THE BIG MUFF π - A HISTORY OF ALL VERSIONS - Part 2

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MIKE MATTHEWS RED ARMY OVERDRIVE

THE SOVTEK RED ARMY OVERDRIVE - The First Russian Made Big Muff

Circa 1990

Editions: 2 - Graphics and component values changed for each edition

Circuit Board Numbers: 6n - 01.00.000 (6 and n are Russian letters), BM - 01.00.000

True Bypass: No

Power: 9V battery only. To connect to a standard Boss type AC power supply, use a 9V battery adaptor like the 1 Spot CBAT.

Packaging: Wood crate box with Russian lettering

Place of Manufacture: St Petersburg, Russia

After crashing twice in the US, Mike Matthews turned to the contacts and sources he had made in Russia back in 1979 to start up new business in the mid 1980s. After Perestroika the Soviet military industrial complex had collapsed in Russia. The former military factories, now out of work with the lack of military cotracts, were desparately looking for work to make any type of consumer goods. Matthews saw an opportunity to buy inexpensive integrated circuits (ICs) from them, and later vacuum tubes, to sell around the world. Selling ICs got Matthews back on his feet and he started a new company in 1988, New Sensor Corp, which included a distribution center in the USA.

In 1989 he created a new brand a amplifier vacuum tubes under the label Sovtek (name combines words Soviet and technology), contracting them to be made in the 53-year-old ExpoPul factory in Saratov, Russia. New Sensor supplied tubes to many of the top amplifier makers at the time, like Mesa Boogie, Marshall, Peavey, and practically all of the tubes used by Fender. In 1998 Matthew's New Sensor company purchased the entire ExpoPul vacuum tube factory, which was the largest tube maker in the world at that time, and Mike stopped selling ICs. They now make tubes for such brand names Tungsol, Svetlana, and Mullard, among others. By 2001 Matthews had reacquired the Electro-Harmonix name, and New Sensor brought a line of high quality E-H branded vacuum tubes to the market. His girlfriend, Irusha, who's father was co-inventor of Russia's hydrogen bomb, ran all of his operations in Russia.

Matthews had seen the collector value of his old 1970s Big Muffs and other E-H pedals soar over the years, and people back in the States were saying he should bring them back on the market. It was not long before he resurrected the line of E-H pedals, this time entirely made in Russia. I believe there are as many versions of these Russian Big Muffs as there are American made versions. Around 1990 Matthews was in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), a political and cultural center of russia for over 200 years. It was there that he hooked up with two colonels who operated a small factory that had made training equipment for the military. Since the equipment they made incorporated electronics, it was not a big stretch for them to jump over to pedal making. Matthews discussed with them the idea of having a Big Muff made in Russia, but he did not have a lot of money at the time to invest in new tooling to make one. The colonels liked the idea and agreed to pay for all of the set up costs and built them for New Sensor. They came up with a rugged, military looking pedal, with a reinforced top plate under the enclosure box cover, and large metal foot switch casing, making them very sturdy. They copied the Big Muff circuit, but it was not identical to any USA made version.

The first of the Russian made pedals from New Sensor was the Red Army Overdrive (RAO), produced around 1990. Matthews must have thought the riskae name would appeal to US customers who would find it very cool to own a pedal made in Russia, and the myth that these were made from scrap military parts did not hurt either. The military wood crate with Russian lettering that these were packed in just added to the mystique. Contrary to popular belief, these Russian made pedals were not made with spare tank parts, ammunition boxes, land mines (!), or any other junk-scrap military weapons. They were made in a former Russian military equipment factory. Some of the circuit board components and wire may have been stock that was made or purchased during the Cold War era, but that is as close to military parts as it gets.

GRAPHICS AND COLORS - The bottom box panel of the RAO was painted army green and the top panel was painted, or possibly anodized silver-white. The silk screen design was printed in dark green ink, though some have been seen with dark blue ink. It did not have the words Big Muff in the graphics, but it included Mike Matthews name, a Russian star, and the word Sovtek. Below that was marked "MADE IN RUSSIA" in Russian letters. Later second edition production changed from a green box to a gray box, and from green silk screen to dark gray. The graphics on the second edition Red Army were slightly different than the first. The RED ARMY letters were smaller, the words VOLUME and TONE were boxed, and the register mark on Sovtek was larger.

CONTROLS - There were the typical three Muff control knobs - VOLUME, DISTORTION, and TONE. USA Muffs were labeled SUSTAIN instead of DISTORTION, possibly Mike Matthews way implying this was to be considered more of a distortion pedal than a fuzz? The knobs on the first edition were plain black plastic cylinder shapes with indicator marks, similar to the USA Muff cylinder knobs but much smaller and with better tooling. Later second edition production changed to cheaper, tapered gray knobs with circular indicator arrows molded into the tops. These "arrow-top" gray knobs continued to be used when the graphics changed to "Big Muff" for the next version. They were prone to breaking and poorly designed.

CIRCUIT - The circuit on the first edition RAO was slightly different from the American made Muffs, but close to the V1 Triangle Big Muff. It is unknown who designed the revised circuit, but I assume the engineers at the St. Petersburg factory used a USA Big Muff schematic as an example. The board was marked 6n - 01.00.000. The 6 and n are Russian letters for B and P in English. Big Pie? The transistors were Russian E type in a metal TO18 style “can” package. There were typically two KT23102E and two KT9108 transisitors, or two 5102E and two KT3102E transistors, though they were often mixed. This circuit was almost identical to the second and third edition green Russian Big Muffs that came later, with the exception that the 430pF caps here were changed to 470pF on the greens.

For the second edition RAO the circuit board was marked BM - 01.00.000. BM for Big Muff. The component values remained the same as the first edition, but where before there was a 430pF capacitor in each the of first three stages of the circuit, there were now two caps in series in its place. It is unknown what the value of these unmarked caps are, but on later blue and gray boxed "Civil War" Big Muffs, green boxed Civil War Muffs, and first edition green Muffs, they are marked 1n0K. Two of those caps in series are equivalent to 500pF, which accounts for the smoother, bassier tone these have versus the less bassy, more crunchy tone the 430pF caps in the first edition RAO give. The Russian transistors used on the second edition were typically black plastic, half-cylinder TO92 packages with white and green dots on top, though some used the TO18 can style. It is likely these were similar to 2N5089 transistors.

ENCLOSURE BOX - The new heavy duty tank-like box had a cast aluminum bottom panel and a sheet metal top panel. The pots on the first editions typically had stamped metal cases, and changed to green potted cases for second edition production. The input and output jacks were plastic sleeved, and soldered directly to the circuit board, with nothing else holding them in place. They simply poked through two silver rimmed holes in the box. They were prone to coming loose or breaking. The wiring harness was made military style - very clean and organized - due to the fact that these were made in former military electonics factories. The battery door was plastic, fit loosely, and was prone to falling out.

CLONES OR SIMILAR PEDALS - The Stomp Under Foot CWM is a clone of this same Muff circuit.

THE SOUND - The tone, while still in the Muff family, was quite unique and different from the USA Big Muff tones, and I think the best of all the Russian made Big Muffs. Sort of a mix between the V1 and V3 Muffs, but with a fatter bottom end and less gain. The first edition RAO sounds very close to the green Russian Big Muffs that would come later, and had almost idetical circuit component values. I think it sounds slightly better than the greens. The second edition sounds very similar to the "Civil War" Big Muffs that would come later, with a very dark sound, thunderous lows, and a smooth and clear, but still very scooped mid range. Some people do not like that bottom end and consider it too bassy, but I think that is what makes this version sound so huge. In fact, from the examples I have seen and the ones I own, the second edition Red Army was identical to the first Civil War Big Muff circuit, component types and values. The bass and treble of the tone varies from unit to unit.

SOUND CLIP 1 - Wet solo lead tone using a first edition RAO with strat, Boss CS-2 compressor, a bit of CE-2 chorus, and TC Nova delay

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Shown above - A pristine first edition green boxed Red Army Overdrive autographed by Mike Matthews, with black cylinder knobs, 430pF caps, two KT23102E and two KT9108 transisitors. Note the plastic jacks, soldered directly to the circuit board, and poking through two holes in the enclosure box. Nothing else held them in place.

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HISTORY OF THE BIG MUFF PART 1 (vintage USA)

HISTORY OF THE BIG MUFF PART 3 (modern USA)

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