“We found it. We built it”: A forgotten design for the Big Muff 2 spent 50 years buried in dust – now JHS Pedals and Electro-Harmonix have unearthed it and turned it into a reality

JHS Pedals and Electro-Harmonix have come together to release the Big Muff 2 – a new take on the timeless fuzz pedal, based on a recently unearthed schematic that spent 50 years buried in dust.

Few pedals command the same reputation as the hallowed Big Muff. First released in 1969, the flagship fuzz was first conceived and created by EHX founder Mike Matthews and Bells Lab engineer Bob Myer, and later underwent revisions and changes under the direction of other engineers.

One of those concept revisions, though, never saw the light of day. Instead, the hand-drawn schematic that hypothesized the creation of a Big Muff 2 was put together, filed away in a notebook, and forgotten about for 50 years.

It wasn’t until 2021, when Josh Scott of JHS Pedals was visiting Myer’s New Jersey home while researching his new book – which charts the history of EHX – that the unreleased circuit was unearthed.

Fast-forward to the present day, and that alternate, previously unheard of take on the classic Big Muff circuit has been turned into a reality.

The Big Muff 2: A Lost Piece of Electro-Harmonix History - YouTube

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It was, as JHS puts it, a remarkable discovery. The schematic was labeled “Big Muff – Using (2 Dual Op-Amps)", and while an Op-Amp Big Muff was released in the 1970s, it was designed by Michael Abrams and Howard Davis. Myer’s own plan for the pedal was shelved and forgotten about for five decades.

The journey starts with that discovery. Myer’s garage was filled with old prototype pedals, tools that helped forge the earliest EHX innovations, and countless notepads that traced the journey. Among the reams of material was that circuit design, which Myer put together after Matthews requested a Big Muff variant that didn’t use transistors.

“This is the never-before-heard version of what could have been,” Scott explains of the pedal in a launch video. “It's super-modern. It feels really heavy. It does this crazy crossover between super-aggressive Big Muff, but it will also do overdrive well.”

The circuit itself delivers a uniquely aggressive edge to the Big Muff sound, with enhanced low-end, cutting midrange presence, a sharper attack and an “exceptional” output volume.

“For nearly 50 years, this “Lost Big Muff” design sat forgotten in his notebooks – until now,” JHS writes. “We found it. We built it. And have brought it to life.”

News of the pedal has been joined by the opening of preorders for Made on Earth for Rising Stars: The Electro-Harmonix Story. Written and assembled over six years by Scott, the book serves as a deep dive into never-before-seen corners of EHX and pedal history.

The book will also explore the firm’s hallowed Hall of Science – an oft-forgotten footnote from EHX, which set the template for the future of guitar stores then disappeared without a trace.

Only 5,700 Big Muff 2 pedals will be made. Visit JHS Pedals for more.