This is a pedal I originally made years ago that started off this whole Big Mud thing and got a little crazy at times. I still LOVE this circuit and everything that can be done with it, but the original idea of the Screaming Mud was because I liked the idea of a BM and a Screaming Tree together.
I originally made these with a "Triangle" circuit but only 10 were made. You can read about it HERE if you're interested.
The idea is simple. Start with a good BM circuit, in this case the Civil War era one and run a Screaming Tree/LPB after it, kinda like Dave Gilmour does. The Mvff circuit reacts differently to bass response with the volume control as it's basically a "passive" volume at the end of the circuit. The BM can sound great at lower volumes but it gets to a point where it no longer reaches unity.
With the boost after the BM circuit you can set your tone and then adjust the volume with the boost section. The boost in this new version has the option of linear or treble boost, so it's more versatile than my original.
Both sections can be run independently with seperate volume controls or cascaded together to "boost" the BM for solos or add MORE gain to saturate your amp that's already being driven by the Mud. The treble setting on the boost can be good for solos and the linear setting, when pushed will give HUGE stoner bottom end.
This new version also has a tone control on the boost section as it is essentially my Tone Boost pedal in the enclosure with the BM. As I make ALL my pedals here, by myself by hand I have the option of putting together different ideas and/or moding the circuits to the way I want them to behave. I made a Ram Head version of this and a "hot roded" Civil War for my friend Isaiah from Earthless. I have of course done lots of stuff for these guys in the past but it's always fun coming up with new stuff for people who really appreciate what I do.
He wasn't a huge BM fan but I took it upon myself to ......... educate him in the ways of the BM. Being that the Ram Head and the Civil War are my favorites, and we had discussed Gilmour, who has used both these versions, these seemed like the obvious place to start.
After I'd convinced Izzy of the value of a good BM I decided to make him one of these. The theory being that we had discussed Gilmours use of a Civil War with a boost after it to get his tone and Earthless were about to go into the studio to record a new album.
I got one of these and a standard Ram Head made and posted about a week before the recording sessions started. I wasn't sure if Izzy would use, or even like them, but as I consider him to be one of the greatest guitarists on the planet, and a good friend, I figured he had good taste :)
It turns out Izzy loved this version and used it all over the new record From the Ages. This is a HUGE honour for me as not only do I LOVE this band, but this album is my album of 2013. Earthless changed my whole musical life. I've written volumes about it so I won't bore you here. Suffice to say they are THE MOST tasteful power psych trio on the planet and when they get in a room together, something special happens. I've made lots of stuff for lots of people and it always blows my mind who I get to work for but having something I made on my "best of 2013" is truly, truly special.
I won't be making these as a "standard" production model as it's VERY time intensive and difficult to build (most of my pedals are) but I will release a few every now and then as I get the time and inspiration. These two pictured here will be available for sale on the site soon.