is actually too constrictive, luckily leaving it all the way down to the bass side seems to actually disengage it. a hair in the other direction puts the stranglehold on the signal again.
maybe it would sound better if they flip flopped the effects, od first, distortion second?
as it stands now i'll mostly be using the distortion side only, but i'd gladly buy another fully knowing that right now though.

now my excitement may just be the thrill of a new pedal,
so we'll see how it goes in the next few weeks...

end review.

all-in-all great purchase and an interesting new member of the muff family...

DON'T WORRY, ...IT'S COMING.

2010-05-26T02:33:00.000-04:00

I'VE BEGUN THE FINAL DESIGN PROCESS FOR THE BOOKLETS OF MUFF OBSESSION II.
60 PAGES OF TEXT AND IMAGES.
IN BLACK & WHITE
7 INCH X 7 INCH.

UPCOMING PEEK INTO MUFF OBSESSION II

2010-05-18T02:10:00.000-04:00

HERE'S A SNEAK PEAK INTO SOME OF THE ART INCLUDED IN MUFF OBSESSION II
THIS IS THE COLOR MASTER, FINAL ART WILL BE BLACK AND WHITE. THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED USING A FAUX FOUR COLOR SCREENING PROCESS. BASICALLY I TAKE ONE IMAGE FOR EACH OF THE FOUR COLORS (CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, BLACK), AND KEEP SENDING ONE SHEET OF PAPER THROUGH A COLOR COPIER. FINALLY GETTING A MIXED IMAGE LIKE SEEN HERE...

IT'S AN INTERESTING PROCESS, I WOULD THINK A LOT OF PSYCHE STYLE MUSIC WOULD BE DONE THIS WAY, IF PLANNED RIGHT YOU CAN GET SOME REAL AMAZING MULTI COLOR IMAGES THIS WAY...

ANYWAY, I'M KEEPING MOST OF WHAT I'M DOING FOR MUFF OBSESSION II UNDER WRAPS, THIS IS JUST A LITTLE SNEAK PEAK...

SOLD: CIVIL WAR GREEN & BLACK

2010-05-18T01:29:00.000-04:00

SADLY, I PARTED WITH MY GREEN & BLACK CIVIL WAR STYLE (FOR A BOATLOAD OF CASH). IT HAD GREAT TONE AND THE BEST IN/OUT JACKS I'VE SEEN ON A RUSSIAN MUFF EVER. I NEVER OPENED IT UP TO FIND OUT IF THEY WERE STOCK OR NOT...

I'LL PROBABLY BUY ANOTHER EVENTUALLY...

EARTHBOUND AUDIO - BEAST

2010-05-18T01:05:00.004-04:00

ORIGINALLY NAMED SUPERCOLLIDER OSCILLATING BEAST,
ONE WOULD ASSUME THIS IS AN HEAVILY MODIFIED VERSION OF THEIR
SUPERCOLLIDER PEDAL. WHICH IS OF COURSE BIG MUFF BASED. I RECENTLY PICKED UP AN OLDER MODEL THAN WHAT'S PICTURED AT THEIR BLOG. I WILL UPDATE WHEN THAT COMES IN...

THE MAIN ATTRACTION OF THIS PEDAL IS THE CHOKE AND ROAR OSCILLATION LOOPS.
ROAR IS JUST STRAIGHT UP NO CONTROL, BUT THE CHOKE LOOP HAS A CONTROL, AND THERE ARE LED'S FOR EACH MODE.

NEWEST ADDITION

2010-03-14T01:04:00.000-05:00

WHILE THIS UNIT CURRENTLY DOESN'T WORK, IT WILL.

AND I ALWAYS WANTED TO GET ONE WITH EXTENSIVE PAINT DAMAGE LIKE THIS ONE.

BUT I GOT THIS ONE MAINLY FOR PARTS.

I'VE STARTED WORKING FEVERISHLY ON THE ART FOR MUFF OBSESSION VOL. II

THE FIRST

2010-02-24T11:08:00.003-05:00

BEGINNINGS (RE-POST FROM DESICCATED HUSK)

2010-02-17T02:06:00.003-05:00

NOT THAT MOST OF MY WORK ISN'T DRENCHED IN THE MUFF
SOUND...

BUT THIS RELEASE IS PURE DEDICATION TO THE MACHINE.

I FELT NO NEED TO DROP A LOGO OR A PROJECT MONIKER ON IT.

BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER ABOUT ME...

THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE BIG MUFF, I FELL IN LOVE (IT WAS A GREEN SOVTEK).

SO UNNECESSARILY BIG, MILITARY GREEN WITH BLACK BOLD LETTERING...

AND RUSSIAN...

IT CAME IN A WOODEN BOX.

SO MILITARIZED, INDUSTRIAL LOOKING...

( A THING OF TRUE SOPHISTICATED BEAUTY, NOT A CHEAP WHORE MIND YOU...)

THEN CAME THE SOUND.

AND I WAS SOLD.

WHEN I STARTED TO GET INTO NOISE...

AND I STARTED TO DO NOISE.

IT WAS CLEAR...

THE MUFF WOULD MAKE MY SOUND...

BUT THIS BLOG WON'T BE ONLY ABOUT THE SOUND...

THERE WILL BE ART,

IDEAS/HISTORY/PICTURES

AND MODIFICATIONS...

AVAILABLE IN AN OBSESSIVELY HARDCORE EDITION OF 30!

MUFF OBSESSION

TWO SIDES OF FILTHY MUD-LADEN CRACKLE,

BAKED INTO THICK ADOBE WALLS.

PURITY THAT WILL LAST AS A MONUMENT,

LONG AFTER THE OCCUPANTS CEASE.

DEDICATED TO THE SOVTEK BIG MUFF PI.

VARIOUS ERA'S OF THE SOVTEK BIG MUFF WERE USED DURING THE RECORDING OF THIS MATERIAL.
ALL MATERIAL BY THE GRIZ+ZLOR (UNCREDITED)