Marshall DSL1, 2x12 v30, emg81 (volume pot only) = bright and cutting tone.
Ultra gain channel with a little gain (9 o'clock)
All muffs @ 12 o'clock, except for big box muff, slightly more as it is quieter
1. Russian = the fattest mofo around but still clear enough to hear chords and different strings. It feels like the 3rd channel I wish I had in my amp. Absolutely massive sound but it doesn't loose too much definition/ A little muddier Dual Rectifier kind of thing
2. Ram's head = very similar to Russian but it has less definition and goes more towards OG triangle in terms of mud. Still very powerful and bassy
3. op amp = thin/cutting like a razor, weird sounding offspring. Loved it because it had its own character and was amazing for cutting. It chocks on chords and notes definition
4. triangle = OG, super loud. I liked it the best on clean channel as it was super powerful sounding, fizzy fuzzy but still very punchy
5. big box big muff USA (writing only) = the reason I have ordered other muffs... It was just chocking all over the place on ultra gain channel (dirty). There was basically no definition of notes nor chords but... I loved it the most of single strings/notes solo stuff. Super creamy, very pleasant and compressed. I liked it so much that I had big trouble to let it go... For solos it was amazing.
I was seriously debating leaving all 5 muffs with me... They are all different, altought 4 & 5 very very similar with triangle having slightly more note definitions and more punch. Though 4 with super creamy solo/single string was super hard to forget about.
I don't think there's a wrong choice here. They behave/sound so different with different amps, guitars, etc. that it's just impossible to decide which to get...
If you have a dark very fat sounding amp like Dual Rectifier/similar I would definitely pick op amp as it cuts the best.
Mind you, this is all on ULTRA GAIN channel on my amp which has tons of gain on tap already.
On clean channel they all sound very similar. Op amp has its own character which is super cool and I already miss it (both on dirt and clean channel)...
Triangle was the punchiest and most powerful on clean channel. Big box muff was almost exactly the same. Ram's head and Russian too but they were much better on dirt channel for my FAT MASSIVE tone needs.
On clean channel I would go TRIANGLE. Op amp is cool on either, it has its own character but it chokes on already dirty channel not as much as big box muff and triangle but still, similar to ram's head but ram's head sounds more pleasant overall
Ram's head is like the best of both worlds TRIANGLE <> Russian.
It sits in the middle. Big bassy but chockes a little, but still define. I had a hard time deciding between Russian and Ram's head as they were super similar. Ram's head was a little less defined so I went with Russian as I am using it as a fake 3rd MASSIVE channel on my DSL1.
You can't go wrong with either~!! I was for days thinking about leaving all of them for different scenarios... They are all super amazing pedal with their own character. There's no better/worse. All lovely./
